From the 14th to the 28th of August 2022, 10 students and 4 staff from Cambridge University Officer Training Corps took part in a hiking expedition, aiming to complete the famous Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB).
Although in the end an outbreak of D & V among the team forced us to restructure our plans, the group still emerged at the end of the trip having hiked almost 100 miles, each with individual having gained a new appreciation for the importance of physical & mental resilience and strength.
Although the group did not complete the TMB, the officer cadets and staff should still be proud of their achievements, as all were forced to show their aptitude in leadership, problem solving, and teamwork throughout this unique and unpredictable expedition.
Background
The TMB is a world-famous walking trail that circumnavigates the mountain Mont Blanc. It is 110 miles in length, and passes through three countries: France, Switzerland, and Italy. Starting from a base in Chamonix, the team aimed to complete the trek in 9 days, staying in refuges and campsites situated around the mountain. During the hike they would be carrying 6-10 kilograms of kit, including clothes, sleeping bags and other necessities that would be required on the walk. Although a large proportion of the students had never touched a pair of walking poles, and were relatively inexperienced in long distance hiking, the team was nonetheless confident in their ability to attempt the famous walk.
Hiking is both mentally and physically challenging: the team faced hostile weather (both hot and cold), physical fatigue, and often mental tiredness, as a result of the 8 hours of walking per day that took place. Throughout this expedition they would work towards developing long-term resilience, teamwork, and leadership in the face of physical and environmental adversity.
However, alongside these issues, each member of the team also developed markedly. Although many of them had never met before, over the next two weeks they were forced to come together. Whether it was trusting in people to navigate and prepare food, or the time shared together hiking endlessly on an unforgiving mountainside, the students and staff all came out of the project as a much closer group, having made friends and had a lot of fun.
Day by Day
14th – 16th
The team met up on the 14th of August and began to get to know one another. Large amounts of planning, admin and preparation took place. As the group began packing their tents and sleeping bags, and seeing the shockingly small amount of kit that Major Wilson planned to take, the true scale and challenge of the task that faced us was starting to become apparent.
The first challenge, however, was the journey. The group left at 0430 on the morning of the 15th and didn’t arrive until late in the day. Split into two buses and isolated for 16 hours, the team arrived in Chamonix tired, sore, and having got to know each other a little better. After pitching our tents in the dark we settled in for a rest and acclimatisation day on the 16th.
The 16th, whilst having nothing to do with walking, did reveal a second potential issue that faced us- the language. It was manifestly clear that potentially only two of us out of fourteen had any chance at holding any sort of conversation in French, as a member of our group eloquently illustrated when he said,
‘Je suis une sprite, s’il vous plait.’
- Ocdt Ellison
However, after a day of more preparation, bad French and conversation, the group had dinner together on a barbeque, and went to bed feeling ready to take on the walk the next day.
17th -18th
The first two days of walking were a complete success and managed to lull us into a false sense of security. After setting off from les Houches and despite heavy rainfall, the team were off to a seemingly perfect start. The first day consisted of walking along forested valleys, and trailing rivers. Although the first day was our longest, we arrived at our campsite feeling good. After a night of heavy rainfall, we set off early the next morning.
On the second day we were faced with a very heavy climb, and we reached the highest point of our expedition at 2700 metres. Though this was easily the most difficult part of our walk so far, the views that we received were incredible. We also began to work on our leadership that day, as two Officer cadets were asked to pair up and present a navigational brief to our leader. This was a pattern that continued throughout our walk and led to a great development in everyone’s presentation and leadership skills. Despite the incline and difficult weather, we arrived at the refuge mottets in high spirits, and feeling confident to take on the rest of the walk.
‘This expedition brought everyone together. When things got tough, we all helped each other out. Planning the routes in pairs help us to develop our teamwork and then leading each leg of the TMB helped develop our leadership.’
- Ocdt. Ellison
Motets provided us with our first taste of Mont Blanc refuges. Sleeping in a barn with a corrugated iron roof, and placed in ten to a bed, we were forced to adapt to a mountain lifestyle quickly. Furthermore, when our clothes that were hung out to dry were found wetter than when we left them, we realised that there was going to be more to success in this trip than simply walking.
