Chamonix Activity Report: 9th August 2012

I know I've said this a lot lately, and I hate to rub it in for those of you living in less sunny places, but we've had another scorcher of a week here in Chamonix. So much so that I've taken to jumping in rivers to cool down... canyoning is officially my new favourite thing.

Canyoning involves wading through rivers, sliding down waterfalls, plunging into rock pools, and generally cavorting around in the refreshingly cold waters of Barberine on the French/Swiss border just 20 minutes drive from Chamonix. It was here that we met our guide, Brice from adventure company Evolution 2, and our fellow canyoners one hot afternoon this week; we got kitted up in wetsuits (has anyone ever looked good in one of these?), harnesses and helmets before heading up through the woods to our starting point. Brice gave us a few safety tips before we set off and then off we went, wading through the water and trying not to be the first to fall over. The adventure starts off fairly gently with a few bum slides down smooth slabs of rock into crystal clear plunge pools, enough to get you used to the water temperature and give you a taste of things to come.

The first challenge came when Brice showed us how to clip our harnesses onto a rope attached to a rock face and we had to inch our way round while a waterfall roared beneath us. Being roped up was fine, it was having to unclip from the rope and jump off that was the scary bit... I didn't think I was scared of heights and when I try to picture it 3 metres doesn't seem that high but when you're stood on the ledge of a small cliff looking down into what looks like no bigger than a puddle of water all of a sudden it seems like a much bigger deal. Rather than dwell on it I looked out to the trees on the top of the opposite cliff and leaped with an undignified squeal into the unknown, which soon became known as a perfectly safe rock pool. We were then given the option of climbing higher up and doing a 6 metre and a 10 metre jump, I managed the middle one but bottled the big'un on the grounds that I'd save it for next time.

From here we carried on along a series of water slides and smaller jumps until we reached another point where we had to use our harnesses. Brice clamped himself koala-style onto a rather skinny tree and belayed each of us down a rock face, advising us to lean back horizontally and use our feet to "walk" backwards towards the foaming torrent below - it's a good job he has a reassuring way about him. Brice controlled the ropes and the speed of our descent, lowering us down through the waterfall that was crashing in from somewhere above us; even those who looked scared of the abseil were shrieking with laughter as they were dropped into the water!

From here it was an easy scramble through the river back to where we had started, passing fields of cows and horses along the way. The trip took around 2 hours from start to finish and we were exhausted but elated by the end, all buzzing on adrenalin from the jumps and slides! The scenery along the river was stunningly beautiful as well, sometimes seeming more like a jungle than an Alpine forest (except for the sound of Swiss cowbells obviously).

Evolution 2 offer full and half day canyoning trips, I did the half day but would definitely recommend the full day one if you are full of beans and have a good level of fitness. The half day option costs 69€ per person and is open to anyone over the age of 8 years who is a confident swimmer, the full day costs 99€ and is open to anyone over the age of 12 due to it being a bit more physically demanding. They also organise white water rafting, hydrospeed, glacier hiking and lots of other activities that are suitable for groups or individuals - click here to find out more.

If it's apres-canyon you're looking for, then look no further... Chamonix has it all going on this weekend. Hotel Les Aiglons has live music on the terrace courtesy of Brazilian jazz band Righi Pontet Project from 6pm on Friday evening. Le Vagabond are offering a great deal every Friday at their BYO BBQ - you bring the meat, they cook it and provide free salads while you enjoy 2-4-1 on house spirits and mixes from 9-10pm. Get yourself down to Les Praz on Sunday evening for another BBQ at Hotel Eden, the food here is always top notch and for 19€ you can stuff yourself full of sticky ribs, bangers, burgers, veggie burgers, roast spuds, salads, side dishes and desserts, all to the sweet soul sounds of Rich Rat. Gold medal fever has struck Chamonix, resulting in our very own mini-Olympics in Monkey Bar on Saturday night, events include 100m no spill sprint, 200m 3-legged race, limbo, arm wrestling, skateboard high jump... prizes and bar tabs to be won. Call in over the weekend to sign up your teams of 3 "athletes".

Check out our What's On Calendar for more details on what to do this week in Chamonix.