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Exploring
Mont Blanc Country by Sally Bishop At 05.30 on 22nd July 2002, I set out for Heathrow to meet my group for a 12-day holiday in Chamonix in the French Alps. Since 1984 I have been involved in escorting parties on holiday in Europe and have covered trips to Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France as well as Northern Cyprus and Jersey. I was recruited initially by Raymond Cook Christian Holidays. When they were taken over by Page and Moy Ltd, I decided to carry on and in 2000 I escorted two parties to the Oberammergau Passion Play. Nowadays I organise my own group once a year, sort out an appropriate destination then oversee the booking. The task is not without problems but is a challenge which I enjoy. This year the group was small and numbered only ten. Last year I took fifteen to Switzerland. The group comprises friends and acquaintances from previous holidays, some having travelled with me for several years. They come from all over the country and, as we only meet once a year, there's plenty to talk about while we're away. We have lots of fun. I chose Chamonix because of its lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere and its excellent rail connections to other areas. Also, most of us had visited it on a day-trip when in France in 1999 and had liked the look of it. It is the oldest and biggest of the French winter-sports resorts. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1924 and boasts the world's highest cable-car, the Aiguille du Midi (3842m) for spectacular views of Europe's highest mountain Mont Blanc (4807m). It is 51 miles south-east of Geneva, 58 miles east of Annecy and 60 miles south of Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva. It is a very interesting town with good shops, plenty of places to eat, concerts and pedestrianised streets with live music some days. We arrived here very quickly on a hassle-free scheduled flight to Geneva followed by a scenic coach transfer. There was a welcome surprise when we were each given a Guest Card by our hotelier. Not only did this entitle us to discounts on entry to some attractions but also gave us free travel on the Chamonix Bus which serves most of the valley. In many ways this was the key to our successful holiday. The timetable provided us with suggestions of places to explore and the bus itself gave us a regular and reliable means of transport. Our comfortable 3-star hotel provided free packed lunches as well as full buffet breakfasts and haute cuisine dinners. Definitely not for weight-watchers ! On arrival (and for most of the holiday) the weather was superb. Our hotel faced Mont-Blanc across the green of the Savoy Fields. We couldn't wait to "go up" and decided to try the Aiguille du Midi trip first. Our Inghams tour rep. sold us tickets for all the major attractions on a sale-or-return basis to save us queuing and so we set off early next day to beat the rush. The crowds, however, had done likewise and so we had to wait for the numbers on our boarding-passes to be called. The cable-car whisked us up to the snow of the northern pinnacle (3777m) in 20 mins. What a fantastic way to start a holiday! The crystal clear views were spectacular but even better was to come. We walked across a narrow foot-bridge to the cental pinnacle and took the lift up to the summit at 3842m. It was like going up in a rocket to the top of the world. The terrace here is said to be the highest point in Europe where you can stand without climbing. A few of my group were a bit breathless but we all survived. As it was clear, we had a 360 degree panorama of the majestic Mont-Blanc range and its summit (4807m). "Aiguille" means "needle" and these mountains are aptly named, as they point to the sky. Having taken our photos at the summit, we returned to the lower level, ate our packed lunches and started out through various tunnels to the Helbronner gondola station for the final lap. Feeling like alpine pioneers, we set off on a marvellous trip across the Vallee Blanche towards Italy. Each red gondola holds four people on the half-hour journey. The system stops five times for you to take photos from your suspended position over the Giant glacier. In brilliant sunshine the huge extent of snow was a dazzling sight. The silence was memorable. There were only comments of admiration to break it. Peace at last. Far below us we could see deep crevasses in varying shades of blue, turquoise and green. We were surprised to spot a number of "ants" wending their way across the snow-fields. These were climbers and trekkers, many of them roped together. In some places there were small camp-sites with five or six bivouacs looking like strange coloured ladybirds. We alighted briefly in Italy for refreshment then returned by the same route which was just as breathtaking. Some of my friends thought it was the best Alpine trip