FKT: Anna DeMonte - Mont Blanc (France) - 2024-06-05

The women's FKT for skiing. The style to carry all my own gear (skis, crampons, axe, etc) from start to finish was really important to me. I did take water and nutrition on route, style overall was consistent with past male ski FKTs. The women’s running record from Hillary Gerardi (7:25) is what I used to aim my time for despite doing via a different method (on skis). The mountain was extremely icy and conditions were not ideal for uphill skinning and this significantly slowed me down. I ended up losing an edge on the way up and sliding 100ish feet down the mountain above the Grand Mulet hut. I almost bailed after the fall but kept going. And, though conditions were difficult on the up, the downhill ski portion was very ideal. Running from the church to snow line and then from snow line back to the church was brutal with skis on back. It's now September and I still have a scar on my back from the skis+boots cutting into my back while running. This route is amazing, but I definitely know this time can be at least 45 minutes faster given better conditions.