David Burton-Pye: My Mont Blanc Adventure

David Burton-Pye MBE Dip TP, IHBC, is a Historic Environment Consultant who spent the majority of his career in local government with South Staffs District Council and the last 13 years as a consultant.

After many years walking/climbing mountains in England, Wales and Scotland, David decided in 2006 to take on the challenge of Europe's highest peak to coincide with his 55th birthday. An article in a well known outdoor magazine at the time described it as follows: "Saying that Mont
Blanc is 'easy' is a bit like saying swimming the English Channel is just like going for a swim" and so it proved. After acclimatisation on various mountains in the vicinity over a period of 8/9 days (with each day more challenging than the one before) the summit of Mont Blanc at a little under 16,000 ft was hard going but worth it for sensational views of the spectacular surroundings. Glorious photographs and amusing insights into an exciting trip which entailed ascents of more than 27,000 feet with descents of some 25,000 feet over distances of almost 50 miles