Chamonix is a small town in a freshly carved glacial valley (think steep walls with hills of gravel and rocks along the sides (moraines). I say ‘freshly’ carved because the Mer de Glacé Glacier (Sea of Ice) used to extend down to the town of Les Bois and was clearly visible from Chamonix (approximately 2 km farther down the Valley than its present location when visitors first started frequenting the area in the early 1741). They have been formally studying this glacier since the ~1870’s but they have data back to 1565. Mer de Glacé is really the birthplace of Glaciology (study of glaciers) and the It is the longest studied Glacier in the world.  

 Since they began tracking the glacier it has had numerous periods of advance and retreat but has been in overall retreat (with only small advances) for the last 170 years.  The glacier has lost over 2 km in length and a couple hundred meters in thickness (it is about half it’s thickness at lower altitudes).  In the early 1800’s, the people of the Chamonix Valley were quite concerned that the glacier was going to over run the town of Les Bois and so the bishop came down and he exorcised the glacier!

It worked. 

The glacier has been in retreat ever since.  Blame God, not global warming for this one.   

 Studies of the Glacier continue annually and each winter a tunnel is drilled into the Glacier. If you visit in the winter season, you can take a stroll in the “Ice Cave” and see inside a real live glacier! If you don’t want to visit Chamonix for the skiing, this is definitely a reason to come back and nerd out! I am seriously considering adding it to my geology bucket list. 

       
             

 
 

  

This might have been one of my first questions as Astrid and I began to prepare our luggage and packing options for this trip.  

While I am capable of packing light, often the draw of creature comforts and “options” for fashion in my luggage overpowers the need for minimalism. Though, for this trip, knowing it was a serious “you pack it, you carry it” expedition, there was a greater desire to get things right.

In recent years my destinations of choice have not required such luggage and the evolution of the roller bag has served me just fine. 

However, it is not like I haven’t travelled with a backpack before. I was probably about 12 (grade 7, maybe?) when I got my first pack. My dad likely bought it at MEC, a Canadian institution for outdoor-zee folks. It was brown with a nice comfy waist belt and was well suited for my camping gear, sleeping bag, and clothes. I recall using this pack mostly for Guide camp, but I know I also used it on a couple trips along the West Coast Trail. 

For those who know my family, you’ll know that when we camped as kids it was pretty hard core. For example, only when the river reaches your tent flaps, and you can’t move it back further into the woods, is it time to go home. (trip to San Joseph’s Bay with the Loucks family) 

And, during the time we spent on the WCT, well, that was a whole other level of organization and minimalism. We brought a tarp and bivey sacks for sleeping (tents and sleeping bags were heavy and bulky) and I’m pretty sure we had our food down to a science as far as how many crackers, slices of salami and apples would been required to feed us well, but ensure we didn’t bring a single item of food back out of the trail. I suspect that “master” food and supply list is still in the Dobson camping arsenal and the next generation will soon be using it themselves.

In those days, it was “pack in, pack out”, but at an extreme level on the WCT – there were no bathrooms, no campsites, no trash bins and no communication technology to help you. 

Today, there are reservations required to hike the trail, bins and bathrooms strategically and subtly placed and cell phones to call for help (if service permits). But back in the day, you could literally hike for days and see no one, so if you didn’t like who you were with, well, tough luck. Your only other companion option might be a bear sniffing at the tree trunk where you’ve flung your food bag over a high branch for the night.

For this trip, I trotted down to “Out There”, a Calgary-based outdoors shop on Stephen Avenue. Based on their website, they were the place in town I would most likely find a huge pack of 85L, our desired size for this trip. The staff were awesome and within minutes I was ready to take flight with my blue Osprey pack. It fit well and the well-padded belt would be ideal for absorbing all that travel weight. A grey rain cover for foul weather finished things off and I was ready to start packing.

This time around, the challenge was less about the twenty some-odd days we would be on the road (sinks make wonderful laundry facilities); rather the variety of climates we would hit along the way. And, layers can only take you so far. When you are at 12,700 or so feet, an insulated jacket, toque and gloves are absolutely necessary and in a downpour in Zermatt or Chamonix, boy are you glad for a Gortex jacket and a fleece lined hoodie. As we make our way towards Italy these items will be shoved into the bottom of the pack and summer dresses, shorts and tank tops will hopefully get their time in the sun.

