Glacier des Bossons

Sitting on the balcony at the apartment in Argentière and looking down the valley the view of the Mont Blanc massif, with the Chamonix Aiguilles all lined up, is pretty sweet. The view of the Glencoe mountains from my house back in the Highlands is something special, but I reckon that this one probably beats it.

View from the balcony - 8am this morning!

But keep studying the view carefully, and its not long before you realise that one of the fascinations with it is a great bit tongue of ice, apparently spewing down onto the valley floor itself. You probably noticed it on your drive into the Chamonix Valley too; the Glacier des Bossons.

Taking 5 beneath the snout.

Reading up on it, the glacier is a popular place to go and get closer to the ice, with a viewing point serviced by a chair lift near to the snout. It also seems that it may well have the record for biggest vertcial fall on a glacier, coming down from the summit of Mont Blanc to try and touch the valley floor. And because of the sheer drop and its gradient (45 degrees on average) its also possibly one of the fastest moving at 200 – 250m in a year.

Ice creams are compulsory!

And to give an example of what this actually means in practice, crash an aircraft near the top and you’ll have to wait about 37 years for chewed up bits of it to be spat out at the bottom! At least, that’s how long it took for bits of the Malabar Princess to appear after crashing in 1950.

We parked up at the landing area of the former Olympic Ski Jump in Les Bossons. Actually felt quite ill just looking up at it. A cool walk up through the woods wound its way nearly 400m up to the café and viewpoint, though not before taking a little side trip into the valley beneath the snout.

The top of the Aiguille du Midi from the cafe - spot the cable car!

Sam & Jodie again faired well on the walk, taking it all in their stride, so to speak. When I tried to explain that when I was doing my O level geography all about glaciers I had to have a pretty good imagination, whilst they’re already old hands at glacier spotting, the point seemed to get lost. Ice creams seemed more interesting…

Bikes, walks and adventure parks

The pace of the last couple of days has been decidedly slow. In typically British fashion I’ve got to add that the weather hasn’t exactly been driving us along. Very cool in comparison to expectations, and at times a bit wet too. Evenings by the fire were not what I had in mind for July!
To celebrate Sam’s 5th birthday on Monday, we jumped on the bikes and headed down to Chamonix. Using the riverside track, we kept away from the traffic and made it all the way to Place du Mont Blanc before locking the bikes up at the station. A great ride down and the kids loved it.On then to the adventure park over by the Montenvers train, with the main objective of a few blasts down the summer luge. However, there was a slight cock up in the plan as 1. The park now charges an entry fee for the day and 2. The summer luge was shut.

Last year we were able to buy a few tokens and it felt like good value entertainment as the kids ‘paid as they played’. At 40 Euros for a family ticket, it felt like an expensive birthday treat. And that’s discounted from the 52 Euros we would have paid if the luge had been operating.

Another slight annoyance is the fact that they charge by height – under 1m tall in for free (Sam exceeds this quite considerably), but the activities are restricted by age – several being for 7 and over. How fair is that?


Regardless, we spent a couple of hours there having a go at most things, including the Mini Foret jungle gym up at the top of the brand new Planards chairlift. Sam went home happy having had a bike ride and a couple of hours at the park.

I got ticked off by the guard on the train for bring the kids bikes on. Only 5 bikes on any train and we’re a family of 4. That doesn’t leave much room to rely on the service – and a great service it is too. At least with the car, the worst case scenario is that having biked down the valley I get the train back while the others grab an ice cream and wait while I drive down to collect them. But that kind of defeats the purpose doesn’t it?! At least, now that I've paid my taxes and got my residence cards sorted, the train is free.

Leaving Montroc

On the Aiguille Rouge National Park Nature Trail

With a promise of drier weather following in behind the overnight rain we decided to get out for a proper walk today. Of the many options available, and with still the odd shower about, plenty of low cloud and a chilly wind, a valley walk over to Vallorcine seemed the best option.

Someone got a new camera for Christmas!

Hameau Les Montets

Having timed our sandwich making just right, we jumped on the train up to Montroc and then picked up the path over to the Col des Montets and the Chemin des Diligences. I had thought that this might be a fairly dull walk, following the road through familiar territory. However, I have to say that it was really good, being just the right distance for Sam & Jodie, and with plenty to look at and take in along the way. Thoroughly recommended for an easy low level walk into the quieter reaches of the Chamonix valley.

