Mt. Blanc du Tacul - A big mountain, some wine and a lot of French

“11:30 pm… Shit you have got to be kidding me!”

Visions of death and nagging demons were keeping me awake.

It was the night of our summit push on Mt. Blanc du Tacul. This was bad. Not only am I not sleeping before our 3am alpine start but I didn’t sleep more than a couple hours the night before. “Why” you ask? Well, I have been curious of my “acclimation speed” because I was fine the previous year in Wyoming. The difference being I had started out with Diamox. Was it the drugs or my body that acclimated quickly? That was my question. So No drugs on this trip and lets see how I feel. At 11,000+ feet I had a slight headache that was annoying the hell out of me. I also wondered if it was not due partly to a lack of caffeine. So I had a bowl of coffee. Yes a bowl, that is what the French served us in our “mountain refuge.”

The mountain refuges dot the landscape everywhere in the alps. These are typically inhabited with “climbers”, skiers and snow boarders. However for this time of year there were only “climbers.” And yes I have quotation marks on purpose. Most climbers in the Alps have guides and are probably a couple steps below even a weekend warrior. The refuges made great 3 course meals for dinner and a very un-American breakfast. Toast alone a breakfast does not one make! Anyways, my internal clock was still on U.S. time and I unwittingly drank my bowl of coffee at 8pm… I did however fall asleep around 3am. So, a day and a half of acclimation and less than 6 hours sleep over 2 days.