With our friends from Singapore we have been exploring the hills around the ski resort town of Chamonix. The town to nestled in a huge glacial valley at the base of Mt Blanc which at 4800m is the highest moutain in Europe. Just to the north is the Swiss border and Geneva and through the tunnel to the east is Italy.
Yesterday after the half marathon we walked up to Lac Blanc which is perched above the valley looking out towards Mt Blanc on the opposite side of the valley. The climb began with a hillside of tight zigzigs and ascended 800m onto a balcony looking over Chamonix. Amongst the throngs of walkers we spotted heaps of wildlife and local deer.
The lake was in a small valley with remanents of last winters snow covering the mountains on all sides. The view from the turqouise lake across the valley was surreal. We ended the walk with another haul accoss an escarpment of rock to a ski station at about 2800m. A good day of climbing.
Today we did the big tourist thing here and caught the chairlift up to a point high above the valley called Angille di Midi. This peak is 3800m and the highest cable car in the world. The views were out of this world and an amazing view into the mountaineering landscape. From this point we caught another cable car across about 4km of glaciers to the Italian side of the Mt Blanc massif. The views down were a little scary as you spoted climbers dodging the glaciers far below. We took heaps of photos before returning back to Chamonix to grab some lunch.
Tomorrow we are off towards Switzerland and then back towards Paris before next weekend.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Running up a mountain
I fortunalty or unfortunalty took up an offer to run an off-road half marathon in the French Alps. The timing was ok. At least I had some holidays in which to get fit and try to develop some hill running strength. I managed ok and trained for a solid two weeks in France before arriving in Chamonix.
The race was a rugged 23km with about 1400m of total ascent, the majority of which was covered in the last 8km's of the course. The race started in the main village with 1,500 other idiots, a large bunch took off from me at under 4 mins per km so I eased off, sensing I should leave a little strength in the legs for the final uphill. I survived the first 13km fine, but began to suffer on the ascent to the ski station at 2300m. My lack of hill running (Singapore's highest is 100m) began to surface but most other runners were down to a shuffle as well. The track was undulating and contouring up along the side of this huge glacial valley. It peeked out to a ski station at 17km after climbing 500m in 2 kilometres. and I scoffed down a couple of cokes and energy drinks. This kept me chugging till the beginning of the next climb which was in the open, along to the finish line perched at another ski run. After a few anguishing moments of cramp I crept across the finish line. 2hrs 37mins was heaps slower than I thought I would manage. The winners did 2hrs but in the end of was glad too survive.
The race was very well organised and relatively cheap. Included was a post race buffer, nice running top and chairlift back down the hill. It was good do a race in another country and will start training again for a 10km race in Singapore in August.
The race was a rugged 23km with about 1400m of total ascent, the majority of which was covered in the last 8km's of the course. The race started in the main village with 1,500 other idiots, a large bunch took off from me at under 4 mins per km so I eased off, sensing I should leave a little strength in the legs for the final uphill. I survived the first 13km fine, but began to suffer on the ascent to the ski station at 2300m. My lack of hill running (Singapore's highest is 100m) began to surface but most other runners were down to a shuffle as well. The track was undulating and contouring up along the side of this huge glacial valley. It peeked out to a ski station at 17km after climbing 500m in 2 kilometres. and I scoffed down a couple of cokes and energy drinks. This kept me chugging till the beginning of the next climb which was in the open, along to the finish line perched at another ski run. After a few anguishing moments of cramp I crept across the finish line. 2hrs 37mins was heaps slower than I thought I would manage. The winners did 2hrs but in the end of was glad too survive.
The race was very well organised and relatively cheap. Included was a post race buffer, nice running top and chairlift back down the hill. It was good do a race in another country and will start training again for a 10km race in Singapore in August.
The South of France
Last week we left the middle of France and the Loire Valley to head futher south. The Loire Valley is an old hangout for French Royalty who built a variety of grand chateaux's in the 1700's- 1900's. Today it is a mecca for bus loads of tourists, we just managed to explore a few and stay at a sleepy campsite near the town of Blois on the banks of the Seine.
