Chamonix Activity Report: 27th July 2012

The trains between Vallorcine and Servoz are free with a carte d'hote card, a resident's card, a seasonaire's card, or just about any other card that shows you are either living, working, or on holiday in the valley. We packed our bags for 3 days and 2 nights and caught the train to Servoz, picking up fresh bread and picnic supplies from the little grocery store opposite the tourist office. From here we followed signs up to Lac Vert, a beautiful mountain lake that gets its name from the bright green colour of the water. This is signposted as taking 2 hours, but we managed it quite easily in 1 1/2, before continuing on to Lac Pormenaz and Chalet Moede Anterne. Once past the lake the path winds up through the pine forest before coming out onto a 4x4 track that leads into pastures filled with wild flowers, trickling streams and fat brown cows. We stopped here and tucked into our picnic lunch beside the stream with the mountains soaring up all around us, there was only one way to go in any direction and that was up.

Next stop was Lac Pormenaz and Chalet Moede Anterne; it takes about 2 hours and the lake is one of the shallower ones which means that during the hot summer months it is slightly warmer and nice for swimming in or just lounging around on the banks. Just 15 minutes further along the track is the Chalet Moede Anterne, a mountain refuge that provides meals, drinks and overnight accommodation; we just stopped for a cold drink and to double-check our directions with the friendly chap behind the counter. After a brief rest we continued on over the Col d'Anterne to our first proper stop, the Refuge Alfred Wills. It was only another 2 hours away and the climb up to Moede Anterne is quite a steep one, so we figured that the rest of the day's hike would be a breeze, probably downhill the rest of the way. Hmm, no. The steep path zig zagged up and up to the ridge at the top of the Col, from where you can see down into both sides of the valley from an altitude of 2257m - a mere 1441m from our starting point in Servoz! From here the trail drops down to a large grassy meadow with the Lac d'Anterne to your left and a massive sheer backdrop of towering rock; the late afternoon sun was twinkling on the calm lake and looked very inviting, however we were on a mission to find our home for the night so we pressed on. All day we had heard the whistling noise of marmots but they had so far been elusive, my friend had never seen one before and so it was a great surprise to see about 3 or 4 of them popping their heads up out of the long grass as we went past. One last short climb and as we came over the brow of the hill we could see a collection of small barns nestled in the valley below us, the race was on to get there before the sun disappeared over the mountains and cast it into shade - we made it just in time to kick off our heavy boots and enjoy a chilled glass of wine in the sunshine.

Refuge Alfred Wills is a beautiful little mountain retreat, simple but cosy and very friendly, they even have a donkey! There is a small reception which also doubles up as a bar and backs on to the dining room; once you've checked in you can settle into your bunk in one of the little stone outhouses that have a shared wash room with a toilet, sink and shower. The beds are already made up on arrival, so there is no need to bring a sleeping bag, and they are very comfortable. Dinner was served at 7:30pm and we enjoyed homemade vegetable soup followed by a choice of roast pork with polenta or cheese fondue (you have to decide and let them know before you arrive), followed by a piece of homemade cake; there was plenty of everything and it was exactly the kind of hearty food we needed after a day of hiking. Lights out is 9:30pm, which is about mid-afternoon according to my normal body clock so I was expecting a long sleepless night followed by a painfully early morning, however the fresh air and big meal must have knocked me out as I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and I woke up feeling bright eyed and raring to go!

After a simple but filling breakfast of cereal, bread, jam and coffee we slung our packs back on and headed off to our next port of call, Refuge de Sales. It was only 2 hours away on the map so we had planned on taking a longer route and going via Les Fonts and Lac de Gers but we missed the turn-off and ended up going straight there; we passed a beautiful series of waterfalls along the way and saw more wildlife including a pair of frolicking marmots, a young bouquetin and a few unidentified but impressively big birds of prey. Taking the short route turned out to be a bonus as we got chatting to a local elderly gentleman along the way and he recommended that we go straight to the refuge, drop off our bags and then hike up to the Pointe de Sales for some of the best views of the surrounding valleys. We did just that and it was so good to be hiking without a heavy backpack, able to jump across streams and scramble up big rocks without losing balance; he was right about the views as well, they were amazing! We went right to the furthest point, which juts out over the valley giving vertiginous aerial views right down to Sixt Fer a Cheval - we were so high that flocks of birds were flying past beneath us.

