Chamonix Activity Report: 16th August 2009
The weather in Chamonix has been amazing with brilliant blue skies, crazy hot temperatures and lots and lots of people flocking to the valley. This weekend saw the Fetes Des Guides in Argentiere and Chamonix, with great shows performed at both ends of the valley and parties lasting till dawn at each event. It's been a great weekend for those who came to Chamonix, but the fun never stops and there is always a great party or BBQ to go to and of course the many outdoor activities possible in this wonderful valley.
On Friday we went climbing fairly early in the day at La Joux as the days have been pretty hot and we were looking to wrap things up not long after midday when it becomes too hot for us. La Joux is easily accessible by train getting off at La Joux train station and taking the short 10 minute hike to the wall which is just off of the Balcon Sud walking trail and is well sign posted on the way.
It's a great place for beginners, especially if you want to take people fairly new to climbing and have a little bit of peace away from some of the more busier walls. On the other hand, there are some quite tricky climbs in the area as high on the difficulty level as 7b.
We came here with the intent of climbing some of the more technical routes, although we didn't do anything as hard as 7b. There are a few routes on the right hand section of this wall which we had a go at and found that a lot of the holds were quite small, so our grip strength was really being pushed to our limits.
As the day went on and the temperature rose, the rock became very greasy almost as if it were sweating as much as we were. So on we went just a little round the corner, (watching out for snakes!) and had a dip in one of the waterfall pools which was very refreshing and quite cold, but on a day like that it was welcomed. Bathing in the pool with the view of Aguille du Chardonet in the background was a lovely end to a half day's climbing!
Yesterday I actually decided to head over to Zermatt, which is only a two hour drive from Chamonix and has the largest summer ski area in Europe. With such hot weather I was eager to get up high and experience some cooler temperatures while having a snowboard in the middle of August. While staying in Chamonix it's fairly easy to organise a trip over to Zermatt either by train from Chamonix or driving yourself, there is also a company called Blue Mile Snowsports which can offer snowboard/ski day trips.
We left very early as the lifts open at 0700hrs and close at 1300hrs and it can take about an hour to get the lifts up to the ski area. You will get some great views on the way up and once at the top you can even see Mont Blanc on a clear day.
In fact you can also do the Haute Route now which is around a five day hike from Chamonix to Zermatt crossing glaciers and stopping in some truly beautiful places on the way. If this is something that interests you, McNab Guiding offers the best guided tour across this amazing terrain.
Once at the top of the ski area we headed over to the Half-Pipe which was a bit hard in the morning, but softened up nicely as the morning went on, making it bit better for any falls we had. You can see why they close the lifts at 13:00, as the snow becomes so soft that people skiing on it end up damaging the piste for the following days. Once we were ushered off the slopes, we caught the lifts back up to come down via the gondolas, but fully contented with the day of snowboarding we had in the height of summer.
A great few days in Chamonix and one in Zermatt. So why not come over to Chamonix and book a day trip over to through Blue Mile Snowsports for some summer skiing or snowboarding!
Don't forget to keep an eye on our What's On Calendar for a full list of events taking place over the summer months.
