While our friends were off exploring more of Italy, John and I explored more of the Chamonix area. I loved having time before the race to roam around and take it all in.
Just for kicks, we trekked over to St Gervais along the first section of the UTMB race course. It was nice to do it leisurely, pause for the views, and get an idea what to expect come race day. I also appreciated having a benchmark travel time for this part of the course, making me realize I would need to put in some effort to ensure I made the first cut-off. UTMB has fair rules of travel, requiring faster running in the beginning and allowing for slowdowns later, and it's good to know this in advance.
A helpful trail sign - "Courmayeur 60 km that way"
John snapped a photo as we were running down the hill through the lovely deep dark forest:
A fairly old (ahead of its time) solar system:
And a new electric mail truck, yay! We need us some of these:
Our favorite boulangerie in all of France (as far as we know - we will keep sampling others to be sure):
Bringing home the goods to share:
We found the St Gervais via ferrata course, apparently one of the more difficult ones in the country. Looking down at the start from the footbridge partway up the gorge:
Beautiful waterfalls to provide excellent climbing ambiance:
An artful resting spot:
Robyn, Cathy, and Dani returned to France, yay! And they found the UTMB finish line:
Check out all the sweet treats! And why is John inside while we're out there in the rain?
One last group hike, heading up to see the Bossons glacier. We took the adorable little chairlift partway up the hill, with a view of an old ski jump:
Impressive lookout spot from the top of the lift - it must have been even more impressive before the glacier receded:
Cathy can perhaps imagine riding a bobsled down the hill, whee!
Relics from a plane crash:
One of the words we learned while orienteering in France = "FALAISE", or "cliff" - i.e. don't go there:
We hiked up the steep trail and were rewarded with a much closer view of the glacier:
This would be a great spot for lunch on a sunny day:
I think Dani had a good time on her first European vacation:
Yay for great friends and fun, thank you all!
Sadly, it was time for the ladies to return to the States. Also time for me to get serious with race gear preparation.
But first! One final tune-up hike with John. We climbed up the hill above the Mont Blanc tunnel and found an old tramway station along the way:
It's weird to see so much of it still intact and accessible:
Getting up above treeline, with views of the upper mountain and the Bossons glacier from a different angle (and yes, that is John at a higher vantage point):
More old tram infrastructure, an early engineering feat to move people up the mountain for snow sports:
We admired the sled that is a part of the old pulley system:
A bit of Escher in the Alps:
We took a little trail to traverse toward the glacier, catching a glimpse of a pond below us:
Huge blocks of slowly-moving ice and rock:
We are so lucky to be able to do this:
On the way toward Plan de l'Aiguille, we heard a rumbling and just happened to be in the right spot to catch sight of a big rockfall across the way, super cool! Rocks and debris fell for a minute or two, just the mountain slowly falling apart little by little:
A huge glacier moraine, with a trail across further down. Something new for us, well worth the effort to get here:
Much further down the mountain, the Cascade du Dard:
Just another excellent week in and around Chamonix!
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