We chose to drive to Chamonix instead of taking the TGV, as we had originally intended. It was a combination of trying to use the circuitous SNCF websites, and the ticket price, which led us to the less stressful option of driving. The forecast looked good, so it seemed like we could do the drive without 4WD or chains. The autoroutes.fr website is really helpful when planning a longer drive like this in France. It combines all of the different companies that run the toll roads, and will give you an exact cost of tolls, plus a gas cost estimate. All in all, it was about €44 in tolls, not bad. Oh, and by the way, if you are planning on doing a drive like this, the toll booths DO NOT take magnetic-strip credit cards, nor do the self-serve gas pumps, many restaurants, stores etc. France, like most other countries, is making a complete changeover to two-factor authentication for credit cards using a smartcard + PIN system (which has already reduced fraud by 80% here). One wonders why we don't use it in the states, since Visa and MasterCard developed it. Plus, a signature seems so antiquated as a way of identifying someone. It would sure be easier if we had a chip-enabled card -- anyone know of a way to get one in the states? Anyways, the drive was uneventful, and plopped us in the Chamonix valley about 5 hours later.
Our hotel is basically at the end of the World Cup run in Les Houches -- it's pretty awesome. Our room is a corner one with a balcony, a view of the entire valley, and our very own donkey alarm: Across the street is a small farm with some chickens and a donkey, who totally makes classic donkey braying sounds every morning. Loudly. It cracks us up every time we hear it. After breakfast, Nora and I walked literally right across the street, and rented some skis from the local ski shop owner, Serge Cachat, who is a total character. No waivers, nothing to sign, no contract. He just adjusted the bindings for our boots, put a fresh coat of wax on the skis, and sent us on our way!
Skiing on our first day was about 90% staring slack-jawed at the crazy vistas and views. We just don't see this kind of stuff in California. From the slopes, you can see into Italy and Switzerland and about a dozen other ski areas; all sorts of famous peaks and glaciers -- really impressive. There was some fresh snow the night before, so we had some excellent conditions; we skied the entire resort, including the Kandahar run a few times. We found that while the resorts here don't have that many runs, they have LONG runs, and equally long platter lifts (téléskis). After getting pulled up a few thousand vertical feet with one of these things stuck between your legs, you can really appreciate a nice comfortable chair lift. We skied into town for a light lunch of crepes, then headed back up the hill until the fog forced us back down -- a great first day on the slopes.
After Mr. Cachat refused to take any money from us ("You pay when you are finished.."), we headed into downtown Chamonix to check it out. It's difficult to describe Chamonix -- it's sort of a cross between Aspen and Yosemite valley. It's definitely a "see and be seen" type of town, whether you are sporting a fur coat, an Arc'teryx shell, or your bright red Chamonix mountain guide outfit. Everyone is strutting their stuff around, including the mountaineers with their ropes, skis, and piolets. That being said, you get the sense that this is still a genuine mountain town, rich with history which hasn't been completely obliterated by commercial interests. There are strange juxtapositions, such as the Chanel shop across the street from Snell Sports (the REI of Chamonix), and the McDonald's across the street from the old wooden cabin of the Chamonix chapter of the French Alpine Club. Speaking of food, there is good food in Chamonix! We had a fantastic dinner at Alan Peru before returning to Les Houches for the night.
After Mr. Cachat refused to take any money from us ("You pay when you are finished.."), we headed into downtown Chamonix to check it out. It's difficult to describe Chamonix -- it's sort of a cross between Aspen and Yosemite valley. It's definitely a "see and be seen" type of town, whether you are sporting a fur coat, an Arc'teryx shell, or your bright red Chamonix mountain guide outfit. Everyone is strutting their stuff around, including the mountaineers with their ropes, skis, and piolets. That being said, you get the sense that this is still a genuine mountain town, rich with history which hasn't been completely obliterated by commercial interests. There are strange juxtapositions, such as the Chanel shop across the street from Snell Sports (the REI of Chamonix), and the McDonald's across the street from the old wooden cabin of the Chamonix chapter of the French Alpine Club. Speaking of food, there is good food in Chamonix! We had a fantastic dinner at Alan Peru before returning to Les Houches for the night.
The breakfast spread at our hotel
Chamonix valley and Switzerland in the background
Funny sign. The run was a the equivalent of an easy black diamond, but the warning was really about the world's longest platter lift (between-the-legs disk tow). Measured on Google Earth, it was almost 1 1/4 miles!
We kept staring at the view
The same view, but from the valley floor. Headed back up after lunch
The mountain is covered in small houses and little huts like this. Les Houches has cool little privately-owned restaurants tucked away in the trees.
Wonderful! And Ingar, let Nora take a picture of you carving some turns, or just standing there grinning!
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