Linqia Star at the top of Europe

The team has been using the metaphor of mountain climbing to track the progress towards our quarterly goals at Linqia. This gave me the idea to take it a step further and to attempt the ascension of Mont Blanc whose 4,808m summit makes it the highest mountain of Europe.

I took the opportunity of a long weekend in June to leave the office and to head up north with David and Octavi, two friends from the Club Excursionista de Gracia. Taking into consideration the unusual quantity of snow at that time of the year and the associated risks of avalanches, we decided to go for one of the classic routes of Mont Blanc called The Voie des Cristalliers.

We arrived in Chamonix on Saturday morning (21/06) where we had breakfast (yummy French croissant are so good) followed by a short session of shopping (boots, gloves and climbing gear). We then drove to Les Houches, a ski resort located at 6km from Chamonix, where we left the car and started the ascent towards the Nid d'Aigle. After 4 hours of walking, we arrived at the Refuge de Tête Rousse (3,167m) where we spent the night. I keep wonderful memories of the landscape at sun set.

On Sunday morning (22/06), we left the refuge around 8:00AM as the snow was still hard and this facilitated the ascent towards the next shelter called Le Refuge du Goûter (3,817m). That section was the most difficult (and fun) part of the route with a mix of snow and rock climbing. I would have loved going down and going up again. During the afternoon, we practised crevasse rescue in a safe place above the refuge. One of use would simulate a fall on icy slope while the other two would rescue him. On Sunday night, we went to bed at around 8:00PM as we would have to wake up at 2:00AM the following morning. We did not sleep very well due to the altitude and of the promiscuity in the dormitory.

On Monday (23/06), we were out of bed at 2:00AM sharp, ready for a quick breakfast and eager to reach the top of Europe. There were about 75 people in refuge and everybody was busy to get equipped with the usual gear including harness, crampons and ice axes.

We got out of the refuge at 2:40AM and started the walk following the headlamps of people who had left shortly before us. I was so excited to walk at night in such a peaceful environment. I could not see the surrounding mountains but I could feel their energy and I had a lot of respect for their majesty. We reached the Dôme du Goûter (4,304m) within 1.5 hour and headed towards the Vallot cabin before attacking L'arrête des Bosses, the ridge that leads to the summit. The wind was blowing a lot while we were exposed on the ridge.

We eventually reached the top of Mont Blanc at 7:10AM. I felt very happy to get to the top with David and Octavi. We walked at the same rhythm supporting each other during the whole ascension. We stayed on the summit during 15 minutes, enough time to contemplate the scenery towards Italy, Switzerland and France and to take a few pictures.


Unfortunately, it was time to go down. I would have loved staying there a bit longer but we were getting cold and there was a long way back to sea level.

The ascension of Mont Blanc means a lot to me. I wanted to do for a long time, actually since I saw it for the first time in 2000, and I am proud to have done without a guide and with my Catalan friends. In addition, this personal achievement was a great opportunity to live the Linqia values such as Passionate, Team Player, Fun and Healthy outside the work environment.