From here we were a little undecided on where to travel to. We wanted to get south for a bit to check out the Riveria. We stayed a night near some grey looking city of Clarmont - Ferrand very near to Lyon. I enjoyed a big run in the forests and around some volcanoes but we soon headed further south.
We found a campsite between Nice and Cannes on the coast for $15 Euro a night so planned to stay for three days. We checked out some of the resort towns like St Tropez but were turned back by the manic traffic. We spent a good day in Nice and enjoyed wandering around the backstreets, having coffee and checking out the markets. Nice had a great feel with heaps of tourists lying on the average gravel beach.
From Nice we drove via Italy all the way north to the French Alps and the resort town on Chamonix at the foot of Mt Blanc. We are lucky enough to be staying with a friend from work in their holiday house before we head back to Paris by next Saturday.
From here we were a little undecided on where to travel to. We wanted to get south for a bit to check out the Riveria. We stayed a night near some grey looking city of Clarmont - Ferrand very near to Lyon. I enjoyed a big run in the forests and around some volcanoes but we soon headed further south.
We found a campsite between Nice and Cannes on the coast for $15 Euro a night so planned to stay for three days. We checked out some of the resort towns like St Tropez but were turned back by the manic traffic. We spent a good day in Nice and enjoyed wandering around the backstreets, having coffee and checking out the markets. Nice had a great feel with heaps of tourists lying on the average gravel beach.
From Nice we drove via Italy all the way north to the French Alps and the resort town on Chamonix at the foot of Mt Blanc. We are lucky enough to be staying with a friend from work in their holiday house before we head back to Paris by next Saturday.
Friday, June 19, 2009
French Adventures
Armed with our trusty Ford Fiesta we have been meandering our way around the northern parts of France.
The itinery for the first week was wonderfully planned as is always the case, the next three weeks are a little more vague. So far we have visited Monet's house in the quaint village of Giverny, toured the D Day Landing beaches on the north coast and headed west to see an ancient abbey Mont St. Michel perched on a rock in the middle of a tidal bay. Yesterday and today we have toured around an array of huge Chateaux's spread along the Loire Valley in central France.
The best contrast from Singapore is the nice fresh food. We have been cooking up a storm most nights beside our tent, aiming to avoid the expensive touristy resturants. We have been hanging out in campsites and checking out the British and German tourists with their camper vans, satelitte dishes and plug in fridges. Some of the places are a bit deserted, apparently due to the depreciation of the pound in the last 12 months against the Euro.
Rachel loved Monet's house with the gardens and seeing copies of all his paintings in the original house. I enjoyed walking around the surreal American War Cemetary perched above the imposing cliffs of Omaha Beach. Most days I have been out running and Rachel has been writting postcards and reading up in the Lonely Planet on places to visit. All in all, it has been a pretty chilled out trip so far and a great contrast from the bustle of Singapore.
The itinery for the first week was wonderfully planned as is always the case, the next three weeks are a little more vague. So far we have visited Monet's house in the quaint village of Giverny, toured the D Day Landing beaches on the north coast and headed west to see an ancient abbey Mont St. Michel perched on a rock in the middle of a tidal bay. Yesterday and today we have toured around an array of huge Chateaux's spread along the Loire Valley in central France.
The best contrast from Singapore is the nice fresh food. We have been cooking up a storm most nights beside our tent, aiming to avoid the expensive touristy resturants. We have been hanging out in campsites and checking out the British and German tourists with their camper vans, satelitte dishes and plug in fridges. Some of the places are a bit deserted, apparently due to the depreciation of the pound in the last 12 months against the Euro.
Rachel loved Monet's house with the gardens and seeing copies of all his paintings in the original house. I enjoyed walking around the surreal American War Cemetary perched above the imposing cliffs of Omaha Beach. Most days I have been out running and Rachel has been writting postcards and reading up in the Lonely Planet on places to visit. All in all, it has been a pretty chilled out trip so far and a great contrast from the bustle of Singapore.
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