Chamonix Activity Report: 21st June 2009
Well we had another large downpour on Friday with an amazing thunderstorm, and I would recommend coming out to Chamonix just to see one of these storms; much more dramatic when you see bolts of lightning hit the top of the mountain and roar of thunder echo endlessly down the valley, truly outstanding!
We decided to go for a bike ride during this storm around the footpaths near Les Bois then up to Argentiere. There are a lot of nice easy bike trails round this area, but still some than can get you going at a great speed! And they are all easily accessed from town, just following the river and then signs to Les Bois, where you will find a vast number of trails to go up and down on, ranging from greens to some reds on the difficulty level.
It didn't take us long to become soaked through and eventually we stopped avoiding the puddles of water, instead hitting them as fast as we could go! We did a few different trails around here before heading up the hill towards Argentiere. You can either follow signs up the trails to get there, or get on to the road for an easy ride up.
Once at our destination we popped in to The Office Bar for a cup of fine coffee to warm ourselves up, before heading back down to Chamonix via the Petit Balcon Sud. It was surprisingly dry on the paths due to the heavy cover of trees making a natural umbrella. We rode down the trail pretty fast splashing through some of the streams that join the river, jumping up and off bridges and rocks on the way. A pretty exciting day and real fun in the storm!
On Saturday we went for a hike up to have a look at the old mid-station that would have served the Aiguille du Midi, until they found out while building it, that it would not be the best route to the top! Someone must have got sacked for that.
The walk up is fairly easy at the start, going over towards Le Jekyll bar and following signs to Cascade du Dard, which is a nice spot to have a rest, look at the water fall and perhaps a coffee too.
After our short stop here we continued up to the road by the Mont Blanc tunnel entrance. From here there are two obvious footpaths; the one to the right of the river goes on the fairly easy walk up to the foot of the Bossons Glacier, the one on the left (the path we chose) goes up to the old mid-station. Once on this trail it's fairly steep but consistent all the way to the mid-station and if you stray just a little off the path you will be blessed with some great views over the edge of the cliff down to the river below, although I would be very careful, a guide is always the best way to explore these areas.
When we reached our destination we had a look inside at what would have been the route up to the Aiguille, checking out the old lift that is still there like a piece of history. Judging by the graffiti and empty bottles of wine, there have been quite a few parties up here, with the view of the valley below it's a great place to come and explore.
After refuelling we started our decent down back toward Le Jekyll bar for a couple of pints, although if you're feeling energetic you could carry on up the path to the top of the old Aiguille lift, where you can get on some trails around the Plan d'Aiguille, with some more spectacular views!
So, a good few days in Chamonix again and today is the Fete De La Musique. There has already been some great activities going on, some DJs playing outside and a lot of BBQs going on, one of which I'm just about to go to at la Terrasse bar.
More next week!
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.
