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Chamonix Activity Report: 18th June 2009

featured in Activity reviews Author Kieran Sharp, Updated

It seems like we have a pattern forming in Chamonix. For every few days of outstanding sunshine, we get one day of rain as payment for those lovely conditions and on Tuesday afternoon we saw a spectacular amount of rain (and snow up high!) so much so it helped part of the Bossons glacier collapse causing a massive flood in the tunnel du Mont Blanc which has been closed due to this event.

Before the tremendous amount of rain fell on Tuesday we went for a climb in the Vallorcine area. There is a nice wall over there which is really grippy granite, but with few hand and foot holds, so it's pretty good to test how little you need to balance on with the grip of the rock to help. You can get the train from Chamonix and either get off at Le Buet or at Vallorcine as the wall sits on a footpath between the two villages. We got off the train at Le Buet and crossed under the bridge, simply following the signs to the climbing wall.

Once we reached the wall we were pretty much on our own with only one other group of eople climbing there, so we had a great choice of routes to the top, although there are a number of really good single pitch climbs you can try down here with easy overhangs and climbs varying from 4-7 on the difficulty level.

On the way up there are plenty of ledges to find to put your next pitch on, with enough space for a few people to hang around and with some amazing views looking back toward the villages. There are a few challenging routes in the top section, but if you go far enough round on either side you can find an easier route to the top. Once at the end of the climb we sat and gazed at the view for a while before heading back down to have a go at some of the overhanging pitches on the bottom. I

f you don't like the crowds or the heat that you often get at les Gaillands it's a pretty good place to go, being out of the way and north facing so it stays a bit cooler through most of the day, although the rock wont dry out as quickly over here after its rained!

So it's almost time for fete de la musique (this Sunday) in France, and Chamonix has a lot going on! Fete de la musique is a day of free music allowed to be played anywhere, for free and with no licence restrictions, so it's going to be quite some party. From early on in the afternoon there will be orchestral concerts and youth bands playing in the place d'amitie and after 10pm it's over to the bars.

La Terrasse will be hosting an afternoon of entertainment with an outside sound system and BBQ from 5pm till 10ish, with guest DJ appearances from Swanny, Kes, Jez, GFunk & Richie Delf. Ensure you make this your first stop on your way to Rue de Moulins for drink promotions and tasty food from their newly appointed super chef Robin Skinner. Then there is Bar'd Up who will have live music on show from the likes of Kendal, Forse and some special guests! There will be lots going on at the other bars and in the streets, far too much for me to mention here!

We now have the Brevent and le Tour bubble lifts open for the duration of the summer, along with the Aguille du midi, Montenvers and tramway du Mont Blanc, so there is loads to do, whether it's mountain biking, hiking, paragliding, skiing or snowboarding if you're thinking of coming over this weekend, make it happen - it's going to be one heck of a party and loads of activities to get your teeth in to with all these lifts open!


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.