Chamonix Activity Report: 13th July 2010
Yet more hot sunny weather has been blessing this wonderful valley; even with the threat of big storms coming through the sun has been doing its good work and burning right through the clouds by morning, allowing those who visit Chamonix to have a wonderful day doing which ever activity they choose.
There are many things to do in Chamonix during the summer, even more so than in the winter! For every activity there is a guide that can show you where best to go, and how best to do it. They will cater for your ability levels and can provide good advice on equipment etc. so if you're thinking about coming over and want to get the best out of your mountain time then book a guide, there are many companies that operate in the valley, like Evolution 2, McNab guiding, and many more.
Yesterday we went for a downhill bike ride at Le Tour and Vallorcine, with all the lifts now open over there it seemed like a good time to check it out and have a little look at the tricky track which descends in to Vallorcine. Le Tour and Vallorcine are great mountains to ride for any level of rider, with much more varied terrain to choose from so you can get down the hill focussing on your technique on some of the narrower sections, or take it a little easier or just ride faster more comfortably down the wider trails.
We headed over to the lift eagerly getting our kit and lift passes together ready for a good day out. Once up the bubble lift you can choose to descend on the lower trails to get in to it, or head on up the chair lift and explore what else is available. Eager to get going we made our way up the chair lift to the top where you can choose from two sections to descend - easy or hard! We chose easy! The hard trail is very narrow with a lot of tricky switch backs on the route; we went for the wider paths and decided to take them at speed. You do have to watch out for walkers when using the wider trails, especially when we are going in to high season and there are a lot of people in town.
After a couple of shots down the front section at Le Tour we took the lift back up and headed round on the trail to Vallorcine. This side of the resort also has two options; a world cup pro line pretty much going straight down through the trees, or the easier wider trails which descend in to the village of Vallorcine. There are a lot more trees round this way and the views are spectacular. We went down the easier trail dipping on to the hard section where we felt like we could have a little go and still get off the route if we liked. There are some really steep sections in the harder route and some good things to play on like jumps, banks, north shore , and the like so if you're really in to your downhill you should definitely check this side out when in the valley.
Once in to the village it was time to stop and grab a quick ice cream at the café before heading back up the lift and riding back down the trails to Le Tour, where we found ourselves a lot more tired than what we thought, so we returned home for a bit of grub and an early night.
Well, if you are out in Cham today make sure you get on down to the place du Mont Blanc for the final of the world cup climbing competition; there is going to be a great party and some great climbing to witness so don't miss it if you are in good old Chamonix!
For more information about lift price information and parking check out the Vallée Blanche skiing article on this website.
Check out our Mountain Guide Listings for contact details of local guiding and activity companies.
Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!
