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

More Courmayeur, Again

We spent a few more days in Courmayeur, enjoying the free wifi and nice people at the Biblioteca Courmayeur, and also the Feast of S. Pantaleone, patron saint of Courmayeur, which we saw also in 2005.

Cheese guy and cheese truck...fontina, beaufort, yum!

Memorable (to us) poster

Lines form long before the Feast begins

His Grace appears

The band plays on

The eating and drinking goes on

Thus

The way it works is you pay 20 euros and they give you
one of these plates to wear around your neck, entitling you
to unlimited visits to about 20 or so food and drink stands,
an Aostan culinary extravaganza

We enjoyed the festive atmosphere, but preferred sitting
down at our old favorite, Le Vieux Pommier, the Crepes
Mont Blanc, the veal, fontina, ham cholesteramas; twice we
ate there this time

Return To Courmayeur Again: Rifugio Bertone, Again

So we drove on, south and west through Switzerland, past old friend Champex and the eastern periphery of the Mont Blanc massif, under (!) the St. Bernard Pass, through Aosta, and up to one of our favorite places, once more, Courmayeur, on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. The weather was variable and problematic, but we resolved to hike up to the Rifugio Bertone, 2,000 feet over Courmayeur, and further up on the TMB, in order to see some of the views we missed due to weather in 2005. I had seen some of this from the vicinity of Rifugio Bonatti in 2010 and 2011, but not nearly so close to Mont Blanc's Brenva Face as at Bertone. We spent the night at the refuge, in the dortoir, enjoyed a dinner of mostly cheese polenta, some beef, some soup, etc., and the company of a Danish couple doing parts of the TMB in reconnaissance for a later trip with their grand-daughters. The next day we indeed climbed another 1,500 feet, saw what we wanted to see, and then did the whole 3,500 feet back down to Courmayeur. Vicki's knee passed another, more formidable, challenge.

Courmayeur below, from Rifugio Bertone

64x digital magnification: our camper at the parking lot a few
hundred meters south of the town center; it's the only
camper parking in high season, which is now

Aiguille Noire and Monte Bianco from Rifugio Bertone

Breakfast next morning: a bowl of strong coffee and assorted
sweet and grainy things

In the dortoir; we had the far, corner bunks, left; 40 euro
per person, including dinner and breakfast

Dining room

A couple miles across the Val Ferret, the Italian side of
Monte Bianco

Left, top of Le Geant, right, the Grande Jorasses

Val Ferret, looking toward the pass to Switzerland

The trail goes ever on, but we didn't this time

Rifugio Bertone, one of the better settings on the Tour

Vicki before The Disputed Rock, near where the trail rises
out of Courmayeur; she won that bet