The Mont Blanc massif

	Destination
	French & Italian Alps
	Map
	Key Facts
	Dates : 5 - 12 September 2009 Price : 1680 € Difficulty :
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Day 1 – Chamonix Valley

Meet at 15h30 at Geneva airport. Quick transfer to the village of Chamonix, situated at the foot of the impressive Massif of Mont Blanc. In front of us we have an innumerable number of glaciers that descend to the Valley and, preceding the landscape, the highest mountain in Europe. It is here where alpinism was born, on the 8th of August 1786, when Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard conquered the top of Mont Blanc for the first time.

We select a vantage point to photograph the sunset over the Mont Blanc massive.

Overnight in a hotel*** in Chamonix.

Day 2 - Photographing a glacier and a waterfall

The adventure starts in the morning with a hike to a glacier of the Chamonix valley. We use a chair lift that will take us up to 2,000 meters high. From there to the glacier, we have a spectacular and easy hike. We are able to get really really close to the imposing walls of bluish ice. Incredible photographic possibilities.

Once we get down to the valley, and after a nice lunch, we move to the second location of the day. After a short hike, we reach an impressive waterfall in the Diosaz valley, very close to the Swiss border.

Overnight in a hotel*** in Chamonix.

Day 3 – Photographing from the Grand Balcon Nord

We start hiking early in the morning. This is middle mountain terrain along the west slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, between high snows and glaciers and the deep Chamonix valley. We have excellent viewpoints and staggering photographic possibilities along the way: the Mont Blanc and the sharp peaks of Aiguilles de Chamonix, airy views over Chamonix far below, and the east slopes of the Aiguilles Rouges range.

In the afternoon we reach a magnificent viewpoint that overlooks the impressive glacier Mer du Glace, second longest glacier in Europe. We spend the night in the highest hotel of the French Alps.

Overnight in a mountain hotel***.

Day 4 – Photographingthe Aiguilles Rouges Natural Reserve and spend a night in a mountain refuge

We spend the early part of the day photographing the glacier Mer de Glace. After breakfast, we head down to Chamonix and use a chair lift that will take us up to 2,385 meters high (7,825 feet). Without realizing it, we are right in the middle of the most spectacular landscapes of the French Alps. The view from here justifies the trip alone: before us are innumerable glaciers forming a sea of ice, and a good part of the most mythical mountain tops of the French Alps. We spend the day hiking and photographing from a natural shelf facing south-east, half way between the valley and the Aiguilles Rouges tops.

Once we reach the refuge, we position ourselves for an absolutely breathtaking sunset over the Mont Blanc range.

We spend the night in a refuge at 2,350 meters (7,710 feet), on the banks of a lake that once was a glacier.

Day 5 – Photographing the wildlife in the Aiguilles Rouges Natural Reserve

We wake up early in the morning in order to photograph the sunrise over the Mont Blanc range. We then hike down to the valley and, with a bit of luck, we’ll be able to see ibexes, chamois, and marmots.

In the afternoon we change country, crossing from France to Italy through the tunnel of the Mont Blanc. Our destination is the "twin" valley to the Chamonix valley, but on the Italian side. The Mont Blanc is almost unrecognizable from this point of view; the Grandes Jorasses rises imposing in a vertical wall of almost 3000 meters. We use the afternoon to recognize the valley and to prepare ourselves for the morning.

Overnight in a hotel** in Val Ferret.

Day 6 – Italian Alps, Courmayer, and Aosta

We dedicate the morning to photograph the Italian Alps from the Val Ferret. Once we are satisfied, we move on to the Italian town of Aosta. There we let aside the mountains for the moment and photograph the town and its different monuments. In the evening we move to the town of Courmayer, on the feet of the Mont Blanc, but always of the Italian side.

Overnight in a hotel** in Courmayer.

Day 7 – From Italy, through France, to Geneva

Today is our last day of adventure. In the morning we take shots of Courmayer and the surrounding mountains.

From Courmayer we go to Geneva airport, arriving at about 14h00, where we bid farewell until our next adventure together.

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