Astrid, on the other hand, is a veteran backpacker and valuable resource for me in how to pack for a backpack. She has spent a tremendous amount of time backpacking in many locations around the world – in the Canadian Rockies, throughout Europe; along the shores of the East Coast of Canada and throughout Australia and New Zealand. She has it down – sealable space saving bags, heavy weight on the bottom, little pouches for all the bits and pieces and a spot for all her many, many maps.

Our large packs are complemented by a day pack each that we wear on our front between rail lines and hotels and also serve for some day outings. In place of a city handbag we each have a handy leather cross-over bag. In this case, my Canadian Roots bag is the well-travelled one and shows the wear and tear of my many adventures. On this trip alone, it went for a little bath in a rainwater downstream sidewalk cavity while we were having lunch in Paris. Soaked right through, it dried quickly and there is not a stain to be had.

Astrid’s Derek Alexander bag was new for the trip. Fits all her necessities and has achieved its first adventure story – a small series of scratches on one side courtesy of the catacombs in Paris.

 

  
We have done well on this trip by way of not over acquiring too much too early, though as we do pick up small items the bags are starting to fill and get heavier. My problem seems to be that I buy little bags and boxes of treats and shove them in, creating weight. Astrid on the other hand, knows better, and consumes all that chocolate she buys as we go.

Where we may find ourselves in a bit of trouble is when we reach Italy. If history repeats itself, I many find myself overwhelmed by choices in the Italian leather markets and dreaming through windows at leather shoes. It will be at this point where our true backpacker spirit will be needed, but one can bet these urban girls are going to need a great bag to bring home…

Louis XIV who built Versailles led a very public life.  Everything he did, he did in public and this is one of the reasons he succeeded in making France Europe’s number-one power.  Versailles was the cultural centre of Europe, everyone learned French and French style, taste and manner of kissing spread across Europe.  There was no suspicion about him, no rumours, no cause for question because everything he did had a witness. Louis XIV had no privacy and privacy was something Louis XV and Louis XVI craved and they eventually took for themselves.  That privacy ultimately led to the fall of the French Monarchy.  

The day Louis XIV died, his grandson and heir Louis XV took the throne and went to bed in public that night.  Louis XV was only 5 years old. A Regency was establish and ruled until the King turned of age and life was much the same as it had been under Louis XIV.  When the King turned of age he had new apartments built for himself in Versailles (see Versailles – A lesson in opulence) and slowly carved out more and more private time for himself.    Louis XV lacked his grandfathers charm and slowly France lost it’s power abroad and rumblings of rebellion began in France.  By the time Louis XVI took the throne, the nation was in crisis.  He was a meek man who married a sweet girl from Austria, Marie Anntoinette.  The two retreated into a private life in the Gardens of Versailles, isolating themselves from the growing revolutionary fires.  They lived extravagantly, no one knew what they were doing, there was a lot of suspicion and question.  Eventually the poor peasantry were wondering why the King held absolute power over them and why they should be expected to pay for all his and Marie Antoinette’s extravagant life?  This is a bit of an over simplification of what caused the French Revolution by the gluttenous lifestyle of Louis XIV, XV & XVI certainly were leading factors.

Versailles has some amazing gardens originally built by Louis XIV.  In his mind, he was the divine ruler and thus he canncontrol nature.  The well manicured gardens were well planned, beautifully manicured and embellished with statues and fountains … This control in the gardens was to remind the 5000 nobles who lived at Versailles that the Sun King was in complete control.    We were lucky to be there on a day when the fountains were on, so we got to enjoy them in all their splendour!

                  

Palace life at Versaille still got hectic for Louis XIV.  Ironically, he moved the French Court to Versailles to get away from the stressful life of the Louvre in Paris and instead he just moved all that stress to Versailles.  The constant scrutiny and strict etiquette of being watched by people 24/7 had to wear on the king and so ‘The Trianon Palaces’ were built as a getaway at the edge of the manicured grounds (about a 30 minute walk from the Palace).  Louis XIV and XV used the Trianon Palaces mostly for their mistresses … Louis XVI and his wife retreated there to lead a private, insulated life away from the countries problems.

