Les Trois Monts

One of the classic routes to the summit of Europe, I climbed it in 2010, and descended it in 2012.
Yesterday my good friend Tim bagged his first summit of MB breaking trail through fresh snow. Good effort.

Most groups start from the Cosmiques Refuge which is in the col far left. Then it's up and across Mont Blanc du Tacul (most parties skip the summit in ascent) over the shoulder of Mont Maudit and onto Mont Blanc. From a lot of angles it's hard to make out all three summits, but the little crag of l'Arses offers a superb view.

Then this afternoon I went for a swim. Our apartment is right next to the pool, but until this year that's not held much interest for me. But... OMG, amazing. The water is uv treated so no chemicals and it was sooooo clear. Wonderfully the water was 29.6°C and the air temp 30.4°C so it was really a pleasure. Totally in the zone in a near empty pool with excellent swimming etiquette I cruised 2500m and only stopped as I'd plans to go into the village and watch a friend play guitar. Beer may also have been involved.

Today's extra is for FairweatherGirl as she's the only blipper I know who likes spiders as much as me. As my fabulous id book is back in the UK I'm going to tentatively say this is an Oakleaf Orb Weaver, but I'm sure FWG will know...