MAY 2023 – ACTIVITY 3 – LACS DES GAILLANDS (CHAMONIX, FRANCE)

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The apartment where we stayed were good enough to hold our luggage until our bus journey home in the evening.

We ended up doing a walk which started near the bus terminal. It was a good find.

Total Distance: 5 Miles
Steps: ~16,000 Steps
Highest Point: 3900 Feet
Total Realistic Time: ~3 Hours

Last day in Chamonix, after seeing our youngest brother and his partner off at the bus terminal very early in the morning to catch their bus to the airport, we wanted to see if we could fit another walk in before catching our own bus home in the evening.

After saying our goodbyes we walked back to the apartment to have some breakfast and attempted to eat as much as we could so not to leave any food – I would say we did pretty well 🙂

After safely storing our luggage we headed off for a hike up the other end of Chamonix, birthday boy brother marked a route for us to get some views of the other side of the mountains.  

So this is the route we did.

The route started near the Anna Purna restaurant. We noticed some unusual buildings that had character near the start, and immediately the views of the snow capped mountains was so clear in the background.

Beautiful clear view of the mountains today

As we walk further on the path into the wooded area, through the trees you can see the snow capped mountains, they are all around you.

View from the bench

Sat at the bench for a quite a while taking it all in – mesmerising

The views keep coming even into the woods.

Heading back into Chamonix centre.

On the way back we saw the cable car that we took up to Aiguille du Midi for the first activity, looks more scary from down below.

We headed straight for some ice cream back in the centre as it was so hot after the hike, the weather was beautiful with the sun out all day.  After the ice cream we felt a bit cooler so we went to our favourite coffee shop Shouka for the bean to cup freshness – we got ourselves that great tasting cappuccino and carrot cake again.

Conclusion:

The birthday surprise was a success, I could not ask for a better end to the holiday, a beautiful clear warm day for the time of year.

There were some steep sections on this route for a little workout but it was so worth it for the view of the mountains, especially where the bench was located we got some beautiful shots.  We did around 5 miles today, in the woods mainly and some on the road and we ended up back at the cable car building.

As it was not the summer season we could not do a walk nearer to the top of the mountains as the snow was still heavily laid at the top. This just means we have to come back.

Beautiful area, definitely put it on your to do list.

GENERAL EQUIPMENT

  • Apple iPhone 12 Pro (for taking photos/videos and mapping using Gaia GPS app with France IGN Topo)
  • Insta360 X3 (for taking 360 video of the landscape)
  • Comfy walking shoes (most important)
  • Flask with Hot/Cold drink (a good cuppa is always welcome)
  • ibuprofen (helping hand if you have any aches and pains)
  • Food and snacks (fuel to keep you going)

 

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