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Personnaly, I don't like camping in the Valley, but I have never stayed there for an extended period too. I prefer the confort and convenient location of gites (alpine dorms). And it does rain in the Valley. There are several of them, called in French "gite d'etape" ( I don't know the exact translation, it is the reason why I used the french word, "gite" = lodge ?, "etape" = a stopping place). It is devised for hikers, skiers, mountaineers (not the average turist). You find collective dormitories, a place where you can prepare your food and eat, collective sanitories, at a cheap price, something like between $5 and $10 the night. I usually go to a gite at the left of the Brevent cable car, called Chalet Ski Station. It is the closest to downtown (although the road gets a bit steep :-), and is a bit shabby, but still ok. Two gites which are close to each other and not too far from downtown are Le Chamoniard Volant and La Tapia. I remember that the latter is definitively nicer than Chalet Ski Station. I suggest that you ask either at the Turist Office (near the church, 50.53.00.24), or at the OHM at Maison de La Montagne (see below) for a list of gites. If you have a car, you will find several gites which are probably quieter. A person on the net (jh8x+@andrew.cmu.edu) has recommended in Argentiere: "Le Belvedere" It has rooms for 4 6 8 people... You can use the kitchen to cook. You have near a supermarket. The owners are Francois et Michelle. (At least two years ago). "La Boerne" This one is like 6 Km away from the village, in the route to Switzerland. If you do not have a car, it may be annoying. Good place and superb breakfast to prepare to burn it when climbing. Here the rooms are for many people. The only place I did not like was the upper room, where you sleep having the roof at 10 inches from your head. Besides that, good place. In both of them you can dry the cloths, ropes... when coming back from a climbing.
There is an alpine dorm operated by the CAF (French alpine club) located even further in the Valley, at Le Tour. It provides affordable (I think. As a CAF guide I didn't have to pay myself) accomodations and meals. It is a little remote (more convenient with a car, but well accessible from the train station and a walk) but if you want a quiet place and are tired of the commercialism in Chamonix you'll like it.
If you prefer camping, there are plenty of campgrounds, but I don't know them. It is illegal to camp out of campsite in the Valley, and you are not even allowed to bivvy at all, but must stay in the official camp sites. This seems to be strictly enforced these days. However they seem to be fairly cool about this as long as you shift ass first thing in the morning. Mark Begbie wrote " Certainly when I was there it was a couple of guys in a white fiesta who drove around ALL the known bivvy sites starting at eight in the morning. "Morneeng, Ceety of Chamonix, You must go now..." As long as you went before they came back there was no problem. Think they just want the woods neat and tidy for all the rich tourists crawling out of their hotels. ". Pascal Brisset advised Don't go to the campgrounds "Les Rosie`res" (dirty), "Les Drus" (No shade, small bathroom facilities). You can try "La mer de glace" (Clean, nice places, kind people).
Bill Wright stayed at Les Arolles which is less than a mile from the train station and is beautiful mowed grass and cost 14F. Obviously, there are tons of climbers there from all over the world. It was like Camp 4 in Yosemite. Other campgrounds are Camping L'ille des Barrats and Les Moliasses.
As for altitude camping, be careful. I used to be a common practice to camp at Col du Midi, but a friend told me that it is possibly illegal now (on the grounds that "it is not legal to camp outside of campsides in Chamonix"). The mountaineering police has given tickets last summer ! I (Mark Begbie) was over there two summers ago and the laws had come in earlier that year if I remember correctly. The police came up to the Valle Blanche one day while we were up on a route, and told everyone that they had to be away by the last cable car that evening. They would be back the next day and would impound any gear that they found etc, etc. They had a helicopter and guns so noone argued. Everyone agrees that the reason is that they want people to use the expensive and Chamonix-operated alpine hut at Les Cosmiques. There was quite a community at the Lac Bleu and the police didn't seem to bother anyone over there for some reason. Note that this has been confirmed by several people on the net. Other that this story, the only restriction I was aware of is that you cannot normally camp closer to 200m from a hut (don't know why). However, it is still legal to bivy (= pitch your tent at dusk and unpitch it at dawn). If you leave a tent there it is likely to be packed up and taken away. On your return you will find a tag in the snow where your tent was and you can reclaim your tent from somewhere using the tag.
