Hiking adventure in Chamonix

HIKING ADVENTURE IN THE FRENCH ALPS

Hiking in the Chamonix Valley means viewing the most spectacular landscapes in the French Alps. Chamonix is situated at the foot of the impressive Mont Blanc massif and innumerable glaciers descend right to the valley. It is here where alpinism was born, on the 8th of August 1786, when Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard conquered the top of Mont Blanc for the first time.

ITINERARY

DAY 1

Greeting at Geneva airport. Transfer to the village of Chamonix. Before dinner, we can take a walk around Chamonix to start enjoying the mountaineering and easy-going atmosphere that characterizes this town.

DAY 2 – Hiking in the Lac Blanc area

[5 mi journey / 560 ft elevation gain - 2215 ft elevation loss]

Lac Blanc. The adventure starts with a hike to the Lac Blanc mountain hut. The Mont Blanc massif is facing us and the alpine mountain lakes are the perfect foreground for our pictures. Some of the best images of the Mont Blanc have been taken from this spot.

DAY 3

Hiking the Grand Balcon Nord. We hike in middle mountain terrain along the west slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, between high snows and glaciers and the deep Chamonix valley. We have excellent viewpoints all the way: the Mont Blanc and the sharp peaks of Aiguilles de Chamonix, airy views over Chamonix far below, and the eastern slopes of the Aiguilles Rouges range. In the afternoon we reach a magnificent viewpoint that overlooks the impressive glacier Mer du Glace, second longest glacier in Europe.

DAY 4 - Hiking in the Grand Balcon Nord

[4,7 mi journey / 400 ft elevation gain - 180 ft elevation loss]

Hiking through the Aiguilles Rouges Natural Reserve. In the morning we use a chairlift that takes us up to 2,385 meters high (7,825 feet). Without realizing it, we are right in the middle of the most spectacular landscapes of the French Alps. The view from here justifies the trip by itself: before us are innumerable glaciers forming a sea of ice, and a good part of the most mythical mountaintops of the French Alps. We spend the day hiking along a natural shelf facing southeast, half way between the valley and the Aiguilles Rouges tops.

DAY 5 - Hike surrounding Le Brévent (8.285 ft)

[3,1 miles journey / 1.224 ft elevation gain - 1.224 ft elevation loss]

Hiking from Brevent. We take a cable car to a vantage viewpoint at 2,525 meters high (8284 feet). The Mont Blanc top has never been closer. From a 360-degree platform we amuse ourselves with the panoramas to the French Alps, the Swiss Alps, and even Lake Geneva. Our hike starts here and we follow the ridge; easy and spectacular.

DAY 6 – Grand Montets (10.827 ft.) - Glacier Argentière (9940 ft.)

[4,5 mi journey / 1.361 ft elevation gain - 1.361 ft elevation loss]

Let's go to Italy! We reach 3,840 m faster than the blink of an eye. We then take a cable car that put us in Val Ferret, Italy. In the afternoon we visit the town of Courmayeur, and then take a bus back to Chamonix and through the Mont Blanc tunnel.

DAY 7 - Hiking through the Aiguilles Rouges Natural Reserve

[4,0 mi journey / 790 ft elevation gain - 810 ft elevation loss]

Argentiere glacier. We use a chairlift that takes us to 2,000 meters high. From there to the Argentiere glacier we have a spectacular and easy hike. We are able to get really, really close to the imposing walls of bluish ice.

DAY 8

Transfer to Geneva. Today is our last day of adventure in Chamonix. In the morning we can take a short hike or a walk around town. From Chamonix we go to Geneva airport, arriving at about 14h00, where we bid farewell until our next adventure together.