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This inspirational guidebook is packed with suggestions for all sorts of mountain activities, from gentle family walks to an ascent of Mont Blanc and from graded cycling up to mountain passes to spectacular downhill MTB routes, to offer more than enough ideas for several multi-activity trips with family and friends to this stunning area of the French Alps. Author Hilary Sharp is a mountain guide based in Chamonix and knows all the best places to walk, run, trek, mountaineer, climb, boulder, cycle, MTB and even tackle via ferratas, all within reach of the valley. Chamonix conjures up visions of Mont Blanc, mountain adventures, spectacular views and technical summits but the region offers far more than hard peaks. The selection of walking routes in this guide ranges from the very easy to the pretty rugged, along with mountain bike and road cycling routes, descriptions of the most amenable rock climbing crags in the Chamonix Valley and beyond, and also how to go about finding the best glacier walks and climbs in the area. Also included are a couple of via ferratas within driving distance of Chamonix and notes on a wealth of fringe activities such as rafting, canyoning and trail running.
Map key
Map of walks and Alpine mountaineering routes
Map of trail running, road biking and mountain biking routes
Map of rock climbing, bouldering and via ferrata routes
Chamonix town map
Introduction
The region
Glaciers
Flowers and animals
How it all started
Mountain adventures
Other activities
When to go
Getting there and getting around
Accommodation
Tourist information
Language
Health and safety
Using this guide
1 Walks
Classic Walks
Route 1 Mont Joly
Route 2 Le Prarion
Route 3 Aiguillette des Houches
Route 4 Montagne de la Cote
Route 5 Lac Cornu and Lacs Noirs
Route 6 Plan de l'Aiguille to Montenvers
Route 7 Grand Balcon Sud: La Flegere to Planpraz
Route 8 Aiguillette des Posettes
Route 9 Lac Blanc from the Col des Montets
Route 10 Mont Buet by the Normal Route
Family Walks
Route 1 Lac des Ilettes
Route 2 Lacs Jovet
Route 3 Chalets Miage and Truc
Route 4 Charousse
Route 5 Lac du Brevent
Route 6 Argentiere via the Paradis des Praz
Route 7 Le Chapeau
Route 8 Montroc-Col des Montets-Vallorcine
Route 9 Berard valley and Sur le Rocher
Route 10 Dinosaur tracks
Hut Walks
Route 1 Refuge de Plate
Route 2 Refuge de Tre-la-Tete
Route 3 Refuge Moede d'Anterne
Route 4 Refuge Bel Lachat
Route 5 Refuge du Lac Blanc
Route 6 Refuge Albert Premier
Route 7 Refuge de la Pierre a Berard
Route 8 Refuge de Loriaz
Adventure Walks
Route 1 Pointe Percee
Route 2 The Derochoir and Desert de Plate
Route 3 Aiguille du Belvedere
Route 4 Mer de Glace Balcony Trail
Route 5 Tre-les-Eaux Circuit
Route 6 Loriaz to Emosson
Route 7 Mont Buet by the North Ridge
Route 8 Cheval Blanc
Trail Running
2 Alpine Mountaineering
Route 1 Champex to Le Tour
Route 2 Grand Montets to Lognan
Route 3 Aiguille du Midi to Helbronner
Route 4 Petite Aiguille Verte
Route 5 Aiguille Crochues
Route 6 Aiguille du Tour
Route 7 The Cosmiques Arete
Route 8 Mont Blanc
3 Mountain Biking
Route 1 Les Contamines: Truc Miage circuit
Route 2 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains: Prarion circuit
Route 3 Pipeline descent: Saint-Gervais to Le Fayet
Route 4 Tour des Ayeres
Route 5 Promenade de l'Arve
Route 6 Petit Balcon Nord: Chamonix to Le Tour
Route 7 Montroc to Chamonix along the Arve
Route 8 Col des Montets to the chocolate shops
Route 9 Vallorcine-Col des Posettes-Le Tour-Montroc
Route 10 Vallorcine to Martigny
Descents and airtime
4 Road Biking
Route 1 Chamonix to Sallanches
Route 2 Col des Montets
Route 3 Emosson Lake
Route 4 Col de la Forclaz
Rides outside of the Chamonix valley
5 Rock Climbing and Bouldering
Rock climbing
Area 1 Les Gaillands
Area 2 The Index
Area 3 La Joux
Area 4 Les Cheserys
Area 5 Aiguillette d'Argentiere
Area 6 Vallorcine Slab (Rocher de la Saix)
Area 7 Barberine
Bouldering
Area 1 Col des Montets
Area 2 Pierre d'Orthaz
Area 3 Les Bossons
Area 4 Le Coupeau
Area 5 Le Medonnet
6 Via Ferratas
Route 1 Le Mont, Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval
Route 2 La Curalla, Passy
Other routes in the Haute Savoie region
Route 3 La Yves Pollet Villard, La Clusaz
Route 4 La Roche a l'Agathe, Thones
Appendix A Useful contacts
Appendix B Useful French words and phrases
Appendix C Further reading
Appendix D Glacier travel and rescue techniques
Hilary Sharp is a qualified Accompagnatrice en Montagne (International Mountain Leader) based permanently in the village of Vallorcine, near Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in the French Alps. A native Brit, she runs her own trekking business, leading guided walks and treks. Hilary has contributed to several British walking magazines and hiking guides. This is her fifth guidebook for Cicerone.