ever, even better than the Jungfrau. It had been a splendid day. Whilst researching possible excursions before the holiday, I soon realised that Chamonix was well-served by buses and trains. I had expected that most days we would travel by train to explore the area, so the list of suggested trips I sent out to the group beforehand took account of this. In fact, the trains and the Chamonix bus went almost in parallel, (with the bus serving the more mountainous routes) so the free bus travel was worth having. It was not only a novelty for most of us, it was fun too! On most days after that we arranged our trips round the bus timetable. On Day Three we decided to go east as far as we could. In half an hour we were in the tiny village of Le Tour where we found a hotel for coffee and a pretty church. It was very quiet but comes to life in the skiing season. I expect. We made a note to return and have a walk by the river to the next village one day. The next bus took us to Argentiere (about four miles from Chamonix) which had much more to offer. First stop was picnic lunch in a designated area by the river with super mountain views. Then we wandered, safe in the knowledge that the red bus would be arriving as timetabled to take us home. The window-boxes everywhere were delightful. There was a lovely seventeenth-century church for a cool rest. Outside preparations were going on for a festival and we discovered an interesting art exhibition just down the road. There was plenty of scope for window-shopping here so we took our time, staying on for tea. Some of us were brave and walked on to the next bus-stop. All the while we were looking up and taking note of cable-cars and chair-lifts "for next time". The possibilities were endless. The homeward journey was not easily forgotten. Half-way home a large group of small, noisy children were herded on to the bus by three adults. The driver tried his best to keep them off (the bus was half-full already) but they got on and stood kneecap to kneecap, shouting and ooh-ahing as the poor driver negotiated the bends. We were just thankful to have seats. Next day the weather was still excellent so we went west to a village called Les Houches. There we took the gondola to Prarion at 1850m for coffee and stunning views of the valley. There are many opportunities for walkers here. We had left two people in the town so when we came down we joined them for a picnic by the local lake. We explored the pretty village and saw the wood-carver before catching a bus home for some time in Chamonix. Four of us nipped off the bus half-way and took a chairlift up to a delightful little caf( overlooking the Glacier des Bossons. Our confidence in the bus service was growing so splitting up into smaller groups was easy. Our local cable-car was next on our list. We could walk the short distance from the hotel. This one took us up the Aiguilles Rouges massif to Le Br(vant (2525m) facing Mont-Blanc and the Bossons glacier to the south. It was a superb view in all directions, in fact. To the north we could see the Diosaz valley, to the west the Fiz chain and the Aravis massif and to the east, the Aiguille Verte. Colourful hang-gliders were floating down to land on the field in front of our hotel. On the way down, my friend and I decided to take the plunge and risk a proper walk so we left the others at the mid-way cable station Planpraz (2000m) and walked along Le Grand Balcon to La Flegere (1877m), where there was another cable-car. It was a narrow, well-trodden path with a stream of hikers going our way. How I wished I had brought my boots and walking-pole ! We had been told it was a level, easy walk but this was far from the truth. We curled round bends and climbed quite steep hills for nearly two hours, loving every minute. For me it was one of the most satisfying escapes. It was a very hot day even at that altitude and there were butterflies all around us. A little Jack Russell kept running back, trying to herd us together with his family. We took a breather to eat our lunch in a spot surrounded by wild bilberries. Looking across to the Aiguille du Midi, we could pick out the river Arve which flows through Chamonix. We arrived at La Flegere hot and tired but exhilarated. A cold drink went down very well. We tried to guess what the others were doing. We were spot on ! They had caught a bus and found a new place for tea so everyone was happy. A "must" in this area is the trip by the Montenvers mountain train up to the Mer de Glace. It was so hot when we arrived that the cable-car and the climb down two hundred steps to the Ice Grotto were almost welcome. There we were greeted by Beethoven the St. Bernard who was very happy to have his photograph taken with us. As the glacier is moving constantly (1cm per hour), a new tunnel has to be dug every year. We could see the workmen doing it. Considering the number of tourists we had seen in Chamonix, this site was fairly quiet so we were able to picnic in peace surrounded by magnificent scenery once again. At 6pm there was a church service in English at the French Reformed Church in Chamonix. This was taken by the Pastor, an Australian radio producer who oozed charisma. He played his guitar and a lady violinist joined him to accompany the hymns. The collection was taken using a device like a butterfly net - very useful for reaching the end of the pew ! We were glad this was on Saturday instead of Sunday because next day we were off to Annecy by coach. Most of us
