A mixed few days here in Chamonix, some sunny spells but all in all its been fairly wet here, making it more difficult to climb, but still as easy as ever to go for a hike or a bike ride under the cover of trees - and of course there are many water sports to get involved with in and around the valley that don't require such a high level of dryness!
If you have never experienced a thunder storm in the mountains it's well worth a visit for that reason alone, a cracking to show to watch! And you will never hear thunder as loud as you will here with it echoing all over the mountains in the region and a brilliant spectacle of light crashing on to the mountain tops. Bring a camera and see if you can get a one in a million shot!
A lot of people have come to Chamonix this week to watch, support or enter one of the North Face Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc races. It is a series of races which start on different days, where the theme is running different routes around Mont Blanc starting and finishing the race either in Courmayeur or Chamonix.
There are two half routes round the tour Du Mont Blanc, one full route round which is a whopping 166km. And if that wasn't enough, they have put in an extra event this year and made a slightly longer and more technical run over 245km!! And the competitors will be running their race constantly without stopping. So come by this weekend and cheer the runners on - they surely will deserve it!
For the past few days I have been avoiding the rain and staying under the cover of trees riding around some of the paths above the Balcon Sud. The lowest part of the Balcon Sud, along the Promenade de l'Arve, can get fairly busy and the highest part is out of the tree line, but there are a number of paths which go up and down between them, fairly narrow paths but good to get outside and a bit of exercise.
To make it so it was a little more downhill than up, I caught the train to Montroc and got on to the path where you can follow signs to any number of destinations, to Argentiere, Flegere, Aiguillette du Argentiere, Lac Blanc (although you will need to climb up some ladders on this route so carrying your bike up them might be tricky!). I chose to follow signs toward Argentiere following a nice downhill track, a bit narrower than the lower trails and pretty bumpy, but if you attack the trails at speed you can find yourself being more stable.
Before arriving at Argentiere I followed the signs back up hill toward Flegere which is quite a climb uphill, especially with the bike and sections of it I was forced to push. The day stayed fairly dry, so I was thinking of getting above the trees and doing a couple of downhill runs at Flegere, but as soon as I got above the tree line I was washed away, so I returned to a path which took me on a very narrow track downhill to Les Praz.
The trail was pretty exciting in places, but in others the switch backs were so narrow I wondered if they could be done on a bike at all. Once off the trail which exits at the golf course, I decided to dry off and get a nice cup of coffee at Les Rhododendrons bar and restaurant, a welcome end to a wet but mostly enjoyable day.
So a good few days in Chamonix. Even with the rain it's still good to get out and do something. As I write this now, the temperature has increased and the sun is shining so climbing could well be back on the menu this afternoon. So book your trip out and enjoy the valley in whatever conditions meet you, or come see the tired returners from the epic Ultra Trail races which make a marathon look like a stroll in the park!
Don't forget to keep an eye on our What's On Calendar for a full list of events taking place over the summer months.
