We are not in shape for skiing the long slopes of the Alps! Our legs were still feeling it today, so we decided to make it a rest day and take the gondola up to the Aiguille du Midi, one of the must-see sights in the valley. Unfortunately, it was storming over on the Italian side, so all of the high peaks were experiencing high winds and bad weather. It was still kind of cool to see the banner clouds coming off of the high pointy peaks.
We took a rain check on the Aiguille, and instead, we explored Chamonix some more, enjoying the food, bookstores, museums, and sights:
Eglise Sant Michel with Le Brévent's peak in the background. There is a gondola that goes to the top of that peak, and there's a restaurant up there. Crazy.
Many of the pharmacies had mannequins with knee braces and all sorts of other injury accessories.
After walking down every street possible, we decided on a whim to take the old Montenvers train up to the Mer de Glace glacier. The train, an electric rack-and-pinion design, was loud, wooden, and red. It takes an incredibly steep grade up to the Montenvers station -- about 20 minutes to climb almost 3000 feet.
At the end of the line, there is a train station, a substantial hotel and restaurant (closed for the winter), and an incredible view of the glacier, the Drus, and the Grandes Jorasses.
Nora with the Les Drus
Part of the Mer de Glace area is a steep gondola ride down to the surface of the glacier, where you can experience the Ice Caves. I thought they were going to be natural caves, but apparently, they dig them out every year, and as the glacier recedes and moves, they dig new ones. It's kinda strange, as you will see.
The walkway going down to the ice caves. Part of the reason it's so twisty and strange is they have to add sections as needed as the glacier retreats. This is also the end of the Vallée Blanche ski tour for most people.
If you look closely, you can see some skiers finishing the 20km Vallée Blanche route.
Entrance to the ice caves
So, the ice cave are super weird. I'm SURE the Chamonix staff have raves and parties down here. There are weird dioramas with mannequins and no explanatory text, club lighting, weird art pieces, and Enya playing in the background. Seeing the clear blue ice was pretty amazing, but all of the theatrics I could've done without. It was very French.
After heading back to town, we took a jaunt through the Musée Alpin, which was having an exhibit of fabulous historic posters promoting Chamonix, in addition to the normal exhibits regarding the history of alpinism in the area.
A delicious dinner at Le Delice led to the discovery of a fantastic alpine digestif, Génépi. It sort of tastes like a cross between stone pine liquer, gin, and chamomile! What could be better.
Appetizers
Tomorrow, it's back to the slopes!
