Tag: photo
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Tour du Mont Blanc: The final climb
It was our final ascent of the Tour du Mont Blanc, which we began July 13. The thick clouds and rain of Saturday afternoon had cleared Sunday when we completed nearly 33,000 feet of climbing and an equal amount of descent over 10 trekking days. As we reached the Col de Balme, Mont Blanc's…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Weather threatens to halt trek
The blue skies of the past five days have gone and there has been a bit of rain, thunder and lightening today, a rest day in Champex, Switzerland. We met trekkers who had to turn back this morning from the next day's col due to lightening. They faced a 200€ taxi to the next town…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Time to return to this amazing trail
It was “ciao” to Courmayeur, Italy today after a day of rest in the Alps resort city. The Tour du Mont Blanc has been more than challenging for us, so we needed the break. Walking into a new country was a new experience on Saturday. We heard “buon giorno” more often than “bonjour” almost…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: After struggle, the mountain rewards
From my bottom bunk looking out a small window in a wood-paneled room, I see a glacier and Alpine peaks high above. Our home for tonight, the Elizabetta hut in Italy, is at about 7,500 feet, two miles from the Italy-France border. The only way we could get to this place, as remote as…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: A circular Alpine trek
We will be walking the 110 miles of the Tour du Mont Blanc over the next two weeks, with a couple of breaks. The trek circles Europe's highest peak, which is really a mountain range of Alpine peaks, above 15,000 feet. We are starting in France and will go counter clockwise through Italy and…
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Tour du Mont Blanc: Our challenge begins
We were strongly advised to begin our trek with two gondola rides from Chamonix, taking us more than 5,000 feet up above spectacular terrain to Le Brevant, more than 8,000 feet high. Clouds blocked our view across the valley to Mont Blanc and made visibility poor for most of the day. So, after ascending…
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The way to Chamonix: Trains and costly surprises
Naïveté, bad luck and good fortune all had parts in our eventful journey from sunny Strasbourg to rainy Chamonix in the French Alps on Monday. Three trains were to take us on the nine-hour trip, but a bus and a very expensive taxi ride saved the day in the end. The second train ride,…
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France: Life hums on the sidewalks
Notes from France Does anyone drink and eat at home in France (other than us)? Tonight, after our dinner at our Strasbourg apartment, we went for a long walk. There were thousands and thousands out and about. And it did not seem crowded, although most seats were filled. That's because Strasbourg has more cafes, bars,…
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