Cafe Lavancher

You can't beat a good coffee shop walk. There's nothing like a bit of fresh air and some gentle exercise to work up an appetite for a bit of coffee and cake, or perhaps an ice cream.

When I've been out running on the local trails I couldn't help but notice that a few little signs and posters had appeared, advertising a new cafe in Le Lavancher. Now, I have a bit of a soft spot for this little corner of the valley. Along with Montroc a little further up the valley, its elevated above the road and away from the hustle and bustle. As soon as you arrive there's a feeling of peace and calm that you can't get when you're closer to the main drag. Add to that some cockerels disturbing that peace, a few prayer flags flapping in the breeze and the wafting smell of wood smoke and you've got yourself a cracking little hamlet.

So, from the apartment its a short hop across to the Petit Balcon behind the Grand Montets telepherique station, and then a really nice walk down valley to Le Lavancher. Just long enough to get going and give the kids some exercise.

Cafe Lavancher can be found near the top of the village and provides breakfast, lunch and evening meal, plus those all important light snacks for habitual coffee shoppers such as ourselves. Free Wi-Fi and a very pleasant outdoor seating area also come as part of the service.

As does a skateboard. Just for if you get bored when you've podged yourself on ice cream!

Give them a call if you want to book dinner. Tel 04 50 90 83 36

If you want to avoid the (slightly) uphill walk back to Argentiere, then perhaps its worth taking a train timetable with you and heading down the path opposite the restaurant to catch a train from Les Tines. Perfect!

Jungle Gym

In the same way that when kids watch the pre Christmas TV ads and perpetually say "I want one", a similar cry may be heard when we see a brochure or an ad for one of those Jungle Gym/Treetop adventure thingies; "Can we go?"


We've had a go on a few now. But not in the UK. The kids aren't old enough, nor will they be for some time. And the quality of the French variety does vary a bit from mediocre to brilliant, though wee Sam inevitably ends up on the little one when he really wants to go bigger and higher.


And then we tried the one at Talloires, above Lake Annecy. Wow! It did say 3 to 5m above the deck come to think of it. Unlike most of the others we've been on, the 'smaller' course runs on one continuous cable, so there's no need to clip and unclip. This makes it much safer, and perhaps as a result they can push the boundaries a bit further.

The photos do the talking much better than I can, so have a look at the album on this link to my Facebook pages.

Admittedly, its a bit far for a day trip from the apartment in Argentiere but for aficienados of the Jungle Gym, perhaps it'll be worth the effort!

Snow Still Falling

Plenty of snow still falling in Argentiere this week. Some great conditions on the mountains but if you're just starting out and want a bit of family fun then you're as well using the 'beginner slopes' at the foot of the hills.

Here's a photo of Les Chosalets, close to the foot of the Grand Montets ski lifts in Argentiere. Great for messing about on, though they don't take too kindly to sledges! Spot the apartment in the background - the large apex building in the middle right of the photo.

Little kids and big kids

Snow seems to be causing much chaos for the UK at the moment, whilst here in Argentière its causing much amusement.

Went for a bit of a walk through the forests, at times disappearing a full leg length into the soft stuff. Slightly milder conditions have caused a bit of a thaw, so what might have supported a person’s weight yesterday, was having second thoughts today.

Found a few ‘interesting’ runs for the sledges. Just about managed to avoid any broken bones but the ski jump ramp at the top of the Les Chosalets beginners area did look very tempting! However, inevitably we ended up back at the old favourite at the foot of Marmottons for an hour or 2 of amusement, followed by crepes and pizza.

Also gave Caroline time to play with the settings on her Christmas pressie. Look, it does black and whites too!

Me Tarzan, you Jane...

One final bit of fun before the long journey back to the Highlands. Back down to Chamonix again and the Parc de Loisirs for some jungle fun on the roped course through the trees.


With 3 different levels in the Parcours D'Aventure its possible for wee Sam to have a shot on his very own course through the trees, with a watchful eye being kept from a very safe spot on terra firma right next to him. Despite some slight concern that he wouldn't be quite so bold when it came to it, Sam loved the 'mini foret' and chances are he'll be moving on up the grade to the petit foret as soon as age and height permit.


Jodie meanwhile climbed high from the start on the 'Petit Foret' course, with me in tow keeping a close eye on the karabiners and safety procedures. And what great fun it was too! Climbing steep ladders (and a climbing wall), traversing high wires and suspended logs, swinging into cargo nets, and probably best of all, the zip wires. And all without batting an eyelid! No Fear!


Not sure whether you're supposed to or not, but we enjoyed it so much that we went back round many of the sections for a second go! And the parc is open till the end of October, so if we get chance in October and the weather holds there's a very good chance that we'll be back for more very soon.


As the course is located in the trees at the top of the Planards ski run, just on the outskirts of Chamonix, you need to catch the chairlift to get up to it. But this also means that on the way down, there's another run on the summer luge included in the price of the ticket!

So that's all for this trip to Argentiere and the Chamonix valley. Back again in a few weeks with the mountain bikes to have a go at the Tour of Mont Blanc.