Chamonix Activity Report: 9th July 2008
Sun worshippers rejoice! The feeling of warm sunshine and crisp, cool mountain air is back. We woke up this morning to a fresh 14 degrees and bright blue skies.
Trail-wise, the paths of the valley are holding up well despite a recent sun/rain/sun cycle. There's mild channelling in places thanks to rainwater runoff, but the effective trail drainage here seems to be working well. We took a walk up to the Argentière Gorge last night to check out conditions for ourselves.
Apologies for the gorge-intense columnery of late, but I've recently realised the fact that whenever you have a large mass of ice (ie a glacier), you'll find a lot of meltwater coming out of the bottom of it. Ergo, the fluvial morphology beneath glaciers is always dramatic and interesting thanks to the power of the water sculpting the terrain. The Sources D'Arveyron are beautiful. And the Argentière Gorge is no exception. A lot smaller and less dominating than its big brothers - the Sources - it lies a twenty-minute walk above the CMBH helipad. It's basically a series of waterfalls through enormous, smooth boulders, but it's the setting that makes it so breathtaking.
The waterfalls of the Crèmerie are above you as you stand next to the gorge, the white water churning over the dark slickrock. The vibrant green vegetation under the waterfall are like something out of a sci-fi film, or a rainforest, and it's only when you see the icy blue snout of the glacier sticking out from around the corner that you realise you're in the Haute-Savoie, not the Amazon. Well worth the walk!
Whilst we were up there, we noticed a bunch of bolts set very closely together into a shallow rockface. It was only on closer inspection that we realised it was for kids to practise rock climbing. With small, thought-through things like this available to local kids, is it any wonder that Chamonix year after year produces some of the best rock climbers in the world?
We'll be at the speed climbing championships (and equally popular beer festival) at the weekend to find out. Until then, happy trails!
PS Incidentally, anyone biking or walking the Petit Balcon Nord this week should be aware that the Crèmerie bridge is being rebuilt and will be closed for the next week or two. Diversions are well laid-out and, speaking from experience, should be followed!
