Amazing Travel Adventures Near the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc

In mid-August, , Mike and I traveled to the French and Swiss Alps.  What brought us there was that Mike ran in the TDS race, which was part of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) series. The race he ran started in Courmayer, Italy and ended in Chamonix, France. It traversed Mont Blanc and the Alps of that region. Before the race, we visited Zermatt, the town on the Swiss side, of the base of the Matterhorn.  We were so lucky to have “played” there for 3 days. Then there was the Mont Blanc massif…..The scenery that I viewed will forever be imprinted on my eyeballs!  The views were SURREAL!  I wanted to share the wonderful things we experienced with you.  YOU NEED TO VISIT this area of the world! Join me on my Amazing Travel Adventures near the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. 

We flew from NYC to Geneva.  We spent about 24 hours in Geneva, before traveling by train to Zermatt, Switzerland.  This is a car-less, German speaking town situated at the base of the Matterhorn. IT WAS AMAZING!

1.  Hiking to the base of the Matterhorn (before it gets technical)

We took the cable car up to Schwarzsee and hiked up about 1/2 way up the spine to the Hörnlihütte. This is the hut, or basecamp, at the bottom the last leg of the technical ascent. The views of this mountain were truly iconic! Just when you think the view can’t get anymore impressive, it did.

2.  Dirt Scooter from Schwarzsee to town, about 3300ft down 

This was absolutely one of my favorite parts of the trip!!!!!  We rented Dirt Scooters which consisted of a welded steel scooter frame that had a head set with front and back brakes.  The tires were about 8 inches wide and nubby.  Basically, you stand on the scooter and go down!  There wasn’t much else to it! It was VERY stable, and SUPER FUN!!!

I sat for hours, at all times of the day, and just watched this beautiful mountain….

3.  Eating Fondu at Zermatt’s oldest restaurant, Cafe Du Pont

What can be better than dipping bread and potatoes in a gooey, savory, crock- full of cheese?!?!?!?   We had fondue twice on the trip.  It’s a big meal…. BUT AMAZING!

After 3 days in Zermatt, we needed to travel back to Chamonix for Mike’s race.  We took the train to Martigny, and then south to Chamonix.  NEVER have I seen so many snow covered mountains!  The entire time we were there, we kept saying how fake the scenery looked because it was SO spectacular.  We were in a postcard picture for over 2 weeks…..

4.  Watching the UTMB race series

Mike ran in the TDS race of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc Series.  He had to run 119km (75 miles, with 7,250m (~24,000 ft) elevation gain.  As his crew, I got to ride the circuit in a series of buses and see some beautiful parts of France and Italy.

The start of the race in Courmayer, Italy at 6AM.  As a 5′ tall person (me), it was really hard to see and spot Mike!

 At Petit Col du St. Bernard, Italy- the first place I was able to see mike. 36km (22.4Miles)

The symphony that the cowbells made was literally music to my ears….

The runners had to run right through the cows….

Cormet de Roselend. France  67km    Just past the 1/2 way point My views were spectacular on the bus ride….We passed an endless amount of mountains!

At one point in my transport circuit, we needed to get into this off-road Jeep and decend about 800m (2,600ft)  down from Col du Joly to Les Contamines.  WHAT FUN!

Les Contamines aid station…..  Getting ready for the last leg.   It was cold, dark, and everyone was TIRED!

Mont Blanc at first light the next morning……

Mike, headed home in Chamonix to the finish.   After passing well over 1000 people, Mike came in strong and steady!

A toast and an extremely deserved liter of BEER!

5.  Aiguille du Midi, The Needle of the South that brings you close to Mont Blanc

From its height of 3,777m (12, 392ft), the Aiguille du Midi and its terraces offer a 360° view of all the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. An elevator brought us to the summit terrace at 3,842m (12,605ft), where we had a clear view of Mont Blanc. THIS IS THE PART THAT WILL BE FOREVER IMPRINTED ON MY EYEBALLS!  I had to check to see if I was dreaming several times while viewing the scenery!

First you take a cable car up to the first level which has great views and you can hike around a bit.  We wasted no time there, and got into a second cable car to be whisked up to the Needle at the top station.

The second cable car…..

Up to the needle….

The sites going up……UNREAL!

There was NO end to these mountains…..

6.  Hiking to Lac Blanc

Mike and I took the bus to Argentine, a few neighborhoods over from Chamonix to hike to Lac Blanc. The hike to the lake is said to be one of the most famous in the Alps.  The elevation of Lac Blanc is 2352m (7717 ft).  It has just about the best panoramic views of the Mont Blanc massif.

We had to climb some pretty steep trails and some AWESOME ladders that were bolted into the cliff to reach Lac Blanc…..

The minerals in the water gave it this amazing aqua color…

While we were relaxing, trying to really take all of the views in, a helicopter pops up JUST above us.  The sound was immense as it echoed throughout the col we were in .  We didn’t know what it was doing, but when it flew away, it was clear….

There’s no was to drive a car up here, so helicopter transport is booming in this area!

7.  Visiting Geneva, a beautiful city

For one day before we traveled to the mountains, and for a few hours before our flight home, we visited some neat places in Geneva….

St. Pierre Cathedral, a Reformed Protestant Cathedral

Jet D’eau, A HUGE 150ft water jet

A 39 ft high chair erected by Handicap International Suisse to represent the opposition of landmines and cluster bombs.

Taking a bit of a rest in the midst of traveling…..

A bubble shot….I couldn’t resist

These amazing fountains are strewn around the city…… Fresh, mountain, water….

A great panoramic view from the Cathedral.

I hope you enjoyed the adventures we had!  If at all possible, GET TO THIS PLACE ON THE EARTH!  Until the next time ALPS…….