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Chamonix Activity Report: 15th October 2007

featured in Activity reviews Author Helen McGrory, Chamonix Reporter Updated

Shall I start off by mentioning the rugby?? France vs Les Rostbifs. It goes without saying that the atmosphere in town on Saturday night was fantastic, as every rugby fan, patriot and anyone who likes an excuse for a beer really, was out in force. Our preferred venue for watching the rugby this summer has been the huge screen at Le Pub, although the Vagabond has also got a big screen up and a good crowd, as has Le Vert down in Les Gaillands and the ice rink in the centre of town. As it's interseason, the Pub is only open for the matches themselves but you certainly have to get in early to get a prime spot. Last week I arrived once the French match was already underway but I'd gathered we were in for an exciting one by all the cheering and yelling I could hear coming from every other apartment en route through town! On Saturday, the Frenchies probably had the upper hand in terms of numbers of supporters in the Pub, but after 80 minutes of good natured banter and taunting between the two nations (“Allez les Bleues!” vs “Allez les Blancs!”), they soon piped down at the final whistle.

However, not ones to let defeat on the pitch ruin a Saturday night out, celebrations/commiserations carried on well into the small hours with a closing party at Munchies restaurant on Rue des Moulins. Probably a familiar name with many of you as one of the tastiest restaurants in town – teriyaki duck ring any bells? – the service can sometimes be a bit slow but at least you know it's always worth the wait! Well they saw their season off in style with one of the best parties of the summer, accompanied by the funky tunes of DJ Pico, who has also been a regular feature in Le Pub on Friday nights for the last few months. Rest assured, Munchies will re-open it's doors around mid-December and no doubt with some delicious new dishes to tuck into.

Suitably sore heads the next morning meant that gentle activity was required on Sunday, and as promised in last weeks report, I popped back down to Servoz to check out the Foire aux Moutons to catch up on what's new in the world of sheep. Well it seems that wool is still very much in for this winter and the truly fashion conscious sheep is also sporting some pretty impressive sets of horns. Thankfully, all the sheep were safely contained in their pens so there were no close brushes with aforementioned horns. One poor sheep however, appeared to be a raffle prize and so spent the afternoon being carted around in a wheeled crate being sold off at €2 a ticket. I hope he went to a good home in the end and didn't find himself en route to any acquaintances of Gordon Ramsey!

It was a really nice afternoon out actually, especially for families, as apart from the sheep, there were also goats & rabbits for children to pet, traditional dancers and stalls selling local produce. Whilst the cheese and the crepes were delicious, I sampled one of the most truly disgusting things I have ever put in my mouth! It looked like a ball of deep fried stringy porridge and fair enough, that should have been the point where I stopped, but when in Rome and all that….. Anyway, the name of this “delicacy” is escaping me at the moment but you can be sure I will recognise it from 10 paces next time and steer well clear! So, in an effort to purely take the nasty taste away……I found the cider stand :O) Freshly pressed apple juice made right there and then in traditional wooden presses. On a hot Sunday afternoon, they could barely keep up with demand as the deliciously sweet liquid was decanted into all forms of re-cycled plastic bottles for €2 a pop. Word on the street is that is turns into cider in about 3 days so I'll be keeping an eye on it before it explodes in my fridge!

There have been a few rather random things going on in town this week and on the way back from the tax meeting for foreign residents (I'll put some more details about that on the site later in the week), I was sidetracked by two men carving huge logs with chain saws outside the Tourist Office! It was quite incredible actually; a) the detail they achieved on the finished pieces and, b) how quickly they could churn these “objets d'art” out. Eagles, owls, tortoises, mushrooms; it seems there was no end to the array of flora and fauna that they could create with the flick of a chain saw. The guys doing it were from Davos in Switzerland, one of towns that Chamonix is twinned with, along with Aspen (USA), Garmish Partenkirchen (GER), Fujiyoshida (JAP), Cilaos (La Reunion) and Courmayeur (ITA). The town hosts various events from time to time with its twin towns – the Oompa band from Garmish that perform in their lederhosen every summer being another example.

Well, it looks like we're in for a drop in temperature towards the end of this week as the north wind is heading our way. Shame to say goodbye to this beautiful weather we've been having, but I suppose it has to go sometime so that the ground can cool down in readiness for the winter. Part of the knock on from the beautiful autumn we had last year was that when the snow did start to fall, the ground wasn't frozen enough and so it soon melted. Well, we can't really complain about the weather we've had this summer (at least not in comparison to some places!!), so if the winter's on its way, then bring it on!

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Closed
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

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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