Chamonix in the summer

[Deleted]

Most Alpine ski resorts are pretty much deserted from April to November with most of the hotels and restaurants closing during that period. In fact there is a whole category of nomadic hotel and restaurant workers who split their lives between the mountain and the seaside for seasonal work. While most of them are young and single, some are not, and schools have had to adjust for students who only spend part of the year in one establishment or another. Outside of the hospitality industry, there are quite a few other professions that can be split depending on the season: ski instructor/lifeguard, sales assistants, repair people who cater to tourists...

Chamonix does not have this problem because it is full of tourists all year long (dammit!), and it has also gained the odd distinction over the last 15 years of being the most English town in France, with a permanant population comprised of 20-30% British citizens. There are British schools, British supermarkets, British restaurants, British real estate agencies... It will be interesting to see how Brexit plays out here in the end.

It is the spectacular (and quite expensive) A40 autoroute that most people take to go to Chamonix. This time I decided to stay on the small road below it.





It must be admitted that this autoroute was a spectacular feat of engineering.





Down below, I had to wait for trains at grade crossings.





Firewood is being collected and prepared for the upcoming season. All of the ski lodges have roaring fireplaces.



I enjoy mountain scenery.





I was staying in Sallanches rather than Chamonix due to budgetary considerations. Ground level lacks charm, but all you have to do is look higher.



After dropping off my stuff, I got on the route blanche, the RN205 which goes to Chamonix and the Mont Blanc tunnel.

[Deleted]

The first thing one encounters upon entering Chamonix is the place to take the cable car up Mont Blanc to the Aiguille du Midi.



In recent years it has been turned almost into a theme park up at the top.



Frankly 99 and 44/100th safe would probably be safe enough for me if they gave a discount.



Luckily, I had missed the last departure of the day -- and saved quite a bit of money.



I hoped that the clouds would not come rolling in to hide the mountains.



I parked the car in a lot just past the Mercure hotel.



It in turn was right next to the very charming train station.





The sky of Chamonix was full of flying people.



This is the view of the town if you were getting off the train there.







When I was little, the Bossons glacier looked like it was about to attack the town. Now it has melted so much that it has lost its menace.





The icy torrent that rushes through town is the Arve.

[Deleted]

My local supermarket in Paris does not devote any energy into installing decorative flower boxes.













I kept crossing the Arve on various bridges and it demanded to be photographed each time.





So did the Bossons glacier.



I was extremely intrigued by this abandoned hovel sitting on a piece of prime real estate in the exact centre of town.









Here is the casino.













One of the discoverers of Chamonix points out a flying person to the other one.

[Deleted]

This is just a two-star hotel and seems to be fully booked most of the time.

[Deleted]

The church was of no interest except for a few windows.













The local cinema had a wall painting that evoked a Claude Lelouch movie that was filmed here.



town hall



This asphalt patching is clearly the result of numerous twisted/broken ankles.



There are huge numbers of tourists from the Arabian Gulf here.



I am always fascinated by innovation, in this case an electronic clock to control "30-minute parking only." First, an empty space...



And here is what happens when a car stays too long...







It was time to return to my car again. First, pass the train station...



Here it is...



And at my hotel in Sallanches, I was able to appreciate the final rays of the sun.

That's all.

[bixaorellana]

Very pretty! I am looking forward to more pictures from the region.

The glacier is melting because of global warming? I was surprised by how rushing the river is. Is it like that all year round?

I love the sport-specific church windows and the sign advertising English products (although, humph, Dr. Pepper is very American). Gorgeous snow-capped and waning sun-kissed mountain pictures.

Any idea of the appeal for the Arabian Gulf tourists? It's a big contrast certainly.

[Deleted]

Tourists from the Gulf like 1) green mountains 2) cold weather 3) rain in moderation.

The river rushes whenever snow is melting. It will continue rushing until it begins freezing at night at the higher altitudes. Yes, the glacier is melting because of global warming. Glaciers have actually been retreating since 1850, but in the last 20 years, they have retreated really really fast. The glacier I photographed has retreated 1200 metres since the beginning of the 20th century. It has also lost 70 metres in thickness.

The famous Air India flight by the Malabar Princess (flight from Bombay to New York) crashed at the top of the glacier in 1950. In 2012 the glacier regurgitated the diplomatic suitcase from the flight and in 2013 it gave up some emeralds, sapphires and rubies. (I kind of think there must be diamonds as well, but you can't see the damned things against the ice and snow.) Nobody can actually search the glacier itself because it is far too dangerous, so we're still waiting for the 117 people on board.

[lagatta]

I like your little Fiat. I've been through the Mont Blanc tunnel, just in time before an oil spill inside. Nobody was killed or hurt but it created a huge traffic jam. Chamonix is very pretty, but not really the type of town I'd go out of my way to visit. Are grocery items more expensive in chain supermarkets in such places, or are there national or at least regional prices?

Dr Pepper is not only American, but from the South, no? I see that it was invented in Waco Texas, but I think of it as being popular in the Southeast as well... please correct me if this is a misconception.

[Deleted]

It doesn't matter from where Dr. Pepper comes. The only thing that matters is whether the English think it is a British product and consume it as such. Anyway, I did not enter any grocery stores in Chamonix to check prices. I did pop into Carrefour next to my hotel in Sallanches to get some sushi, though.

