National Geographic Traveller (UK)
Festival highlights
Mountaineering clinics
Learn new alpine skills with group tuition from professional mountain guides.
Activities include everything from glacier trekking and ice climbing to crevasse rescue and big wall climbing. For beginners the level 1 mountaineering course is a perfect introduction to alpinism, with lessons on how to use crampons and ice axes safely, while intermediates can sign up for more technical pursuits such as multi-pitch climbing and alpine bivvying.
Film nights
Featuring the very best of adventure filmmaking, including world premieres, the festival’s outdoor cinema is the ideal place to unwind after a long day of glacier trekking or trail running. Located in the town square at Place du Triangle de l’Amitié, under a dramatic skyline of jagged peaks, the atmosphere is relaxed and informal. An outdoor bar serves cold beers and local wines, and rows of deckchairs face the big screen — 2023’s lineup of inspirational films will be announced soon.
‘Do right’ clinics
Give something back to the mountains with these climate change-themed seminars. Help repair erosion, cut back vegetation, renew signs and build stone-pitched stairs with Chamonix valley’s trail maintenance team, or learn from research scientists about how unprecedented glacial melting is changing life in the Alps forever. Or, some gentle action for nature-lovers, take part in a group botanical survey, identifying the flora and fauna of the Mont Blanc massif.
Live music & guest speakers
It might be summer in the Alps, but you can still indulge in some après fun. The festival village hosts daily guest speakers, including talks from the world’s top alpinists, as well as a programme of live music.
Last year’s musical highlight (both literally and figuratively) was The Scene concert at Planpraz, 6,562ft above sea level, with high-profile DJs and artists rocking the crowd in front of an eye-watering Mont
Blanc panorama.