Hot rock

Nearly time to head back to the West Highlands. But not because we want to you understand. I mean, why would we. The weather has been has been excellent if a little colder than expected, Its even warmed up these last few days. And every day we’ve been out and about doing something or other active.


We’ve sneaked in a few climbing sessions. Though Jodie is a regular visitor to the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven, she’s had virtually no experience of climbing on real rock. No better place to start than on the bolted routes at Les Gaillands just outside Chamonix.

Sam too has shown that he’s not shy when it comes to rock climbing. Yesterday afternoon we paid a visit to the climbing area by the lake at Les Houches. Despite being a bit higher and steeper than our previous attempts, both Sam and Jodie reached the top without much trouble.


And so we’re now in the routine of plenty of fresh air and outdoor fun. Not looking forward to the clocks going back and the short dark days of a Scottish winter!

Slap Shot

Chamonix 4 St Gervais 1. Go Les chamois!

Le Lac Vert

With temperatures still struggling to get much above freezing unless in the direct sun and with a forecast for totally cloudless skies it made sense to seek out the sun today.

The walk up to the Lac Vert, high above the sunny village of Servoz gets a good write up. Walking from the village itself looked like a bit more of a challenge for little legs and so we drove up through Le Mont and La Côte, finding a surprisingly large and flat parking area at the end of the road, on an otherwise vertiginous hillside.

Through the trees the air was still very chill but there were enough glimpses of the sun to keep it fairly pleasant. The climb up the wide track was fairly steep but not too long. High above the craggy peaks of Rochers des Fiz looked magnificent in the early afternoon sun.


I’m guessing that judging by the size of the adjacent car park and restaurant, you don’t often get the Lac Vert to yourself. But today we lucked out and had exactly that. Finding a sunny spot on the far bank we broke out the picnic for a very leisurely lunch while soaking up a few rays and taking in the views across the lake and above the trees to the summit of Mont Blanc.


There’s another path that circumnavigates the lake, just slightly higher up, from which the views are once more quite something. With a full vista from the Aiguillette des Houches with the Aiguille du Midi behind, across the various high summits of Mont Blanc to the Bionnassay Glacier and then over to Mont Joly its quite a spot.

Another cracking day out in the Chamonix valley!

Heaven is ...

... a late afternoon run up above the apartment, along the path towards the Aiguillette d’Argentiere and then down towards Tres-Les-Champs. At or very near freezing, silver birch with golden leaves, amazing views across the upper end of the Chamonix valley and a fresh dusting of snow on the path.

Oh yes..!

Pierre a Bosson

Another big blue-sky day and another great walk amidst the autumn scenery. Cold mornings mean late starts, which seems to be fine with everyone at the moment. Plenty of time to let the sun climb over the Grand Montets and start warming the depths of the valley in Argentière.


After much deliberation, more coffee, another pastry, and several glances out of the window we opted for a route we’d put off in the summer as being too steep in hot weather for little legs. Quite the contrary now; a little bit of effort uphill should work up a good head of steam. So off we set, baguette, jam and flask of hot chocolate plus a few extra layers of fleece, with the Pierre a Bosson in mind. Named after a rock that doesn’t seem to be there, the Pierre is a viewpoint high above the village of Argentière at a little over 1600m, with a view over the snout of the Argentière Glacier.


To make the walk a little easier, and a little more interesting as it turned out, we parked up at the station at Montroc (no trains running this fortnight!) and cut back across towards the Petit Balcon Nord above Le Planet. Though late to catch the sun and therefore still pretty frosty, the views through the trees across the Aiguille Rouge were stunning.


A handy picnic bench in a sheltered and sunny spot under an old pine was the perfect place to break out the late lunch. After that the broad path traverses the hillside through the trees before finally breaking out into scrub and the final climb to the viewpoint.


And what a viewpoint! Not especially high. Not especially difficult to get to. But sat in the autumn sun with a view looking over the Argentiere glacier was quite special. The Aiguille du Chardonnet made an appearance through wispy cloud, as did the Aiguille Verte, and further round the hazy Chamonix valley and the Aiguilles Rouge just added to it all to make a complete 180 degree vista. And not a soul around.

Only 1 more thing to do – beat a hasty retreat to L’Office in Argentiere before the sun got too low in the sky!

Good to be back

Great to be back in Argentiere again. There’s something quite magical about this time of year. Its much colder than I expected for mid October, but that just sharpens it all up a little. A crisp morning frost and clear intensely blue skies above, the smell of wood smoke wafting gently down the valley and the autumn colours beginning to come into their own.


And yet Argentiere is all but a ghost town. Back home in Glencoe the weather isn’t usually quite so kind, though the colours are a little more intense. But with Octoberfest about to get underway, and the glen busy with visitors, the contrast couldn’t be greater.


Still, we’re not complaining. Great to be out and out exploring again. And guess what we found in the woods!

Trail des Aiguilles Rouges

For most folk, the measure of a good holiday is how much time you've spent lying in the sun, favourite drink in hand, and how many pages of that book you've got through. For our most recent guests in the apartment however, a great holiday seems to be measured in terms of distance run!

Finishing the Trail des Aiguilles Rouge

Tom's a regular face at the Lochaber Athletics Club Winter League races and the season kicks off in just a few weeks time. So no better time to head off for 3 weeks of trail running in the Chamonix valley, based at the apartment in Argentiere.

Highlights of the stay include a 'run' up Mont Buet which Tom described as a 'good long run from the apartment'. Looks like it should be a 2 day expedition to me.

And also completing the Trail des Aiguilles Rouge, a 51km run starting in Vallorcine, climbing up into the Aiguilles Rouge and then eventually descending to Servoz. And if that wasn't bad enough, there's another little leg over to the finish in Les Houches. 3300m of uphill. And a 5am start. Ouch!

I'm expecting to finish some distance behind Tom in the Winter League races start in November!