What an incredible way to end/start the week! After an incredibly lazy, but much needed Saturday, Sunday morning came quickly. We had a 7am alarm welcome us into what would become such a memorable day. We should have guessed it was going to be an amazing day when it started with us in "club" seating on our charter bus. Danny, Mags, Steph, Lauren, and I took up this whole back lounge are with a table in the center and felt very VIP as we made our way to Chamonix. Pretty much the entire bus passed out and was greeted by Mont Blanc as we pulled into our destination. Right off the bat we took two cable cars up to Aiguille du Midi, which stands at 3842 meters (the highest I have ever stood on ground!). Everyone definitely felt the altitude as we stepped off the cable car that had essentially just shot vertically towards the sky and dropped us off at our first destination. We climbed to a viewing point, where the clouds slightly obscured our views, but nonetheless I felt as if I was among the heavens. We were at cloud level and staring straight out into the Mont Blanc and her neighboring peaks of the Jura and Pre-Alps. Inclassable!! One of my new favorite French words literally meaning "unclassifiable." I felt completely humbled by these monstrous mountains and tried to take in the picturesque views we were given as the sun broke through the clouds. Our group made its way into the lodge and sipped on hot chocolates before heading up yet another flight of stairs for yet another incredible view of the mountains. Our guides told us the legend of how Mont Blanc was discovered and "les dents des geants" or the pointy ridges to the right of the 3 Mont Blanc peaks before making a quick pit stop before boarding another cable car down to our next destination. From there, we hiked 10 minutes, ran into some wild mules, and made camp for lunch on a cliff overlooking Chamonix and of course, the mountains. After lunch, we broke off into three groups of ten and began our day hike. Phillip, our guide, was not super confident with his English skills--yet another prime opportunity to practice our French! He pointed out wild blueberries and cranberries and encouraged us to try 1 or 2--after telling us that foxes pee all over them and if you eat too many you will get stomach worms. Lovely. We still tried one :) Definitely tart, so don't know if that was the "natural" environment or if they weren't quite ripe. He also passed around some wild leaf that smells and tastes like celery! Our hike was primarily flat, but we had a slight climb which ended in some of the most amazing views of the glacier! Apparently, due to global warming and other extraneous conditions, the glacier recedes 4 metres ever year...madness!! While we were taking in these unbelievable sights we heard a rock fall somewhere in the distance. Apparently, there are a TON of accidents and deaths from avalanches and rock falls anyone climbing Mont Blanc anytime soon, beware! The waterfalls in the distance were a pleasant sight as we took in our final views before climbing onboard our alpine train back down to Chamnoix. Once again I find it SO difficult to convey the beauty and impressiveness of these magnificent nature scenes and try to do them justice with the multitudes of pictures I take! We all collapsed onto the train and ambled our way onto the bus where we reclaimed our "club" seating. The entire bus was passed out within 15 minutes and of course I get a second wind and am super punchy--don't worry this only last another 20 minutes before my face hit the table and I was out like a light.
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View from Aiguille du Midi
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| Inclassable |
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| Friendly mountain mule |
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| "Mer de Glace" |
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