Read reviews of the best Chamonix activities
If you’ve visited pretty much any ski resort in the Western or Southern Alps, chances are you’re already familiar with an omnipresent, rather bulbous peak which dominates almost every vista.
Find loads of top tips and local insights in our Chamonix Sights Reviews.
Well the weather in Chamonix has been beautiful the past few days, with high temperatures and glorious sun. A lot of people have been choosing the easier going activities with all the heat we've been having; either heading up to high mountain for a stroll around and a look at the glaciers, or getting in the lakes and rivers, or just taking a fairly easy walk around the valley under the cover of trees.
“Watch the cow pies!” says the spritely Teresa Kaufman, attempting to guide us through a maze of cattle and cow pats, her head is turned up to the glorious horizon in front of us, rather than at her feet…….
It's hot hot hot here in Chamonix! Temperatures have been hanging around well in to the thirties for a good portion of the day, and we should be seeing a few large thunder storms over the next few days so that should hopefully cool things down a bit. For now if you're out and about doing some sort of physical activity which requires a small amount of effort, it's going to be necessary to find ways to make yourself a little more comfortable in the blistering heat!
It's kind of returned to summer here in Chamonix the past few days and looks like the weather is going to hold out for a while so the shorts are back out! Although I haven't been brave enough to jump back in the lakes yet, everyone seems to be enjoying the fine weather partaking in whatever activity suits them. A lot of people have been enjoying the quieter trails and activities on the mountain, with the lovely autumnal colours all around the valley.
With having spent a few years exploring the trails of this valley, I thought I knew all the accessible routes so when someone mentioned one I’d never heard of I was excited to check it out - even more so when I was promised a good lunch along the way.
We have had a great few days here in Chamonix, Fete de Musique was amazing and the weather changed just as the evening was coming to an end after the parties that went on through till sunrise! Its been as if the spirit of summer was waiting for the mass of people to descend upon the Rue des Moulin's for a massive carnival type party and dance the burning hot sun in to existence! Every day since the Fete its been very warm, and with all but the Grand Montets lift open, it has brought the masses to the wonderful valley of Chamonix.
Today is the last day of opening for the Brevent gondola, the last of the main Chamonix valley lifts still in operation. However, Les Houches remains open till next weekend and the Aiguille du Midi and Montenvers train continue operating into November, with a short 2 week break in October for the train. You can find a full list of lift opening & closing dates here >>
This week we've had rain, snow, valley cloud, frosty mornings, baking hot sunshine and even the notorious foehn wind. But tipsy-turvy weather isn't the only thing you can count on in autumn in Haute-Savoie. You can also count on the powers-that-be down at Les Houches panicking to put their winter lift pass together.
Dragging myself out of bed at 4am and onto a bus at 5:30am goes against every fibre of my being, so there had to be a good reason for putting myself in this situation. Getting to the start line of the OCC is half the battle, in my opinion, so running 55km through the mountains would surely be a breeze after that.
February is the busiest month of the whole winter season, what with most of Europe being on half-term holiday. Blue skies and plenty of snow make for amazing conditions on the slopes, but what if you want to escape the lift queues and busy restaurants for a day?
We have had plenty of rain passing through the valley and now finally it seems that it might be letting up, with weather forecasting dryer spells and more sun over the next few days. It will take a wee while for the rocks to dry out after the rain we have just had but as always south facing lower walls will come back in to condition a lot quicker than the higher up more interesting ones.
So the winter is over and summer is on its way, but inter-season is still a good time to get out and about on the hill, in the river, or in the bars and restaurants - and you don't even need to book a table to eat at the moment! Monkey Bar and Bar'd Up are still on their usual “Happy Hours” regardless of the time of year, offering some great deals for anyone still hanging around town and MBC has their half price chicken wing night on Mondays as always!
No trip to Chamonix should be complete without a visit to the legendary "Mer de Glace", the longest and arguably the most impressive glacier in the Chamonix valley. It is also the largest glacier in France.
Situated between Chamonix and Les Houches is the small village of Les Bossons – home of the Les Bossons Glacier (Glacier des Bossons), which boasts the title of the highest icefall in the Alps. It comes down from the summit of Mont-Blanc at 4807 meters to a mere 1300 meters and is therefore a dominant presence in the valley. Even with the naked eye you can easily see the impressive, jagged seracs (large ice columns created when the glacier cracks over uneven ground), which makes the glacier a well photographed sight by tourists as they pass down the Chamonix valley
The Aiguille d'Entreves is similar to the Cosmiques arete in many ways. Its proximity to a cable car, its short and easy access and its popularity.
Another great few days here in Chamonix, although a little cloud hung around the mountains yesterday making it cooler for activities lower down in the valley and higher up stuff a little more difficult in the cloud.
Ding! Autumns over. Brevent's still clinging onto the weekend's snowfall, her south-facing flanks resisting the warmth of the sun and making it look like winter up there. There's no snow in town anymore - all the white that's left is above midstation - but that's enough to make everyone in town very excited. The weather forecast says that temperatures will rise this week, which might do away with the snow that, especially over Brevent, but it's a great taste of things to come.
The weather in Chamonix this week has been sunny at times, but fairly overcast for most but at least it hasn't been raining and with the cooler temperatures it has been great to do any activity without being too uncomfortable.