If you need a place to store gear in Chamonix, there used to be lockers at the
train station. I use this on my week-end trips. Otherwise, it is generally
safe to leave your stuff in the dorm/tent while off doing a route, but you can
always ask the housekeeper to put it in a safe place for you.
If you need to rent gear in Chamonix,
the best choice was "Sport Extreme",
which has an extensive choice, and would rent even harnesses.
As of 1996, things have changed a little according to Kevin Banach.
Sport Extreme now
only rents alpine ice axes. They don't have any axes available that
are made
for steep ice or waterfall ice. Technician du Sport does rent
technical ice
axes but they only have a few in supply (about 4 total).
Of course,
there are tons of gear shops which are well stocked. They usually have
a winter sale (mostly ski gear) and a summer sale after the season.
Price of European gear is much cheaper than
in the US (for instance a Pulsar is $120 in France vs $200 in the US)
although it tends to be higher than in other places in France. I have
been told that some Italian goods (like boots) are much cheaper in
Courmayeur. The best stores in Paris is:
The reservations (by phone) are
recommended for huts,
but unless you are a big group, you can do generaly
without, and the hutkeeper will generally find a spot for you to sleep. This
does apply to the Gouter hut (see below), although it is always overcrowded,
but there if you don't have reservations, you won't get a bed (but
reservations are made months in advance anyway). The rate is about $15 per
night, and you get a 50% discount if you are an Alpine club member.
See below.
Rescue
is free in France. It is a public service on public lands, and all high
mountain areas are, except for some ski resorts. It is why you need an
insurance to go skiing, and not to go climbing ! An insurance could be
obtained from several sources such that CAF (may be worth to become a member
for around $80 if you intend to stay more than 8 nights in huts, if you count
the discount, the membership is free, and then you have also the insurance, a
fine journal, etc..), and the climbing store "Vieux Campeur" in Paris, among
other sources. But it is basically useless in France. Maybe not so in Italy
and Switzerland, and these contries share the Range with France. There are
some legal differences between these contries. For instance, a guide is
responsible for all the parties that he is guiding in France, whereas in Italy
he is responsible only for the climbers who are roped with him. This subtlety
has had some unexpected consequence more than one time.
There are some people who have been billed. The claim is simply
unjustified, like the pilot
wanting to earn an "extra", assuming his passenger didn't know the
local rules. I have heard stories of
the chopper coming and then the rescue team saying "we will
rescue you only if you pay". I think the issue was raised
once in the CAF official journal "La Montagne". They do
take advantage of unaware people.
But if you are on public land (ski resorts are another
matter), the legislation is clear. Remember this point.
Guidebooks:
My suggestion is not worry to much to buy it there, since you will
find easily numerous guidebooks in Chamonix, including English guidebooks.
In French, the reference guidebook is the "Guide Vallot". The exhaustive
edition (4 volumes) is mostly out of print, and there is now an excellent
selection of routes in 2 volumes with photographs. Other recommended books
are coffee-table books by Rebuffat (see below), and Piola.
In English, there are only three books specific tho the range that I recommend:
If you are looking for something which covers
many ranges in the Alps, you might want to check
Richard Goedeke's
The Alpine 4000m Peaks by the Classic Routes.
He describes the easy routes (some of them not that easy !) to the
summit of 61 different mountains.
During my last visit to Chamonix (1997) I have noticed a book on the
snow and ice climbs by Francois Damilano and Godefroi Perroux. Knowing
the authors, I am sure it is an excellent book which should in
particular include recent climbs.
Alpine ratings:
These are "technical" ratings. They don't take much into account
how commited and serious a route is. For instance the NNE ridge
of Aiguille de l'M (a relatively short, well-protected, low-altitude
climb free from objective hazards) and the Brenva Spur (900m route,
1400m to the summit, in the awesome East Face of Mont-Blanc, serious
objective hazards, involves somewhat mixed climbing and going through
seracs) receive the same rating: D-.
The letter rating is a overall rating for the route. It takes into
account roughly the technical difficulty of the most representative
pitches. The rock rating applies to each pitch, or even to a single
move. Snow/Ice/Mixed are given for "normal" conditions. Rock is supposed
to be dry.
