After a day of knee recovery, I hit the mountains again today - this time with a little more mechanical assistance. First I rode the Aigulle du Midi cable car to 3842 meters (that's ~12000 feet or so) and stared down at the clouds and across at the tallest peak in Europe - Mont Blanc. Surprising number of climbers traversing the snow/glaciers on their way to the top.
Then, I spent about 30 minutes dangling alone in a small gondola crossing over to Point Hellbringer (ok, it's Hellbronner, but the nickname I gave it. It calls me VS1. Not very original, but what do you want, it's just a landmass) in Italy. Rather than break out my passport, I took a couple pics and headed back across again. I can honestly say that particular crossing is one of the most thrilling and most terrifying things I've experienced.On my return, I dropped back down to the half-way point on the Aigulle du Midi cablecar, which is otherwise known as Plan de l'Aigulle - it connects you to the Grand B
alcon Nord hike across the valley side of the mountains. Along the way, I was able to capture pics of the scene of Sunday's crime (my previous post), once back in Paris I'll put those up to explain my liberal use of f-bombs. Knee pain came back but I fought through it and finally reached the Mer de Glace glacier, which is just phenomenal. From there I took a leisurely ride on the rack and pinion Montenvers train back to Chamonix. Pics to come - if they don't blow your mind, I'll eat my camera. Mmm... shutter.
4 comments:
Hey John! You had a cameo role in a dream I had last night - it was an odd bit of randomness about going out to dinner, and seeing you and your family at the next table over (which is even MORE odd since I have no idea what your family looks like). So I figured it was my subconscious' way of telling me that I needed to check in and see how're doing over in Europe!
Looks like you're having a blast (well, except for Monday, June 11th), and Italy is just as beautiful as I always imagined - so jealous about the whole Pompeii experience, and getting to see the Etruscan painted tombs in Tuscany (I studied Etruscan culture/archaeology in college, but could only dream about actually visiting them).
And PLEASE let me know when you get back to the West Coast so that you can try out your new cooking skills on a very willing subject... mmmmmm, delicious food. I'll bring the Vodka :D
Glad things improved somewhat on day 2. Despite whatever happened on day 1, sounds like an amazing, once-in-a-life time experience. Cannot wait to see the pictures! Though secretly hoping they don't blow my mind because I'm sort of intrigued by the idea of you eating your camera. ;)
Yo. The f-bomb doesn't count as the f-bomb if you don't actually say the word, man.
You would make the worst gangsta rapper ever.
True story.
Whoa!!! Those pics do suspend one's breathing. You win. No need to eat the camera...
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