Climbing Mont Blanc in a Single Day: Valley to Summit

Tackling western Europe's highest peak in a single go starting from the valley. Join me as I take on the challenge of conquering Mont Blanc, Western Europe's tallest mountain. Starting from the valley at Les Houches (near Chamonix) at 7:40 PM, we spent most of the climb in darkness, reaching the summit by 8:00 AM the next morning. This 22-hour trek pushed me to my physical and mental limits, making it the most grueling adventure I've ever undertaken. The journey was both humbling and awe-inspiring, but also incredibly exhausting. Poor food and hydration management became a major hurdle, especially during the last 10 hours of the climb and descent. Despite multiple stops at mountain huts to rest, recover, and refuel, I struggled to keep going-but the experience was unforgettable. While the challenge tested every ounce of my endurance, it was an incredible adventure that I'll always remember.
IG @Bmooney140
Strava: strava.app.lin...

[@Onelesstraveledby]

Beautiful footage of your climb! What a great push! I did this route starting from the top of the tramway, and that was plenty of vertical for me. The grand couloir late at night, when it is the most stable, is smart. I watched from just below Gouter Hut as a climber was lost to a big rockfall an hour behind me (about 9am) at that notorious spot. Thumbs up, stay safe, keep climbing, and greetings from Canada!

[@carrolla6121]

best hour to cross the gouter couloir is 9am actually (scientificaly proven) and their second cross was at 2 pm which is crazy risk. When I did MontBlanc from the valley, i decided to sleep at gouter after the summit to make sure i would cross the couloir at the right time

[@richardparker4703]

well done, men! I guided in Zermatt for 2 summers in the 70's. Our longest was the Monte Rosa....10, 000 vertical feet from town. Mt Blanc more like 13,000. We would do the Monte Rosa in 2 days with clients and that was always a big effort. Chapeau to you for this in one day!

[@willindsey]

Cool stuff and thank you!

[@kevinwang1619]

Insane, beautiful!

[@timferreira2518]

Damn son, you wild!

[@vanCapere]

Nice one. Did the same solo this year but went down via Trois Monts. ;)

[@dipardo49]

Absolutely love it! Congrats on that quick summit! Could you make a video or something discussing the adaptation to high altitude and the level of fitness required to achieve something like that?

[@brendanmooney8230]

I'm one of the dudes from the vid. First off if you haven't already I'd recommend reading Training For the New Alpinism, it's basically the bible for mountain fitness imo. We both did a lot of long slow aerobic exercise leading up to the trip, more specific training like uphill hiking is going to carry over better than something like cycling for example. We did several days at altitude before this effort, a night at ~8k ft, then two days at ~12k ft doing moderate exercise, and then a rest day where we took a tram up to ~10k ft and just hung around doing nothing. Personally this felt like good acclimatization, I've usually dealt with headaches when I go from sealevel to ~14k ft quickly, and on Blanc I avoided them and felt like I could move much faster than usual.

[@dipardo49]

Awesome! Thanks, @bredanmooney8230. I’ve taken note of everything you mentioned, and I’ll definitely pick up that book. I already checked out your Strava to see how much you’re doing and downloaded the track haha! Next summer, I’ll give it a shot. It looks like an incredibly challenging experience in terms of fitness and acclimatization. Thanks for the info, and keep killing it!

[@jayceehikes]

Love your video man! Really hope I can climb Mont Blanc one day

[@willindsey]

Thanks man! Hope you do!

[@lorenzoostano2247]

Amazing. I'd love to do it once too...

[@Pshady]

With the difficulty of booking huts, this was a smart way of climbing the mountain. When I left the last hut in 2020 before sunrise, the weather was bad, my guide and I got lost on the dome du goutier. So yeah, no chance to summit just because I chose the wrong day 9 months prior. The via ferrata wasn’t there, that looks new.

[@larssol1]

Savage, bruhs 🎉 congrats 🎉

[@demonflyingfox]

Legends

[@willindsey]

Thanks man!

[@WillemExplores]

nicely done bro! I'll be up there next year

[@andydidcott]

Great vid fellas.

[@AllOne95]

Amazing work! Been slowly planning the Mont Blanc to Matterhorn blitz personally

[@willindsey]

Awesome! That's what we did! Took us a year or so to feel like I was ready for all that. Best of luck!

[@SetForAdventures]

Epic truly epic guys 🏔️🇫🇷 (bravo) Regards Simon 🤠👌🏻

[@willindsey]

Thank you!

