Chamonix Activity Report: 14th August 2007
We were well and truly deserted by the sunshine last week; rain, cloud and generally overcast skies were pretty much the pattern from Monday through Friday. The final straw came on Thursday when, along with the rest of the Alps, we awoke to fresh snow above 2000m and temperatures hovering not much above zero! At only 1050m, thankfully, Chamonix did not get snow in the town but we were deluged with heavy rain for the entire day and it remained unseasonably cold. On some of the higher mountain passes (in particular the Col d'Iseran above Val d'Isere), the snow was knee deep in places, causing a number of vehicles to get trapped at the top. Even once the snow plough had passed through to clear the road, it remained too slippery for non-equipped vehicles to make it down and the stranded motorists ended up being rescued at 3am by a shuttle bus!
Thankfully though, the sunshine returned for the weekend enabling us to get out and about a bit, which after a relatively sedentary week was welcome relief. We didn't plan to venture terribly far, so decided to take a little stroll up to the Chalet des Bossons, which is hidden in the forest on the right hand side of the Bossons glacier, right at the base of the ice. In previous years, access to the chalet was made considerably easier by the Bossons chairlift that runs from the ski jump in Les Bossons to just below the chalet. According to the information en route, this two-seater chair was built in the late 1950's and is now the oldest chairlift in France. This year however, it's not operating as it requires significant technical maintenance to bring it up to safety standards and it seems that the maintenance work is going to cost a considerable amount of €s. There is currently an ongoing battle between those who don't believe that the lift justifies that kind of investment, and those who don't feel that a piece of Chamonix history should be left to rust.
So this summer, to get up to the chalet you need to go on foot and you can pick up the footpath from the parking at the base of the lift. It's a good path that starts off very steeply at first but then evens out to a gentler gradient after the first 350m. They have information panels all the way up that point out various interesting facts about the surroundings that it's worth paying attention to, because at the chalet, they are running a little competition to win a scenic flight based on the information that you've read en route.
Once there (1-1.5 hrs), the chalet itself is beautiful and has the most amazing views of the glacier from its terrace. There are also various aircraft parts on display that have been salvaged from planes that have crashed into the glacier over the years and been churned out by the ice further down. The most famous ones are the Malabar Princess and the Kangchenjunga, which both crashed just below the top of Mont Blanc in the 50's and 60's. Last November yet more perfectly preserved artefacts from these crashes were discovered in the ice, more than 50 years later.
From the chalet it is possible to continue up the ridge to the Chalet des Pyramides (another 1.5 hrs) and the Gite à Balmat (the route of the first ascent of Mont Blanc) and eventually the Jonction (approx 3 hrs). The path weaves up through the forests giving you spectacular views of the Taconnaz glacier to the right and the Bossons glacier to the left, but after the Chalet des Pyramides, the route gets considerably more difficult and is more suited to experienced mountain walkers. If you don't feel like such an energetic walk then definitely follow the trail that climbs up above the Chalet des Bossons, where there are some amazing photographs and information panels (in French only) documenting the growth and erosion of the Bossons glacier over the years.
Over the next couple of days we're looking forward to the Fete des Guides, one of the biggest events of the summer calendar. I mentioned it briefly last week and have been watching with interest as the area around Les Gaillands has been prepared. The route des Gaillands has been closed to through traffic since the weekend so that big stage for Wednesday's concert can be put in place. Three popular French artists are playing from 8pm – Riké, Ridan and Max Romeo and tickets can be bought in advance from the Bureau des Guides or the Tourist Office or on the door for €20. Today though, an official ceremony honouring the members of the Compagnie des Guides will take place in Argentiere, and this is followed by the “Grand Spectacle” on the Gaillands climbing wall this evening. Each year on August 14th, the local guides put on a climbing display to a fabulous light and sound show, demonstrating modern climbing expertise and glimpses of more traditional methods. This is followed by a huge firework display and a live music concert that continues on into the small hours and draws up to 10 000 spectators. For the last couple of years the whole event has unfortunately been cancelled due to heavy rain, but this week it looks like we're in luck and will have the perfect weather for it!
Still plenty more events coming up in Cham over the next few weeks with the >North Face Ultra Trail being the next biggie. And if you do luck out on the weather for a day or two, the Alpine Museum and Espace Tiarraz are both great options for wet weather activities and don't forget that the Chamonix cinema also has regular showings of some of the latest releases in English.
But that's enough rain talk, the sun is shining and we're going to make the most of it!
Piste Maps for Chamonix (pdf format), Les Houches (jpg format), Cross-country skiing (pdf format), and Mountain-bike trails (pdf format)
Current status for opening of Pistes & Lifts
Chamonix Webcam Index
Useful Links
Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research
French Avalanche Research Institute
Meteo France - Mountain weather and avalanche conditions bulletins (in French)
Henry's Avalanche Talk - popular avalanche training sessions based in French Alps as well as translation of current avalanche conditions
PisteHors.com - Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding News in English for the French Alps. Excellent coverage of avalanche safety and advice
Additional snow and weather information provided, with thanks, by meteo.chamonix.com and the Tourist Office
