In August we were fortunate to spend 3 weeks based out of Chamonix, France for my UTMB race. Even better, Robyn, Cathy, and Dani came along for the first two weeks! We had a tremendous time exploring the Alps. I've always wanted to stay in that valley and really get to know the area. So happy we were able to make it work and our friends were able to join us.
I have a zillion photos from those weeks that I'm attempting to pare down. Still, this needs to be a series of posts to break it into something manageable.
One of the great things about the Alps is the ability to take a tram halfway up the side of the mountain and then go hiking from there. The Chamonix valley has a whole bunch of options for that, and we took advantage of many of them. Our first hike started from Plan Praz, already with great views all around:
Never getting enough of this scenery:
We had to pause for a photo at the Col du Brevent, remembering our two passes through here during the Grande Traversee des Alpes in 2006 and 2008:
I loved climbing up the ladders and explaining how this was part of a race we did:
Over to the switchback trail on the way down toward Les Houches where we were staying:
The Christ Roi statue that we could see from our house across the valley:
Robyn did an amazing job creating delicious meals using various fresh items from the market - so very French!
I believe this is us walking to the train station the next morning, a bit of Abbey Road in France:
We had been looking forward to a via ferrata course, something new for our friends. There were various levels of comfort with this idea...
John led the way up the first easy section while we discussed how it's totally natural in Europe to let people loose on something like this, without a waiver or anything:
Cathy the rock climber loved it, Dani was a little scared but intrigued, and Robyn managed to make it through even though I think she was terrified at times. Thank you John for helping us figure it out!
The first cable crossing, and I'm guessing Too Cool Racing would love to add this to one of their adventure race courses if they could:
Getting higher and steeper:
The most scenic via ferrata course I've even seen, and a hilarious pose from Dani:
John took pictures while ON the long cable crossing, and it's rather amazing he still has the same phone after all this time (and I perhaps just jinxed him):
John's view back to Robyn and Cathy (and more amazing mountains):
Phew, that was awesome and at least a couple of us were relieved to be done! I snagged a shot of the long cable crossing with Mont Blanc in the background, so pretty!
Yay team, we did it!
The view from the back patio of our AirBnB never ceased to inspire us. We loved where we were staying:
Next up - Italy! We took a bus through the tunnel for a day trip to Aosta. Just a little experience in another country for some different food, a different language (my favorite language), and some exploration of really old places. We bought tickets to a set of archeological sites, including this underground area:
It was neat seeing ruins through the eyes of people who hadn't been to Europe before. Just a small glimpse of all the ancient wonders and things to see in all the countries on this continent:
We sampled a bunch of the local food, including a very small (and very strong) cup of Italian coffee - yep, that's about the right amount! I didn't even ask if they had decaf.
Modern art:
And the grand Italian finale, the best pizza of the entire trip (Pizzeria Farina Del Mio Sacco). Thank you for finding this place, Robyn!
I'd say we were off to a good start!
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