Marie Antoinette desired the simple life of a peasant.  She wanted the fairy tale of simple country living, she did not want the experience of hard labour like the real peasants who sweated and starved around her.  To live out this fairy tale she had built Le Domaine de Marie-Antoinette … A small peasant village where she could live out this dream.  She loved the privacy this village offered her as no one could come to visit without her permission.  It was this type of extravagance that earned her the nickname ‘Madame Déficit’ and helped the country become disillusioned with the monarchy.  Even with all of that – the village is a pretty amazing place and you can easily see its charm.

   

 
  

  

  

  

  

  

They still grow full gardens and have bunnies, goats and cows so you can get a real feel on what it would have been like. 
    

   

When you see Chateau de Versailles, it is easy to understand why the French Revolution happened.  The Kings were overspending, the peasants were starving and the only way the monarch could pay for his lavish and indulgent lifestyle – was to raise taxes … Beheading the king and queen was really just a matter of time.

Understanding Versailles requires a brief review of French history:

~1380’s-1654~ The Louvre Palace in Paris was he official residence of many French Kings and the political capital of France.  

1654-1715 ~ Louis XIV was King of France (aka the Sun King)’ reigned for 72 years is the longest of any monarch in European history. Moved the royal residence and the French Court from the Louvre in Paris to the Palace of Versailles.

1715-1774  ~ Louis XV, took the throne when he was 5 and was a huge science buff!

1774-1793 ~ Louis XVI was the last King of France (wife: Marie Antoinette).  Both were beheaded during the French Revolution and their deaths ended the French Monarchy.

1789-1799 ~ the French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval which resulted in the abolition of the French Monarchy and changed the power of monarchies across Europe.  It was decreed in 1792 that the Louvre be used as a museum to display the Nation’s masterpieces (at that time 537 paintings).

1804-1814 ~ Napoleon Bonaparte (aka Napoleon I) was Emperor of the French, he rose to prominence during the French Revolution

Louis XIV was the visionary behind Versailles.  He greatly expanded his father’s hunting lodge (where he had his favorite memories as a child) into his lavish home and the political capital of France.  It features 700 rooms, 67 staircases, 2,153 windows, 27 acres of roofing, and 55 fountains.  If you ever wondered where Donald Trump found inspiration … this is it.  Louis the XIV spent half of France’s annual GDP building the Palace.  The grandeur was to show the power of the King.  He lived his whole life in public, people were with him at ALL times – when he went to bed, when he woke up, nobles fought over who would get to dress him, people would sit and observe him eat all his meals. With high ceilings, poor insulation and expansive gardens – Versailles has been and continues to be a beast to heat and maintain.

  
  We did a tour of the private Royal Apartments of Louis XV and Louis XVI to bypass the 1.5 hour wait to get into the Palace.  We would agree the 15€ was worth every penny. The private apartments/areas were some of the best parts of the Palace we saw and when they opened the doors dividing the private and public areas you really got a sense of what Palace life would have been like.

The Private Apartments       

        

         

The Opera house was worth the cost of the tour all on its own. This was one of those places that is truly jaw dropping. The tour is the only way you can actually visit it’s unless you can afford a ticket to the Opera.  

The opera was commissioned by Louis XV but not completed and inaugurated until 1770 for the celebration of the marriage of Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette.

The Opera

         

     

We found keeping track of the Louis’ very confusing until we heard a great way to remember … The 14th built it all, the 15th enjoyed it all and the 16th paid for it all (with his head)!  From our tour we went on to the public areas. Much of the palace has been restored.  Much of the furniture was taken/sold off during the French Revolution so some of the decoration/furniture is original while others are restorations that are true to what would have been there.

The Public Areas 

   

  

  

      

                    

  

 

This opulent palace was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

 

Well, that headline is not exactly true, but I do enjoy a good Journey lyric when I can slip one in. In fact, this blog is about our travels by train from Paris to Chamonix. Yes, we are a bit behind in our story telling (and perhaps even a bit out of sequence) but please stay with us.

Travel into Chamonix is not all that simply. Yes, you can drive, but we are traveling as warriors of the rails so we spent time trying to sort out the various train routes, rail stations under construction and transfer points to find the best way there that had an element of fun to it.

Finally, we discovered something that seemed like a fun little adventure – an overnight sleeper train that left at 11 pm and arrived in St. Gervais at around 8:45 am the next day. From St. Gervais, we were to take a local train that brought us into Chamonix a little before 10 am.  

