We woke early for our short trek to Chamonix, the site of the first winter Olympics in 1924. The striking mountain scenery that lined the road to Chamonix was breathtaking. I could hardly believe Jared and I were in the French Alps.
This leg of our adventure took a little over an hour, and as we approach the town the Alps towered in the background. Some were still topped with a coating of snow despite the 90+ degree temperature at the base.
We had planned to take a tram to the top of Mont Blanc but when we arrived we found it didn’t open for another week. We were directed to a train ride up the mountain to see the Glacier and visit an ice cave carved into the glacier. The small gauge train slowly winded its way up the steep grade till we were deposited at our station. There would be the option of a tram half way to the glacier or a walk along a craggy path. We opted for walking down and then taking the tram back up.
The path we took also led to a popular climbing wall, a smooth shear face dotted with climbers. To our dismay, moments before, a climber had fallen 500 feet to the rocky ground below. We watched at the rescue crews arrived and a helicopter came to take them away. We never heard any thing about it on the news but prayed for a safe recovery.
Once we arrive at the tram’s let off point, there was still a 500 step climb down to the ice cave. The cave was lit with colored light and provided a cooling respite rom the hot summer heat.
I stupidly managed to drop my bankcard some where along the way and had to struggle with the phone system to have it canceled. All is good, thank goodness we still had Jared’s resources.
