Impeding Hitler’s endeavour to capture Mont Blanc – The battle of the Vallée Blanche

A small, conspicuous metal gate is all that guards the high mountains above Chamonix from the hordes of Japanese tourists, eager to capture a glimpse of Western Europe’s highest mountain through the eyes of a lens. Without this selfless guardian, the Col du Midi would be a sea of Hello Kitty trainers, SuperDry jackets and more thumbs up than a picture of Kim Kardashian’s breakfast on Facebook. That is assuming they manage to make it down the ridge! Yet, 71 years ago the scene from the Aiguille du Midi was of a darker nature. Aspirant guides took on the physical form of Terminus to Mont Blanc. Their presence was not to guard against a few harmless tourists, but to keep Mont Blanc from the hands of a growing evil, to keep the Swastika from ever desecrating the summit.

My Top 10 bivis

Sleep...

We all love it, we all need it. A fundamental part of any holiday or trip away is based around where we'll be counting sheep, the rest just falls into place. At the end of the day, all we can think about is getting into a nice comfy bed and closing the day. Some of us can function on very little, which bodes well if you're a climber. For any normal person, a bed, four walls and a roof is the accepted minimum, or standard should I say, if you count going camping as an acceptable holiday, in this case, at least some form of electrical hook up and functioning toilets and showers. But for us 'dirt bag' climbers, who don't deem a bed as 'necessary' and want everything free (even the beer), we'll get our heads down literally anywhere. So here are my top 10 bivis. They aren't ranked from worst to best, more the story behind them and their location. After all, why pay for something which I already have at home?