CHAMONIX SKIING PART THREE: CHAMONIX PAST

In any season take the time to stop and look at the rich history of Chamonix where according to the superb alpine museum in town, mountain climbing begin more than 200 years ago in on August 8, 1786 when Dr. Michel Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat, gained the summit of Mt. Blanc, the highest peak in Europe. Note: Hannibal was sensible enough to stick to valleys but still lost 18,000 men and a circus of elephants.

A great many of the early climbers were British – which also explains the decent golf courses in the area. The British upper class, flush with the profits of the Industrial Revolution, and with too much time on their hands, followed. One local wag claimed climbing was the only way the British “Milords” could win the nubile bodies of “Miladies.” As “Proper British gentlemen showed their heart and calves as Milady watched through brass-bound telescopes from Chamonix hotel decks in anticipation of later delights. But then the French haven’t been impressed by English love life since William the Conqueror when English started after French-speaking men-at-arms tried to hit on Saxon. But the English are a strong influence on Chamoix even today.

Chamonix winter attractions grew out of Scandinavian roots, but got jump started in 1924 with the first Winter Olympic Games – see sidebar. Things do change slowly in the deep glacial valley of Chamonix. Granted, the gondola ride across Valle du Glasse to Italy now allow the lame and lazy to enjoy vistas once the personal property of climbers, but the slopes haven’t changed that much even though the locals needed a Bishop’s blessing to force one glacier to retreat. All of this is covered in Chamonix’s Alpine Museum that, like everything else in town mobs up in the summer.

The problem with Chamoix in the summer is the usual one – too many people, cars, roads, raillines and buildings crammed into valley so narrow you need to lie on a chaise to watch the peaks without an aching neck. Traffic roars past on the way to Mt. Blanc’s Tunnel. Tourist buses bring in as many as 150,000 people. So we stay out of Chamonix in summer, but sheer numbers of visitors moved the outdoor action out of the tight valley confines as more, and more technically proficient, guides ramrod day and overnight hikes, mountain, snow, ice and rock climbs and off-piste skiing.

Sheer visitor numbers multiply creature. Superb restaurants, and more upscale shops downtown offer more spots to spend money – not that Chamonix ever qualified as a budget destination. Objectively speaking it’s better now than ever for the average to skilled skier or shopper, but, in my heart of hearts, I would turn the clock back to leather ski boot days for while Mt. Blanc is the alpine jewel of the alps its setting seems crowded today.

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