As someone who lives at sea level, my goal for day one was to get my body as high as I could to remind it of the upcoming need for acclimatizing. The wondrous thing about the Chamonix valley is there are various conveyances from which to chose. Balancing price, access, and altitude, I chose the Grands Montets lift which would spirit me to almost 3300 metres. With a brief stop at the mid station pictured below, we left sun and warmth below and went into the deep white out above.

Priya, one of my teammates and I, climbed up the set of stairs to the upper observation deck and saw snow, rain, hail, and a wee bit of sun in the hour we spent up there. I was using the method of going high for lunch and hanging out. I’m celebrating 3300 metres below.

Occasionally the clouds would lift and we’d get mini views-such as the group having glacier school below.

An hour of acclimatizing done, we dropped down to the midway station and I headed out to see the Lognon Refuge (like the huts we’ll be staying in with anywhere from 6-20 in the room) and the glacier beside it.

Glacial ice, so hard and compact, drops off into the most amazing shapes-just don’t be below when it does.

We’re off to Switzerland and the Orny Hut for a night of acclimatizing, some ice climbing and glacial traverse to bring us back here tomorrow. Thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for there support on this climb. I had a rough night with my throat and cough and hoping to starts to clear up soon-if I cough all night tonight, my hut mates may stick me out in the snow.