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