by Bill Piekos

View on Italian side of AlpsJennifer and I have recently visited this superb climbing area and would like to share some beta. We hope it proves useful to anyone planning a trip there for the first time. If you have already climbed The Dru, or had epics on the massive walls of Grand Jorasses – read no further! However, if you secretly thought of going there one day to grovel in the footsteps of climbing history: this article is for you!

No matter what type of climbing you are into, you are assured to find countless venues to enjoy your sport. Ice, snow, mixed, alpine rock and cragging abound in fantastic numbers. Also, this is Europe, so do not count on humping big loads anywhere!

Simply take your day pack, catch a telepherique (gondola), hike for 10-15mins and start climbing.

OK… so not all the choices are t-h-a-t easy, but very many are, indeed.

TRAVEL LOGISTICS

Aig ChamonixThere are several ways of getting to Chamonix, subject to flight carrier schedules, etc.

We took an Air Canada flight to Munich, then a short Lufthansa flight to Geneva and traveled by car from there. PS It pays to make your car bookings from Canada.

It takes about 1 hour by car from Geneva, mostly on 130km/h motorway (just like our Hwy 400 in a cottage rush hour!).

Having a car is most convenient, but you can also get everywhere by a Chamonix bus, or train, both of which run regularly and will stop (sometimes on request only) at many climbing areas and telepherique stations. PS If you drive, keep in mind that whoever gets on a "roundabout" first, has a right of way. Otherwise you will get creamed and increase your trip costs substantially!

This is a very busy place, with plenty of folks climbing, hiking, parapenting and mountain biking everywhere… After all, how else would Euros stay so trim while eating tons of cheese, huge plates of meat with lip smacking sauces and consuming wine by the gallon? Just like in Canmore, there are more dogs then people (or so it seems!) and they are permitted to accompany their owners to local eating establishments – very classy from the canine perspective!

Early September seems ideal, as it is already low season, offering less bustle and lower prices. Otherwise, July and August months are considered prime.

WHERE TO STAY

Typical street in ChamonixThe deep valley where Chamonix is located, represents an excellent choice for your stay. There are a few towns located there, all within a few minutes of each other by car, bus, or train. Chamonix is the biggest and the most famous one. The other ones are Argentiere, Les Houches, and further on, Vallorcine. Chamonix is very busy, noisy and somewhat polluted by frequent traffic. Others are much smaller and hence more relaxed and less expensive. There is a neat British pub in Argentiere called The Office. If you go there, tell its owner, Jane, that we say hi!

Many choices of accommodations abound: from expensive hotels (150-200 Euros per night) to hostels and everything in between, including private homes. Good choice seems to be MGM condo chain, which rent by day or week at a huge discount from regular hotels. If you go as a group, you can get a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, fully equipped condo (including private Jacuzzi and sauna!) accommodating up to 7 folks, for about 80-90 Euros per day. Smaller units rent for cheaper… You do the math, but this is not much more than our ACC Club in Canmore… These are located in Chamonix, Argentiere, as well as Les Houches. Orion condo chain also offers similar choices.

All towns offer well supplied grocery shops (Petite Casino is a popular chain), restaurants, bars, climbing shops, etc. Food prices seem to be on par with our hometown, except for French wine, which is unbelievably affordable at 3-5 Euros a bottle (cheaper than Coke)!

Buy a weekly, or seasonal pass for telepheriques to save extra money, as you will use them a lot.

GUIDES

Parties rappelling off L'Index's summitVisit a Tourist Information Office (there is one in each town) and get a topo map of the valley, with all of the major mountain ranges nicely marked, including hiking and approach trails and of course: telepheriques! The offices also display daily "meteo" in French and English and are a good source of general information about the area. Each town has a Mountain Guides office should you require their services.

There is a staggering number of telepheriques, allowing average folk to gain much elevation without humping loads for hours to get to the alpine terrain pretty much anywhere in the range. There is even a larger number of "refuges", or huts, strategically positioned throughout the range, allowing for a relaxing rest, or a few days of stay. These are usually fully equipped, with beds, blankets and a custodian crew who will cook meals for you (bring your Euros or credit cards!).

The numerous climbing stores offer wide selection of gear and guidebooks. Also check at magazine/newspaper stores, as they also have good selection of guidebooks and sometimes carry a broader selection of English versions. PS Gear prices seem on par, or higher than our MEC, so do not plan on getting any bargains…Buy your gear at home!