had visited Annecy on a day-trip in 1999 so we knew what to do. Sunday
is market day which means that all the attractive corners and views are
obscured by stalls, vans and people. We decided to take a boat trip on
the lake before lunch then when the market had been cleared away at about
1.30pm we could do our sight-seeing and take photos. Our voyage lasted
an hour and took us all round the lake. It was a baking hot day so being
on the water kept us cool. Back on terra firma, we ate out lunch under
trees in the lakeside gardens. I can recommend a visit to Annecy. It is
a compact town with fascinating arcades canals, narrow streets and flowers
everywhere. Next day it was still hot so we boarded the bus to visit Les Gorges de la Diosaz where we walked for about an hour and a half through the ravine. At times it was steep and a bit muddy but the paths were well-constructed so we felt safe. The Diosaz river tumbles down from Mt. Buet (3109m) with wonderful waterfalls along the way. The cool surroundings were appreciated. This area is somewhat isolated and I had wondered what we would do for three hours until the next bus. I needn't have worried. An obliging cafe-owner allowed us to picnic (we bought drinks) so we rested there and the time just flew by. It was delightful. With the Mont-Blanc tunnel now open, we were able to take a coach trip to Aosta (also known as Rome of the Alps) in Italy. There was an extensive market but we needed some culture so we looked for evidence of the Romans. We saw the Augustan Arch, the Porta Praetoria (1st cent. B.C.), the Roman theatre, the cathedral with its magnificent facade depicting the Last Supper and the 19th cent. Town Hall. Eventually the heat and the 3pm departure of the coach defeated us. We had the satisfying feeling, nevertheless, that we had now used our Euros in two countries and we could prove that Italian coffee was cheaper than French ! On the return journey the coach took us through Hannibal country and climbed the St Bernard Pass to the Col de Bern (2473m) where it was pleasantly chilly. (This was to be the last day of excellent weather.) It was only a half-hour stop so instead of making for the cafe we dashed to see the St Bernard kennels, the Hospice and the Monastery where it all started. St. Bernard founded the Hospice for stricken and weary travellers in the 11th cent. In the 12th cent. a Monastery was founded with monks undertaking to take food to the Hospice with the help of specially trained dogs which could follow paths even when there was deep snow. The famous dog called Barry saved over forty lives. I was interested to learn that these dogs are the short-haired variety - not like Beethoven. We travelled home via Martigny in Switzerland. This was a very varied and enjoyable day even if we did have reservations about the coach-driver, who obviously disliked the British and ignored us all day. There were two days left and the sky was overcast so we decided so take the train to Cluses where we visited the Clock and Watch-making Museum. There we saw some beautiful time-pieces dating from the Renaissance, including Voltaire's watch. This was fascinating. The town of Cluses is famous for its part in the Tour de France and there was a bicycle made of flowers outside the Town Hall. A bridge over the Arve dating from 1674 was also admired. At the nearby School of Watch-making and Screw-cutting students are trained to world-class standards. Even the Swiss train here! Our last day brought rain. Some people went on a coach trip to Yvoire, the village near Geneva famous for its flowers. Four of us decided to forego this pleasure as we had been before and we needed to do some shopping. After lunch we hopped on the bus to the Nature Reserve at Col des Montets. Here we found not only a marvellous array of flora and fauna but also microscopes, computers and something that looked remarkably like an endoscope to delight us. We followed the example of the locals and got busy with a CD-ROM to learn about French bird-song in French ! It was great fun. Outside the sun was now shining and the bus was waiting so, reluctantly, we went home to start packing. We had proved
that Chamonix is a good centre for exploring the Mont-Blanc area, and
would like to return in a few years to see more. One of the best holidays?
I think so. First published in VISA issue 47 (autumn 2002) |