Aiguille du Midi

Sometimes, from my apartment i get the most wonderful views of the Aiguille du Midi, either at sunset or sometimes spectacular glimpses through the cloud. So one huge thing on my Chamonix bucket list is the Aiguille du Midi, of course.

I had promised my self that the first good day i got of work i would go up the Aiguille du Midi. Last week was perfect, so i jumped out of my bed early, and headed into Chamonix to take the cable car ride to the top. On my way i was lucky to see this sunrise, such a promise of a good day. (this photo is better)

The cable car ride up the Aiguille du Midi, costs 50€ return or 54€ for the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass which also gives you access to other ski areas and attractions. The cable car ride is in two sections the first to the Plan de l'Aiguille at 2317m, and then on to the Aiguille du Midi at 3777m.

I am unlikely to attempt climbing Mont Blanc any time soon, so the Aiguille du Midi, is the closest i am likely to get. At 3777m you definitely feel the altitude, i was really struggling with the steps that get you to some the the best views.

Once on top of the Aiguille du Midi the views are amazing. It is from here that you get the best views of Mont-Blanc (highest peak in Western Europe), and also views across three countries, France, Switzerland and Italy. You really do feel like you are on top of the world.

In the Above picture you can see the Les Houches Ski area, where i lam staying (to the left). From the valley this seams massive, but from the Aiguille du Midi, it looks so low down and you can really appreciate the height.

Apart from a few tourists like me, just up there to look at the view, the majority were there to ski down the legendary black run. You need to be an experienced skier, take a guild, lots of specialized equipment and a good deal of nerve. Not something my one ski lesson covered in the UK, so i'll just stick to the blue runs for now.

This post just ran way to long to fit into it everything in i did that day so i am posting separately about the rest.

Ski Day at Domaine de Balme/Le Tour, Chamonix, France

I have been so busy recently with working, skiing and sightseeing that i have not have had chance to blog any of this, not to mention the computer issues that seam to dominate my life (4th computer in 2 years anybody!). 

Just over a week ago now i used up one of my tokens that i get free with my Les Houches season ski pass, to go up Le Tour. We chose Le Tour because, because the landscape is so different to that of Les Houches; more wide open spaces than the narrow tree lined runs of Les Houches. Now i have the day off i feel the desperate need to write all this down, before it joins the blur of the rest my travels.

Le Tour was perfect for me and my friend as it has loads of gentle blue runs. We needed it after months of skiing as we are both suffering from sore knees. The main blue run, Liaison Balme which runs into Les Esserts, runs for kilometers at such a gentle pace that you don't really have to ski, just take in the great views as you glide past.

Not all the blue runs were gentle though, some seemed to me to be a little on the extreme side for a easy blues. The Bechat slope for example really tested my nerve. It was a steep and long decent that just seemed to keep going. I had to take it pretty slowly and watched as my friend completely lost control and crashed at speed. Luckily she was OK. Bechat will forever more be known as The Death Slide.

For lunch we stopped off at Restaurant Alpage de Balme (altitude 1990). The restaurant is 'al la cart', serving traditional Alps style food, so lots more cheese then. We both chose a 'Croute' bread and goat cheese dish, which was delicious and very reasonably priced. I also went a bit greedy and had a chocolate fondant desert.

It was such a beautiful spot and a lovely restaurant that we spend a good hour or so there just smiling and appreciation the views.

The afternoon was spent taking in more beautiful views and just really appreciation how lucky we are to be living and working in such an amazing part of the world. I don't think either of us could imagine a year ago that all this could be ours.

Ski day in Les Houches

Woke up to beautiful sunny weather this morning, it does not get much better than this for a ski day.

We went up the Bellevue Telephethique first thing in the morning. Then spent the day running the more gentle blue runs up on the Les Houches Domaine.

For lunch we stopped at one of my fravorite restaurants La Cha.

La Cha is a self service restaurant at the bottom of the La Cha ski lift. The restaurant is small family run restaurants, with fantastic views, if you are luckily enough to get on of the few upstairs window seats. The interior of the restaurant is done out in a traditional/modern chalet style and borders on cute. The food is self service and always really good. I tend not to eat meat, and there has always been a veggie option, today it was ratatouille and spaghetti. There is also a good selection of salads and a amazing selection of desserts.

Oh they also have the best toilets on the piste.

In the afternoon we stopped at ..... which is at the bottom of the Vos la Coza lift. I have never stopped here before, because it have either been closed or i have just ski passed. We ordered hot chocolate and KitKats, the hot chocolate was nothing special, nor was the restaurant.

Overall an amazing day, i am so lucky to be staying in such an amazing place.