Chamonix Activity Review: 14th August 2013

Summer 2013 may have been a late starter (snow in June?!) but since it decided to get its act together it has been a scorcher, with a day spent indoors feeling like a day wasted.

This week has been pleasantly spent at the Vallorcine end of the valley, hanging out at the rock climbing wall and noodling about on bikes. I am no expert at either climbing or biking and so many folks in Chamonix do everything to the extreme, so starting out can be daunting. I managed to find a few good "beginner" areas though and it was fun to head out with a mixed group of newbies and experts.

I've climbed a few times indoors and at Les Gaillands but it was my first time at Le Rocher du Saix. Tucked away out of sight, the climbing wall is easy to find from Vallorcine train station. Starting in the car park you need to cross the railway tracks, turn right and follow the road that turns into a farmer's track across the fields. The first signpost on the left takes you along a little footpath and into the trees, continue upwards for about 10 minutes and you'll find yourself at the base of the wall just above the treeline.

We got there before midday and it was really quiet, we soon realised that this was because the sun doesn't move around to face the wall until later in the day, meaning that some sections were a bit damp and slippy earlier on. No problem though, there were so many routes to try that there was plenty to keep us happy until the shadier parts dried out. There are plenty of not-too-challenging 4/5 routes, as well as lots of harder ones including 3 pitches to the top; the granite is fairly grippy with plenty of holds and good lines - great for building up your confidence. It is also apparently made of "gneiss", which according to Wikipedia is a type of layered rock composed of sheets of minerals and crystals that have been compacted over the years - less technical is that it looks nice and sparkly with pretty stripes. We also saw a donkey, so it was a great day out all round really.

Next up was biking, we had friends visiting who are pretty keen cross-country mountain bikers so we were looking for a trail that would be fun for them and not too scarily steep for me and my equally amateur boyfriend. The descent to Trient was recommended, so off we headed to Le Tour, taking the Charamillon gondola up from the car park and then the Autannes chairlift up to the Col de Balme. There is a big map up by the refuge that shows all the biking trails and gives advice on where you should/shoudn't go - some areas are restricted due to wildlife and for the safety of hikers. We took the TMB route, which is marked with a bike symbol on the big signpost nearest the refuge.

It started promisingly with a rocky but not-too-steep path that lead through the meadows down towards a collection of stone shepherds huts called "Les Herbagers", a very picturesque spot for a picnic. We bumped and bounced along merrily for quite some time and then we entered the forest, which is where it got significantly trickier. Steeper narrower paths with much sharper bends, the drop off the edge of the mountain if you overshot some of them would not be pretty... However, we all made it in one piece (dismounting at most of the corners to turn the bike round) and cruised down beside the river into the beautiful Swiss villages of Peuty and Trient - where there are a number of gites serving food and drinks if you want to stop for lunch.

After all that descent we wanted to give the other leg muscles a chance to take over, so we cycled along the road back to Vallorcine via the Chatelard border which involves pretty much free-wheeling downhill until you cross back into France then it's a good steady push all the way back up to Vallorcine, by which time you've clearly earned yourself a beer at the train station café. You can then get the gondola up and ride back down into Le Tour if you have the time (last lift 4pm). The ride starting from Col de Balme and finishing at Vallorcine took us about 3 hours including a lunch break and some very cautious mincing about on the steep bits - we didn't break any speed records but it was good fun and I definitely got the taste for it!

The weather forecast for the coming week looks just as good, which is going totally against tradition as Thursday is the celebration of the annual Fete des Guides, usually marked by torrential rain and thunderstorms. However, unless France Meteo has recently emplyed Michael Fish then it should be safe to trust the prediction of sunshine and 20° heat. The formal part of the day is marked by cermonies from 8:30am until midday outside the Maison des Guides next to the church in the centre of town, where they will honour past guides and welcome new ones, then from 4pm the festivities are held at Lac des Gaillands. There'll be pony rides, rope swings and other adventures for the little ones with a demonstration by the helicopter rescue service. Live music from 7pm will be followed by a sound and light display at 9:30pm and fireworks to round the night off. Tickets are 13€ for adults, 5€ for children aged 5-12 years and free for the under fives - all proceeds go towards the guides benevolent fund which supports the families of injured or deceased guides.

You don't have to go far to find a good after-party, a mere stumble of a few yards will get you to Le Vert in the fine company of DJs G Funk and Mellow D and the promise of a "silent techno disco"...

There is so much going on in and around Chamonix at the moment, have a look at our What's On calendar for more upcoming events.