Journeys By Paul

Journeys By Paul

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Chamonix, The Alps Part 1

Back to France 2006

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Chamonix & Paragliders

October 14 Chamonix

I arrived in Chamonix (pronounced shamoe-nee) in the French Alps today. The landscape is full of glaciers and the skies are littered with parapentes (paragliders). It is Sunday, one of the busiest days of the week for the gliders.

October 15 Chamonix

Chamonix looked much different today. The skies were not filled with the bright colors of the paragliders that normally float over the village on their way to the landing field at the edge of town. The gondola that carries them up to their normal take off point was out of service due to ‘technical difficulties.’ And that same gondola is the only one that normally operates during this transitional month to take hikers, mountain scalers, glacier scalers and just plain tourists up to a point over 12,000 feet high. Rick Steves' book tells me that the altitude makes people ‘giddy’ as they try to do the ‘halfway to heaven’ tango, and I was definitely looking forward to getting a few of those giddy people on my recorder (as well as take in the view myself). Greg and Chris (who I met on the train) had taken the gondola up yesterday as soon as they got here, and they both raved about it. There‘s always tomorrow.

So I pulled out my Rick Steves guide book, and decided to take the small train to Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), a small town that overlooks a constantly moving glacier. This is also the town that Veronique, the Channel 5 reporter, told me that I must visit. So I walked over to the train station and was told that the train tracks were undergoing major reconstruction. I asked if there was a trail, and did I need to go get a hiking map, and was told that all I had to do was follow the tracks. It would be a two hour hike. Easy enough. Indeed, there was usually a walkable path along the tracks, and I huffed and I puffed, and I climbed and I climbed and I climbed, and there was no level off, and I felt my heartbeat through my shirt, and I timed my pulse at 120 beats per minute. And that was at a very slow pace. (Did I tell you that the altitude at the bottom of the valley was 6,000 feet?) This constant uphill hike at this altitude must be what it’s like to walk on Jupiter, where the gravity would be about 100 times more. But I figured I would only be going up for an hour before I got to the half way point at which time I hoped to be going downhill. So I continued through the first tunnel. But as I continued into the second tunnel, and the cold, alpine air from the other end of the tunnel pushed against me, and the light disappeared completely, I turned back and admitted defeat.

As I sat on a rock just outside the tunnel picnicking on my peanuts and bottled water, I couldn’t remember ever seeing Rick Steves encounter these problems in his videos; first the broken gondola, then the broken railway, then the broken trail. After I went about half way down, I crossed a wide path with two hikers on it. They told me that they were on the path to Mer de Glace. Well, maybe Rick Steves would have been on the right trail. Perhaps I’ll try it again tomorrow.

The train ride from Grenoble to Chamonix went like clockwork. The trains were almost empty; and were quiet, clean and comfortable. I made two stops, and got out and walked around each time; once in Aix les Bains, and once in St. Gervais. I met Greg and Chris on the train, and then later we got together and found a nice bar that become very active (and smoky) as the night wore on. Greg works for Oracle, and he’s based in Lyon, France. He’s been in France for 6 months, and loves it. He speaks fluent German, and his French his pretty good, and he was also saying something to Yohan (see picture) in Finnish. Greg is 24 years old. Chris also works for Oracle, and has come to France to work for a much shorter period; a couple of months or something like that. He’s 31 years old. Your question might be, “what the heck am I drinking in a bar until after midnight with these two kids? Am I crazy?” Well, yes I am. It was fun, but I’m not going to make a habit of it. Besides, it takes too long to get the smoke out of my jacket.

We met a few other interesting characters. Yohan from Finland, was very nice, but he ended up imbibing just a little too much. Now, I wish I had taken a picture of his forehead on the bar as he slept. Kelly, is the bar's Cliff Clavin (from Cheers). She’s from New Jersey, and has lived in Chamonix for 7 years. She’s 31 years old, and she criticized me because a 'real' traveler goes away for longer than a month at a time. I didn’t tell I will most likely be gone for about three weeks. I included a sound bite of her, as well as Yohan. She told us her boyfriend was the most renown mountain climber in France. She seemed to know a lot about Switzerland, so I asked her to explain how France, Germany, Italy and Austria fit into the makeup of Switzerland. I also included a sound clip of Mary José, who got a job here in Chamonix, today. She just finished college, and she’s from Halifax. All the spelling of these characters’ names are probably wrong, since I never asked how to spell them. Here’s a link to my hotel. www.cretes-blanches.com My room is great. It’s modern, with a view of Mont Blanc (the highest peak in all the Alps at 14,000 feet), and is 50 Euros a night.

Once again, don’t correct my spelling or grammar until I go back a few times and reread this entry. I just want to get something out today. I haven't studied the audio recordings but I know there's nothing bad (dirty) on them, and really, I'm not trying to pick up 22 year old Mary José.

Thanks for reading.

Paul Ogier

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