Chamonix_2026

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Chamonix, France 2026

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The day was spectacular! The blue sky only had a few wispy clouds. The sun on the freshly snowed upon surrounding peaks were stunning in their contrast. As I waited for the train at the St. Niklaus station, I watched a local tram climbing up an invisible cable until it was so high up on the mountainside I could just barely make it out. It wasn't a tram for skiing, but for local access to a cummunity.

On the train ride down to VISP I was able to see during the daylight what I didn't see at night when riding to St. Niklaus. The dramatic gorge and steep sides of this valley makes one wonder why anyone in the past chose this as a route to Italy. Once at the VISP train station, I only had to wait about 15 minutes for a train toward Martigny. I enjoyed the the many vineyards and houses high on the steep valley sides along the route. There were snow covered peaks to take in and the Tourbillion Castle in Sion.

The Eurail app was showing the trains from Vernayaz to Chamonix as canceled except the trains later in the afternoon. Evelyn had said the pass on this route had been closed for days due to avalanche risk after a couple of big storms in the last week. I started to re-route myself through Geneva, but with the dangling carrots of trains still showing as scheduled starting mid afternoon, I decided to stick with the original plan.

The trains on the mainline to Geneva do not stop in the town of Vernayaz, Switzerland where the cog rail train leaves to head to Vallorcine, France. So I exited the train in Martigny and boarded a shuttle bus service. I was pleasant surprised to see a train waiting for us at Vernayaz which everyone on the bus boarded.

This cog train climbs an incredibly steep route up the side of a mountain the looks more like a cliff face. It made several stops included one where skiers exited the tiny train. The track continues along such a steep mountainside that if you have acrophobia this is not a ride for you. It clanks and squeeled as it slowly climbed and weaved it's way up the valley until stopping at Chartland Frontière, the last stop before the Swiss-French border. And here it remained. The transfer to a French train takes place at Vallorcine, France, the next stop less than 2 miles away. Charland Frontière is a tiny ghosttown at this time of year.

Needless to say there were plenty of conversations taking place between the handful of passengers and two train employees. The avalanche danger was deemed too high a week after the last major storm. Both the road and the train tracks were closed. There was the train in a valley north of VISP earlier in the week that had been derailed by an avalanche. A derailment in this valley, depending on the location, could send a train plunging hundreds of meters to the valley floor.

Evelyn offered an adventuresome proposal. If I could get a ride to Vallorcine I could ski into France and catch a bus or train there. Theoretically, that was very doable. I tried soliciting a ride, but the road closed beyond Vallorcine there was nobody going that way. This person standing there with me from South Carolina tried for an Uber with no luck (big surprise!). There was British family with a plane to catch in Geneva; they took the train back down we'd just come up. After comtemplating the situation further, I decided the sure bet was to head back to Martigny and travel through Geneva.

(Ned also suggested getting to Vallorcine, feigning an injury on the ski slope and requesting a helicopter to the Chamonix hospital. Yeah, Ned has a fun sense of humor!)

The fun part of all this was I got to sightsee that death defying cog rail ride back to Vernayaz! Once back at Martigny it was only a 20 minute wait for an express train to Geneva then a trainsfer to a train to Saint Gervais-Les-Bains where Evelyn graciously picked me up for a 20 minute ride in the car to their place in Les Houches. After checking in at my accommodations, we enjoyed a cheesy dinner at a place in main section of Chamonix.

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I spent the morning wandering about Chamonix before reconnecting with Evelyn. We did shopping together and she fixed a delcious meal at their place. I then caught the local bus back to my place.

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I was on my own today as Evelyn and Ned had an invite to ski the Valleé Blanche and then Evelyn's mom and stepdad were due to arrive in the afternoon. I chilled at the house and did a little more wandering about town.

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This morning I rode a couple of buses to arrive at the Brévent ski area. This is the nearest one to Chamonix Sud. The driver of the second bus in a cheerful but insistent voice in two languages kept telling people to move to the back of the bus because something big was coming. And sure enough, at one of the stops a massive number of people boarded the bus and somehow they all got on.

