Chamonix Apres Ski Report: 14th July 2011
Well summer is officially here the weather is beautiful and town is full to bursting with all the visitors. There is plenty keeping us busy during the day with biking, hiking and climbing and there is even more to keep us busy afterwards.
Fete de la Musique was a great start to the summer despite the weather and it was good to see plenty of people celebrating down Rue du Moulin. There was some great live music and DJ tunes being played and even in the rain many of you still managed to keep going to the wee hours of the morning. It was definitely a good warm up night for the summer parties ahead.
Hotel Le Vert has been busy this summer and is now open at lunchtimes. I would highly recommend popping down for a walk round the lake followed by the Plat du Jour. There is lots to choose from; duck wraps, home-made quiches, it's excellent value for money and very very tasty. Friday nights are proving to be very popular as well with free chicken wings being served from 6pm.
Sunday saw the start of the climbing festival in town. This is an international event that is held every year in Chamonix and attracts the best climbers in the world, head down to the square in town to watch some of them in action. My favourite event to watch is the difficulty competition and the finals for this are on Wednesday night. The speed climbing is also not to be missed and is incredible to watch as the competitors scale the 15 metre wall in seconds. On the Tuesday and Wednesday there is also a market set up by the climbing competition. The market brings together about 20 exhibitors during two days. There are stalls for everybody: candies, sports equipment, and well-being products. Then on Wednesday evening to celebrate the end of the festival there is a spectacular fireworks display. This is a great way to start the celebrations for Bastille Day which is on the 14th July.
Bastille Day brings with it the opening of a new bar/restaurant in Les Houches, the Kitsch Inn. It's situated in the car park of the Bellevue lift and looks like it's going to be a great addition to the Aprés entertainment in Les Houches. Thursday is the start of their four-day opening weekend and the festivities kick off at 6pm. Iye 95 and the SoundOfNow aka Corin and Joe will be keeping the tunes flowing as well as live music and plenty of food and drinks. Friday is the opening night of their restaurant with traditional French and English cuisine. Saturday is the day for Bikers and Hikers, and there will be breakfasts, BBQ's and their first guest Chef serving up Italian delights. Then, finally finishing up on Sunday with live music from the Ski Sundaes starting at 5pm, Sunday roasts and arts and crafts for the kids. It will definitely be a fun filled four days and worth heading down to check it out.
There is plenty more going on over the coming weeks so enjoy the climbing festival and the sunshine and I'll start finding where the next good party is.
Editor's note: So, that's it for winter 2010/2011 then! We hope you've enjoyed reading our reports as much as we've enjoyed writing them and we look forward to bringing you more up-to-date info next season.
You can read all of our reports from this season and previous ones by using the “Archived Reports” box in the top right-hand corner. In the meantime, there will occasional interseason updates and be sure to check back around the beginning of June when our summer reports start up again, bringing you regular updates on local events and activities.
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