Some parting thoughts from Chamonix...

After a week and a half in Chamonix, full of eye-candy and breathtaking walks, I'm heading out of the valley. In the photo below, taken from the top of the Brévent ski lift, a morning fog settles into the Chamonix valley. The fog would slowly make its way up the mountain during the day, engulfing me during a portion of a hike.




From the very same viewpoint and the same morning, here's the massif du Mont Blanc.

I never got tired of staring at these glacial peaks during my stay, inviting my eyes upward from the Chamonix valley. In fact, it was probably from the base of the valley, from Chamonix itself, despite all the distractions, among all the kitchy shops and restaurants and masses-of-Japanese-tourists-huddled-in-tight-formation-complete-with-flag-wielding-guide, that Mont Blanc was at its most majestic, hovering close to four vertical kilometers above. A glacial paradise in the sky. It's for the same reason that the first tourists were attracted to the valley 250 years ago, and the same tug on the sleeve that attracts amateur alpinists to tackle its slopes. I'll come back here.



Did I mention Japanese tourists huddled in tight formation, complete with a flag wielding guide?



dang marmott...




dang Ibex...




a female Ibex and her young one, near Lac Cornu, 2400m in altitude...