Chamonix Activity Report: 23rd July 2007
There's been a definite Swiss feel to our adventures recently. After last weekends mountain biking in Verbier, I ventured back into Switzerland on Thursday evening to catch fellow Scots singer Paolo Nutini in concert at the Montreux Jazz festival. The two week long ‘jazz' festival has been around for about 40 years now and in addition to the original jazz theme, a variety of well known artists now come and play their style of music to the crowds. Organisers reckon that as many as 220,000 visitors come each year to watch the various indoor and outdoor concerts although I'm not sure if the unsettled weather we have all experienced recently will have affected numbers? This year in addition to Paolo, the festival attracted popular well known artists including: Van Morrison, Tori Amos, The Pet Shop boys, The Chemical Brothers and Faithless (whose concert we also happened to go to, and who were also excellent!). At about an hour and a half away from Chamonix, Montreux is located on the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) which provides a spectacular setting and offers great panoramic views of the French Alps.
I got there a couple of hours before Paolo started so took the opportunity to browse the numerous stalls that lined the lake near the main indoor concert halls. A long row of tented stalls accompanied the shoreline for a good mile or so, offering festival goers the chance to purchase some interesting and obscure artefacts that ranged from hand crafted jewellery pieces, to designer sunglasses and some ‘different' clothing ranges to obscure wooden sculpture pieces. There were also various food stalls and outdoor eating areas amongst the tented line-up that offered the usual fast food options or you could select from a range of internationally themed dishes that would be cooked to order.
In addition to the headline acts of Faithless and Paolo Nutini I saw this year, the festival also offers the chance to go to a number of free concerts that play in the evenings. Music ranges from acoustic concerts and jazz bands, to guitar and piano solo competitions. On both evenings that I visited the festival this year there were a number of French and Swiss people milling round that didn't have tickets but had obviously come along to enjoy the lively festival atmosphere. My venue to see Mr Nutini was small and intimate, similar to a university style ‘gig'. Both the Faithless and Paolo Nutini concerts were standing, but the venue size meant I was probably never more than 20-30 foot away from the live performing artists which was great. Both concerts were superb and definitely worth the trip over. If you like live music and are in Chamonix next July it is a worthwhile excursion to add to your list of things to do.
Recently I've been researching more topics for our ‘Greenpistes' and Environmental features section, so this weekend with glacial erosion and climate change on my mind, my friends and I decided to take a trip up to the Argentière Glacier to have a first hand look at this spectacular structure. We avoided the tricky and difficult first 700m of ascent, opting instead for the Lognan cable car that took us up to the main area of Le Grand Montets. From the cable car we took the wide 4 x 4 track that leads off to the left, crossing under the Herse chairlift (which is not operational in the summer). The ascent path to the glacier was fairly steady but it did require a certain degree of caution as there were a number of loose stones and small streams to cross. This is a route that can be, and is enjoyed by many keen walkers. Yesterday the trail was busy with families, the young and old who were all making the best of the dry spell in the weather. It's hard not to look around at the views up and down the valley as you're walking; they're pretty impressive but be careful of your step! On a good day (with binoculars), I've been told you can see all the way over to the Lac Blanc Refuge on the Flegere side of the valley which is another favourite walk of mine.
After walking for about 45 minutes we were treated to our first few glimpses of the glacier. A further 15 minutes of walking and we arrived at the ‘point de vue'. The view point is amazingly close to the stunning ice structure that consists of large and somewhat menacing looking séracs that dominate the skyline. We took a small steep path that runs to the right of the glacier which allowed us to get even closer. After a further 15-20 minutes we arrived at another view point which felt like we were practically about to step on to the glacial structure. If fully equipped and with a high mountain guide, it is actually possible to walk on the glacier and in fact we could see some brave fellows on the opposite side of the glacier who were doing just that.
It was a slightly cloudy day yesterday so the surrounding views tended to appear in and out of the clouds. We stopped to enjoy a small picnic beside the glacier, listening to the occasional rumbles of sérac and moraine falls. Before long, we were treated to an “air force one” style demonstration from the local Chamonix helicopter crew. The helicopter appeared from nowhere and made few dramatic and sweeping style moves above the ice structure before it disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared. It seemed to come back every 20-30 minutes coinciding with the next wave of visitors to the view point. I do hope there were no injured parties involved and the pilot was merely demonstrating his talent and flying skills to the snapping tourists - us included! We sat watching the ice structure, willing a huge sérac fall to happen but in true ‘dancing bear' fashion something would only happen when we turned our backs and were not looking! How rude! However, I was always taught that ‘patience is a virtue' and sure enough as we made our way back down to the lift station we were treated to a dramatic sérac collapse that impressively rumbled and tumbled down the glacier.
It looks like the weather is due to be pretty unsettled for the next few days and I understand for some this is the first week of the school holidays. There's still plenty of indoor and outdoor activities around the valley that you and the family can enjoy. If you enjoy a spot of rambling here's a few suggested routes which may be of use to you also.
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
