Activity Reviews in Chamonix

The weather in Chamonix has been amazing with brilliant blue skies, crazy hot temperatures and lots and lots of people flocking to the valley. This weekend saw the Fetes Des Guides in Argentiere and Chamonix, with great shows performed at both ends of the valley and parties lasting till dawn at each event. It's been a great weekend for those who came to Chamonix, but the fun never stops and there is always a great party or BBQ to go to and of course the many outdoor activities possible in this wonderful valley.

Some amazing weather has been given to us this week in Chamonix and it has pretty much returned to summer again! Which has been a joy, but not quite warm enough to brave swimming in the lakes and before the sun comes over the mountains the tempratures have been as low as 5 degrees! By mid afternoon though, the temperature has sat around the 25 degree mark - absoloutly brilliant for whatever activity you would come to Cham for this October.

Rain, rain and even more rain! There has been sections of the day where it hasn’t rained however it seems like those sections of the day are becoming few and far between. There hasn’t been an amazing torrential downpour going on, just frequent and persisting often spitting showers, so it hasn’t prevented biking or hiking if you have a good set of waterproofs or indeed if you are jumping in a river or lake anyway. However it has prevented some paraglide flights, climbing Mont-Blanc, climbing, and other weather dependant activities.

With heavy snowfall arriving early in December things started off looking good for the long months ahead. However, a couple of weeks have now passed and there has been no further precipitation.

The pleasure of walking in the mountains is something that becomes closer to me as I get older. Maybe it's the time of year, when Chamonix town centre becomes unbearably busy; maybe it's the soothing escape that altitude offers from the more stifling heat lower down. Whatever it is, it's got me out and about this week enjoying sensational trail conditions in beautiful weather.

Situated between Chamonix and Les Houches is the small village of Les Bossons – home of the Les Bossons Glacier (Glacier des Bossons), which boasts the title of the highest icefall in the Alps. It comes down from the summit of Mont-Blanc at 4807 meters to a mere 1300 meters and is therefore a dominant presence in the valley. Even with the naked eye you can easily see the impressive, jagged seracs (large ice columns created when the glacier cracks over uneven ground), which makes the glacier a well photographed sight by tourists as they pass down the Chamonix valley

It's been another beautiful week here in Chamonix – hot and busy, but with plenty opportunity to escape the crowds and enjoy your own quiet corner of the valley if you prefer. With temperatures sitting well up in the 20's and early 30's, heading up the lifts to the cooler air at around 2000m is the perfect way to start. Brevent, Flegere, Aiguille du Midi and the Montenvers train are the access points to two of the most popular walks in the valley – the Grand Balcons, Nord and Sud. Both of these walks take 2-3 hours at a fairly steady altitude, and are manageable by most if you're fairly fleet of foot and in sturdy footwear. They offer some of the most spectacular views of the valley – Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles from the south (Brevent) side and of Brevent and the Aiguilles Rouges from the north. Being so easily accessible from town they are also two of the busiest trails, especially at the weekend. So if you fancy enjoying the scenery without the queues and constant chatter, then you'd be better to head up the valley a bit to Grands Montets and Le Tour.

The breaking news is that Chamonix has become a zombie town... stiff-limbed creatures shuffling and staggering through the streets, many with a look of vacant exhaustion on their faces, some sporting an array of bruises and bandages. It's a far cry from last week when they were all limbering up in eager anticipation but since then they have covered an awful lot of very steep ground.

This week we have a bonus report from our Verbinet.com reporter, Lee Fieldsend, who decamped to Chamonix for a spot of ice climbing…

We have had a little more mixed weather this week here in Chamonix, but it’s the right mix; sunny in the mornings and at least dry for the best part of the day while clouds roll in and some epic thunder storms crash and bang through the night, before the morning sun comes along to dry it all off again. At other times in the year all this evening rain would mean that climbing isn’t possible the next day, but it doesn’t take long at all for the walls to dry in the heat that we have been having while the sun is out.

More mixed weather passing through the valley, with much rain at times but also some sunny spells, so making the most of the sun while it's around has been the theme of the week! It's still fairly warm when the sun is out but overall the air temperature has cooled since the massive amount of rain fall in the previous week.

We have been busy starting preparations for the winter season this week, updating the websites and checking information. We have launched our new weather statistics: Today's cumulative, The Week's cumulative, and The Month's cumulative showing trends and allowing you to see when snow might be on the way - read the explanations on the graphs!