Road Trip northern Italy 2015: The French Alps

We drove away from Como thinking we were leaving the warmth of the sun there. It was sunny all day and after another scenic drive across to the alps, we arrived in Chamonix to find some people in shorts and t-shirts and others in ski pants and jackets. We enjoyed warm sun, clear blue skies and great views of the mountains.

We're going up there?!

We will start from here tomorrow morning...

Looking up at L'Aiguille du Midi alongside the top of the Mont Blanc.

Sun downers in Chamonix!

L'Aiguille and Mont Blanc

We arrived just in time to get some nice pictures of Mont Blanc before the clouds surrounded us!

The glaciers around Mont Blanc

Our hotel was a short distance from the pedestrian street and we wandered into town to have lunch, explore and set out our plans.

Both of us are quite interested in the various adventures of former and present explorers. Posters, photos, information boards and even the tourist books highlights the first ascents, those in the 1870s during which women wore long skirts and the most recent ones including free riding and snow board descents.

The weather changed slightly on Thursday but we were among the first to get onto cable car and we were able to catch some of the Mont Blanc before the cloud cover hid it from everyone.

Being at 3800m in such a short time does have an impact on you, breathing was more frequent, we felt short winded even standing still. Yet there were so many skiers putting on harnesses, strapping into crampons and attaching lines to their guides. They were about to descend the Valle Blanc which becomes the Mer de Glace. At one point a cloud swept over the Aguille du Midi and we could not see anything - how could they?

Chamonix from the cable car

Amazing glaciers

and the clouds roll in

no clouds, QUICK snap photos of the glaciers!

L'Aiguille due Midi

Just checking out the names of the peaks in this fabulous panorama!

When the clouds would break, we snapped our cameras for good shots of the glaciers and Mont Blanc

From this picture you get to see just how far the skiers had to walk before actually starting to ski!

The walkway from the cable car to the various terraces for panoramic viewing. Check out the brave souls who are going down several flights of stairs before hopping over the edge and sking!

These skiers were lead by a guide. All were roped together and descended several "stairs" before starting their skiing adventure down the Vallee Blanc

CLOUDS! Looking "into the void"

This is how far the skiers had to walk before starting their ride down the slopes of the Vallee Blanc. It was amazing to see them slip over the edge, almost like they were falling.

From the first platform looking back at where the cable car arrives

Other side of the same platform

There are a number of platforms to visit when you are at the Aiguille. From one vista we watched a couple climbers strap up and descend a crevasse. Other groups were on a walk, all strapped in, across the vast white valley that lay between the peaks we could see.

An hour or so after we arrived the clouds moved in. We had glimpses of the peaks, stood in brief snow falls, and experienced the increasing winds. We headed back down in the cable car-2000m in 2 minutes.

And here we are at 3842m

Corine with the glaciers in the background - just enough sun to take some nice pictures

Look at where we are!

Our next adventure was to the Mer de Glace. We walked across town and boarded the rack railway train that took us up the mountains to the base of Europe's largest, albeit shrinking glacier. We were quite taken by the marks on the mountains of where the glacier had been. We took another cable car down to a platform and then walked down the 470+ steps to the glacier. They made caves into it and had a rather kitschy display of ice sculptures illuminated by coloured lights. We did the quick walk about and then spent more time looking at the melting ice. Along our path down were plaques stating where the base was in 1990, 2000 and 2005. We were both quite alarmed by the rate of retreat.

We were also impressed by the skiers who were arriving nearby, and who carried their gear up the 480 steps to the cable car. This was where the journey ended that we watched start earlier that morning. One of the skiers explained how much easier it was in 2005 when you could ski straight to the platform a few flights from the cable car. Carrying ropes, crampons, their skis and full back packs after such a long ski, we were impressed.

We had lunch at the Grand Hotel and Alpine Museum and once again were taken by the historic photos of those who climbed back in the 1800s. It was very interesting to see how much the glacier had retreated in 200 years. It was one thing to see the markers on the stairs from where the glacier was in 2005 etc but to see how thick and high the glaciers were in the 1800s was so fascinating. It really makes you think about the effects of global warming.