The Breathtaking French Alps!

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Chamonix Mont-Blanc

Pure, dry cold air; amazing scenery; beautiful high mountains where ice and snow never melt; lots of fantastic rock climbing routes; charming towns and small villages...

Chamonix is a very special place.

I camped right at the foot of the Glacier Les Bossons for 2 weeks and was surprised to be able to walk around in the morning wearing a t-shirt when the thermometer showed 5°C. I got out-of-breath and nearly fainted when I walked too fast up stairs in the Aiguille du Midi observatory, some 3000m high. I felt comfortable climbing on my own using my rope clamp, but was even happier to meet up other climbers, have a real belayer and company to visit the Swiss and Italian borders.

I seriously thought about staying in Chamonix to learn French and try a bit of winter sports in the mountain.

However the days were clearly becoming shorter and colder, my bike was telling me there was plenty more to travel and the call from the warmer south was quite irresistable. It was time to turn my back to the freezing, mysterious peaks I scrutinised with my bare eyes for two weeks, and look down to the green luxury of the Gorges d'Ardeche - that's the next chapter!

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