We timed our return to the refuge well in order to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine before the sun went in (we were getting the hang of this quite nicely) and to soak up the idyllic atmosphere, I don't think a more peaceful and beautiful place exists. The stone tables and benches had warmed up throughout the day and made a soothing place to relax our tired legs, there were a few more marmots ambling around nearby and appetizing smells were coming from the kitchen. Dinner was good, but don't expect much variation in mountain refuges, I had fondue for the second night running and this was the only option, so everyone else had the same - good job I like cheese! The dessert was delicious though, a light creme caramel with crunchy wafers. Once again, we were too tired to stay up and stargaze so we hit the sack ready for our last day, the dormitory was more full than that at Alfred Wills and unfortunately we had some noisy room mates so we didn't sleep quite as well as the night before. The only other downside is that Refuge de Sales has no showers, so a quick splash in the sink had to do!

The elderly gentleman we had met the day before recommended that we finish our loop via Le Derochoir; he didn't elaborate, just said that we shouldn't miss it. Given his advanced years I imagined that it would be a gentle picturesque ramble through the meadows... never underestimate people who have spent their lives in the mountains. The steep climb up to the ridge wasn't too bad, even though I couldn't imagine him scrambling the muddy bits on his hands and knees like we had to, the ascent brought us out onto a narrow ridge with drop-away views to either side, the Rochers des Fiz from where we had just come and the Massif du Mont Blanc on the side that we were about to descend. After a few photos we started to think about how we would get down, we couldn't see any obvious path and the narrow ridge petered away into nothing at one end. Then we noticed a bit of rope tied to a rock, dangling down the side of the mountain into the Mont Blanc valley, ah ha! Off we inched, hanging on for dear life and tip-toeing along the shifting slate pathway beneath us as we felt for foot holds and tried not to kick loose bits of path in case there were people below us. The path looked fairly sketchy to start with, but soon there was no path at all, just a rope tied to the side of a very steep mountain and the occasional iron peg on which to place your foot while you wondered what to do with the other one. In retrospect it only lasted maybe 20 minutes or so but at the time it felt never-ending; once our feet were back on solid ground we turned back to watch the other people making their way along it and felt quite pleased with ourselves and our brush with mountaineering! It was then a challenging but safe clamber back down over a boulder field to the meadow where we had first started our adventure, by this time we were tired and footsore but very happy.

We did the shorter version of the Tour des Fiz, but you can extend the route and do it over as many days as you like. There are 9 refuges to choose from in total; if you have the time and want to do a more leisurely tour you could stop in each of them and store your backpacks while you explore the area without having to carry them, like we did at Sales. Evening meal, bed and breakfast costs in the region of €40 per person and most refuges serve lunch if you just want somewhere to pause en route - booking in advance is essential for overnight stops. My favourite refuge was the Alfred Wills - beautiful location, good company, comfortable lodgings and the best food - but everywhere we passed looked lovely and you couldn't go wrong by staying a night at the Refuge de Sales, despite the lack of showers. Click here for a route map and list of refuges.

Chamonix is buzzing this week; not only is the weather great but the streets, bars and mountains are swinging to the sound of live music as part of the 4 day Cosmojazz festival. Not just limited strictly to jazz but including all sorts of music from around the world, bands are playing everywhere you can think of including up in the mountains. Yesterday a few of us hiked up to Lac Bleu at Plaine de l'Aiguille du Midi to hear Magik Malik & Vincent Segal Duo; the hike takes around 3 hours from the Grepon carpark behind the Aiguille du Midi lift station. The setting was beautiful, people dotted all around the lake perched on rocks or lying on the grass in the hot afternoon sunshine; the natural acoustics of the lake meant that every sound could be heard without amplifiers and it gave the music a strange eery quality as it drifted across the water. There were big lift queues on the way back down, so buy your ticket in advance and reserve a cabin if possible, otherwise you'll end up hiking both ways like we did. By the time we got to the bottom we were hot, dusty, hungry and thirsty so we headed to Elevation for Orangina and salads; it was packed out to the sounds of Thierry Fanfant Quartet who were playing some very funky tunes that got a few folks literally dancing in the street. Today and over the weekend there are more concerts lined up at Montenvers, Le Tour and Brevent as well as throughout Chamonix town, it is all free so check out the schedule and enjoy!