We are now well into September and summer finally looks like it has arrived! No, just kidding but we have been having a bit of a heat-wave (like a lot of places apparently). Having said that the weather this weekend has been touch and go.
As the interseason is looming the construction work has begun in earnest. There is redevelopment of the Place de l'Eglise going on, although no seems to know what is going to be built there. Amusingly, mid-week it was suggested that the area was being turned into a water feature or fountain but in fact it was that a water-mains had been hit by a digger whilst removing a tree!
We did think about going along the 'Maison des Projets' to find out exactly what was being done, however (probably related to lack of demand...) they are only open to the public for a couple of hours per week and we weren't around at the right time. In the meantime the photo should, fascinatingly we know, let you see the current state of affairs.
Development is also well underway on the new Vallorcine - Le Tour lift, due to open at Christmas. No doubt the Compagnie du Mont Blanc are hoping to lure visitors from Switzerland, the border of which is only a couple of miles from Vallorcine, rather than make amenities better for the tiny hamlet.
However, a fortunate side affect for Chamonix's riders will be the opening up of an entire mountain side of North facing chutes and tree skiing, from which return was previously only possible by train. More info and some pictures by intrepid Natives reporter come novelist Jon Trigell are here.
On a gloomier note, last weekend was a bad one for solo visiting parapenters, with two being killed in two separate incidents. One unfortunate didn't attach his harness correctly and plummeted several hundred feet when he could no longer hold on. In the other accident strong winds collapsed the wing and entangled the British pilot as he fell onto the Brevent side of the valley. The unpredictable winds at this time of the year do mean that seeking local knowledge before setting out is highly recommended.
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Additional snow and weather information provided, with thanks, by meteo.chamonix.com and the Tourist Office
