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Climbing Mt Blanc Goutier route... Aug 2010

This route can be very difficult in adverse weather conditions. Crossing the Grand Couloir was scary as the path is now about 15 meters above the cable and lots of rock fall. By the time we got to the Goutier hut with heavy camping packs and food for 3 or 4 days, the weather had deteriorated so we opted for the comfort of a very crowded mountain hut. There was nobody camping above 3800meters . Over the next 3 days we sat out some ice storms with high winds It was incredible to see climbers make it up and down to the hut in such conditions .the cables that help on the steep sections were frozen and draped with icicles .One young man from Manchester who climbed alone was so exhausted when he arrived, he collapsed and was then very emotional. .On day 4 we had good weather so at 4 am we went for the summit. It was a moonlit night and we made it in 5 hours. .There was a very serious incident on the summit ridge shortly into our decent. The ridge is normally about half a meter wide and half a meter deep , because of the fresh snowfall the ridge was now flush with a steep fall at either side .We were four tied together when No4 had a failed ice-axe arrest and  went over the edge No3 on the line held him. Well I suppose our safety drill did work. However it is scary to see a man hanging on a rope with a 2 mile drop. The route down from the Goutier was v hard lots of icy rock crampons and abseil on many sections .One night in Tete Rouse hut. And then Navigate through icy fog until we got below the cloud and onto the tree line. Mt Blanc can be easier than this; I have climbed it 3 times. If anybody asks me what its like to climb Its hard.  Michael Whelan (MZ)

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28th January 2009:

MARK POLLOCK, the first blind Irishman to reach the South Pole, says he is looking forward to returning home to “eat hamburgers”.

Pollock, who was born in Hollywood, Co Down, and lives in Dublin, has achieved this historic goal 10 years after losing his sight.

With team-mates Simon O’Donnell from Dublin and Norwegian Inge Solheim, he completed the final stages of a 1,000km ski race yesterday evening and was due to spend last night sleeping in a tent in minus 40 degrees Celsius.

He is due to return home via Cape Town, South Africa, later this week.

The trio were among six teams which took part in the first Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race, which had been staged to mark almost a century since Norwegian Roald Amundsen reached the southernmost position on the globe in 1911.

Irish adventurer Sir Ernest Shackleton turned back from his attempt on the South Pole 100 years ago this month. The first Irishman to reach the pole was Kerry mountaineer Mike Barry five years ago on January 2004.

Commenting on Pollock’s achievement yesterday, Barry said that it was a “tremendous feat for anybody, but particularly for someone with a visual impairment. You spend so much of your time just trying to keep warm, and the difficulties in organising your gloves and your gear would be so much greater in Mr Pollock’s case,” Barry said.

Pollock, who is in his early 30s and is a motivational speaker, spoke on his website yesterday of how he stopped several times in the previous 24 hours and felt he couldn’t continue – but did.

He ate “endless chocolate” and still lost several stone in weight, he said. His team-mate Simon O’Donnell suffered frostbite on both hands, face and ear and was treated for this en route.

Norwegian guide and mountaineer Inge Solheim, who has been to the North Pole nine times and Antarctica four times, was in “very good shape”.

Pollock decided to participate in the challenge to mark 10 years since losing his sight at the age of 22. He has won medals rowing for Northern Ireland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, has completed six marathons in one week in China’s Gobi Desert, and has competed against British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes in the North Pole marathon.

The Irish-Norwegian trio, named South Pole Flag, came fifth among six teams competing in the South Pole Race which started on January 4th last. 06th-July-2010     mark has serious accident more>>>

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Carrauntoohil

May 2009 Devil's ladder should be avoided >>> more

Congratulations

Congratulations to MountainZone who took the three top prises in a recent photo competition.held by the Comeragh Mountaineering Club.Michael Whelan took 1ST prise in the Mountain Landscape and 1ST and 2nd in the Mountain Activity section The winning entries can be viewed here more

Acknowledgement 

MountainZone would like to thank Waterford Sports Partnership for the excellent and informative training course it provided in Level 3 REC. This first aid course gives participants the confidence and skills to deal with a casualty over a long period of time in a remote environment

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Mt Toubkal    2011