Mont Blanc: Italy - Days 5 and 6 (click once on any photo to display full image)
7/27/2009 thru 8/8/2009
Chamonix (Days 1 and 2) France (Days 3 and 4) Italy (Days 5 and 6) Switzerland (Days 7 thru 9) Chamonix (Days 10 and 11)

Day 5 - Into Italy

By now our daily routine was well established - have breakfast at 7:30 AM, pack lunches at 8:00 AM, depart at 8:30 AM, and after a wonderful day of hiking, arrive at the next hotel around 4:30 PM. But the fifth day brought with it some unwelcomed changes. While the weather had been clear and sunny up to this point, it had now turned cloudy. Not that we were so unrealistic as to expect ten days in a row without rain, but it was only natural to prefer sunshine. The rain began during our morning lunch preparations, which was originally setup outside but then quickly moved inside after the interruption. That's Mike, our driver, sitting on the bench in the photo below. In addition to transporting our luggage, he was also responsible for buying the lunch groceries. His selection, which was never a disappointment, usually consisted of baguettes, ham, chicken or turkey, smoked salmon, a couple kinds of cheeses, an assortment of fruits and raw vegetables, and various candy bars. One day Mike even treated us to cheese from his brother-in-law's farm in Chamonix!

We put on our rain gear and Mike shuttled us to the trailhead at la Ville des Glaciere in two groups because the van could only hold eight people at a time. Stéphane led the first group and we were in the second group with Patricia. Normally the guides would have us visit the cheese factory at la Ville des Glaciere. I was eager to learn more about this popular European staple (cheese is served at every meal and even for dessert), but unfortunately, in order to prevent mud from being tracked into the factory, visitors aren't allowed when it is raining. So we continued on with our cold and wet hike up to the border crossing at Col de la Seigne, where the only indication of the Italian/French border was a small stone set in the ground. At this point the rain had stopped and we were able to take some photos. The one on the left is the view towards Italy, and the one on the right is the view towards France.

After crossing over into Italy, the trail wound its way down to a building that served as the old customs post, used to check passports for people crossing the border. However, that was no longer needed when Italy and France became EU members, so instead the building is now a small museum. It's main attraction is a topographic model of the Mont Blanc area, which Patricia used to show us the route we had taken so far and where we would be headed next. After leaving the museum, we continued hiking downhill before reaching a mobile cow milking station and cheese making trailer. These facilities enable the farmer to easily follow the cows as they are moved from one pasture to the next during the summer season. When Patricia stopped to describe this process to us in more detail, one of the farmer’s dogs charged out from under the trailer and bit at her leg. Although the dog was only able to bite through her pants and not her skin, the dog did manage to knock her off balance, causing her to fall and break her ankle. It was obvious that Patricia could not walk, and the nearest town, Courmayeur, our destination for the day, was still several miles away. But for some strange reason, the farmer, who at least called off his dog, was not interested in providing any help beyond that, even though he had a jeep available. After much deliberation between Patricia and the farmer (Patricia was the only person in our group that could speak fluent French), he finally relented and agreed to drive her to Courmayeur, although he was unwilling to let one of us ride with them. We were reluctant to leave Patricia alone with the farmer, but there was no other alternative, and Patricia needed to get to a hospital as quickly as possible. During all of this time, Patricia was also trying to contact Stéphane and Mike on their cell phones, but was having trouble getting reception. Just before leaving with the farmer she was finally able to reach Mike, and Mike was able to reach Stéphane, so that both of them knew what was happening. Stéphane and his group were just about to resume hiking after their lunch break when he received the call from Mike, at which point they waited for us to catch up with them before continuing into Courmayeur. Needless to say, this whole event really dampened our mood, but we found out later that evening that Patricia was going to be okay. After being dropped off by in Courmayeur by the farmer, Patricia's husband had taken her back to France for medical treatment. The broken ankle would have her off her feet for three months, so her guiding was done for the season, but the hope was that she would be back on her feet by winter, when she is a ski instructor.

Courmayeur, Italy was our favorite town on the trip. It was very picturesque, with narrow streets winding around the village houses and their accompanying flower gardens, and the snow capped mountains in the background. It also had more of a local flair, whereas Chamonix felt more like a tourist town. That's the back of our hotel in the photo on the right.

During our walk through town, we stopped to peruse a Charcuterie Fromagerie shop, the English equivalent of a deli. Phew - all that cheese sure is stinky!

Day 6 - The Other Side of Grandes Jorasses

Today we would hike over Mont de la Saxe to another auberge at Lavachey. Since Patricia could not continue, our driver Mike became our new assistant guide, and a new driver (Bruno) took over Mike’s old job. No shuttle was necessary this morning though, and we passed some really beautiful homes along residential streets while walking to the trailhead. Unlike our vinyl sided mass produced houses in New Jersey, these houses were made of natural stone or stucco, the shutters were solid wood and completely closed over the windows, and the roofs were slabs of sedimentary rock. The hike up from the trailhead was steep, but leveled out as we reached the ridge along the top of Mont de la Saxe,  overlooking the Val Ferret valley. Living in the valley is prohibited during the winter because it is too dangerous, despite all of the avalanche barriers that we saw. Across the valley, you could see the Italian side of the Grandes Jorasses, which we were looking at from the French side just 5 days ago. Stéphane tried to find a place out of the wind for lunch, but it was still very cold and everyone bundled up. Maureen even resorted to her turtle imitation (she's the headless blue fleece in the photo below). Click for Day 6 video.

After lunch Stéphane gave the group a choice of hiking down to Lavachey or hiking up to the Tête de la Tronche summit. Li and I were the only ones who elected the summit route. Everyone else was cold and eager to get to the auberge before the hot water ran out, but the easiest way for me to get warm was to continue hiking, and I never like quitting the day early just to sit around the hotel waiting for dinner. So Stéphane led the rest of the group to Lavachey while Mike took us up to the summit, pointing out all the sights, telling lots of interesting stories (did you know that gin is made from the juniper berries), and stopping to identify different wildflowers, along the way.

After finishing our hike, we all met up in the Lavachey bar for a cold brew and to mark the day's route on the map.

We had a wonderful Italian dinner that night (minestrone soup, roast pork, veal, sausage in tomato sauce, and cheese polenta), which ended with the traditional passing of the “grolla”. The grolla is a wooden bowl filled with espresso and grappa (an alcoholic brew made from leftover grape pieces initially used to make wine). The custom is to pass the grolla around the table from person to person until it is empty, with the person passing the bowl saying something in French (along the lines of wishing you good health), and the person receiving the bowl echoing a similar sentiment in return. We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves as we struggled to remember the French and stomach the bitter drink.