Le Tour du Mont Blanc: Days 5 - 7

Date: le 27 juillet
Route: Courmayeur - Rifugio Elena
Distance: 19 km (12 mi)
Start altitude: 1,226 m (4,087 ft)
Height gain: 1,138 m (3,793 ft)
Height loss: 939 m (3,130 ft)

Date: le 28 juillet
Route: Rifugio Elena - Champex
Distance: 28 km (17.7 mi)
Start altitude: 2,062 m (6,873 ft)
Height gain: 1,037 m (3,457 ft)
Height loss: 1,734 m (5,780 ft)

Date: le 29 juillet (rain, some thunder)
Route: Champex - Col de la Forclaz
Distance: 16 km (10.1 mi)
Start altitude: 1,466 m (4,887 ft)
Height gain: 742m (2,473 ft)
Height loss: 682m (2,273 ft)

The rest day in Courmayeur was lovely, but we still need to figure out how to squeeze the remaining seven stages into six days. We find an opportunity between Courmayeur and Champex. Per the Kev Reynolds guide: stage 5 between Courmayeur and Rifugio Bonatti is a short stage between Courmayeur and Rifugio Bonatti that starts off with a quick ascent, but flattens out; stage 6 between Rifugio Bonatti and La Fouly has a significant climb in the middle, but once at the peak at the Italian/Switzerland border, the trail eases into a comfortable descent; stage 7 between La Fouly and Champex is relatively short and supposedly the easiest stage of the tour in spite of the final ascent over the last 4.5 km (2.8 mi).

We decide to squeeze these three stages into two days by pushing through Rifugio Bonatti and staying at Rifugio Elena which has the benefit of breaking the stage 6 ascent in half. This leaves the rest of stage 6 and the entire stage 7 for the following day. While the route from Rifugion Elena to Champex is very long, there aren't really any better options of lodging and we figured we've done worse with our ambitious push on Day 3 from Les Chapieux to Courmayeur. We also purchased a pair of hiking poles in Courmayeur which should help a bit!

We get a late start out of Courmayeur. For some reason, we just can't seem to get going early in the morning! We see one of the British couples we befriended in the Courmayeur city center. Unfortunately, one of them had an achiles tendon injury during the leg between Rifguio Elisabetta and Courmayeur and had to hobble for a few hours before finding a cable car down into Courmayeur (at least he was able to get a cable car; that descent would be nasty on an injured person). The couple had to end their tour here and will return back to London. Really felt bad for them, especially as some of the best views on the tour have yet to come.

Italy really holds gorgeous views of Mont Blanc and we were blessed with great weather. The views of the massif really keeps you going for miles. We try to soak it all in as we've read that Mont Blanc cannot be seen in the Swiss portion of the tour. The hike to Elena goes smoothly. A heard of cows made a mess of the trail along the way and trudging through the mud makes everything feel heavier, but still, the views really keeps you going.

Resting up at Rifugio Elena, our last night in Italy:


Switzerland! The hills are alive! Sam has gone all Fraulein Maria and is belting "The Sound of Music" and, especially as we muscled our way through the final ascent of the 28 km (17.7 mi) day into Champex, "Climb Every Mountain".


A silver ball in the centre of the lake at Champex Lac is part of an exhibition of sculptures and installations by Etienne Krähenbühl at the Jardin Flore-Alpe which is on until 3 October 2010.
We actually deliberately left later on day 7 because of the weather. We woke up to rain and although the forecast was not very promising all day, we waited for a break in the weather before leaving Champex. It only bought us about an hour of no rain at the start. The trudge through the mud from Plan de l'Au to Alp Bovine, a 657 m (2,190 ft) climb over 5km seemed endless in the mud, rain and cow paths. It also became troubling when we heard thunder in the distance. Fortunately it was distant enough and we weren't at the local high point, but it was still troubling, especially when gripping newly bought hiking poles. We were freezing by the time we reached Alp Bovine where we took refuge in a dingy place which looked straight out of a fantasy novel. Hot water is a precious commodity in these parts where a teacup refill can go for 2 Swiss francs per cup. Still the small bowl of vegetable soup and two cups of Ovaltines at 12 francs were life-giving as we waited the storm out in the refuge. Fortunately, the hard part of the day was finally behind us and the rest of the trek to Col de la Forclaz goes smoothly.