19th – 22nd
It was during these days, in the Italian section of our walk, that our situation began to deteriorate. Although only one member of our group was sick previously, in the barn in the refuge Motets, in the next few days nine out of fourteen members of our group would go down with D & V. Although we had no idea where we got it from, it was clear that we were no longer able to carry on with the walk safely.
Eventually, our leader 2nd Lt. Hall took the difficult but correct decision for the group to relocate to our base in Chamonix, where we would be closer to medical facilities, more familiar with our surroundings, and able to selectively rest and quarantine people as required. Although, at the time, everyone was disappointed to abandon our progress, it was undoubtedly a good decision, as to carry on would only risk the health of the team, and really only be an attempt to complete the walk out of pride.
‘The most challenging point of the expedition from a leadership perspective was taking the decision to stop and return back to base. Ultimately, with support from the Mountain Leaders, I decided that to prioritise the safety of the team. In order to maximise our chances of finishing the TMB together, I took the decision to return to Chamonix by bus. I had to make a conscious effort to separate my personal desire to complete the walk, from my job as leader being foremost one of protecting my team. This was definitely the most challenging part of the trip, especially as I myself was unwell, and we were in an isolated location on a Sunday’
- 2nd Lt. Hall
On the 22nd, after a bus journey back to Chamonix, the ill members of the walk rested at our campsite base in Chamonix, whilst the 2 remaining healthy members went for a one-day expedition up a glacier.
‘As the only surviving members of the original expedition, we resolved to push on to the mouth of the Mer de Glace. Spurred on by a steady stream of anecdotes provided by W02 Dovibua, we made it to the glacier and were rewarded with some brilliant photo opportunities as well as being faced with the sad reality of just how much the glacier had declined in the last 200 years’
- Ocdt. Story
23rd -25th
Over the next three days the group set out from the campsite in Chamonix and completed the latter half of the walk in France, each day returning to the campsite, where those that were ill were left behind. On the 23rd, the group went up to Col de Balme, where we stepped over the border into Switzerland, and also were given a view of the entire valley. Through this three-day period, we walked up to le Lac Blanc, a picturesque lake at 2,350m altitude, and eventually all the way down to our starting point in les Houches, where we enjoyed a drink to celebrate our finish.
26th-28th
Finally, after all the walking was done, the team enjoyed one day of rest and enjoyment in the town of Chamonix, where the Ultra TMB was being held. As the runners set off to do what we attempted in 9 days in 36 hours, we enjoyed a final team meal, followed by speeches and gifts of wine from the group to the instructors. It was at this meal where it became apparent how we as a group had bonded, and the contrast from the unfamiliar start of the trip was apparent.
Following that final night, we left early in the morning of the 27th , and began our 12-hour drive home.
Reflections
Looking back over our expedition, it is clear that the walking was actually not the thing that caused the most difficulty. If anyone came on only one day of our walk, even with kit, they would say it was tiring, but not impossibly difficult. The real difficulty came from the repetition of getting up, packing up, navigating, and walking every day for multiple days. The perseverance and discipline to remain level-headed, focussed, and enthusiastic after days of walking and making decisions was the real difficulty. The team in this aspect did extremely well, and under sustained difficult circumstances remained enthusiastic and collected, completing 7 out of the 9 days of the walk: over 95 miles.
Everyone on the trip had the opportunity to make leadership decisions, to problem solve and to navigate, and everyone showed skill in a variety of areas. Every member of the group can be proud of their personal experiences, and how they went about attempting this feat under difficult circumstances. Exceptional praise must go to the leadership group of the trip, who made critical decisions and handled complex situations with decisiveness and clarity.
Therefore, although we did not fully complete the TMB, each and every member of our team undoubtedly gained something valuable and positive from the experience, and we look forward to attempting it again.
We are all very grateful to the Ulysses Trust and our other donors for their support which helped to make this expedition possible.