Note that in France, the longer the route, the less severe is the rating:
there 1.5 level difference between crags (resp. icefalls) and mountain.
Traditionnally, for rock ratings, arabic numerals are used on crags and
equivalent roman numerals on mountains. With this in mind, here is another
equivalence table.
There are plenty of guides available in Chamonix, and there is one
huge Guide's Office (Compagnie des guides) and one smaller (Guides
Independants) where they can be booked.
The young guides are usually stronger climbers, some
of the older guides do not climb anymore and just guide the Mont-Blanc regular
route. For this route, if I remember well you might not have the choice of
your guide at the Compagnie (they take turns). The rates should be something
around $150 to hire a guide for a day. They can normally take two persons.
Overnight and difficult climbs are
charged more. A typical price for Mont-Blanc is $700 (with two persons).
Guides, as well as the CAF in Chamonix, organise "collective"
outings, where several persons share the guide fees. Two young local guides who
are very strong and have spent a fair amount of time in the US are
Pierre-Andre Rhem and Jerome Rubino.
If you are alone, your chances to find a partner
are good, especially if you
have some experience, since many are in your case. When looking for a partner,
your best bet is again OHM. They have a register "Partner wanted" which is
pretty busy. I have found myself partners this way. The CAF has also such a
register, but it sees less traffic.
If you are still alone, you can always go bouldering (the best spot is Col des
Montets), or even better, ice-bouldering on the lower part of the
glaciers. As of 1996 (source: Kevin Banach),
the Bossons glacier is no longer the glacier of choice for ice
bouldering at
Chamonix. In fact the Bosson has become very dangerous to boulder
on. The
past 3 summers have seen very warm conditions in Chamonix, causing the
terminus of the Bosson to recede extensively. The snout of the
Bosson is now
very prone to falling seracs -- there have been several lives lost in
the past
year due to falling seracs on the Bosson.
There are several very safe spots to still ice boulder in Chamonix.
One is
the upper part of the Bosson called Pyramide des Bossons about a 2 hour
hike
from the town of Chamonix. At les Pyramids the slope is rather flat,
with
relatively easy ice climbing but not a lot of selection.
The preferred area is now on the Mer de Glace. This is where the
guides
take their classes for instruction. The Mer can be reached using the
mountain train - about a 20 minute ride - or by a 2 hour hike. They
have
erected ladders and trails to get onto the glacier.
If you are confortable with the idea of doing alone some easy routes,
there are a number of climbs where the crevasse danger is pretty low (I dare
not say inexistant, since there is always the risk). They include the Mont
Blanc regular route from Gouter (the same cannot be said of the routes from
Aig. du Midi or Grand Mulets), the Midi-Plan traverse, the Cosmiques ridge,
the Rochefort ridge traverse. All of them are classics, described in Rebuffat,
and well worth doing. Due to the crowds the Mont Blanc regular route from
Gouter is a real zoo, and this is kind of fun, but not a typical alpine
experience.
The Mont-Blanc range is not an extended one. It is fairly compact, which means
that the distances are not very large. You won't have very long approaches. On
the other hand, it is steep, has relatively high altitudes (there are a lot of
climbs close to or above 4000m), and also large elevation differences. Thus,
although the approaches are short, the climbs are rather long. You have to get
used to this scale.
The general approach involves walking into a mountain hut one day, and
starting the climb (very) early the next morning. There are several reasons
for this "alpine start" (remember, you are in the heart of the Alps !):
Huts
There are plenty of huts in the range, so that virtually all the areas
are served by one of them. All of them have blankets and mattresses,
except for a very few (called "bivouacs"). Most of them have a
caretaker in summer, and are not manned in winter.
If you get a spot in a hut, you will have
bedding, so there is no need to bring your sleeping bag (so do because
they find the blankets too dirty/itchy but it never bothered me). Even
if you don't get an "official spot", if the hut is not overcrowded
beyond reasonable (ie all huts except Gouter) you should find a spare
blanket.
