Tales from AntJam in Chamonix

Returning to Chamonix

2008-12-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

After a couple of weeks in the UK catching up with our family and friends we arrived back in a very snowy Chamonix on tuesday night. It was an epic journey back by car, when it wasn't raining or misty it was snowing!

Snow is great for a ski resort, but on the motorway it is another thing! We battled through, fishtailed up the hill and collapsed with a huge glass of wine on the sofa!

Today dawned grey, snowy and cold, and peering out the door it looked as if it had really put down some snow over the last couple of weeks. So there was nothing for it but to fire up the snowblower and start digging the road to the chalet out. We learned after out first year, if you do not keep the snow under control, by March there are new glaciers forming on the driveway.

So after a satisfyingly tiring day blowing snow all over the place I can go to bed knowing I will have to do it all over again tomorrow to get our minibus out and down to the garage for a service.

Becoming an International Walking Guide

2008-11-23T02:01:00.000-08:00

Having been a qualified British walking guide for a couple of years I thought it was high time I got on with passing the International version, so I can guide walkers here in Chamonix and across the world.

So the first of a four stage process was the summer training course held at Plas y Brenin the National Mountain Training centre in North Wales. The course consisted of 5 days training covering emergency rope work, group management, environmental knowledge, trek leading, river crossings and a whole lot of other things.

I can tell you practicing crossing rivers in North Wales in November was quite interesting, there were plenty of people shivering after that one!

There was also a speed navigation test. Imagine a big featureless hillside in the mist, 5 flags spread across an area of several square kilometers, their locations marked as tiny circles on a map. To pass the test you had to find all the flags within the allowed time with no mistakes. Fortunately I managed to find the flags and get back with 20 minutes to spare.

The next stage is the summer assessment and then a winter course and assessment. So still a while to go, but it will be worth it in the end.

Winter Comes to Scotland

2008-10-31T02:35:00.000-07:00

Well I have swapped the snowy mountains of Chamonix for the even snowier ones of Scotland for a couple of days of walking with Kev. Kev with his pal Harry own the outdoors shop Footprints in Glasgow, and manages to walk more monros on the few days I spend in Scotland than he does the rest of the year! So when I said I was coming over, and wanted to do the full Lawyers ridge, 4 munros and 2 tops, there was much groaning down the phone and cracks about me being a munro bagger!

After an early start, up at 6am, and leaving Glasgow at 7, we were on the hill by 9am and hit our first top around 10.30. This was one of those truly memorable days, cold early, but the wind dropped and for the rest of the day we had light winds and cool temperatures. Brilliant visibility, only a few technical moments on the snow, it was superb. The only downside is the 8km walk back from the end of the ridge to the car, firstly on a good track, but then cross country.

The top picture of the deer was taken by Forest Lodge near the Bridge of Orchy, our second day, rather shorter due to the tired limbs of the previous day. We still bagged a munro (oh well, maybe I am a bit of a bagger) and had some amazing views.

Must go now, as I am off to for a week of Internation Mountain Leader training at Plas y Brenin in North Wales.

It's a Dogs Life!

2008-10-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

As Calla our Bernese Mountain dog approaches 18 months I thought I would reflect back on her summer. It all started very sadly with the loss of Vivi our 4 year old Bernese to cancer. That event really knocked Calla as she has looked to Vivi every day for leadership.

The following month was a period of adjustment for all of us, not least Calla. After our holiday to Wales where we could really concentrate on her, I think she began to look at us her humans as leaders of her pack.

Once back for the summer here in Chamonix Calla settled back into the life of a chalet dog, larking around, tidying up any scraps and chilling on the balcony. Unusually for a Bernese though she was rather nervous around new people. Looking back it seems as if this was just a faze as she is now much more relaxed around new people.

She managed to get out for plenty of adventures, including walking a stage of the Tour de Mont Blanc, Champex to Trient. The photo at the top shows what is left of the Trient Glacier in the background. We have had to be quite careful this summer about the amount of exercise she has had though to make sure she develops physically without harming her joints while still growing. At her last trip to the vets she weighed in at 55kg, or about 8.5stones, and the vet suggested she should stop growing!

For the last few days we have had Calla's friend Fleurie (3yr old Bernese) staying with us at the chalet. Sadly for Fleurie she is very nervous of just about everything. So yesterday while walking by the lake at Passy, Calla spend most of the time either in the lake, chasing other dogs or rolling on her back. Poor Fleurie spent most of the walk right by our sides. What must it be like to live in Fleurie's world?

Snow

2008-10-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hey, its the beginning of October and it has been snowing here in Chamonix! Saturday morning dawned with snow falling at valley height, see the report on Chamonet. This is very unusual for October, but bodes well for the coming season. Everyone I talk to seems to be getting incredibly excited about the forthcoming winter, I guess skiing is one of those things that just takes you away from everyday life, and gives you a carefree feeling you just cannot get when you know you have to go to the office the next day.

So with snow on the balcony it meant for us a chilled out morning, and then a trip to the indoor climbing wall in Les Houches. As you can imagine being right by Chamonix and in the shadow of Mont Blanc, there are about 10 routes which you could call easy and about 90 which vary from fairly tricky to insane. It only takes a few routes and somehow you feel your arms have been pulled from their sockets, and have about as much strength as overcooked spaghetti.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny, so we decided to walk the Grand Balcon Nord between the Plan Aiguille and Montenvers. This is a lovely walk of about 2.5 hours in the shadow of the Chamonix Aiguilles, starting at about 2300m and finishing about 2000. (The real reason was to check out how much snow had fallen, and we were not disappointed.) However with the dogs, we are looking after Fleurie, (named after Marie her owners favourite wine) and Calla our own Bernese Mountain dog, we couldn't use the lift to go up. So Richard, the dogs and I walked the 1250 metres from the valley to Plan Aiguille to meet the girls for the walk. The dogs loved the snow and kept going well all day, though today they look like they have been shot!

Today I managed my first yoga practice for weeks, but yoga is another topic for another day...

Trail Des Aiguille Rouges

2008-10-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday 28th September dawned for me at 3.45am for my first Ultra Distance race. The Trail des Aiguille Rouges is a technical run through the beautiful mountains above and behind my home in Chamonix.

The race started at 5am in Les Houches, running down to Servoz and then up into the mountains. You can read all about the route on the website but suffice to say 54km and 3600m of ascent and descent made the race one of the toughest things I have ever done. Check out the timings. Put in my race number in 369.

The organisation of the race was fantastic, the guys manning the food stops were brilliantly encouraging, especially as it was very cold.

During the months before the race I focussed on doing very race specific training. So rather than running loads of 10k's, I focussed on doing as many longer days out as possible. And I should thank Chris and Greg for running the first half of the race with me at the end of August. I also tried loads of different options for food and drinks, during the Cross du Mont Blanc I had cramps and a stomach ache. I am sure this was because I ate and drank too many acidic and sweet things. So this time I took the soup, salty to avoid the cramps, and energy bars from Watt with the occasional energy gel for boost up the hills, oh yes and about 4 litres of water! This time when I finished I felt pretty good, just sore knees!