[bixaorellana]

Yes, it would seem that green mountains and some rain would be as balm to desert people. I guess with all the clothes they wear, the cold wouldn't bother them that much either.

Horrifying statistics about the glacial melt, especially as that is an index as to what's happening all over the world. The glacier sporadically giving up artifacts from the plane crash is like something out of a movie.

It must be quite warm there right now, judging by what people are wearing. If this isn't too stupid a question -- besides pleasant summer climate and the obvious beauty of the place, why is Chamonix a year-round tourist draw? Of course everyone has heard of Mont Blanc, which I believe has been an attraction for at least three centuries, but there must be tons of tourist traffic to justify all that theme park-y stuff and the (yikes!) glass lookout thing.

[Deleted]

Chamonix grew when the Mont Blanc tunnel opened. It was pretty much a dead end up until then.

Interestingly enough, 80 tourists are stuck in cable car "eggs" tonight on top of Mont Blanc. They were taking the cable car between the Aiguille du Midi and Helbronner Point when the cables got twisted. There were 110 people stuck in 36 eggs and they were only able to haul 30 of them to safety before night fell. Apparently, the helicopters can only remove two people at a time. There were 3 French helicopters and 1 Italian helicopter on the scene, but the clouds arrived as night fell, so all operations were interrupted. Nevertheless, they were able to get food, water and blankets to the trapped tourists, but it is going to be a very cold night.

cdn2-europe1.new2.ladmedia.fr/var/europe1/storage/images/europe1/societe/mont-blanc-une-centaine-de-personnes-coincees-dans-des-telecabines-a-3400-m-daltitude-2841634/28801681-1-fre-FR/Mont-Blanc-une-centaine-de-personnes-coincees-dans-des-telecabines-a-3.400-m-d-altitude.gif

[htmb]

Good grief! What stories they'll have to tell!

[Deleted]

Now the media are saying that the rescuers managed to get 60 people out so there are only 50 people spending the night.

This sort of thing happens regularly but never with so many people. France has the most cable cars, chairlifts, telepherics, etc. in the world -- 3900 of them in fact at 259 different sites. It's amazing that they are not in the news more often. There are 35 different ones on Mont Blanc alone.

[mossie]

Quite a place. Not for me, don't believe in snow and cold.

[lagatta]

Unfortunately, I'm stuck with it, but I'm a short walk from three métro stations. And no, I don't ski.

We have beautiful warm weather now, though. It's been downright hot here; hot as mid-July.

A random thing from a conference I'm working at tomorrow:

1.2.4 7ème édition des Rencontres du Mont Blanc, Chamonix, France, du 26 au 28 novembre 2015
Dans le cadre dudit évènement, les dirigeants de l’Economie Sociale et Solidaire du monde entier se sont réunis autour du thème central du développement humain et durable des villes et des territoires.

I guess as for the Gulf tourists, it was quite a change, even for people from mountainous places like Peru, who don't have all those fancy facilities...

[htmb]

I decided long ago that not only am I not a skier, but I really do not enjoy ice and snow. However, Chamonix in the summer looks nice.

Did they ever get the tourists down from the cable cars?

[Deleted]

Sept 9, 2016 19:29:14 GMT htmb said:

Did they ever get the tourists down from the cable cars?

Oh, they got them out the moment the sun came up this morning. In fact there were apparently only 33 left because the Italians had worked all night (the people were hanging above Italy) and had been able to bring some down on ropes. The people interviewed this morning were having trouble deciding which they liked the least -- being cold all night or being totally uncomfortable in a cramped cabin with no possibility of stretching out.

The temperature only went down to +2° last night so they were lucky that it didn't happen later in the season.

[lagatta]

And kerouac, of course I didn't want you to waste your time looking at random supermarket prices; just thought you might have seen some. I often pop into places to buy stuff I need.

[bixaorellana]

I've always been sort of afraid of those cable cars, but changed my mind last summer with I finally rode in one.

You've ruined that for me!

[lugg]

It does look pretty and the mountains and the glacier are magnificent. No snow and ice are not for me either but I do like seeing it occasionally .

I cannot speak for the whole of the English population but I would never consider Dr Pepper as an English product; Coke now is another matter

[tod2]

Your photos are beautiful Kerouac - Those flowers cascading down out of tubs and baskets make the whole place so pretty.
We also encountered dozens of Arabic families in Luzern and Interlaken. Will mention with photos in my report.

[whatagain]

As always I find your pics so lively. I was in Chamonix in alte spring 2 years ago and I had the feeling to retrace back my steps.

[mich64]

Wonderful! I have some similar photos from when we visited, especially photo 8 of reply #3, almost identical. We did a day trip to Chamonix when we stayed in Annecy. The auto route was indeed unforgettable.

We did take 2 cable cars up the mountain but we did not take the "eggs" across to Italy, that was a bit to adventurous for me.

I remember when we walked down into the town that we stopped and had a hot chocolate and a croissant and sat in awe of how beautiful our surroundings were.

[bjd]

I'm finally catching up with AnyPort.

Nice photos but after seeing these pictures I don't have any desire to go to Chamonix. It seems flooded with tourists and I am not that keen on mountains. They are okay to look at but I don't like heights and I have no desire to stand on a glass platform with hundreds of metres of emptyness below me.

The Alpine architecture is nice enough but seems a little overdone -- as though the entire place is dedicated to summer and winter tourism. Interesting and frightening to see the retreating glacier.