So, we booked two bunks in a berth that slept six for a value price of forty euros per person, quite a bargain compared to our Paris hotel rate that we had just paid up.

We piled into our bottom bunks, settled our backpacks at the foot of our beds and within minutes the berth door was closed, the blinds we pulled and it was “lights out”, clearly sleeper car etiquette is no joke.  

We slept well through the night, the train winding along its route and occasionally I heard the wheels screeching against the tracks.  It stopped about three times before St. Gervais – first in Annecy where we lost two bunk-mates and then again in two unremarkable towns along the countryside.

While we later learned from friends – who didn’t even know this train route existed – that there is a train that goes via Geneva, with a bus transfer into Chamonix that takes about 3 hrs (versus the 11 hours we treked) . They were a bit bemused by our preferred travel path, but we agreed that half the fun was the adventure of riding the rails and a restless sleep on the tiny little bunks. Well worth it and certainly an adventure we would do again. 

               

When you think of Paris landmarks – you think of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe.  Napoleon commissioned the Arch to commemorate his victory at the battle of Austerlitz in 1806. Sadly, it was not completed until 1836 (at which point Napoleon in was imprisoned on a remote island in the Pacific) and so he never did see his Arch completed. When Napolean’s remains were returned to France from Saint Helena, they passed below the Arch on a parade to their final resting place at Invalides.

The Arc de Triomphe now honours those who fought and died for France.  Beneath the Arch lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI.  There is an eternal flame and every day at 6:30 pm the flame is relit and fresh flowers are placed by school children.  No one parades under the Arch anymore.  Even in WWII when the Nazis took over France, Hitler respected the grave of the unknown soldier and his troops walked around the arch instead. 

   

 

  

   

    

     

A view of traffic on the Etoile … There are no lanes and the only rule is people entering have the right of way. Somehow it seems to work.

When we decided to go to Chamonix, a lot of thought was put into our route. For those who don’t know, Chamonix is a small valley town in the French Alps well populated by extreme skiers, accomplished mountaineers and a wide variety of other outdoor enthusiasts. In early May, it is awash in spring-like blue and green colours that reminded me of the west coast of Vancouver Island.  While we did enjoy rain and snow during our visit, the day we arrived the sun beamed down from a flawless blue sky and the temperature had risen to a balmy 22 degrees celcius. And, being inter-season, we pretty much had full run of the place as everyone has fled town.

First, a little history … it was first visited by a couple of young English aristocrats – a guy named William Windham and another dude named Richard Pocock in 1741. News spread across Europe and suddenly like a high school party in a small town on a Friday night, a whole whack of rich British tourists were flocking to see the mysterious Mer de Glacé (of which Astrid will provide a full geological run-down on shortly).

In the 1770’s it seems hotels cropped up and folks began to climb the massif. The conquest of Mont Blanc by Jacques Balmat and Michel Gabriel Paccard demystified the peaks and that was it for the lovely small mountain town – it had arrived. 

A first luxury hotel was built in 1816, followed by the construction of the little Montenvers train in 1908. Of course, once roads and rail infrastructure were established things really got rolling, literally. Apparently, a carriage road between Chamonix and Geneva was built during the reign of Napoleon III and the railway in 1901. 

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix in 1924. This led to massive construction of ski lifts and cable cars all through the valley region including Glacier and Planpraz, Brevent, Flegere and the epic Aiguille du Midi, visiting which was a trip highlight for us and is pretty much indescribable (though Astrid will take a run at it geologically as well) in its sheer scale and natural beauty. It’s amazing to think I have friends who simply “pop up” there with their skis on weekends or careful trek the Mount Blanc side for a mountaineering adventure.  I am constantly in awe of those who blend themselves so seemlessly into this raw and exhilarating natural environment. Simple spectacular.

Back down in the village itself, Chamonix has an interesting array of building architectural styles which for building geeks sort of bounce between Art Deco, farmhouses, chalets and more modern structures. We stayed at a hotel that was a 100 year old mansion, that had been renovated in recent years. I was hopeful for a resident ghost, alas no one has appeared during our time here. The hotel itself has all the wonderful creature comforts of home – spectacular mountain views, world class dining, a pool, spa and hot tub to soak in while we stare up at the massive peaks and the pink sky fading into darkness.  It has been a great place to relax and recharge after a very hectic schedule in Paris.

