30 Days in Europe with Evan and Jim

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30 Days in Europe with Evan

July 2, 2013 - France

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Lucked out again on the weather today. Partly cloudy skies when we rose. Our balcony looks directly out at Mt. Blanc. It's actually an incredible view for a hostel room. Had a spartan French breakfast at the hostel at about 7:30. Our plan was to ascend the cable car to the Aiguille du Midi (altitude 3842 meters, or a little over 12,000 feet), hike the trail from Plan De L'Aiguille (half way up to the Aiguille du Midi), to Montenvers, which is the hotel by the famed Mer de Glace glacier. A cog train runs between Montenvers and the valley floor. We didn't know the optimal sequence in which to do all these exciting things. Clouds were forming near the peak at Aiguille du Midi, and the forecast called for the clouds to raise later on, but then return later. We decided to ride the cable up to the top, then half way back down to Plan De L'Aiguille, then do the hike, then ride the cog train back down. In retrospect, this was a good call. It was a good day. The line seemed long for the cable car, but it went very quickly once they opened the gates. They literally crammed us in there and we were crushed up against other people on the way up. When we passed each piling the car rocked a lot, and there was a chorus of "ooooohs" and "aaaahs". Pretty funny actually. Got out at Plan de L'Aiguell, the half way point to switch to the next cable car up, which was very steep, near vertical in fact. Ears popping on the way up. Some clouds at first at the top when we arrived, but they cleared away for spectacular views across Les Alps and to Mt. Blanc. The station, restaurant, observation decks and souvenir shop are a bit of a labyrinth, with many staircases. Immediately I felt dizzy climbing stairs and realized it's the altitude. Never have I felt this before. I began inhaling strongly through my mouth and exhaling through my nose, sat down for a minute, and felt much better. Wow. We lingered, took many photos, explored all the levels and watched climbers trekking up the slopes to the summit. Various camps in the snow with tents were visible below. Apparently 2,000 people a year summit Mt. Blanc. Lots of people with ropes, ice axes and crampons were milling about with us.

In line for the cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi.

The cable car was packed. They were literally shoving us inside.

Up we go.

And up. You can see the peak here.

Getting there...

Closer...

At the Aiguille du Midi. Lots of tourists here.

A view of the tower where you had to take an elevator to reach.

Climbers on a ridge in the clouds.

Mt. Blanc.

Mt. Blanc..

Workers roped up.

Looking down into the Chamonix valley.

A sign at the top.

Evan in shorts. We hadn't thought to bundle up. Duh..

Looking south towards Italy.

Moi with Mt. Blanc in the background.

There were all kinds of crazy metal staircases up there.

Evan on the stairs.

Inside the Aguille du Midi complex.

Looking south towards Italy.

Mt. Blanc.

Snowy.

Cable cars.

The tower at the top.

Chamonix valley.

Cable cars going to and from Glacier du Geant to the Pointe Helbronner.

After about an hour of being at the top we to the cable cable car back down to the half way point to begin the hike. A tourist office person warned us of snow, but that wasn't a problem at all. What snow there was was so thoroughly tracked out that it was easy. Great views up to the needles above during the hike. It took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Montenvars, where there were plenty of tourists. The cog train allows anyone to ride up there. The Mer du Glace glacier has retreated dramatically over the years. The hotel there, built in the late 1700s was at the glacier level at that time. Now the glacier is WAY up the valley, and it's just a dirt canyon below. Various historical displays showed people dressed in suits and ties and long dresses clambering over crevasses. Staying at the hotel used to require a trip up by mule. Must've been something back then. Lingered there too fora while eating remnants of yesterday's lunch. Lots of school kids from France and England there. Got on the cog train to descend to the valley floor. Had a number of really long stops on the way down, one apparently unexpected based on the conductor's explanation in French only. The train was packed. Little kids were all around us, which was kind of neat hearing them speak French. Once at the bottom we walked around downtown. Evan got gelato, I got a beer. I asked the native-English-speaking waitress what to do when it rains tomorrow and she said get really drunk tonight. Did a little shopping at the bigger grocery store and walked back to the hostel. Am now having a little Cotes du Rhone from a plastic cup before dinner. Chicken fillets, potatoes, sliced tomatoes, bread and a jelly donut for dinner. Clouds are thick now so you can only see the flanks of Mt. Blanc. We'll probably spend time at the pool tomorrow, confirm our car rental at the EuroCar office and maybe go on a trail run. Our roommates tonight are French trail runners. We spoke with one of them, who's really nice, and he said he ran 40km today. It's his 7th day and he's run 300km so far. He said the low snow level has made it difficult. It inspired Evan to go for a short run before dinner.

The Aguille du Midi cable car.