Since Fete de Musique summer has prevailed the way it should do, with lots of sunny days and rain just at the right time to cool things down in the late afternoon. Its pretty much been the same every day and it doesn't even seem fathomable that we could have an extended period of bad weather again, at least till it's absolutely necessary in the winter!
The world cup football final is on Sunday coinciding with the start of the world cup climbing final here in Chamonix! This year the climbing cup is having a change of venue due to the resurfacing of the athletics track; it will be held on the Place du Mont Blanc in the centre of town instead. If you're torn between the two you will be happy to hear that Bar'd Up right next to Place du Mont Blanc will be showing the footie on every screen they have, including one outside so you will feel safe and be able to dash quickly between the two! After and of course during the climbing world cup over the 3 days 11-13th July there will be some awesome parties going on around the wall so it really is a good time to pop over and check all the shenanigans out.
With the climbing competition in town lots of people are trying out their own skills or even practicing for the event itself! So the walls have been fairly busy especially the lower down easily accessible ones like Gaillands, Vallorcine, La Joux, Servoz etc. It is nice to be able to find an undisturbed piece of rock to climb on and choose your own route without being forced on to something too easy or too hard because someone else is on the route you want to do.
There are many walls which you can walk up to access or catch a train that a little out of the way and off the beaten track. You will find that the rock seems to have a different texture to that of the lower very popular routes and you will be blessed with amazing views, some great climbing and tranquillity. With this in mind we took the train up to Montenvers to reach some climbs which are fairly easy to access, comparing them to some of the more out of the way routes in the valley!
On exiting the train walk down or get the bubble down to the foot of the gondola where there is a not so commonly known entry point to the climbs where it is necessary to traverse across part of the wall. We climbed over the fence just before the queuing stairs for the gondola and made our way on to the traverse. There are a few handrails that have been put in place to help cross the rock, however I definitely wouldn't rely on them as I have witnessed some of them snapping before! We set up our own hand rail between the 3 of us who were climbing that day and belayed each other across in relative safety. You should also take note that if referring to a guide book or map they are out of date and the Glacier has receded a massive amount which might make you think that the bottom of the bolted climbing routes are a lot further down than they really are. You are basically half way up the wall already when starting on the bolted routes so don't go too far down unless you have traditional climbing equipment or you know of another way out that I do not!
Once set up and at the bottom of the route we had a go at some of the lower routes, which where quite slabby and technical in places but all achievable and with some great views back to the glacier it was amazing to just be out there. Once we had enough of the lower section we did the multi pitch route which lead back up to the footpath, taking you back to the train station. With more amazing views on the way back up we felt really good after having such a great day and decided to head down for a more tranquil drink at the Rhododendrons bar in Les Praz!
For more information about lift price information and parking check out the Vallée Blanche skiing article on this website.
Check out our Mountain Guide Listings for contact details of local guiding and activity companies.
Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!
