Chamonix Activity Report: 19th August 2005
Situated between Chamonix and Les Houches is the small village of Les Bossons – home of the Les Bossons Glacier (Glacier des Bossons), which boasts the title of the highest icefall in the Alps. It comes down from the summit of Mont-Blanc at 4807 meters to a mere 1300 meters and is therefore a dominant presence in the valley. Even with the naked eye you can easily see the impressive, jagged seracs (large ice columns created when the glacier cracks over uneven ground), which makes the glacier a well photographed sight by tourists as they pass down the Chamonix valley
Throughout history the glacier has caused havoc with the local inhabitants of the village as it swallowed up forests, farmland and even homes on its advance towards the valley floor. It is now one of the easiest glaciers to reach and can be done so by various methods, including: foot, cable car and vehicle. You can access via both the right and left banks of the glacier; the left side enabling you to travel further up than the right, to the point where the glacier joins the Taconnaz Glacier (Glacier de Taconnaz) at the Plateau des Pyramides and for experienced hikers further still to The Junction (La Jonction) where one of the more direct routes to the summit of Mont Blanc begins
The first time we explored this route we took the trails up from the valley floor at Les Bossons, but have since found a far easier route to use if you are pushed for time or are particulrily unfit- by car on the right bank; we discovered this when taking our drive through the Mont-Blanc Tunnel. On the road up to the tunnel you will see a large signpost for Les Bossons Glacier to your right, which will take you to a small car park. On foot you follow the track up over the bridge for the torrent and to the chalet/restaurant Le Cerro. You nip to the right, through the outdoor area of the restaurant and follow the trail up to the viewing platform for the glacier. From the car park, this should take around 20 mins and is moderately steep. For those of you hiking up from the village (buses and trains run to Les Bossons), head towards the chair lift (telesiege) and then follow the signs for chalet Le Cerro. This walk is approximately a two and a half hour round trip from the village
Due to hotter summers over the last century, the glacier has retreated considerably and you get a real sense of this from the viewing platform. There is almost a scar on the landscape where once the glacier stood proud and perilous. Still, it is an awesome sight, in particular the immensity of the seracs. Occasionally you can see experienced ice climbers at the foot of the glacier and even from the viewing point they still look like tiny dots
Having seen the glacier from this point, we are eager to experience it from the left bank. The chalet restaurant there (Chalet du Glacier) has a long and interesting history dating back to the mid 1800s and we are looking forward to learning more about it and gaining a higher vantage point from which to view the glacier
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
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
