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Chamonix Activity Report: 24th August 2012

Cycling in Les Houches & Parc de Merlet

featured in Activity reviews Author Alison Shayler, Chamonix Reporter Updated

This week has been so hot that running and hiking just haven't seemed very appealing, unless you go up high in search of cool breezes. Instead I've been getting out on my trusty steed and giving the road biking a go.

There are plenty of longer routes you can do starting out from Chamonix, either heading into Switzerland via the Col des Montets or towards Servoz/Passy via Vaudagne, both involve steepish climbs that are tough but doable, even by an amateur like me! I've been exploring a few shorter 1-2 hour rides though, staying within the Chamonix Valley.

One of my favourites is the winding road that starts off at the roundabout by the Prarion lift station, turn off at the Route des Chavants and follow the road as it climbs up past the turnoff for Vaudagne, instead bearing left and following signs for the Ecole Physique. The road takes you up above Les Houches town towards the ski slopes, through quiet little hamlets where pretty chalets and ancient farmhouses line the narrow roads; beautiful flower displays, wild meadows and impressive vegetable patches give me garden envy every time I go up this way - my wilting basil plant on the balcony looks a bit pathetic in comparison. Carry on past the right hand turnoff for the Ecole Physique and follow signs for Les Crets and Maison Jaune, a beautiful catered chalet full of character that has ski-in ski-out access to the Les Houches pistes during the winter. Once past Maison Jaune the road continues to climb for a while up to the Maison Neuve chairlift, my thighs are usually getting a good burn on by this point! The climb from the Prarion roundabout is only about 3km and goes from 1000m-1200m, so is a good starter if you are new to road biking. After all that exertion you've earned coffee and cakes at the Kitsch Inn! Right in the Bellevue lift station car park they serve full meals, snacks and homemade cakes and there is often live music in the evenings.

A much more challenging leg burner is the climb up to Parc de Merlet - again you start in Les Houches but this time you head for the train station, follow the road that goes up past the train station towards Le Coupeau and take the signposted turn-off for the Parc de Merlet. Keep on climbing, it's onwards and upwards all the way! Just under 6km in distance with 500m of ascent.You'll pass through pine forests where you might spot deer grazing amongst the trees and traditional old chalets scattered alongside the road. The route back down is the way you came up, make sure your brakes are in good order as you'll be hanging on to them on every hairpin bend...

Parc de Merlet is a nature reserve for local fauna such as marmots, deer and bouquetin. It costs just 6€ (4€ children) to go in and walk amongst the animals in their natural habitat, they are quite accustomed to visitors so you can often see them at much closer quarters than you would out in the wild. The park is fenced in but the animals have plenty of space to roam and behave as they would on the other side of the fence. The views from up here are immense, you are so high that you can often see birds flying past beneath you! There are marked walking trails that take you past all the best viewing points and a café with a sunny panoramic terrace.

If riding up sounds too much like hard work then you can hike up either from Les Houches train station, from Les Bossons or from Les Gaillands in Chamonix. The paths up are nice and shaded but if even this is too much then you can drive up and park the car outside. It is a known scientific fact though that the more effort you put into getting there is directly proportional to the number of animals you will see. Biking up guarantees a full herd of bouquetin being ridden rodeo-style by marmots, whereas if you drove up you'll be lucky to spot a squirrel.

The old iron horse came in handy last night when I cycled to Les Houches for the Chamonix Adventure Festival. Unfortunately the warm dry evenings that we've been enjoying all week were replaced by stormy skies and heavy rain, typically inconvenient timing as the event was supposed to be an open-air screening at the Lac des Chavants... however, the show must go on and so it was relocated to the Espace Olca. We arrived a little bit late and underestimated how many people would be there, so all the seats had already been snaffled up, no problem though we just settled in on the floor in front of the big screen. The films were all quite different but all absolutely amazing - incredible footage, inspirational stories and stunning scenery from around the globe. My personal favourite was I Believe I Can Fly (Flight of the Frenchies), a high lining movie filmed by Seb Montaz featuring some very charismatic and crazy French guys. There is plenty more lined up tonight and over the weekend, check out the schedule here and make sure you see at least one of the shows - you'll be glad you did!

In other news... coming up this weekend we also have live music with Chamonix's favourite rock god, James "Juggernaut" Dolan on Saturday night at Le Jekyll. If the weather is back on good form then head over to Le Robinson in the Bois du Bouchet beforehand for some al fresco funkiness from The Pistey Boys at 8pm, if you miss them on Saturday they are also playing an afternoon set at the Office Bar in Argentiere at 4pm. Top tip if you're going to the Office Bar - try the cheesecake, you won't be sorry.

And don't forget that the most exciting sporting event of the year, in my opinion, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc starts this week! The main race sets off next Friday evening but there will be events and other races taking place all week, see the UTMB website for details.

Keep an eye on our What's On Calendar for details of all these events and more.