Mont Blanc
Hiking in Chamonix/ Mont-Blanc
Ski Lift at 6,000ft - overlooking Mont BlancThursday, May 20th
Today was a pretty aggressive work-out day.
I took a 7:00am train to Chamonix/Mont-Blanc. The train took a little while passing through several small towns - but it was worth it. The scenery was spectacular. I've been really lucky the past few days, as the weather has been perfect. I'd call it 60-70's with a light breeze, clear blue skies with puffy white clouds.
When the train ascended into the Chamonix station, my first immediate perception was: "These mountains are close - right on top of us" Chamonix is an awesome little ski village. Chamonix was the home to the very first Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Since this time, France has hosted 2 other Winter Olympic Games - Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1992) - both locations in the Alps. Chamonix is heralded as Europe's best resort for advanced and expert skiers. I can see why. The mountains are straight down. I don't think you could find many greens or blues out here. Hence - I doubt if this is a place I'll be skiing anytime soon.
Once out of the train station, I tried to find Mont Blanc. I couldn't tell which mountain top it was. The peaks were enormous everywhere. Mont Blanc is 15,771 ft - the highest mountain in western Europe. But as is often the case - the surrounding peaks are nearly the same height - but just don't get the publicity. I found my way to the tourist information center. They had a map out front labelling the different peaks as you viewed from above. You could just barely see Mont Blanc to the far right.
I went in and asked if there are any trails for hiking they would recommend. They pointed to an area behind the center. "If you walk up that mountain - you'll get great pictures of Mont Blanc and the corresponding mountain range" That would be perfect. I knew I was not going to stroll into town and climb Mont Blanc. It's a very techinical mountain - and takes days to climb. Not one of which is currently on my agenda. The lady at the tourist office did warn me that there was still alot of snow on top of the mountains - don't go too high or you'll be risking avalanche. Point taken.
I hit this trail at 3,800 ft. I couldn't really tell if the altitiude was effecting me. This is not that high. I started running up the trail. This lasted for about 5 minutes. Before my heart pounded out of my chest - I decided it would be best to walk. I kept walking, going up 2,200 vertical feet to an elevation of 6,000ft. I did this in a matter of 2.5 miles - a very steep ascent. It took me about 1 hour, 15 minutes to do the climb. I then turned around and ran back down - slowly. When I got to the bottom, I did the whole thing again. At the end of my workout, I'd gone 10 miles, 8,800 ft vertical change, all in about 4 hours. Very, very shot.
I felt good that I completed this - but just imagining the fact that I'll be an entire mile higher in Peru - this is a scary proposition. It's clear to me that I will be walking the ascent and trying to make up time by running the downhills. Running downhills are not easy. Maintaining your footing is key. You really need to be cautious of every step you take. Another good thing about today - my trail running shoes I had bought for this occasion - worked beautifully. I think they'll work for Peru.
I gently strolled back into town - grabbed a pasta dinner and then hit the train back to Annecy. Check out the pictures - I wish you guys could be along with me. There was a time when I had reached 6,000 ft - and looked around. I was right at the snow level. There was a ski lift right there. I could look out over the Mont-Blanc range - the mountains penetrated the cloud cover. I took a few videos of this as well. I'll try to attach if possible.
Video - Mont Blanc - while standing on adjacent mountain at 6,000 ft
Today was a pretty aggressive work-out day.
I took a 7:00am train to Chamonix/Mont-Blanc. The train took a little while passing through several small towns - but it was worth it. The scenery was spectacular. I've been really lucky the past few days, as the weather has been perfect. I'd call it 60-70's with a light breeze, clear blue skies with puffy white clouds.
When the train ascended into the Chamonix station, my first immediate perception was: "These mountains are close - right on top of us" Chamonix is an awesome little ski village. Chamonix was the home to the very first Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Since this time, France has hosted 2 other Winter Olympic Games - Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1992) - both locations in the Alps. Chamonix is heralded as Europe's best resort for advanced and expert skiers. I can see why. The mountains are straight down. I don't think you could find many greens or blues out here. Hence - I doubt if this is a place I'll be skiing anytime soon.
Once out of the train station, I tried to find Mont Blanc. I couldn't tell which mountain top it was. The peaks were enormous everywhere. Mont Blanc is 15,771 ft - the highest mountain in western Europe. But as is often the case - the surrounding peaks are nearly the same height - but just don't get the publicity. I found my way to the tourist information center. They had a map out front labelling the different peaks as you viewed from above. You could just barely see Mont Blanc to the far right.
I went in and asked if there are any trails for hiking they would recommend. They pointed to an area behind the center. "If you walk up that mountain - you'll get great pictures of Mont Blanc and the corresponding mountain range" That would be perfect. I knew I was not going to stroll into town and climb Mont Blanc. It's a very techinical mountain - and takes days to climb. Not one of which is currently on my agenda. The lady at the tourist office did warn me that there was still alot of snow on top of the mountains - don't go too high or you'll be risking avalanche. Point taken.
I hit this trail at 3,800 ft. I couldn't really tell if the altitiude was effecting me. This is not that high. I started running up the trail. This lasted for about 5 minutes. Before my heart pounded out of my chest - I decided it would be best to walk. I kept walking, going up 2,200 vertical feet to an elevation of 6,000ft. I did this in a matter of 2.5 miles - a very steep ascent. It took me about 1 hour, 15 minutes to do the climb. I then turned around and ran back down - slowly. When I got to the bottom, I did the whole thing again. At the end of my workout, I'd gone 10 miles, 8,800 ft vertical change, all in about 4 hours. Very, very shot.
I felt good that I completed this - but just imagining the fact that I'll be an entire mile higher in Peru - this is a scary proposition. It's clear to me that I will be walking the ascent and trying to make up time by running the downhills. Running downhills are not easy. Maintaining your footing is key. You really need to be cautious of every step you take. Another good thing about today - my trail running shoes I had bought for this occasion - worked beautifully. I think they'll work for Peru.
I gently strolled back into town - grabbed a pasta dinner and then hit the train back to Annecy. Check out the pictures - I wish you guys could be along with me. There was a time when I had reached 6,000 ft - and looked around. I was right at the snow level. There was a ski lift right there. I could look out over the Mont-Blanc range - the mountains penetrated the cloud cover. I took a few videos of this as well. I'll try to attach if possible.
Video - Mont Blanc - while standing on adjacent mountain at 6,000 ft
Today is graduation day here! We miss you! Beautiful scenery, makes me wonder why we don't all live there! Thanks for sharing. KB1
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the video, Kyle. It really puts you right there (well, almost!) : ) When we took our first European tour in 2000, we went through portions of Switzerland & France and those views of the Alps are forever in my mind - thanks for bringing back some great memories.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Thanks for sharing! I enjoy "catching up" with your travels every few days. I can't wait until you get to some of the areas that I've been to!
ReplyDeleteJulie Bauer