If the caretaker is there you can buy a meal and water (but not
ingredients). Some of the huts
have running water (which would be free) in summer , some of them not, in
which case you'll need to melt snow. Whether you should buy a meal or
cook yourself is a matter of personal preference. Personally I prefer
to cook, because it is cheaper and gives me more options towards the
timing and contents of the meals. the meals are expensive and not
vegetarian. You also never know if there is a caretaker or not in some
less-frequented huts. In CAF huts (french), there is always a room
for cooking with stoves, but this is not the case of CAI huts
(italian). The drawback is that you have to carry food and stove, but
I think that (a) most of the weight is to be carried during the
approach and not the climb (if you just bring what you need). (b) it
is useful anyway to have a stove in your pack, it is a primary
survival tool. for a day climb, i would say take 2 quarts of
water and remember to drink. i eat pasta the day before,
cereal or rice pudding in the morning, and rely on energy bars during
the day. i actually avoid cooking buy taking food which requires only
boiling water and mixing up. cooking uses more gas and requires more
time and pot-washing.
Check the guidebooks for more details on the individual huts and
phone numbers. The comfort range is large, and so is the price. The
privately owned huts like Monzino in Italy,, Cosmiques in France, and
the Swiss huts (owned by the SAC) are very cozy and expensive ($40).
The huts owned by the CAF (French Alpine Club) and CAI (Italian Alpine
Club) are more reasonable ($18). The huts without caretaker are
basically free. With a membership at one of the Alpine Clubs, you get
at 50% discount on the huts owned by any of the 3 AC. This is worth
considering, since the membership is around $80 for the CAF, esp. if
you are going to stay in the Swiss huts. There is a branch of the CAF
in Chamonix. In theory it is always better to make a reservation (by
phone) if you can. In practice, they are necessary only if you are
part of a large party, or if you are going to stay at one of the
crowded huts, esp. Gouter.
To book a place in one of the huts, you have to find out its phone
number. This information is available from the guidebooks, and a
variety
of places in
Chamonix, including the Club Alpin Francais, Maison de la Montagne,
and Office du Tourisme, and also by using the phone directory assistance.
Often people walk out again on the day of the climb, but some people will
remain at the hut and do a further climb on the next day and so on. The Mont
Blanc massif offers more that its fair share of one-day climbs, and only some
of the bigger routes require overnight climbing. One of the reason is that
since you sleep only on huts, you don't have to take your overnight gear, and
thus can climb very light. For instance, I have almost always used a 40 liters
backpack, and while climbing, have almost never carried more than 8 kg. You
can even find food in the huts.
The downside with huts is that those for popular climbs can be very very
crowded, getting food (if you don't bring yours), water and sleeping can be a
real pain. On the other hand, getting sleep is difficult anyway when you must
go to bed at 7pm, and by the way who has ever succeeded in sleeping well
before a major (for him/her) climb ?
Your starting point will be mostly cable cars and a mountain trains.
Climbing is made easier around Chamonix by mechanical contrivances such as
cable-cars and mountain trains. These allow easy access up to about
1500-3000 metres which takes the sting out of some walk-ins.
Be careful, the fact that these conveniences are available does not suppress
the inherent risk of alpine climbing. There are more climbers who die in the
Mont-Blanc range each year than during the whole history of Mt McKinley
climbing for instance. I am not going to detail the numerous hazards of alpine
climbing here, which have to do with the combination of technical terrain
and relatively severe conditions, but you should know about them, and if not
aware, chose your climbs conservatively, and act like the locals. Oh,
I forgot, for those who come from countries where it is an established
pratice, in France there is no point in suing others for your own lack
of judgement.
Cordialement,
Olivier Krumeich
For the accomodation, do not hesitate to leave
the overcrowded Chamonix valley, for example Passy :
http://members.aol.com/chevanne
Cheap accomodation and good old advices, provided
you speak French (dad was more concerned by climbing
that by learning any foreign languages).
Basic planning info
In Chamonix, there is a strategic place, which is
"Maison de la Montagne",
in front of the church. It is a building where you can find the guide
company, weather forecasts (you can speak to the technician), and, at the last
floor OHM (Office de Haute Montagne). Although OHM is in the same building
than the guides' office, their purpose is entirely different, as they are
sponsored by the Chamonix city and their job is not to guide people, but to
centralize information on route conditions and give people advice. The women
who do this job are not top climbers (I suppose), but, to my experience, they
are extremely competent, helpful and they speak english. If you want to
contact them in advance, phone is 50.53.22.08.
