We woke this morning to cold and showery weather, which was a shame as we were heading into the mountains today and the visibility isn’t that great. But not to be deterred we drove to Chamonix, which is described as the town where the serious alpine action kicks in. As we got closer we were treated to the sight of mountain after mountain, cumulating in the sight of Mont Blanc (4810m) briefly emerging from the clouds, not far in front of us. What a fantastic sight.
Our aim in Chamonix was to get a ride on ‘the most terrifying cable car in the world’ up to a peak which sits at 3842m. This is a ride that isn’t recommended for young children, or those ‘sensitive to heights’. But the rubbish weather put a dampener on that, so we took the tram and the cable car up to the ice caves instead. The tram is an old rack and pinion track that has been operating for the last 100 years, and takes you up to ‘Montenvers Mer de Glace’ (Sea of Ice) at 1913m. We then got the cable car down to the ice caves. From the bottom of the cable car it is then another 300 steps (approx) down to the caves themselves.
As you descend the steps, you pass markers, marking the height of the glacier at various times. The first one we passed was 1980, at about 100 metres above its current level. The first reaction is ‘Global Warming’. But then you wonder is this just nature taking its course, is this what would happen over time anyway, is this just the evidence of the tail end of the ice age? Who really knows, and certainly not an argument that we are going to enter into. Interesting though.
The Glacier is 14 km long, 1.800 km wide, up to 400m thick, and has a surface area of about. It moves at a rate of 45m per year on the sides and 90m per year in the centre. It is the second largest glacier in the alps. In spring every year (February) they start carving a new ice cave and this takes about three months. As you enter the cave you can look downhill and see the previous caves that have moved with the glacier. Inside it is a very cool -5 degrees, but also very cool. There are different rooms carved out and the whole passage is lit up with various colours creating an amazing atmosphere, being surrounded by ice that is thousands of years old. If you are really keen, you can get you photo taken with a Saint Bernard inside one of the side caves.
What did surprise us was the amount of rock debris there was on top of the glacier, but after all it is now the end of summer, I guess much of it gets pushed down with the winter snows. However thinking hypothetically; with that much debris coming down from the mountains through out the world, and considering that rocks don’t regenerate themselves, will the valleys eventually fill up, the peaks become lower and the world eventually become flat (spherically)?
On our way back out, the cable car was out of action due to the wind, so it was a 30 minute uphill trek to the top to catch the tram. We were almost at the top when we saw the final marker, the year 1890. When this glacier was first discovered, it really must have been an amazing sight. A huge river of ice, frozen in time, pouring down the mountain filling the whole valley and reaching right down to the valley floor. There are old photos and paintings that show it like this. You can understand why they called it the ‘Sea of Ice’.
After a quick coffee to warm up, we were back on the tram, joined by a large group of French Army guys who had obviously been doing some training exercises in the mountains. It looked like they had been doing some serious climbing. What a great job to have.
Driving back through the towns and villages, the only interruption was the regular traffic islands which they seem to favour in this part of the world, many of which have several carparks, or garden sheds and wood sheds, planted in the middle of them. It shows what a premium, flat land is.
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