1 février 2024
Bonjour from Chamonix. It is lovely here. We have skied nine days as of this post. On the days we have not skied, there has been plenty do do, including exploring the village of Chamonix Mont-Blanc and its surroundings. We have met friendly locals, skiers from the UK and Geneva, but no Parisians (this might change during the two week Paris school vacation). Chamonix is not fancy. Yes, there are lovely ski shops, restaurants and that alpine-village-feel, but this is a ski town with pubs and a vivid night life. Last Friday night, after a delicious dinner, we sampled the nightlife at La Folie Douce — what a scene (and we don’t have to go back but maybe George and Matthew will want to check it out). Chamonix is also home to ENSA, the National Ski and Mountaineering School. Since 1946, programs at ENSA have provided training in alpine skiing, mountaineering and mountain rescue, its motto, “We Live Skiing – Join Us.”
The skiing. Thankfully, Chamonix has a good base and during our first week here, the rain in the valley was snow on the slopes. So much snow, in fact, that some lifts and terrain were closed due to the possibility of avalanches. One can see remains of snow that has cascaded down the mountain so thank goodness for avalanche control. The ten ski areas on our passes start mid mountain. From our apartment, our routine is to walk out the door, ski boots on, about one hundred steps to the Brévent gondola.🚡 It ascends 2,000 meters, mostly above the tree line to open areas of groomed and un-groomed, piste and off-piste skiing. From there we can ski from a few lifts, drop in and ski down. We can also take a cable car across to another area, Flégère, which we have done a few times for a different viewpoint, all fabulous with snow-covered jagged rock everywhere one looks.
I love alpine skiing and was first put on skis the week of my sixth birthday. It is a tribute to my father that we are a skiing family and I am looking forward to the visit of George and Matthew at the end of February. that said, I do have a few requirements for a good day on the slopes. One is frequent bathroom stops; that’s just the way it goes with me but I am fine skipping a run if my fellow skiers don’t want to wait. I cannot be cold. To remedy that, I have battery charged boot and mitten heaters, which are much-appreciated (I also have a heated vest but I have not needed that on the slopes). These last two weeks have been spring skiing in January — no new snow but warm, mostly sunny days. I have had to shed layers! I am skiing in yoga tops instead of fleece. I am not lining my helmet with a balaclava. I know it cannot last (and the mountains need some fresh snow) but it has been delightful!
We did not expect to have the use of a car in Chamonix. In fact, we chose this area because there is a good bus system which gets one from town to the different ski areas. Our property manager, Jean, gave us the use of his extra car a small Citroën. We thanked him and used the car for our initial supermarket run. When we asked Jean about returning the car, he encouraged us to keep it. How nice is that? We have driven to a third ski area called Grands Montets, a more challenging area of open terrain and, on one day off from skiing, we drove through a 5 mile tunnel, to Italy (for pizza 🍕 😋 and to check out the skiing at Courmayeur). We also had a view of Monte Bianco from the other side.
Our next road trip is this weekend. We plan to drive to Milan; it’s about a two and one half hour trip. So I will be going to the most fashionable city in Italy and all I have are my hiking boots (oh so fashionable 😉)🥾.
Saturdays seem very crowded on the slopes so we can enjoy the town of Chamonix Mont-Blanc and its local outdoor market.
Last Saturday, I finally caved and we enjoyed fondue for lunch (we skipped dinner). Pretty much everything one orders at a restaurant (even a healthy salad) comes with a form of ham and cheese. This is one of the reasons I often cook dinner at our apartment and save the Savoyarde cuisine for evenings out.
This week, we took two days off from the slopes. On Tuesday, we visited the biggest glacier in France, Glacier Mer de Glace, 7km long and 200m deep. We took a train, from Chamonix up 878 meters to Montenvers. Honestly, I felt as though I was on the Little Engine that Could. Once we got there, we explored and took a small hike to acclimate. And, never missing an opportunity to visit a museum, we learned all about glaciers at the Glaciorium. There was a focus on the history of Mer de Glace and its early explorations in the mid-1700’s and the VIPs who visited in the 1800’s (Lord Byron, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Dickens, Louis Pasteur, Napoléon III and Eugénie). The Glaciorium also exhibited how climate change is impacting glaciers. Mer de Glace has been shrinking, losing 30-40 meters of its length and 4-5 meters of its thickness each year.
We hope to return to Montenvers with friends and family. It has been recommended that we ski the Vallée Blanche from the Aiguille du Midi, via the Mer de Glace. Apparently there is an unbelievable skiing, on the glacier but also a lot of climbing (with ski boots on and skis on one’s shoulder) but this guided tour is a once in a lifetime experience. The good news is that a new gondola is about to open which will supposedly lessen the hike part of this ski adventure. Stay tuned!
We would also like to visit the glacier’s Ice Grotto. This cave is cut into the glacier each year and opens during the month of February.
Yesterday, we had the pleasure of spending après ski with Luli and her daughter Kattalin who have a home very close to our apartment. They are good friends of our friends Carole. We had a lovely visit and got some good tips. It is always nice to meet friends of friends!
Today was a climbing day. With ski poles to support us, we hiked up Brévent, hoping to come down via gondola. We were among the only hikers on the trail and two hikers warned us about the conditions (in French). We thought we understood: green (vert), neige (snow) but avalanche? That needs no translation. We took our chances; after all, we could turn around if anything looked dangerous. The path was great with many switchbacks that were easy to navigate, that is, until we hit the snow line and at that point, we were so close to the top! But alas, we saw a field of snow boulders that had surely cascaded down the mountain and it made no sense to continue in snow boots. So much of our appropriate gear is in our White Plains storage locker — our snowshoes, for example. So down we went. It was a great hike and the constant movement kept us warm. All in all, we hiked about 4.5 miles and gained 1,600 feet of elevation. Pretty good for a day off the slopes.
And some trivia/history to close this post. Before one of my earliest trips to Paris, it was suggested that I go to Angelina on the rue de Rivoli for its famous Mont-Blanc. Andy and I shared this delicious confection of meringue, Chantilly, and chestnut purée, in Paris, on Christmas Eve. But now I know where Mont-Blanc got its name. And yes, it looks as though it/could be a snow capped mountain, just like Mont-Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, right in our Chamonix backyard.
À bientôt❣️
The Innocents Abroad, 21st Century Version 