If you're going to use the Aiguille du Midi cable-car for an early start,
you'd better be there real early (before 6am) since there will be a crowd (and
professional guides have priority). Maps and Guidebooks
Maps: there is no real choice. Get the 1/25000 IGN maps. You need two
of them to cover the range, and you can find them everywhere in Chamonix.
French English Rock (French) Snow/Ice
F Facile Easy walk-up
PD Peu difficile Not too difficult up to III 35/45
AD Assez difficile Fairly difficult up to VI 40/55
D Difficile Difficult up to V 50/70
TD Tres Difficile Very Difficult up to V+/VIa 65/80
ED Extremement Difficile Extremely Difficult up to VIc/aid to 90
ABO Abominablement Difficile Abominable serac
I have found that the rock ratings in Chamonix are quite mild, when compared
with those in Yosemite. There is about one letter grade difference, ie
Yosemite 5.9 = Piola 6a. However, Piola ratings are still more severe than
those found in old guidebook, where the difference is again perhaps a letter
grade.
Rock ratings (from the Verdon) global alpine rating snow/ice
-------------------------------
|UIAA G.B. U.S.A. France|
|-----------------------------|
|V+ 4c 5.7 5a |
|------------ |
|VI- 5.8 5b | D+ 55/65
| |
|VI 5a 5.9 5c | 3
| ----------------------| TD- 75/80
|VI+ 5.10a 6a |
|------- | TD 80/85 4
| 5b 5.10b 6a+ |
|VII- ------ |
| 5.10c 6b | 4+
| | TD+ 85/90
|VII 5.10d |
| -------- 6b+ |
| 5c 5.11a | 5
| | ED- 90
|VII+ 5.11b 6c | 5+
|--------------- |
|VIII- 6a 5.11c 6c+ |
| ------| ED 90 6
|VIII 5.11d 7a |
| ----------------- |
| 5.12a 7a+ |
| | ED+ 90/100 6+
|VIII+ 6b 5.12b 7b |
|------- |
|IX- 5.12c 7b+ |
| --------- | the higher grades
|IX 6c 5.12d 7c | in ice climbing are
| -------- | function of the
|IX+ 5.13a 7c+ | nature of the ice
|--------------- ------| (free-standing...)
| 5.13b 8a | rather than the
| | angle.
|X- 7a 5.13c 8a+ |
| |
|X 5.13d 8b |
| ---------------- |
|X+ 7b 5.14a 8b+ |
|------- |
|XI- 5.14b 8c |
-------------------------------
With whom to climb , what to do alone
With respect to guide services, American Alpine Institute (Bellingham, WA)
offers guided climbs (alpine and rock) and have a base in Chamonix. It might
be a good idea to look for a local guide. In Alpine countries (France,
Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, UK) it is illegal for locals to guide
professionnaly (ie for direct retribution) without a certification, and in
most of these contries, the certification is confered by a governmental
institution. In France, there is a highly selective and very long (total six
years with several months in "school") process to go through. Climbers as
brilliant as the late Pierre Beghin have failled at
exams.
This guarantees a
fair level of all-arround competence among the professional certified guides
(except maybe the older).
Alpine climbing: what to expect
The Mont-Blanc range is unique in the world as it offers a tremendous
range of climbs which are very accessible (thanks to the local infrastructure)
and at the same time very challenging and in an exceptional setting.
Addresses and phone numbers
If you are calling from abroad each number is prefixed by "4"
instead of "04".
Office de Tourisme
Place du Triangle de l'Amitie
74400 Chamonix Mont Blanc
open 8h30-12h30 and 14h00-19h00
tel. 04.50.53.00.24
fax 04.50.53.58.90
Centrale de Reservation
tel. 04.50.53.23.33 and 04.50.53.00.24
Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix Mont-Blanc
Maison de la Montagne
Place de l'Eglise
8h-12h and 15h30-19h
tel. 04.50.53.00.88
fax 04.50.53.48.04
Association Internationale Des Guides du Monc Blanc
used to be "Association independante des guides de Mont Blanc"
98, rue des Moulins
tel. 04.50.53.27.05
also in the Maison de la Montagne
Ski School and Office de haute montagne (security)
weather bulletins posted 4 times/day 7h,10h,16h,18h
Association de Chamonix du Club Alpin Francais
136, avenue Michel Croz
74400 Chamonix Mont Blanc
Reader's comments
About the L''Ile des Barrats campground in Chamonix...
