On Wednesday January 7th we left in the evening to fly to Geneva, Switzerland. From Geneva we were taken by a shuttle on an hour drive to the ski village of Chamonix, France. (pronounced Sham-o-knee) Since we came in at night our first glimpse of the French Alps were by moonlight but we could already tell it was going to be beautiful! We were right...Here was the view the next morning from our room...
After breakfast we took the bus a very short ride to the center of the village. It was pretty chilly walking around (in the 20's F). Being that we've been away from Minnesota winters for a year and a half we seemed to have lost our "thick skin" it seemed colder then 20's for sure! Such a charming little town...
Before long we decided to head to the top of the Aiguille du Midi which is 2 gondola rides up to the top 3777 meters up (12,400 ft). The top offers amazing views over Chamonix-Mont Blanc and the Alps.
Once we arrived at the top we quickly saw the views were spectacular...
As we were standing there some crazy people that we rode up the gondola with surprised everyone...
They climbed over the rails equipped with some intense gear, ice picks, axes, ropes, skis and crampons on their feet. Very crazy to watch and hard to imagine doing that!
They climbed out on the mountain peaks along the sheer cliffs!
They were intending to rock climb down the peak and ski out...YIKES!
We were so lucky to have crystal clear blue skies and could see just as if we were up in a plane on a nice day. There were many different terraces & lookouts including a restaurant at the top to walk around and see different views.
Look close in the picture above and below and you can see the crazy people on top out in the middle of the peaks!
In the picture above you can see the red gondola coming up in the lower right which is what we rode to the top.
Such a gorgeous day...
A smooch on top of the mountain before heading down!
Half way point, switching to the second gondola on the way down...
Once back down in the village we found a place to grab a quick bite to eat and warm up a bit. France never fails to provide delicious baked goods and baguette sandwiches...
From there we decided to hop on the train to see the
Mer De Glace (glacier).
It was so quiet out there. We also saw skiers coming down through the rocks which had been the type of extreme skiers like we had see at the top of the peaks earlier in the day.
From there we had to walk down quite a few stairs to the glacier.
We walked through ice tubes carved in the glacier, pretty cool
On the way back up...
Loved how pretty the backdrop of the mountains were behind the town center...
Our hotel...
And the stunning view from our room...
That afternoon we picked up our ski equipment from a rental center across the street. I was super excited and could hardly wait for the next morning when it was time to go. Later that night we ate dinner at our hotel, the food was very good!
The next morning when we woke up the sun was just coming over the mountain, so pretty and a great way to start the day...
The next morning when we woke up the sun was just coming over the mountain, so pretty and a great way to start the day...
Having skied a lot as a kid I couldn't wait to get out. Brian normally snowboards but decided to ski since I would be on them as well. It was our first time on the slopes together (being that we've been together almost 15 years you could say we both were feeling a bit rusty) I was confident that it would be just like riding a bike. Since this was the Alps our goal was just to have a good time but also make it through the two days on the mountain without breaking anything!
It felt so great to be back on skis and the scenery couldn't have been better...
We both did great and I was right...Just like riding a bike! Although I would say skiing at 30 feels a bit different then at 13! We were pretty exhausted the first couple runs. Chamonix Mont-Blanc is known to provide challenging skiing and definitely a bit different then in Minnesota!
First time skiing in the Alps!
We got a GoPro for Christmas which was just in time for this trip to capture the beauty of the Alps as we were on the slopes. (video clip further on)
The snow cover was not great so some runs weren't open and some had very thin patches as well as icy areas. We didn't mind just felt so nice being out again after so long (although now I am dreaming of going in nice fluffy and snowy conditions)
Here we are on the second day...
There was a rainy/snow mix over night which made the snow pretty sticky. However, that meant the runs were pretty empty since a lot of people who were there for a whole week decided not to go out that day due to the conditions. It was really fun to see the clouds moving so quickly through the mountains.
Elevation 2000 restaurant/chalet where we ate lunch...
Even though we were pretty sore from our first day out we ended up skiing longer the second day because it turned out to be so nice out and we didn't want to leave.
On the last run we went the furthest up that we had and found some better snow. As much as we both wanted to do it again our legs were shot and we decided it was time to call it quits while we both were still in control and in one piece.
Here is some video from our last run...
After coming in from skiing each day our hotel provided us some nice hot chocolate and yummy cakes.
Chamonix was an amazing place and is currently in our top 3 favorite trips since living abroad. Only problem is now we are itching to ski again!!! Such a great time!
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