We left San Diego real early, before the sun thought about rising and with the desert air having failed to cool overnight. It was a little unpleasant, especially as our 3:30am wake time arrived not much after our attempted doze a few hours earlier. In addition, we had to look forward to a session with the “friendly skies” transport company. We’re happy to report they have improved since our last adventure during March—'hats off' to both the flying and cabin crews. (Continued at end...)
Glacial view from Aiguillette top.
One of the 'Village People' breaks into song.
On a cloudy day, the Mont Blanc made an appearance.
Extending the hike to see the other side of the mountain.
Sighting a future hike on the other side of the river.
The position of the highest cable station, the Aiguille du Midi from below our peak. Mont Blanc, Western Europe's
highest, (right).
Reaching close to the end-point as the mist blows in fast and furiously.
We spent much time awaiting breaks in the clouds and mist.
Opening the tele-photo.
Jenni calls for the rope...what rope?
Although we were heading to France, we flew into Geneva. This was not a pilot error but rather a planned destination. In fact, Geneva juts into France and sometimes it’s hard to know in which country one is standing. France is to the west of Switzerland. However, to get to where we were headed, we drove south-east—surely that’s contradictory. For a change, it was not one of our many directional errors. Instead, as mentioned above, it’s because Geneva appears to be situate in geographical France, rather than within the political boundary. After this rather complicated explanation because the positioning tickles one of us; I had to mention it.
The weather on arrival was neither hot nor cold. The people were neither friendly nor hostile. Locals did not smile or scowl, either. Everything was rather neutral. Of course, we had arrived in Switzerland. After packing our rather large amount of luggage in a very small Fiat, we drove to Chamonix Mont-Blanc. After three days in the town, two hikes up steep mountains and having slept on a comfortable bed in a reasonable apartment, we would blurt to anyone listening that this part of the world is extraordinary beautiful. The mountains are gorgeous if the choice of word is appropriate. It reminds us of Andorra but with much higher surrounding ranges. The photographs should do a much better job than our descriptions.
The engineering feats in Europe are outstanding and beyond our comprehension. When we saw the cable ways, ski-lifts and trains in Switzerland we were bowled over. Spain was overwhelming, Italy a knockout, Austria the same thing and recently, Slovenia impressed us immensely. It is beyond belief how these modes of transport were conceived, built, are maintained and function safely and efficiently. Fortunately, we try to avoid them as our aim is to use the feet rather than engineering feats. Nevertheless, when the editor gives the nod, we will take a single span cable car up to a place we believe is beyond belief (see picture Midi).
Speaking of the editor, I think she was offended that I teased her about her gym workouts during our stay in Rancho Bernardo…only once though. Her revenge was to begin hiking the morning after our arrival, accumulating more than 5,200 feet over two days while a little jet-lagged and with cold. She knows how to play rough when I act ‘inappropriately’.
(More next time…)
So intimidating...
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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