Chamonix Activity Report: 15th October 2006

And it has been beautiful too. Back in August and our last reports, it seemed to be a little doom and gloom on the weather front with frequent rainfall and even a generous dusting of snow at altitude. Well September couldn't have been more different, glorious autumnal days and barely a cloud in the sky as the last of the summer visitors drifted away. Even now in mid-October, it is still possible to sit outside in a t-shirt at lunch time (and really easy to get a table!) but there is a definite nip in the air first thing in the morning now. I haven't had to scrape the car windscreen quite yet, but you can tell that it won't be long in coming.

Well the departure of the summer crowds brings with it the arrival of the construction workers as they crack on with town maintenance and renovations during inter-season. The big project at the moment is the re-surfacing of the pedestrianised area in the centre of town. Regular visitors to Chamonix have possibly noticed that some of the quaint cobbled streets have taken a bit of a battering in recent years and many of the cobbles had come loose or were missing altogether. Sadly they weren't ever lovingly repaired and instead the holes were merely stuffed with various different colours of tarmac! Well that is all changing now and phase two of the re-surfacing work is well underway (phase one being Ave Michel Croz, the bulk of which was completed in May). Builders are currently hard at work digging up Place Balmat, Quai d'Arve and Place Saussure and replacing the old cobbles with large new flagstones. In fact if you keep an eye on our Place Balmat webcam, you can just about see what they are up to outside Mojo's Sandwiches.

Another new MGM residence is also under construction at the moment on Ave de la Plage, on the site of the old Devouassoux bell making forge. Although the forge itself has lain derelict for some years now, it was a little sad to see a piece of Chamonix history reduced to rubble and carted off in the back of a truck. The new residence will comprise 7 apartments of 3 to 4 rooms each but the only thing left to hint at the history of the site is the name of the new building - “Villa Sonnailles”.

With Chamonix deep into inter-season at the moment, day trippers are still injecting a welcome bit of life into the town at the weekends, many of whom come to visit the Aiguille du Midi, the only lift in the valley currently still running. Open daily from 8.30am – 4.30pm (last descent), this spectacular peak is still drawing in sizeable crowds of sightseers as well as the usual flow of alpinists. A return ticket costs €36 for adults and €25.20 for children under 11 and the cable car will remain open until November 5th when it will close for a week of maintenance.

However, prior to the lifts in the rest of the valley closing, I mentioned that we'd been out and about doing some fun stuff recently; the absolute highlight of which was doing a tandem paraglide jump with our friends at Summits Paragliding School . If that means absolutely nothing to you, paragliding looks very similar to parachuting but doesn't require a plane, just a high place to take off from……like a mountain (of which there are no shortage of here!). It is hugely popular in the area and there are numerous take off points in the valley depending on the weather, but I flew from Plan Praz on Brevent, the most popular and convenient spot to fly from for Chamonix. I was in the very safe hands of Sean Potts who has been flying in the valley for many years and could put even the most nervous of passenger at ease, explaining the whole process very clearly and calmly with no rush at all. For the flight itself, you wear a surprisingly comfortable “seated” harness that is securely attached to the front of the pilots harness and then the two of you run a few paces down the sloping take-off ground and gracefully lift into the air. There is no “jumping off a mountain” or “flinging” yourself off anything, it is all very smooth; in fact our take off was so smooth that my legs were still going like the clappers before I noticed that we were already a couple of metres off the ground!

The whole experience is wonderful, it feels very secure and comfortable (because you are seated in the harness) and seeing the valley from the air gives you a totally unique perspective. With only the birds for company, you are free to take in the views, take photographs and even take the controls for a while if you wish, whilst gliding through the silence. Pretty much anyone can paraglide from little nippers to your granny, as long as you can run approx 10 metres. When I flew there was a lady taking off just ahead of me who I'd say had been in possession of a bus pass for some years and she clearly loved it! However, don't just take our word for it, when you next here why not try it for yourself - summer or winter. There are a number of paragliding schools in the area that offer flights daily (weather dependent). With Summits, a 20 minute flight from Plan Praz costs €90 and you'll never experience anything else quite like it. We'll shortly be publishing a featured article on paragliding in the valley that will give you more detail on what a tandem flight involves, where you can fly and how you can learn to fly yourself if you get hooked (which is quite likely!). In the mean time, if you'd like to see some more paragliding photographs of the valley then take a look at our gallery as Sean has kindly submitted some amazing images from his own flights.

For those of you who prefer to keep your feet on terra firma, October is also a fantastic time of year to hike in the valley. With cool, clear days and the trails pretty much to yourself, it's the perfect way to watch the changing of the seasons. As long as you don't mind an extra couple of hours effort to get up to the higher trails now that the lifts are closed, you will usually be rewarded with many animal sightings as they prepare for the onset of winter. Also bear in mind that the refuges are generally closed at this time of year so go equipped with a good picnic. We have some suggested hiking itineraries detailed here but don't forget to check out the condition of your route with the Office de la Haute Montagne before you go, just in case of early snowfall.