Petit Balcon Sud

We wanted to do another hike in Chamonix but were not feeling very adventurous. Fortunately, our friend and fellow guide, the estimable Rickie Stevie, came to the rescue, mentioning the petit balcon sud, something we'd never heard of, but which fit our needs admirably. Basically, it traverses the lower bits of the Aiguilles Rouges, overlooking Chamonix, scenic but not too high up.

Wooded, shaded, not too high

Actually it reminded us a bit of many trails we have walked
in the Rocky Mountain West

Except for the views of Chamonix and Mt. Blanc

And the Grepon parking lot, and our rig

Then we stumbled upon the mother of all raspberry patches: hike over (they're
beneath the Plan Praz cable car way)

Back down in town: Chamonix International Airport (arrivals only; departures
from Plan Praz)

Junior Birdman Department: how to be a parapentier

Descent Via Chairlift

Despite being willing to ride anything in any amusement park, Vicki has a mortal fear of chairlifts. Alas, we arrived at Index too late to walk down to La Flegere (last cable-car down at 5:45PM), so the only choices were a) spend the night, ill-prepared, on the mountain, b) walk down the entire mountain to the valley, in the dark, or c) the chairlift. She conquered her fear, and in this amazing sequence, Vicki rides the chairlift from Index to La Flegere.

Lac Blanc Rides Again

I had been to Lac Blanc, high in the Aiguilles Rouges, twice, once on a stage of the TMB, another time from La Flegere. Vicki had never been, and so we decided La Blanc might be another suitable challenge for her new knee.

Sign not taken

Self-portrait near Lac Blanc

Us at Lac Blanc

From Lac Blanc, looking up the Mer de Glace, the Grand
Jorasses, and Le Geant

Le Geant up close

The trail from La Flegere to Lac Blanc was a little more
demanding than I had remembered, so we decided to
descend via Index; here are a couple of the metal "assists"
on the way down the easier Index trail

Son Of Chamonix Rides Again

We have lost track of how many times we have been to Chamonix. It is destination enough by itself, and always seems on the way to something else (Italy...France...). Anyhow, the weather in Courmayeur turned wet and ugly again, and we decided Chamonix might be a better place to weather the weather. Besides, it was on the way to France.

Leaving Courmayeur, a storm cloud wraps from the Val
Ferret around Mount Saxe...

Two hours later we were in Chamonix, parked at Grepon,
doing the Saturday market, and enjoying surprisingly dry
and sunny weather; here is a new (to us) market entry,
the Emperor Clock man; tentatively entitled "It is later
than you know"

Another new entry, the nougat shop

A few days later the circus set up in the tour bus parking lot
next to Grepon; we had always thought it would be neat to
see a European provincial circus and would have paid, oh,
5 euros each for the experience; but they wanted 28! We
encountered these little one-night-stand circuses all over
France in the next couple weeks

Evening street scene in Chamonix; not the main street, just a
typical one

From a central square, Dr. Paccard gazes upon his mountain

Art nouveau in Chamonix

Try to imagine: 1/2 baguette, stuffed with fries, maybe a
little sauce americaine

Alpenglow on the Aiguille du Midi

And on the big mountain

Penelope, note: fashionably attired little girl on left, holding
hands with parent/guardian; also, two toddlers on right,
wearing sunglasses

Europeans have a thing with flowers, and none are better
than the French; even the back streets of Chamonix are
gorgeous

Tour Du Mont Blanc, 4

And now, the exciting conclusion of "Tour Du Mont Blanc":

On the Bovine variant, the ugly city of Martigny, far, far below

Along the trail to Bovine; all through our trek, the alpine
wildflowers were everywhere, particularly the alpine azaleas
(alas, Vicki had the camera that day)

It gets to be a long story here; after Bovine, and en route 

to the Col de la Forclaz, it started raining; heavy rain; we

made it to the campground at the Col de la Forclaz, where a 

French couple from Lyons we had been leap-frogging

 (nyuk, nyuk, nuyk) helped us tent and shared their hot 

water (for our backapacka dinner); the next morning, with 

heavy rain predicted the next several days, they helped us 

find the train back to France, and then on to Les Houches, 

where we dried out in a nice little hotel; the next morning
we breakfasted on our bilberries and other goodies; we
would run into our Lyons friends another time, days later
and return the favors; "kindness of strangers" is truly one
of the best parts of travel

Back in the Valley of Chamonix; so from Les Houches we
trained back to the campground in Chamonix, established
a camp there and deposited our stuff, and rode back up
the valley to cover some of the ground we had missed; at
this point, we were beginning to ask ourselves "wait a
second, isn't this supposed to be a vacation?!"

The Great White Mountain

Chamonix from Plan Praz;  piecing together parts we had
missed, we rode up to La Flegere and walked to Plan Praz;
and then rode the cable-car up to Brevent; we left the great
descent from Brevent to Les Houches for another year...

From Brevent, parapentes sailing by

Spice girl: back in Chamonix, just in time for the Saturday marche

Poulet roti..the best; well, Costco's is pretty 

good, too

A Saturday afternoon repast at our favorite, Camping de
L'ile des Barrats    

Vicki waits for the bus while I do a bit more shooting and
shopping

Tenting area at Camping de L'ile des Barrats

Last minute shopping completed

And, after an hour's bus ride, we are back at the airport in 

Geneva, repacking, awaiting our flight back to Montana...

Tour Du Mont Blanc, 3

Our 2005 TMB continued:

The Grandes Jorasses as we climb up to Rifugio Bertone

Tenting near Rifugio Bertone

Looking back to Rifugio Bertone

Companions here and there; they're inquisitive and gentle and,

hey, they make fontina

The weather is always an issue; there are good days and bad;

if you're lucky, like us, you can go back and make up the bad

days later, maybe years later; if not, then you know that a bad

day in the mountains is worth two good ones anywhere else 

Trudging up toward the Rifugio Walter Bonatti; rain expected

My favorite, Rifugio Walter Bonatti; a double room, a great
meal, great wine, great views, interesting fellow trekkers,
hot showers, even a warming room to dry out boots and
clothing...

Tenting near Rifugio Elena; lots of weekend climbers here;
you can drive right up to Elena and climb Dolent 

The beautiful Val Ferret

More crazy bicyclistes, before Monte Dolent

Us, before Monte Dolent, nearing the Grand Col du Ferret, and

the Swiss border

At Camping Philosophes, in Champex

We had the Swiss version of cheese fondue in Champex; 

rather bland and uninteresting, I thought; needed more
garlic and kirsch; but the scenery was genuinely Swiss

Next morning, picking a quart or more of

bilberries, the Euro-equivalent of
huckleberries

After a morning hiking uphill, picking

bilberries, and in anticipation of the variant

around Bovine, it's time for another glass of

wine; European trekking beats all others!