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Chamonix Activity Report: 21st May 2009

featured in Activity reviews Author Kieran Sharp, Updated

Well the past week has been pretty amazing; a lot of sun, still snow up high, and lots of BBQ's! The summer is well on its way in Chamonix and even though it's still possible for a bit of ski/snowboard touring, the summer activities have really started to take hold in the valley. It has been a really nice chilled vibe in town and if you wander around long enough holding a steak and a couple of beers in hand, you will soon find yourself invited to a BBQ or two!

With some pretty good conditions on the trails this week, lots of mountain bikes have been out and about. So I got my old faithful down to Zero G for a service at a pretty reasonable price and went on a tour up to Argentiere and back, which is a nice easy route following the river up from Chamonix and back down again. You start by following the river Arve which passes by La Terrasse bar in town and past the Alpina hotel where the track starts. From here, you can follow the river uphill towards les Praz and across the golf course (mind out for balls!) by following the signs.

Passing by the golf course, we saw that it was fully open and a lot of people were enjoying a good day golfing. Shortly after this, we came to Paradis des Praz which is an absolutely lovely place to bring your kids or to chill out. You can have a little paddle in the river, a picnic or a nice coffee in the restaurant which will be open from June.

After this point, the track up becomes a little steeper but eventually flattens off a few hundred metres before the end. This trail can take anything from 20 minutes for a good athlete or a couple of hours if your stopping for breaks and photos. It took me about 40 minutes at a pretty relaxed pace.

Once off the track we headed towards the village to go for what can only be described as THE best burger in the whole valley! After leaving the track you follow the road uphill for about 200 metres where you will pass by the village of Argentiere. At the top end, on the right you will find the Office Bar, home of the best burger in the Chamonix region!

After filling our stomachs and enjoying some afternoon sun on the terrace, we made our way back to Chamonix following the same route down, which only takes around 10 minutes to get back! With no effort whatsoever, the view of the Mont Blanc massif peeking through the trees and the birds singing, it was both relaxing and exhilarating at the same time.

On the way back down to Chamonix from this trail is a restaurant/bar called the Rhododendrons, just opposite the Flegere lift station, where we were invited (the next day) to a BBQ and a game of boules. The bar has an amazing garden and terrace area with a beautiful view of Mont Blanc, Aguille du Midi, les Drus, and the Aguilles Rouges (not to mention some pretty rocking après ski bands during the winter!). We stayed for hours playing boules, drinking some iced rose and watching the sunset with the changing views of the mountains in our midst. It's a truly amazing place to relax after a good days hiking, climbing or biking.

You may think that there isn't a lot to do at this time of year, but even with the lifts shut till mid June (with the exception of the Aguille du Midi, the Montenvers train and the Helbronner Gondola which opens today - 21st) there are still many opportunities to be had wither it be hiking, relaxing, biking, climbing, or any number of outdoor activities. So why not come over, the weather is fine the waters are warm and the BBQ's are pretty tasty!