UKC

I will be in Chamonix for 2 days late August with my Dad and want some advice on best things/places to show/ take him with limited time.

We are in Switzerland for a week and have decided to do 2 days (1 night) in Cham on the way back to Geneva.
He is relatively fit and will be fine with a set of Crampons on.
My first thought was up the Midi and down onto the Vallee Blanche?

What else?

Cheers,
Ben

In reply to Ben_Climber:

There's a great walk down from the top station of Grand Montets to the intermediate station. Combines wet and dry glacier (glacier d'Argentiere) and some rock paths with a set of ladders or two. It's a very casual day out if the weather is nice.

There may also be a fixed rope when you leave the touristy bit of the station.

In reply to Ben_Climber:
The walk down from the Midi is very exposed and can be very intimidating. Many people rope up and I have seen some parties come to a standstill unable to move either up or down and causing chaos. The area is also heavily crevassed, and this is not always obvious, so you would BOTH need to know rope work and how to handle an emergency. I would not recommend that as a day out although the trip up the Midi should be on every visitors itinerary.

You could walk up the Mer de Glace, perhaps to one of the huts, spend a night and come down again. Easily accessible huts, usually, are the Couvercle or the Requin or the Envers DU Aiguilles. The Albert Premier is another option. There is also a nice walk from the Midi Plan station to Montenvers. Go up on the Telephrique and down on the train or do it in reverse. You could go up the Brevent or one of the telephriques on the other side of the valley to Lac Blanc. These latter give wonderful views of the whole range. You could take a trip across to Italy on the lifts from Chamonix to Courmayer or just as far as the Torino hut and back if preferred.

In Chamonix itself there is the Alpine Museum.

Al

In reply to Ben_Climber:

If he's acclimatised & good with ladders, up to either the Envers or the Couvercle hut for the night & back down next day???

In reply to Ben_Climber:
Take a cable car to Col de Balme. then walk to Albert Premier hut for lunch and back. A grand day out.

Lac Bleu is rightly popular for the stupendous views.

If you must wander on a glacier, then Mer de Glace is the safest, but the ladders down may be scary.

In reply to Fredt:

The Albert Premier hut surely?

In reply to lostcat:

Sorry, I always get then mixed up...

In reply to GridNorth:


I know what your saying. Ive been up and down there a few times myself, once it was very quiet and once at a stand still.
The rope work and crevasse rescue isn't a problem for myself but Dad hasn't done any.

I think a morning up the Midi might be worth a trip just for the experience.

Argentiere Envers sounds like a plan, been a few years since i've been there and would be nice to see it without rain and cloud...

Thanks for the suggestions.

In reply to Ben_Climber:

Why not take your dad up Mont Blanc wearing just shorts. The story needs a European slant.
Then he can send his selfie to Le Monde.

In reply to Ben_Climber:

On the burger front I would strongly recommend Poco Loco and the Cham micro brewery.

http://www.mbchx.com/eng%20mbc%20home.htm

In reply to Ben_Climber:
If your dad doesn't have snow n ice experience why not have a look at the Grand Balcon Nord path, from the mid station of the Midi lift right along to Montenvers? Great views, and you can get to wander about the Mer de Glacé before you get the rack train down. And the trip up to th Midi is well worthwhile for starters, you see tourists doing it all the time. That gives you a reasonably full day that you'll remember for having spent it with your dad.

have a look at te Grand Balcon Nord path, from the mid station of the Midi lift right along to Montenvers?


This - it's great.

In reply to Ben_Climber:
Couple of years ago I had just the same dilemma with the present Mrs HammondR. Took the Flegere/Index lifts, 2 hours or so to the Lac Blanc hut. Stayed overnight (as cheap as anywhere in the valley, splendid half board). Next day up to the Col du Belvedere or similar, bags of great views then back down to the last lift. She loved the whole thing.

In reply to leon 1:

Certainly he could walk up to the nice footpath cafe opposite Les Drus on the Aiguilles Rouge side of the valley and look at the Aiguille Vert etc whilst sitting amongst a bonny floral background.

In reply to veteye:

A very popular walk, if you are talking about where I think you are, is to go up the Brevent cable car and then for a long but flatish walk finally finishing descending to the Col des Montets. This is easy walking but offers great views of the Mont Blanc range because it is the other side of the valley. Equally if you catch the first stage of the Midi cablecar up to the Plan des Aiguilles there is great scope for long walks along paths directly under the Aiguilles.

If you want to be a bit more mountainous, and stay in huts, what about going up to the Albert Premier one night (not my favorite hut by a long chalk, but does have a pretty spectacular view for those not used to the high mountains), then cross the col to Trient hut for another night, on the Trient plateau. For this, obviously you would need to make sure he can tie on and is familiar with glacier precautions, but it should be worth it.

In reply to lostcat:

We like to refer to it as the Albert Premier Inn. LOL

In reply to Ben_Climber:

I agree on the Balcon Nord, its what I would recommend with the detour up to signal point. Great views, a pint at the end, a look at the glacier then the tramway down.

In reply to Ben_Climber:

The walk up to the Albert Premier hut with a stay there is nice. Both Grand Balcon Nord and Sud are very nice. The walk up to Lac Blanc on the south side is very nice too. The walk up to the Junction is nice, you can see the boulder Paccard and Balamat stayed under back in the days when they did not know if this was survivable!

If going on the glaciers I would say walking up the Mer de Glas would be better and more relaxed but it depends on experience etc.

How about paragliding...its always a great way to experience the valley!