Hike to Glacier de Tré la Tête & Lac d'Armancette
Last fall, I went on a hike in Les Contamines-Montjoie: I walked up to Glacier de Tré la Tête then went down passing by Lac d’Armancette.
glacier
Hike to L'Arolette, Tête de Balme & Glacier du Tour
Last fall, I went back to Chamonix, in the Balme-Vallorcine area: I walked up L’Arollette and Tête de Balme (which are mountains in Switzerland) then took a trail down along Glacier du Tour.
Aiguille du Midi
At the beginning of summer, I went to Chamonix to visit Aiguille du Midi, a mountain next to Mont Blanc and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area: It can easily be accessed by cable car from the valley and, with the highest viewing platform located at the 3842m summit, it offers the best view on the Mont Blanc, the surrounding glaciers and the Chamonix valley.
Hike to Baraque des Rognes & Nid d'Aigle (Mont Blanc)
Last summer, I went on a hike near Chamonix to the Baraque Forestière des Rognes, a tiny emergency hut located between the much bigger Refuge de Tête Rousse, where most mountaineers stop on their way to the summit of Mont Blanc, and Nid d’Aigle, a hut at the terminus of Tramway du Mont Blanc. I followed this trail direction (except I started and ended at the Bellevue cable car station): Sentier des Rognes on the way up and a path along Glacier de Bionnassay on the way down.
Montenvers - Mer de Glace
After getting back to the valley from my hike to La Jonction, it was still relatively early so I took the bus to the village of Chamonix and tried to go the Aiguille du Midi, using the ropeway. Unfortunately, it was full for the rest of the day. So instead, I took the train to Montenvers to have a look at the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), France’s largest glacier (7km long, 200 m thick). The Ice Cave had already closed when I got there however.
Hike to La Jonction des Glaciers (Mont Blanc)
La Jonction (The Junction) is a rocky area below the Mont Blanc where the Glacier des Bossons and the Glacier de Taconnaz meet. The first successful ascent of the Mont Blanc by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard in 1786 was made through there: The hiking trail goes past the rock formation (known as Gîte à Balmat) where the 2 men stayed at some point during that ascent. I followed this itinerary.
