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Alpine Crossing 2013 – Day 10: Montenvers – Refuge de Requin

Today we got up at 7am. We had a typical french breakfast – a croissant and a coffee :-) After reorganizing and packing the bag again we met Gianni – our guide – at 8:20 at the train station. At first we climb down a via ferrata 300m until we reach the glacier Mer de Glace. The ice is melting very quickly – so every year the ladders of the via ferrata have to be extended by several meters. On the glacier we put on the crampons and the rope. At the beginning the glacier is not very steep. Later this changes and a labyrinth of crevasses opens up. We now need much more time to find our way. Some crevasses are 2 meters wide and hundreds of meters deep. We cannot see down to the ground. It is like a black hole – scary… Some crevasses are still covered by snow. The snow forms a bridge across the crevasses which may or may not carry ones weight…you never know… After 4 hours walking on the glacier we do a short break and then go another via ferrata upwards. After an hour we climbed about 400m and finally arrived at the hut. Several hours we still had the quite strong sun before another thunderstorm arrived. From the hut we have a great view on the ice fall.

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