Chamonix Activity Report: 17th September 2011

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The inter-season is obviously a lot quieter and most of the lifts are closed, but if you love mountains it's still a good time to pop over and witness the seasons change. A simple stroll up the hill or cross country bike ride is so tranquil at the moment and there is always at least one lift open in the valley so you can get a little higher up to explore the mountains in all their glory. Chamonix is a year round resort, and even though there are reduced facilities there are always some shops, bars, restaurants and hotels open for business, and quite often offering great deals out of season. With cheaper flights now in operation you won't be breaking the bank by booking a trip out here.

Since the busy crazy month of August came to an inevitable conclusion, it's been great having the space to enjoy many activities in a more tranquil environment. Normally a hike up to Lac Blanc can be very busy as it is one of the more popular hikes in the valley and has some of the most amazing views to be seen. If you stroll around town you might see postcards, posters and the like of views from Lac Blanc and Lac Cheserys.

To get there you have a number of different options depending on your fitness and motivation levels. You can grab the lift from Flegere and make the trip a short up and back down to the cable car following the signs up to Lac Blanc, although going to and from the cable car means you have to go a little out of your way to see the Lac Cheserys which are equally if not more stunning than Lac Blanc. You can also take the longer but least uphill route from Col Des Montets or Montroc following the signs.

As the temperatures are now slightly cooler than during August and our energy levels were quite high we chose to take the route with the most uphill effort from Argentiere, for a good work out in nature's gym. Pretty much every route is well sign posted and it's very straight forward to simply follow the signs up. The route in Argentiere starts from the centre of the village on the south facing side where the trail zig zags up for quite a while and is reasonably steep. Even though it hasn't been as warm as August it was still hotting up once we got going and we soon found ourselves stripping the layers off and filling ourselves up with as much water as humanly possible.

Once up at a higher altitude above the treeline and more exposed, there was a fair amount of wind and it became much cooler, so on the layers went again. On the way up we stopped by the wonderful Lac Cheserys and admired the view for a while before the last slog up to Lac Blanc and the refuge for some hot coffee and a couple of omelettes. Once we had re-fuelled and were ready to go, the wind had picked up quite a bit, so all our layers went on and we walked briskly back down the trail until it was warm enough to strip back off, and grab a couple of beers in the Rusticana before an early night to bed!