Chamonix Activity Report: 23rd July 2012

A couple of days ago I did the Grand Balcon Nord from Plan de l'Aiguille to Montenvers; you can make either of the Balcon walks harder by hiking up from the valley, or you can use the lift system. The Aiguille du Midi cable car costs 12.70€ for a one way ticket, or you can buy a return for 26.40€ and come down on the Montenvers train at the other end of the hike. Plan de l'Aiguille is the mid station of the Aiguille du Midi and is where you change cable cars if you are going all the way to the top, there is a café there and it is the starting point for a number of hikes. We set off in the direction of the Mer de Glace, passing the Refuge de l'Aiguille after about 10 minutes and stopping to pet the donkeys who were leisurely eating buttercups and admiring the view.

From the refuge we carried on following the signs to Mer de Glace, the path is rocky but easy to follow and you can see it winding across the mountainside ahead of you. There were still plenty of wild flowers everywhere, slightly faded from the hot weather though so not quite the riot of colour that it was in spring. It is really easy to see the seasons change up here, come autumn the heather will be out and the mountains will turn dusky shades of pink and purple. We were a bit worried about the weather conditions as we were told on the way up that our cable car was the last one before they stopped them due to high winds; luckily for us it was breezy up there but not stormy and although it was overcast it was still warm enough for shorts and t-shirts. We had bought filled baguettes to take up with us from South Bar in Chamonix Sud and we found a sheltered place where we could perch on a flat rock and enjoy our picnic, whilst trying to spot the marmots that we could hear calling to each other.

The Grand Balcon Nord is riddled with these funny waddling guinea pig lookalikes but they can be hard to spot as they are quite timid and their brown fur blends in well with the undergrowth. I sometimes run this trail at the end of the day by getting the last lift up, there are far fewer people around at this time and so you are much more likely to spot some wildlife. It is also one of the most beautiful times of the day during the summer when the heat has started to die down and the light has started to turn the mountains a soft pink colour. Make sure someone knows where you are going though as once the lifts are closed you are alone up there...

About 2/3 of the way along the trail there is a fork that gives you the option of turning off towards the Signal; if you don't mind a bit of an uphill march then this is worth doing for the dramatic views you get of the glacier and the jagged peaks that tower over it. Les Drus is the massive pointy one that looks like something from one of the more sinister parts of Lord of the Rings; you can see a pale grey patch down one side of it where big chunks have fallen off in recent years and thundered down the mountainside. From the Signal you can see the Montenvers train station and the path that leads down to it; there is a restaurant, a café, a crystal display, a collection of slightly creepy stuffed animals and the new glacier exhibition to see while you wait for the train back down.

If your knees are up to a bit of downhill though you can walk back down to Chamonix in about an hour and a half, passing the lovely little Chalet de Caillet where you can enjoy drinks and snacks on their balcony overlooking the Aiguilles Rouges reserve on the opposite side of the valley. You end up at Les Planards, just behind the train station from where it is a short stroll back into Chamonix.

After a good walk we felt we deserved a good meal so we tried out somewhere that I've had my eye on for a while, La Flambée on Avenue Michel Croz. This restaurant used to be in Argentiere and always had a very good reputation; the menu features all the Savoyard classics, as well as homemade burgers, pizzas, salads, meat and fish dishes. Everyone else must have had the same idea as we arrived at around 7:30ish and it was already packed, the nose-twitching smells when we walked in gave us a clue as to why it was so popular, I nearly followed a delicious waft of fondue like one of the kids from the old Bisto adverts. The interior is nothing new in Chamonix - lots of old hiking boots, wooden skis and cow bells dangling from the walls but it is done in a very charming and elegant way. The menu had so much choice that it took some time to decide, I kept changing my mind every time another table was being served as all the plates being brought out looked so good. In the end I went for a salmon pasta and my friend had a burger, we shared a starter of camembert on toasted baguette. The starter was exactly as described so I don't know why I was disappointed but I think the bread was toasted a bit too much, which made it very dry and hard and there wasn't quite enough cheese to make it moist. It was a shame as the bread and cheese that they used was very good; chunky, rustic and flavoursome. The main courses were in a whole other league though, I will be dreaming of my salmon pasta for some time... big chunks of beautifully cooked salmon steak with strips of melt-in-the-mouth smoked salmon and a huge prawn on top that had been cooked just until it was tender, all in a delicate cream and herb sauce. My friend was equally as impressed with his burger; homemade with good quality ground beef topped with mozzarella cheese, pesto and salad. The burger was accompanied by an enormous portion of fried potatoes (they weren't chip shaped though, so I'm not sure what the gastronomic term for round chips would be) that were garlicky beyond belief; I can still taste them now.

Unfortunately we were too full for dessert, which was very distressing when we saw the sweet dishes that other people were enjoying. I will definitely be going back to forfeit a starter in favour of a pudding, maybe one of their patisserie pizzas such as chocolate and marshmallow?! We had two pints of beer, a kir and a glass of white wine with our meal and the bill came to 54€, which I thought was good value for beautiful surroundings, good service and fantastic food.

Coming up this week we have the Cosmojazz festival; 4 days of live music in the streets, bars, restaurants and even in the mountains. There will be performances by lakes and at the top of cable cars - take a look at the website to find out the full programme. There is a heatwave forecast for later on this week so hopefully some al fresco lunches, chilled wine, live music and good times to be had - it's a hard life sometimes!