My alarm actually went off at 7:30 a.m. otherwise we would still have been in la-la land completely exhausted. Dressed and down for the daily breakfast buffet, Hotel de L’Arve has only one kind of cheese and bologna. My bologna has a first name…it’s…. However, there was yogurt, juice, can boil your own eggs, dry cereal, coffee/tea, baguettes, cakes and I’m confident we won’t starve.

The first stop was at one of the best Tourist Information Offices I’ve ever visited to get all the poop. Maps, what’s going on in Chamonix, bus and train timetables, and the Mont Blanc pass. The Mont Blanc pass is good for 2-15 days on all the cable cars and lifts with the exception of Aiguille section to Pont Helbronner, Italy. That part is the only additional charge. You can choose from a consecutive day pass or non-consecutive day pass. The passes are expensive but individual cable car/lifts are very, very expensive if bought individually. Hmmm…have to think about his.

the little Mulet bus in Chamonix, France
The big Chamonix buses head up and down the entire valley and have schedules posted at each stop. There is also the small Mulet (mule) bus that runs every 10 minutes around the center of Chamonix. The Mer de Glace became accessible by mule in 1802 and a new business was born. Transporting tourists up steep Montenvers where many guides would then take their clients on a traverse of the Mer de Glace. Don’t you love this poster of a woman in long skirts making her way across a glacier? Gutsy!

old Chamonix glacier traverse poster, France
From the tourist office armed with bus schedules, train schedules and my old Chamonix hiking map from 1993, we slowly headed towards the Montenvers station stopping in shops (bought a t-shirt), looking at patisseries while trying to decide if we were going to hike today or not. It was raining on and off but the rain stopped and we decided to chance the walk up to the Mer de Glace knowing we could always take the rack railway back down. The weather is supposed to be iffy for the next few days, but today is humid and warm.

ex-Marine and I started up the trail on the estimated 2-1/2 hour walk from 1,000m-1,900 m/3,280-6,233′. (Forgot to wear my little Garmin Foretrex GPS, darn.) About 30 minutes into the hike, it began to rain. Lightly at first…then harder…it would stop…lighter…stop…and as we ascended higher and higher, it began to thunder and rain heavily. There was no lightening, we heard helicopters and hoped that was a good sign. At long last, the top of the Montenvers train line. Sopping wet and freezing from the wind off the Mer de Glace glacier, we ran into the bathroom, took off wet shirts, put on a dry top, fluffs and rain jackets, and took the next train down.

It took almost 3 hours to hike up and only 30 minutes by train to come down. It costs 18 Euros/person for one-way on the Montenvers rack railway. Let’s hear it for 20/20 hindsight. You can buy the multi-day lift passes at any cable car/lift office and after paying the 18 Euros/person, we immediately bought a 6-day non-consecutive Chamonix lift pass for 88 Euros. A consecutive day pass would have been 8 euros less but if the weather is bad, it’s just throwing money away. You must show a photograph to be scanned in on the pass and, TIP: Xerox your passport information with photograph and always carry with you. We do. They scanned it in and we were set. Now that we have a pass, we take another trip up on a nice day to see the Mer de Glace.

Montenver Rack Railway, Chamonix, France 

Dry and starving, we took our time walking back to the hotel, looking in all the cheese shops, and buying a bottle of wine for the room. TIP: Shops will uncork your wine for you if you ask. Back in the hotel, we slugged down a glass of wine, strategically positioned clothes to dry, and decided to go out and get something to eat before we fell asleep.

Off to McDonald’s, only 3 blocks away, for a Big Mac meal. If you’ve never traveled in Europe, food is expensive compared to American food costs and portions. Neither of us was in the mood for a leisurely, sit-down dinner, or to pay 12 Euros plus for the cheapest Table d’Hote meal at any restaurant in Chamonix. Inhaled dinner, rushed back to the hotel in the rain and we’re happy to take a hot bath, relax and ponder umpteen hiking possibilities if tomorrow is a nice day.