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Simply Savoie

Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent

Chamonix

A Brief Visit to Chamonix

Last Saturday I had a meeting in Chamonix-Mont Blanc in connection with the British Association of International Mountain Leaders. I’m not a great one for meetings but was keen to be more involved and contribute to the Assocation.

Arriving in Chamonix via the Gorge d’Arly and Megeve the first thing that struck me was how busy Chamonix it was. Outside of the winter ski season the Albertville and Tarentaise area is relatively quiet. Even finding a place to park the car without paying an arm and a took a bit of time. The second was hearing so much English being spoken as I’m used to being immersed in French.

The Chamonix mountain rescue services (the Peleton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne ? or PGHM for short) were holding an open day at their base just outside of of Chamonix. So I decided to see what was going on. The helicopters (Eurocopter EC 145’s) gave demonstrations of winching and a particular impressive demonstration of rescuing someone stuck on a cliff. Here the rescuer, hanging beneath the helicopter on the winch, came in to a person hanging free from a rope. Having clipped the victim into the winch the victim’s own rope was immediately cut and the helicopter moved away from the cliff and winched the victim in.

A search dog, frequently used in the search for avalanche victims, demonstrated its love for the job. Moving towards the helicopter’s open door the handler released his dog that ran full speed towards the machine before taking a flying leap through the open cabin door.

It was good to catch up with friend, and mountain guide, Tim Blakemore in Les Houches. At the start of June he had climbed Mont Blanc on skis with a client before skiing directly from the summit. The following day, despite some uncertain weather, I climbed with Tim and another British mountain guide in the Arve valley.

The Tour du Mont Blanc – Sustainable?

I’ve guided walking groups on the Tour du Mont Blanc on several occasions this summer. A question keeps coming up in my head, ?Is this sustainable??

The number of individuals and groups walking the Tour du Mont Blanc is enormous. I have heard the figure of 10,000 over a summer season. It is difficult, perhaps almost impossible, to find solitude.

The Tour du Mont Blanc is a great walk, deservedly so, taking in three countries, France, Italy and Switzerland as it makes its way around the Mont Blanc massif (mountain range). However there are a great many other walks in the Alps both in France, Switzerland and Italy. In my view the Tour du Mont Blanc has become a ?bucket list? item. An item to ?tick off?, to be bragged about at the dinner table.

The pressure on the Tour du Mont Blanc has been added to by the increasing popularity of mountain bikes or VTT to the mix. The Tour du Mont Blanc started life as a long-distance walking route. The erosion of so many people is clear to see. However, in my view, mountain bikes erode fragile ground at a vastly increased rate. Why, mountain bike tyres create linear ?grooves? particularly in damp ground or mud. Ground water or rain then naturally follows the resulting groove carrying away soil and other material. I’ve seen the grooves cut into the ground by just one or two mountain bikes to see the effect. Mountain bikes tend to want to ride in straightlines downhill frequently taking short-cuts rather than zig-zagging. This also exacerbates erosion. I always educate my clients to avoid taking short-cuts for this reason. The co-existence of mountain bikers and walkers is another matter. I’ve come across very considerate riders; often with a mountain bike guide and those who feel ?might is right? and expect walkers to jump out of the way. What happened to the old etiquette in the mountains of giving way to those walking up?

Trail running is now big business. The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) has become enormous and trail running itself highly fashionable. In 2016 there are 2300 participants on just the UTMB. It is interesting to see how the big brands have latched on to this event. I’ve run in the mountains in my younger days for pleasure and enjoy the liberating feeling of moving fast in the mountains. However I feel that the mountains are demeaned by becoming a ?running track?. Mountains, for me, are to be savoured and not to become a competitive arena.

Over 100 People Stuck in Cable Car at 3500m above Chamonix

It made national headlines. I happened to be in Chamonix at the time and the sound of the rescue helicopters let me know that something major was afoot.

The drama unfolded in the afternoon when the two cables supporting the cabins became twisted with each other.

The drama wasn’t on the cable car from Chamonix to the Aiguille du Midi (3842m) but the ?Panoramique? telecabine. These smaller cabins go from the Aiguille du Midi to the Pointe crossing over the huge Glacier du Geant to reach Helbronner, a distance of about 5 km that takes about 50 minutes. There’s another cable car from here that descends into Italy close to Courmayeur.

The rescue services swung into action. The most dramatic rescues were of those suspended high over the glacier. Rescuers descended by winch from helicopters to reach the cabins. You can see one of the rescues below! However increasing cloud and nightfall necessitated rescue operations to cease for the night.

Early the following morning continued efforts to free the cables were successful and the remaining people, about 30 in all, re-gained either Helbronner or the Aiguille du Midi in the telecabines.

Naturally there’s a major enquiry underway to look at the causes of the drama, the rescue response and to avoid a future occurrence.