Some of our followers may know that I have a good friend who lives in Geneva, though his job requires him to spend much of his time travelling the world and he spends his time playing in the mountains of Chamonix. We figured we had a fifty-fifty shot we would be able to cross paths and happily we were able to do so.  Our evenings in Chamonix were a wonderful time to catch up over good food and conversation and we are very appreciative of his exceptional hospitality! The first night we hit a local spot for a good, light wine and a wonderful fondue. Unfortunately, our excitement and loud North American voices resulted in an annoyed woman at the next table basically asking us in French to “shush” us as she “couldn’t hear herself think.” While he was gracious to the cranky old lady,  he and I both wondered – in retrospect – if the screaming child two tables over was also given the same lecture.  Following dinner we enjoyed a few cocktails by the light of a candelabra in le Cave, a cool stone hideaway inside a local bar down the street. No, nothing caught on fire while we were there.

The second night, we were fortunate to be included in dinner with a collection of his local friends, who were all so very gracious and welcoming to us over pizza and a suspiciously frothy red table wine. We learned a lot more about local life in Chamonix and the history of the British in the region, as many were Brits themselves. I, having seemingly lived a sheltered life suddenly, was also was introduced to a couple of delicious after dinner delights – a Grappa, which is made from the fleshy pulp of the grapes which are extracted during the wine making process and then fermented and Genepi, which is basically like absinthe and both were quite delicious. Mind you, if you Google “Genepi” (or Genepy in French), you might also learn that this word is also used to refer to alpine plants of the genus Artemisia (otherwise known as wormwood) that provides the liquer’s flavour, colour and effect.

Our days were spent exploring the hotel and “town”. In fact, while leaving the hotel on our second day I found a set of car keys to a Mercedes and a passport. We turned these into the front desk without a second thought. While relaxing before dinner we were greeted by a knock at our hotel room door and a bellman arrived with a bottle of champagne and some treats “compliments of hotel mangement”. Did I mention how much we love the hotel? One day heavy rain turned to snow so we enjoyed a much needed lazy morning at the hotel before venturing out to wander the downtown streets, do a little shopping and hit up another “geological hotspot” – the museum of minerals, which no surprise to me, our local friends had never heard of. Astrid was giddy!

The only downside to our timing with visiting in inter season is that many hiking trails and some of the most beautiful gorges in France  were not yet open and a few things like the glacier cave and some other lifts were not open for us to explore. What this leg of the trip has done, has opened our eyes to one of the most beautiful places and now we have a starter list for our next visit. Hopefully our friends will keep the Genepy ready for our return. 

C

  

      

Cathedrale Notre-Dame or Notre Dame de Paris (Our lady of Paris) is widely considered to be the worlds finest example of French Gothic Architecture.  Construction started in 1163 (see Paris Stone for more info on the building stone) and it was completed in 1345. There have been numerous additions, modifications and restorations over the centuries and so in reality they have been working on this Cathedral for over 850 years.  It should therefore be no surprise the detail and craftmenship take your breath away. 

This Roman Catholic Cathedral was made famous with Victor Hugo’s book ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ in 1831.  The Cathedral was the main character of the book as Hugo wanted to bring attention to the disrepair the church had fallen into after being desecrated during the French Revolution in the 1790s.  The popularity of the book pushed to have the Cathedral restored and in 1845 work began.

Some stained glass windows were destroyed by stray bullets during WWII but for the most part, Paris remained intact.  The story goes that Hitler had one of his best generals in charge of destroying Paris … but, the general had fallen in love with the city.  All the monuments and historic buildings had explosives attached (including the Eiffel Tower which was set to fall across the Seine and block the river) but when the time came to destroy them – he just couldn’t do it.

       

  

 

 
    
  

          

  

  

  

  

 

The steps coming down from the tower

#nerdalert

Just a warning that the following post is probably best consumed by those who like rocks.

The stratotype  (international type/reference section) for the Lutetien stage of the Eocene Epoch (40-48 mya) is actually in the catacombs of Paris … honestly, how cool is that!?!   The middle Lutetien section was historically used as building stone in much of the Gothic monuments/buildings.  It is more generally referred to as “Paris Stone.” I will admit I took all the Notre Dame photos before I understood how they all fit in!

Cecily had no idea she was going to be hitting all of these geology hot spots!  I am calling her a GIT which is APEGA’s legal term for a geologist in training.