At the cable car station we learned
there were two meters (6’) of snow on the north face of Mont Blanc. The north
face is straight up. We boarded the cable car which holds 55
people---packed in like sardines. There is no fear of falling since you can’t
move. When we reached 7600-feet
at Plan de l’ Aiguille we changed cable cars to reach the Aiguille de Midi at
12,700-feet. From here it was a hike up to the top of Mont
Blanc and is only for the experienced hiker.
The scenery was spectacular! We walked across a bridge and took an
elevator to the top of de Midi. The ice tunnel we walked through was rapidly
melting, and a fellow constantly was removing slush. In a couple of weeks the
tunnel would be melted and gone.
The rapidly moving clouds were like
a fine mist or light fog, disappearing almost as soon as you saw them. As the
afternoon moved on, the wind came up at the top getting cold enough to reach
for a jacket. We spent all afternoon moving around, enjoying the scenery and
taking pictures.
The first morning François, our
local guide, met us at the hotel. From the hotel we went straight up a good way
before reaching the path. The hills just killed me, but I kept telling myself
that on the plus side I was getting a great aerobic workout as I huffed and
puffed along.
The rocky four-hour path with lots of tree
roots meandered through forests with frequent undulations. At times the path
was extremely narrow and on the edge. Our guide pointed out where a large chunk
of the mountain rock had fallen in June of ’97. Apparently the smaller pieces
of rock had been held on by ice and when the ice melted the rock fell. He had
before and after pictures and was very good with visuals. The views were
breath-taking, and hand gliders were out in force on the beautiful day. it was
straight down over a narrow rough, switch-back path that ended at a lovely
picnic area. Timing was perfect for lunch!
It was a shock to
all of us to learn that serious rock climbers do not check in with anyone at
Mont Blanc. The attitude is to let a relative or someone know what and where
you are going. Then if you don’t return as expected they can take action. The
ear pieces that we had everywhere but Switzerland were a great help in hearing
all that was said, no matter where we were!
We walked to the station in time to
catch the 10 AM rack and pinion train to go see the ice cave. Built in 1908, it
was a 20 minute climb to Mer de Glace,
a 7 K glacier 1200 X 200 meters. It was another beautiful sunny day so we had
wonderful views of the spectacular scenery.
From the top it was 400 steps down to the cave, and except for a long
uphill climb, there is no other way up! The stairs had handrails and there was
a small platform after every few stairs. Resting gave us time to enjoy the
scenery and to realize just how far the glacier had receded.
Again a couple of fellows were
shoveling away slush. The cave was not overly cold. It was fair size and had a
few ice sculptures inside, notably a polar bear and a pair of hot tubs. Colored
lights were strung about inside. The blue hue bouncing off the walls was
magnificent.
It was a slow but steady slog back up the 400
steps to the top. The train got us back to the city in time for a late lunch at
a sidewalk café on the square.
Our two weeks were over and we had
done no shopping, so we wandered around at least looking for a tee shirt.
Tomorrow we’d be back in Geneva, Switzerland and it was a Sunday. Eventually
all good things come to an end!
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