Depending on your objectives, you may need different guidebooks. The selection is very comprehensive. Most are in French, but some are also available in English. PS Even if you do not speak French, it is rather easy to make sense of the plentiful pictures and topos. The following seem best from what was available:

Ice, snow and mixed:

"Neige, Glace et Mixte" by Francois Damilano and Godefroy Perroux. It comes in French only, but with many pictures and very comprehensive descriptions. There are also two other guidebooks in English or French, which describe alpine climbs in the Mt Blanc massif.

Alpine rock:

Climbers on Midi"The Mont Blanc Range Topo Guide" by Michel Piola. This is a great guidebook, in French or English (shop around if you cannot find the latter version), describing the most popular routes throughout the region. It includes full topos and pictures of all the routes.

"Les Aiguilles Rouges. Escalade au soleil" by Thomas Dulac and Godefroy Perroux. This is another great guidebook, describing many of the rock routes in Aiguilles Rouges, which is a range on the other side of Chamonix from Mt Blanc. No glaciers and very little snow (if any) assure easy access and fantastic views on Mt Blanc side of the valley. Many pictures and full topos make this guidebook very comprehensive for this popular alpine rock area.

Cragging:

"Crag Climbs in Chamonix" by Francois Burnier and Dominique Potard. This is a superb guidebook, describing numerous crags in the valley, in French, or English. It contains full topos and many pictures.

PS A good website about Chamonix in general is: www.Chamonix.net

http://www.planetmountain.com/ offers good beta on Euro climbing et al.

CLIMBING

The Dru on the left, Grand Jorasses in the centre, Aig Chamonix on the rightI have left the best for last. In one word, it is nothing short of spectacular. A quick study of the guidebooks should produce many choices for stellar climbs and I will leave them for you to explore and salivate over… You will be choosing from countless, often snowy spires jutting from glaciers on the Mt Blanc side of the valley, to Aiguilles Rouges range on the opposite side, offering pure alpine rock in a beautiful granite range and many crags peppered in between… The choices are truly amazing and this is not even counting Switzerland and Italy being so close by!

A lot of routes are bolted, but not always. Most folks use double ropes (many use twin ropes) and bring a small rack for added peace of mind. As you may be clipping some manky pitons on older routes, a couple of screamers may also be a good idea.

My personal (and therefore biased!) suggestions for general orientation, or first outings, are as follows

Vallorcine. A nice crag, several minutes by car/train from Argentiere, offers many nice, three pitch routes, mostly bolted. 15 minute walk from a parking lot, or train station.

Jennifer on L'Index, Mt Blanc on the rightThe French use a different grading system so it is always good to figure it out before committing to a more serious route.

Mani Puliti route on Aiguille da la Gliere, in Aiguilles Rouges range, offers a very nice alpine route: 10 minute approach from a telepherique station and 6 mostly bolted pitches, although a small rack (a few medium nuts and 2-3 medium cams) comes in handy on one of the pitches. The route is about 5.8 with easy walk off and one 30m rappel at the bottom. You could also rap the route should the weather break, etc.

SE Ridge of L’Index, also in Aiguilles Rouges range, offers a more committing outing (the way down is up), of airy, but straightforward climbing, up a nice ridge to the summit of this small, but popular peak. It requires a 15 minute approach, goes at about 5.6 with the first pitch being the crux. The guidebook suggests that gear is not required, but do take a small rack as there is little, if any, fixed pro, on many of the 5 pitches of this route. One steep rappel gets you down from the summit close to the descent gully, which requires some easy scrambling at the top.

I have attached a couple of pictures, but Pat Morrow I am not! So, if you want to take additional peeks at some of the routes, go explore this nice website, which I came across during my research. It belongs to two American guides, Kathy and Mark and is guaranteed to have you running to your travel agent in no time: http://www.cosleyhouston.com/.

Italian glacier at 3500m. Telepherique can be seen going back to ChamonixPS They are super guys and were kind enough to email me some beta before our trip!

Lastly, there are many trails, which are clearly marked on the map you obtain from the Tourist Information Office, offering fabulous hiking opportunities for the off days, or when you nurse a hangover from a late night at The Office…

Jennifer and I ended up climbing for 5 days, as well as doing some hikes with my sister Nina and her friend Penny who accompanied us on this trip. As suggested before, the area offers something for everyone and is guaranteed to satisfy any outdoorsy enthusiast.

I hope you will get to enjoy it as much as we did.