Chamonix Activity Report: 9th July 2007
Well, it was back on with the shorts, t-shirts and factor 20 this Saturday morning as I awoke to beautiful crystal clear blue skies. It was a welcome relief to see the return of the summer sunshine which has been rather elusive over the past few days!
The weather in the mountains can change quickly so I was desperate to get out there to start enjoying the day, worried that the afternoon may bring some unwanted thunderstorms. It was still early on a Saturday morning but I managed to raise a willing volunteer who was keen to accompany me on their mountain bike. Having missed out on the opportunity to ride in Le Tour with the rest of the gang a couple of weeks ago, and having read the snow report I fancied exploring some more of the area. We arranged to catch the 11.39 train from Chamonix up to Montroc. I think its something to do with Murphy's law, but why is it that when you're running late public transport is always on time? After a quick sprint through the Saturday morning market crowds in town we arrived at the train station at 11.39:15 only to see the train guard packing up his flags and heading back inside, no doubt to put the kettle for lunch as the next train was not due until 13.30. Grrrrr…. Undeterred, we set off back home to get the bike rack and the car and an hour later we were loading our bikes on to the Charamillon gondola, thankfully not losing too much time by having missed the train. (Secretly I was also kind of glad that I hadn't had to start the days mountain biking with the uphill slog from Montroc train station to the gondola but I didn't admit that to my mountain biking buddy!)
The area was bustling with loads of hikers and mountain bikers who were also keen to make the most of this fantastic day. We got chatting with a few fellow mountain bikers at the bottom of the lift station and after having a look at their map and assessing our options we decided vary the route slightly from that of a couple of weeks ago and head straight to the top of the Col de Balme, taking the Télésiège des Autannes and riding down to Switzerland (hopefully!) arriving into Vallorcine shortly after!
Passing the Refuge de Balme right on the French/Swiss boarder, we took the uphill track that headed in the direction of the Croix de Fer at 2270m. It being July, I was surprised to find that some of the track was still covered by large patches of snow. My biking companion informed me that Chamonix had seen some significant snow fall last week and when we reached the top of the climb it was clearly evident looking at the tops of the mountain peaks in the Swiss and French valleys. The views from the top of the Col de Balme are absolutely spectacular and I think the 360 degree views of Switzerland and France are possibly my favourite of the valley. You can look all the way down the Chamonix valley towards the Bosson Glacier, and similarly far into Switzerland and towards the Emosson dam, for which the 007 fans amongst us will know is famous for its staring role in the James Bond movie, ‘Goldeneye'.
We descended down the small narrow stone path where we soon had the bikes on our shoulder to cross some more snowy patches covering some loose slippery scree. The exhilarating single track down towards Vallorcine is full of tight switchbacks complete with some steep drop offs so it was with some trepidation and minor tumbles that we picked our way down; more than once appreciating the need for protective body armour when riding in Cham! The scenery was quite simply stunning and no matter how many photos we took they just didn't seem to do it justice. The wild flowers in full bloom brought intense patches of colour to the otherwise luscious green landscape surrounding us. Those following the snow reports will know that Chamonix has seen a fair amount of rain recently so as we descended we found a number large muddy puddles to pedal through at speed that made us look like real hard core downhill riders you often see strutting through the town centre! At one point we met some of these fully armoured up down hill riders who looked quite simply shocked and stunned that we were on the same trail as them with our cross country mountain bikes! However, descending carefully and at times hugging the hillside on some narrow sections we continued down the muddy and stony path until it crossed under the Tête de Balme chairlift and re-joined the wide, bone shaking 4x4 track towards Vallorcine.
Our route home followed that of a couple of weekends ago, taking the route left of the railway tracks at Vallorcine to the top of the Col des Montets before the top speed descent back to Chamonix along the River Route (Promenade del'Arve from Argentiere). We had been riding for about 3.5 hours and were now pedalling at speed to get back home. I have never seen so many large muddy puddles or fast flowing streams on the river route. As if we weren't muddy enough after our exploits up in Le Tour we got absolutely caked from head to toe in the stuff riding this last stretch! As we arrived back into Chamonix we proudly showed off our mud tans as we pedalled through busy streets bustling with afternoon tourists enjoying the sunshine. We finished off our day with a well deserved shandy at the Vagabond and enjoyed the last remnants of the days sunshine on the terrace.
Sadly Sunday brought a return of the rain showers. I woke early thanks to a large clap of thunder so any thoughts of continuing our mountain biking adventures in Les Houches were sharply put off for the next sunny day. The rain seemed to lift slightly at lunchtime so a couple of us decided to venture out for an afternoon walk along the Sentier des Gardes on the south side of the valley, after all we were sure we wouldn't dissolve so what harm could a little rain do? We climbed up to the Petit Balcon Sud from Les Gaillands, and after a 15 minute sharp climb it levelled off slightly for an easier uphill plod. The Sentier des Gardes runs in between the Petit and Grand Balcons at around 500m above the town. After 3.5 hours negotiating slippery tree roots and some steep up and downhill terrain, the heavens opened again so we decided to take the path back down into town heading to our favourite Lapin Agile for a hot cup of coffee and diet defying chocolate cake. We called it a day after our sugary refreshments and I headed home reflecting the busy active weekend, soaking my aching tired muscles in a long hot bath. I've always been a bit of a fair weather activity person however this weekend showed me that Chamonix has plenty of things to do to keep you entertained whatever the weather!
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