Le Tour du Mont Blanc: Days 3 - 4

Date: le 25 juillet
Route: Les Chapieux - Courmayeur
Distance: 33 km (20.9 mi)
Start altitude: 3,749 m (12,497 ft)
Height Gain: 1,464 m (4,880 ft)
Height Loss: 1,818 m (6,060 ft)

Date: le 26 juillet
(Day off in Courmayeur)


As mentioned during the kickoff, the Kev Reynold's guide has the tour divided into ten stages in the clockwise direction and eleven stages in the counter-clockwise direction. While we have ten days set aside for this trip, we decided to go into the counter-clockwise direction as we were based out of Chamonix (near Les Houches)and a stage one of Les Houches clockwise to La Flegere (which is supposed to be one of the most steep and scenic) in the rain did not seem appealing. We decided to take our chances with getting better weather later and end our trip with what was supposed to be the best views of Mont Blanc.

This meant we had to figure out how to squash the eleven counter-clockwise stages into ten days.

Also, since we were playing the route be ear, it meant we didn't make dortoir reservations very much in advance and learned the Rifugio Elisabetta (the end point of stage 3 in the Kev Reynold's guide) was full. This didn't really bother us too much because the hike from Les Chapieux to Rifugio Elisabetta was only 15 km (9.5 mi) and we were able to reach that point by early afternoon even though we always seem to be the last people out of the dortoir in the morning!

The trouble with pushing through Elisabetta however, is that the next refuge is not for another 3.5 - 4 hours which is about an hour short of Courmayeur and if we're going to try to go that much distance already, why not push all the way to a major town where we could relax in perhaps a real room??

Turns out, it was probably a good idea we didn't actually figure out that the full route to Courmayeur was 33 km (almost 21 miles) and that we managed to feel merely tired, but still enthusiastic about an hour before Courmayeur or we probably wouldn't have pushed all the way through. The final hour into Courmayeur ended up taking much longer as it was a very steep, windy, nauseating descent. This would turn out to be the most difficult descent for us (fortunately!) the whole trip. We were surprised to have some mild ear popping on this trip (I mean, how quickly does air pressure change on foot?) and we were surprised that I could get so nauseous with a turn-heavy descent.

Anyhow, we finally made it and stumbled into a cute bed and breakfast in town going for cheaper than the Rifugio and wolfed down some lasagna and pasta bolognese- our first meal in Italy! We could only think of meat and pasta after a draining day. We decided to take the next dayw off to explore Courmayeur as we've crammed two stages into one today.

Lessons learned/confirmed so far:
1. The money spent on technical clothing is worth it! Priciest purchase: Gortex-lined, Vibram-soled backpacking boots great for all sorts of terrain (rocks, mud, snow, stream-crossings). Light-weight hiking pants with millions of pockets and which can be converted into shorts was the favorite purchase. Smartwool hiking socks, waterproof shell, technical shirts, technical underwear and technical towel all great too. Cheapest purchase: $2 foam flip flops from Chinatown perfect for use in dortoir, showers and resting feet.

2. Nothing dries reliably overnight in a cold dortoir. The occasional extra money spent on a room is good for that.

3. 30+ km of hiking in a day is tough! And there are people who actually run/race the entire 160km loop! Granted, they're not lugging a backpack packed for a week and a half trek, but still! :P

4. There are enough potable water sources along the way to not need to carry more than 2L at a time.

Here's Towel enjoying an ice cream in Courmayeur. This ski town is super cute and very relaxing. Many people here are bilingual Italian and French. There was some English here and there, but we were able to get around in French. We could not eat enough pasta here which was always perfectly al dente (though our liking of the sauces varied from meal to meal).

Loving the day off in scenic Courmayeur!

Potato chips in Italy

Le Tour du Mont Blanc: Day 2

Date: le 24 juillet
Route: Les Contamines - Les Chapieux
Distance: 18 km (11.2 mi)
Start altitude: 1,167 m (3,829 ft)
Height gain: 1,316 m (4,318 ft)
Height loss: 929 m (3,048 ft)



Rain must really add to the difficulty of a hike because in spite of having a much longer stage and a much larger climb today, the hike did not seem as grueling as the first stage. It was overcast most of the day which kept it cool, especially as we climber higher. We also learned that there were enough potable water sources along the way to not need to carry more than 1.5 - 2 L of water per person at a time. We definitely carried far more water than we needed to yesterday.



The dortoir we stayed at in Les Chapieux, our first stop that is not a town. There isn't much here beyond the refuge with restaurant and dortoir. But there is a small cheese shop and it is car accessible.