I spent the morning exploring Brévent and made my way over to the adjacent ski area Flegere. At a large avalanche site near the Liaisons transfer tram, I took a couple of pictures. While standing there I witnessed a large rapter try to subdue some kind of mountain goat yew. They tumbled about 100 down the snowy mountainside next to the avalanche. Finally the bird determined that the yew was tad to big and gave up flying off. I did circle back once as if reconsidering. The yew didn't seem any worse for the encounter heading back up the slope. It was quite something to see!

I made my way back to Brévent to join Evelyn, Vicki, and John for lunch at Le Panoramic restaurant at the top of Le Brévent peak and tram. We were treated to a spectacular day for viewing the surrounding mountains.

We all enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Evelyn and Ned at their place in Les Houches.

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Today we enjoyed lunch at PlanB in Saint Gervais before soaking in the waters of the local spa.

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This was a day for two activities that took us high on the surrounding mountains. We rode the trams up to the Aiguille du Midi for spectacular views and dizzying heights. (Evelyn had departed from here twice earlier in the week to ski the Vallée Blanche.) After riding back down to the Chamonix in the valley floor, we walked over to the Montenvers cog rail and rode the train up to Montenvers. This place has been a touris destination for over a century for people to view the Vallée Blanche glacier. The glacier has receded so much that last year a gondola was installed to take visitors down to a small ice cave (grotto) in the remenents of the glacier at this point. It is from here that people skiing the glacier either take the gondola and train back to Chamonix or ski down a road into town. (Evelyn has now done it both ways.)

We celebrated Evelyn's birthday with fondue and several of her ski patrol friends visiting from the US.

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Evelyn spent the day with friends. Theone and I visited the Saturday market at the Olympic center in Chamonix. We took in the crystal museum in town; very beautiful mineral/gem specimens!

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Chill day with Evelyn and Theone in Chamonix. We shopped ski clothing. Evelyn pitched me on the need to acquire a more modern avalanche beacon.

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Theone and I skied Les Houches, a family friendly ski area below timberline. It started out icy and ended up very slushy. The place offers views of Mont Blanc from a different angle. We could also see down valley to Saint Gervais and toward Geneva.

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Today we got to ski where Ned works at Le Tour. This ski area is at the end of the valley. We dipped our ski tips into Switzerland. We also skied down a road into Vallorcine, France. In this tiny town, trains from France and Switzerland meet.

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This day Evelyn was off with friends. Theone and I skied Flegere. A south facing ski area in the valley the snow became very mushy by the end of the day. We enjoyed a delicious meal at a restaurant near the base.

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Theone, Evelyn, and I skied Grands Montets today. Evelyn went up the moutain ahead of us while Theone rented gear. We ate reclatte (melted cheese on bread) served with pickles, pickled onions and prosciutto for lunch - yum! Then Evelyn took us off piste for the best snow/moguls I've skied in the valley.

Back in Les Houches Ned prepared a delicious meal of a cheese in a wood wheel that is melted in the oven and then stuff is dipped into. Cannot seem to get enough cheese around here!

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Evelyn, Theone, and I skied Courmayeur, Italy. We took a bus through a tunnel that passes underneath Mont Blanc. More time was spent in the tunnel than at either end. It is a good ski area with more fantastic views of Mont Blanc from the south side. We enjoyed a couple of rich Italian meals.

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Took the train from Chamonix, France, to Martigny, Switzerland. The objective was to visit the Foundation Pierre Gianadda museum/gallery . This train with its leg from Vallorcine to Vernayaz is one of the more spectacular ones I've been on. It's the same one that was closed due to avalanche danger when I was first making my way to Chamonix.

Martigny has a long history as an important place along the trading route from Italy through the Alps to Europe. The Romans had a city here and many artificates are on display at the Foundation Pierre Gianadda museum/gallery. The castle/chateau de la Bâtiaz overlooks the city. We swung my Barryland, a training and breeding facility for St. Bernard rescue dogs, but elected not to go in. Evelyn and I visited the Musée des Sciences de la Terre. The place has many minerals/gems on display but also showcases some artworks.

That evening, we met up with Ned in Les Houches and enjoyed a meal at Le Ghandi restaurant near their house. This was Theone's last day before returning to Canada.

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Today was a day to catch up on laundry and do a little planning for a side trip to Paris.