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Chamonix Travelogue

Chamonix

Gatorbill
2004-04-24 16:48:34

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Day 19 - Wednesday June 2, 1999 - Chamonix, France: I returned back down to Zermatt from the Gornergrat, picked up my luggage at the hotel, and headed out to Chamonix at 2:10PM. The BVZ Zermatt-Bahn train took me from Zermatt to Visp, and at Visp I switched to the Swiss rail train that took me to Martigny, then Chatelard-Frontiere, and then finally Chamonix. I arrived in Chamonix at 6:16PM, it was raining but I still decided to walk to my hotel which was near by. Checked into the Hotel l'Arve, 60 Impasse des Anemones, 295FF per night, breakfast included. The room was spacious but the bathroom was a bit dated, there was a nice balcony that overlooked a stream that ran behind the hotel. Since it was getting late, I only had time to go out on the town, and get some dinner in order to get ready for a busy day in the mountains the following day.

Day 20 - Thursday June 3, 1999 - Chamonix, France: I got up early in the morning, and ate my hotel breakfast which was good, but not great. Then I walked to the Aiguille du Midi Telepherique (cable car) station arriving there at 7:45AM, and there was already a good size crowd in line waiting to buy tickets. From the station you visually follow the cables going up to the mountain, and there in the far distance you see the building on top of the Aiguille du Midi looking so small that you start to wonder if it is wise and safe to take a cable car to that high an altitude. But is has to be safe right ? I mean they have been running cable cars here since 1954, and the ones currently used were deployed in 1991. I had come too far to have this deter me so I purchased my round trip ticket for the cable car ride from Chamonix to Aiguille du Midi for 196FF. The name Aiguille du Midi means the Needle of Midday this name derives from the fact that the peak's shadow stretches across the center of Chamonix at noon. At 9:00AM my ticket group was called to board the cable car to the summit. The ride from Chamonix to ...

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