Bugs & Butterflies

Not exactly the longest of walks today but back at last on the Chamonix valley paths. Leaving the car up at the Aiguille Rouge National Park visitor centre, we explored the first half of the nature trail, then broke off downhill in the direction of Tre-Le-Champ. There’s something about the old farm buildings tucked away in this little corner of the upper part of the valley that has that really special feel about it.

Instead of continuing on down we cut across the main road and took the path that traverses the hillside above Argentiere. There’s no significant climbing; ideal for tired children (and parents) after 2 days spent in a car travelling the 1200 miles from the Highlands.

Wild strawberries, crickets, various butterflies and plenty of flowers kept the pace fairly gentle, before we found a good rock with views across to the Argentiere Glacier to stop and break out the baguettes.

Soon after lunch the path met the Flegere bound trail coming up out of Argentiere. We cut back down this and 20 minutes later were in the pool. So, not the longest of walks, but quite sufficient to ease us back in and with plenty of interest too.


And the car? Well, nothing that a quick run back up towards the Aiguillette D’Argentiere and some good Ben Nevis Race training couldn’t take care of!

2010 Ski Season

If you're anything like me then your thoughts will be firmly focussed on the coming summer season. With some warmth in the sunshine, long daylight hours, hills to be run, trails to be biked, there's little time for thinking about when I'll be skiing in 2010.

Already dreaming of 2010

However, with flight schedules for Easyjet and others now available perhaps its worth taking a few moments to secure the dates of your choice for the next winter season?

Prices and availability for our apartment in Argentiere are now available on our web site. There's good availability just now but we are receiving enquiries and some weeks are now committed.

Right, back to the biking...

Chamonix Swimming Pool

Popped down to the swimming pool in Chamonix the other day. A nice break from 2 full weeks of skiing. And what a pleasure it was!

Coming up for air

Every week back home I try and get a half mile, maybe even a full mile, in at the pool in Fort William. But its a drag. Its an 18 mile drive to the leisure centre in Fort William and as there's only lane swimming available in the morning session, it inevitably means a crack of dawn start. But its good to get the day going.

So whilst at the pool with Sam & Jodie I popped into the big pool to try and sneak in a few lengths. First thing you notice is that the water's nice and cool - at 27 degrees, its 3 degrees cooler than the leisure pool. Next is the clarity of the water. With the sunlight coming down through the glass dome above, there's perfect end to end vision.

And then there's the view. Coming up for air on the outward leg, the view through the window is of the Dru. And coming up at the turn is a huge vista of the Aiguille Du Midi and Mont Blanc through the glass wall. How cool is that! Stunning! A far cry from the dark winter mornings back in Fort William!

If only I lived in Chamonix I'd swim like a fish...!

Late Season Deals

Its been an incredible season for our self catering apartment in Argentiere, in the Chamonix Valley. Although only our second winter of operation, the apartment and the StayInChamonix brand has become well established. The apartment has been fully booked from mid December, right through into mid April.

Catch some spring sunshine on the mountain and chill out

But its not over yet. There's still stacks of snow and the skiing looks like being excellent right the way through to the end of the ski season in early May. Prices are much lower in April so now's a good time to book a late season ski holiday in Argentiere. Check the web site for availability.

The family will be returning for some Easter skiing very soon - really looking forward to getting back out again. and then it'll be time to turn attentions to the summer and perhaps some downhill action of the 2 wheeled variety.

Mountain Biking on the TMB, beneath Mt Dolent

More information about mountain biking (VTT) in the Chamonix Valley can be found on our web site.

Guess Where?

Another cracking day on the slopes yesterday. The drive to the slopes was like driving through a wintry calendar picture, with snowy hillsides. deep snow piled by the ploughs at the side of the road, and big lumps of snow bending branches on the overhanging trees.


It was quite clear on arrival that a combination of great snow, good weather and the school mid term break had prompted quite a few others to a similar plan of action - the ample car parks were overflowing, including the overflow car park!

But once on the hill the slopes didn't seem too busy. With all runs and and uplifts working there was plenty of space for everyone. The snow was in great condition and the skiing fantastic.

So where were we? Brevent? Flegere? Les Houches perhaps?

No, all wrong. Cairgorm Mountain, Scotland!