Le Tour du Mont Blanc: Kickoff and Day 1

Date: le 23 juillet
Route: Les Houches - Les Contamines
Distance: 16 km (10 mi)
Start altitude: 1,007 m (3,304 ft)
Height gain: 646 m (2,119 ft)
Height loss: 633 m (2,077 ft)

The Tour of Mont Blanc is an approximately 170 km (105 mi) trail around the Mont Blanc massif which brings the hiker up and down peaks and valleys and across meadows, streams, mud, and rocks through France, Italy and Switzerland. There are refuges and towns along the way for shelter and supplies, and we've heard that some of the mountain huts are as much of an adventure as the hike itself.

We're following the Kev Reynold's highly recommended guide for the tour. We have ten days to complete the circuit and for some reason, the guide has the tour divided in eleven stages starting in Les Houches (convenient to Chamonix) going in the counter-clockwise direction toward Les Contamines and ten stages going in the clockwise direction. However, the guide discourages starting the clockwise direction in Les Houches as it would mean kicking off the tour with a 1,546 m (5,072 ft) climb off the bat.

We've been trying to decide whether it was better to just deal with the 1,546m (5,072 ft) climb and do the tour in a clockwise direction from Les Houches or to go counterclockwise and figure out how to squeeze eleven stages into ten days.

It turns out the weather in Chamonix made that decision for us. Part of the reward for the 1,546m (5,072 ft) climb from Les Houches to Le Brevent is the closeup view of Mont Blanc which is supposed to be the best of the entire tour. Given the rainy forecast for the day, we decided to head westward instead toward Les Contamines and figure out how to make up the time.

We took a bus from our hotel (the cute and centrally located La Croix Blache) in Chamonix to Les Houches (the rides are free if staying at a Chamonix area hotel) and started our journey in on-and-off rain.

Although we did spare ourselves the big ascent to Le Brevent, the first 4 km (2.5 mi) to was at a 16% incline. When we reached the top at Col de Voza there was a restaurant, which was very convenient as our first thunderstorm started just moments after we reached the top. We stayed at the restaurant until the thunder and lightening passed and got on our way. Not long into our descent, it started hailing. Fotunately that was short-lived, but the rain was steady for the rest of the trek. Our total walking time was approximately 6 hours.

One upside of the rain are their contributions to the torrential streams and rivers.

We also passed by the birthplace of Alexis Bouvard who discovered Neptune.

Les Contamines is a ski resort town and when we finally arrived at our hotel there and discovered the bathtub, we never left for the rest of the evening. Here's hoping that we don't have to end all ten days cold, tired and wet!

Le Voyage Extraordinaire de Samy

After leaving Les Planious, we make our way to Chamonix-Mont Blanc to kick off Le Tour du Mont Blanc. Today is a travel day and our itinerary involves five connections from Veynes to Chamonix (Grenoble, Aix-les-Bains-le-Revard, Annecy, La Roche-sur-Foron, St-Gervais-les-Bains-le-Fayet). Sam finds a movie poster for “Le Voyage Extraordinaire de Samy” at la gare Aix-les-Bains.

If someone out there with a much better grasp of French, please confirm my thought on the poster tagline. When I first saw, “Rien ne l’arête!” I read it as “Nothing stops him!” But upon a second look, I realized that the word that I knew for “(it) stops” was “arrête” not “arête”. So I pulled out le dictionnaire and learned that “arête” means fishbone. I’m guessing the tagline is a play on the homophones.

While they’re dropping an “r” from “arrête”, Sam’s also marveling at the French-dropped “m” from “Sammy”.

In any case, Sam finds this movie poster quite fitting as he makes his way to Chamonix-Mont Blanc!

À la Ferme: Wwoofing à Les Planious

We arrive at our first wwoofing () assignment, Les Planious, an energy independent, organic farm and gîte in L’Epine, about a half hour drive from Veynes. The proprietors of Les Planious is Emmanuel and Geraldine Arnoldi. Emmanuel is an exceedingly sweet Frenchman and mountain guide. Geraldine is a teacher originally from Australia (that explains all the communications in English). Other wwoofeurs on the farm include a girl from Scotland, a girl from Colombia, a pair of Norwegian guys, and a girl from Canada. Geraldine and Emmanuel’s four children (roughly in their twenties) are also around. Given the lack of French ability amongst the woofeurs, the week is spent mostly in English.

Our lodging for the week is in a treehouse. Other wwoofeurs have been assigned to either rooms indoors or the caravan. The treehouse, we guess, is for the birds.



A view of the farm orchard with the treehouse in the background.


