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!