It''s an excellent place to camp and very clean. The owner,
Phillipe is a fountain of info if you have any questions about rock climbing
or mountaineering around Chamonix.
Contributed by Alisa Laka on December 22, 1997.
Bonjour,
j''ai trouve votre page Web sur Chamonix tres interessante
avec des photos magnifiques. 2 remarques:
- Vous le savez peut-etre deja, le Pilier Bonatti aux Drus
n''existe plus, il est en petits morceaux dans l''ebouli
en bas, suite a un eboulement en septembre 97 de 200m de
haut sur 80m de large
- votre remarque sur l''impossibilite de poursuivre les
autres en justice m'' a beaucoup amuse.
Contributed by Olivier Krumeich on December 30, 1997.
Your story on the Aiguille du Midi camp site is
unfortunately truth. It is not legal amy more to
camp here. According to the autorities, it is for
ecological reasons.
So, you have to use the Cosmiques hut, owned by the
Guiding Compagny. It is the most expensive hut I know.
Futhermore, you are obliged to take your meal here,
which is not legal according to the French law. But the
French cops do not feel very concerned.
Please remind thath it is steel legal to do bivouac.
It means that you have to backpack your gear.
Contributed by Pierre Chevanne on March 5, 1998.
I run a site full of information about Chamonix olong with a mass of photos from my trip to the area. While it primeraly to market my apartment in Les Praz there is information that would be welcomed by anyone going to Cham for the first time. As for this site, excellant and one I will bookmark for a return visit. Look at:
http://wkweb5.cableinet.co.uk/tim_hall_photographer
Contributed by Tim Hall on March 8, 1998.
Having spent a few winter months in various gites from time to time, I would definitly recommend the Chamonard Volant in preference of the Chalet Ski Station. O.K it''s a little further from the village center, but it has cooking facilities -burners, gas, fridges (not available at the Ski Station). Also the place is more comfortable in genral. It does get quite busy at the weekends, but this can be a bonus as you can find yourself moved to the atic (loft) which is even cheaper than the normal dormatory accomodation. Oh, and one last thing, being in the base of the valley you don''t have to walk up that bloody hill toward the Brevant Lift!
Contributed by Antony Fearn on March 11, 1998.
I recommend Mark Seaton as an excellent, fully UIAGM qualified guide. Mark is a Brit based full time in Argentiere. He is a fast, strong and experienced climber, an excellent communicator of Alpine skills, highly safety conscious, and good company on the climb. He also does off-piste ski guiding and touring in the winter and spring. He is not cheap but you get what you pay for. His email is MarkSeaton@compuserve.com
Contributed by Gerard Clarke on September 18, 1998.
There is a charming campsite near to Chamonix
about 5 mins walk from the center. It has
croissants for sale every day and if you like
camping I would reccomend it to anyone.
Contributed by H HAmlyn on May 14, 1999.
It seems that this summer the prohibition to camp
at Col du Midi has relaxed: I've been there and
there were lots of tents, and they were left up
for the whole day. I put my tent myself and had no
trouble. Maybe things are changing ...
Contributed by Arturo Garcia Ares on August 23, 1999.
Good camping 2 minutes from telepherique at 'Belle
Vue Camping'. Not muddy, quiet and seemingly safe
to leave gear for a while. One person, one tent
for 6 days cost 81 francs.(August 99). Reasonable
showers. Telepherique cost FF70 return. We had
to reserve our tram seats on arrival at the
station even though we had tickets.
New toilet block at Gouter refuge, the old
deathtrap now roped off.
We found the 'security cable' at the Grand Couloir
was useless - it was strung too high above the
route.
We also experienced (and survived!) a heavy
avalanche of stones at the top of the Tete Rousse
glacier - it's not just the Grand Couloir that is
subjected to this particular danger.
Contributed by IBurgess on August 28, 1999.
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