Work around the farm comprised mostly of fruit picking, cooking, doing the dishes and gardening. The pace is very relaxed and the atmosphere very social. One our first assignments is picking and pitting sour cherries (griottes) to make jam.

Est-ce qu’il ramasse les griottes ou est-ce qu’il joue avec les griottes? (Top photo)

The jam (confiture) made from these was excellent. After the jam was made, I kicked off every morning with a croissant avec le confiture de griottes. C’est très bon!



Here's Emmanuel in the lettuce during a weeding and leek planting day. Our daily salad came from this garden.


During some time off, Geraldine treated us to a quick excursion over the Alpes/Provence border to Sisteron.

Sam and Towel finding some shade in Sisteron


Sam and Towel in the Buëch just outside of Sisteron


Ça sens bon! The lavender scent just permeates throughout this area!


The following day, Emmanuel took us on a hike. The photos do not do justice to the scale and magnitude of the ridge and fields.




The hike makes a good warmup for le Tour du Mont Blanc which we will begin in Les Houches near Chamonix on Friday (le 23 juillet).

Prendre le Frais à Veynes

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes arrivés à Veynes en train. Cette village est petite et vraiment mignone. Nous restons dans une gîte, Au Vieux Tilleul (http://www.au-vieux-tilleul.fr/). Les propriétaires, Valerie et Marc Spiegel sont très très gentil et hospitaliers. Nous recommandons cette gîte si vous être à Veynes.

Today, we arrived in Veynes by train. The village is small and really cute. We're staying at a cottage, Au Vieux Tilleul (http://www.au-vieux-tilleul.fr/). The owners, Valerie and Marc Spiegel are very, very kind and hospitable. We recommend this place if you are in Veynes.

La campagne est jolie et voici, Towel et Sam dehors de gîte.

The countryside is pretty and here's Towel and Sam outside the cottage.


John s'amuse avec notre dejuner:


Valerie nous a recommandé nager dans le Petit Buëch.

Valerie recommended swimming in the Petit Buëch.



C'est la bonne vie!

It's a good life!

Allez! Allez! Le Tour de France

Bonne fête! Aujourd'hui c'est un jour férié (Bastille Day), mais dans Grenoble et Laffrey il n'y avait rien pour le Quatorze Juillet (sauf un peu de feux d'artifice hier soir). Au contraire, tout le monde a célébré le Tour de France en Isère. Voilà, est-ce que les pingouins détournent cette voiture de Lance Armstrong? Nous avons la trouvé à Grenoble.

Aujourd'hui c'est le 10eme étape (un étape moyenne montagne de Chambéry à Gap). Il y a un col catégorie 1 à Laffrey. Nous sommes arrivés à Laffrey à 10h en voiture et nous pouvons garer sans difficulté.

Voilà des photos avant la course:















La caravane est arrivée à 1h15 de l'après-midi. Attraper les bric-à-brac de la caravane est comme un jeu télévisé. C'est très amusant. Il y a beaucoup types de chose: des journaux, des saucisse, des bonbons, des casquettes, des madeleines, des porte-clés, etc...




Voilà la tête de la course:


Et le peloton a suivi après huit minutes. Dans ce photo il y a un pingouin et un personne avec le maillot jaune: Towel et Andy Schleck!


Il y a quelques des cyclistes de l'équipe Radio Shack dans ce photo. Peut-être Lance Armstrong est ici (avec des lunettes de soleil jaune)?


Bien que il faut chaud et bien que nous avons été sur un col catégorie 1, les cyclistes ont été très vites! Malgré tout, nous nous avons amusé.

Bonne journée!

Nous Arrivons à Genève!

Nous sommes finalement arrivés à Genève! Nous sommes partis de New York hier soir mais nous sommes allés à Amsterdam d'abord pour deux heures parce que nous avons utilisé KLM. Nous avons acheté des stroopwafels (nous devons acheter des stroopwafels!) et un petit cadeau (du vin et plus de stroopwafels) pour notre hôte à Genève.

Bob est un ami qui a habité à New York mais maintenant il habite à Genève depuis cinq ans avec sa petite ami. Bob est d'écosse est il est professeur de maths dans un lycée. Sa petite ami travaille pour l'ONU. Ils sont très généreux.

Aujourd'hui nous sommes marchés à centre-ville. Le lac Léman est très propre et pur. Il faisait chaud est il y avait des personnes dans le lac. Nous avons aimé nager aussi.

Lac Léman avec le jet d'eau:












Et puis, dans le parc des Bastions, il y a un jeu d'echecs géant. Nous avons joué.