Wandering through the pre-Alps

Posh (and fake) Swiss Cottage at Courcheval 1850

We left Chamonix after a too-short eight days and took a drive round to the area around Bourg Saint Maurice and Moutiers, only an hour and a half away. Another new spot and well worth a visit despite it being a bit too hot some of the time. There is some good craging around the area and the road network up into the Trois Vallees ski resorts means it is possible to drive up out of the heat. Courcheval 1850 was especially worth a look, as the most exclusive ski resort on the planet some of the residences have to be seen to be believed. Apparently property prices for the top-end places start at around €37,000 per square metre!!

Some large random waterfall in the Maurienne

Then it was onwards again to the Maurienne, the big valley that runs up towards the Italian frontier. Again it was an area I had heard about over the years but never visited. It turned out to be an intruding place, with a long history, superb scenery and lot of good climbing. Looking the entries in the UKClimbing logbooks, the area seems to get precocious few UK visitors which is odd considering the quality and amount of climbing available in such a compact area. Several of the popular  cliffs don't even appear on the databases. What the area needs is a Rockfax - there, I have gone and said it!

Chamonix Spectacular

The Aiguille Vert and the Dru from the Lac Blanc path

The Glacier de Bionnassey

What a difference a week makes - from the humdrum UK to the bustling busyness of Chamonix - their season may be pretty much at an end but the place is buzzing, with car-parks full and queues for all the lifts. The weather has been superb, almost too hot, but we have managed - climbing and/or walking every day since we arrived.
Today we did the walk from the Index chairlift to the Lac Blanc then back down to the Flégère gondola. A great walk with fantastic views of the Mont Blanc massif and the wasting glaciers. The difference compared to my first visits here over 40 years ago is shocking to behold.
A couple more days here then southwards to more new (to us) venues.
Work on Lofoten Rock Climbs - the new title - continues, albeit rather slowly at the moment, there are trails to follow and rocks to climb.