[@whoisthispianist194]

Can’t believe he said he wasn’t in good shape after that climb. Most humans couldn’t climb 13,000 foot in one day no matter how hard they tried. Amazing effort!

[@somechrisguy]

I think he meant that he currently felt bad, not that his general fitness was poor

[@whoisthispianist194]

@@somechrisguyyou might be right. He said “I’m not in the best shape right now.”

[@willindsey]

Yeah I was not feeling the best at the top. Very tired, slightly spacy, and behind on nutrition. The last push took a lot

[@whoisthispianist194]

@@willindsey does anyone feel good after at 13,000 foot climb? Ever?

[@johnfrigo417]

great video Wil!

[@willindsey]

Thanks man!

[@fenorboi5496]

Hey man i see (I think) that your wearing the La sportive aequilibrium boots just bought a pair and was wondering how you found them on Mont Blanc. What an expedition man fair dues

[@brendanmooney8230]

I'm the guy in the video who was wearing the aequilibriums. Honestly they were very cold from the Gouter hut until the sun came out. I was getting worried I might get some cold weather injuries as my toes started going numb. I may have just tied them too tight but it was definitely approaching the limit of what I would use them for. They are great boots however, very comfortable and they climb well for basic scrambles and steep snow.

[@fenorboi5496]

@ thanks for the response man much appreciated just got them in the post today and they fit like a glove!! Can’t wait to try them out but I’ll make sure to double up my socks if I’m climbing Mont Blanc Ahahha

[@jpk91]

Is there a description somewhere of your layering system? How much of a difference in temperature was there between the valley and the top?

[@willindsey]

I don't have anything posted. It was probably about a 60 degF delta. I went up in lightweight running shorts, put hardshell pants with full length zips before hopping on the glacier. (had thermals if needed). Started in sun hoody to R1 to mid weight jacket to hardshell (for the wind) and then belay jacket at the summit. Extra pair of heavyweight socks that was put on at the Gouter hut. Planned out layers that would be easy to switch out into and knew there were huts to change if needed. hope it helps!

[@jpk91]

@@willindsey Fantastic insight! Thank you!

[@joeldunn2285]

Awesome feat, and gorgeous footy. Random question, do you know the brand of the tan nose guard/shield? I've been looking for one that covers the nostrils as well as the top. Thanks!

[@willindsey]

Yes! The brand is Beko. bxgear.com/

[@brendanmooney8230]

beko nose guards

[@-unbreakeblecow488]

2 questions that I hope they answered! Have you ascended Mont Blanc before with the same route? Like I just find it impossible to follow a new track at night! My other question is , did you guys have to pay for that break at the Hut? from the video it looks like you were there no more than an hour!

[@willindsey]

Hey! First answer is no, that was our first ascent. The boot pack and route was very well marked. Second is that we did not pay for any of the huts. Only were in there for a few minutes and didn't use their services. We did eat at the Tete rousse hut at the bottom.

[@-unbreakeblecow488]

@willindsey thats amazing dude! I think I will follow the same path this summer then, thanks for the guide

[@willindsey]

@@-unbreakeblecow488 awesome! Best of luck! It's all on fitness and training

[@-unbreakeblecow488]

@@willindsey i surn darn hope so, im solo so that can complicate things, i couldnt have lived or done most of my journeys without youtube videos like these , bless

[@julianrenz9890]

So cool, when did you guys ascend Mont Blanc?

[@willindsey]

Glad you enjoyed it! This was back in mid July 2024! Fortunately the grand couloir was still filled in

[@MattD620]

u crazy

[@wilsonluo4830]

Did you go there during the summer time?

[@willindsey]

Yes, we went mid July 2024

[@wilsonluo4830]

@@willindsey Thank you mate, I will try it out in summer 2025. Would you mind share which agency you booked with?

[@willindsey]

We did it unguided and without an agency. We managed all the planning and logistics. Just us on the mountain!

[@charleshood97]

First comment

[@antoniotruong5647]

My favorite fountain pen.

[@ernestfischbach6364]

3:29 nice nose bro

[@gregfromadam]

Very cool … but also very tiring to hear Americans being Americans and talking feets … when you guys will start to be more culture friendly and use the local standards? This is just so tiring

[@brendanmooney8230]

Why can't Americans realize the damage they do while using the Imperial system in a conversation between themselves. Hoping for a swift recovery from the psychic damage that was done to you Greg 🙏🙏🙏