Most European residences lack air conditioning, so when the summer heat made a good nights sleep difficult, we would head out to an alpine destination. One place we enjoyed visiting on a couple of occasions was Chamonix, France. Known primarily for Mont Blanc, the Chamonix Valley is a fabulous scenic drive. If you don’t have a car, there is the option of frequent bus and train service to valley destinations.
One of my favorites is the hamlet of Argentiere , at 1252 meters in altitude, it was our initial road stop before our Chamonix destination. Argentiere is a picturesque charming village that is frequented by hikers and skiers.
Arriving in Chamonix, you get a front row view of the highest mountain in the Alps. Looking up from the bottom of the narrow Chamonix Valley just seems to make Mont Blanc even larger than its already massive size. Our son and I took the cable car to the summit where a gift shop sells the famous Mont Blanc pens and other merchandise.
I just read a couple days ago that on September 3rd, 2018, the prefecture of Haute-Savoie has decided to set quotas of a maximum of 214 mountaineers per day beginning next summer. Mont Blanc reportedly claims over 100 climbing deaths per year and over 8,000 in total making it the most deadly mountain in the world for climbers. There have been two plane crashes on the mountain, and shortly before our first visit to Chamonix, there was the infamous 1999 truck fire within the Mont Blanc tunnel which connects Italy with France. The fire claimed 39 lives and closed the tunnel for three years.
Being the host of the first ever Winter Olympics in 1924, there is no shortage of physically active adventures. Skiing, ziplining, fishing, rafting and mountaineering are in the immediate area. However, we kept to the less dangerous sports of walking the town and trying different restaurants with local foods and cheese fondue. The evening cool air was refreshing and made for a good nights sleep during summer heatwaves back at our home in Germany.
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