From Paris, we took a train to Bellegarde, just outside of Geneva, which unfortunately was delayed a couple of hours, forcing us to miss our connection. They had a bus ready for all of us who were headed to the Alps, and we took that for another couple of hours before getting to St. Gervais a la Bains, from which we took a train to Chamonix.
Our hotel was a charming inn a short walk from the train station, and each room had a balcony overlooking the town and mountains. They served a wonderful breakfast each morning!
Over the three days (really two-and-a-half) in Chamonix we spent an afternoon walking around the town, and then went up to Aiguille du Midi the first full day, which at 12605 ft of elevation is likely the highest elevation we have ever been at, and where we looked down on Vallee Blanche, a classic ski run down a glacier surrounded by sharp-toothed mountains. We followed that by a hike along the "Grand Balcon Nord," overlooking the town of Chamonix, to the Mer de Glace glacier, and we then took a cog railway back down to town.
The following day was luckily the clearest, most beautiful weather day we had on the entire trip, and it was the day we planned our long hike. We took up the La Flegere gondola, and then hiked to a series of alpine lakes, including the Lacs des Cheserys and Lac Blanc. While parts of the hike were fairly crowded, we were able to get some less crowded spots, and all-in-all this was one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever done.
Getting on board the train from Paris
In Chamonix on the first day; a raging river runs through
town with snowmelt from the surrounding mountains
Our hotel, a classic French country inn
View from Aiguille du Midi
Henry overlooking the Vallee Blanche ski run
Our first hike overlooking Chamonix
Hiking
Day two of hiking - much clearer skies !
Busy town of Chamonix
Train station in Chamonix
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