We packed so much into our last day on our trip! I am going to do this day in 2 posts since it is so long.
Our morning started with an excursion to La Mer de Glace, the largest glacier in France at about 5 miles long and 600+ ft. deep. To get there, we took the Montenvers railway, a two-car cog wheel train near our hotel, which is at 3,396 ft. The train was built in 1908 to access what was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Alps at that time.
The train chugs the nearly 3,000 ft. in 3 miles in 22 minutes up the steep slope of the mountain to reach an overlook of the glacier, which is at 6,279 ft. Along the way the views are spectacular.
Coming upon the glacier is a wondrous site — until you realize that it was once, not so long ago, much, much larger.
After photos at the site, there is a cable car that takes people to a location below to reach the glacier. Thirty years ago this cable car stopped only 3 steps from the glacier. Now it is 450 ft. away.
Some of our group took the cable car, but, since it was another gorgeous day, most of us hiked down the steep slope to the cable car landing.
It is rather eerie to walk down the trail and see signs showing how the glacier has gradually retreated over the decades.
From the cable car landing, you navigate a maze of stairs arranged in a kind of switchback that take you to the foot of the glacier - roughly 500 steps.
Sydney captured a view of the steps looking backwards.
This is the only way to reach it. (No handicap access). Along the way, more signs of the glacier’s demise.
At the bottom is the glacier which is not snowy white but grey. On the left is a beautiful “grotto.”
Every year since 1946, a 300 ft. long ice cave has been dug out of the glacier, with sculptures of animals and living areas, including a throne room and a fire place. The gleaming blue ice in this photo was formed over two centuries ago. The cave must be carved new every year because the glacier moves about 300 ft. every year.
Afterwards, we walked (felt like hiking) back up the metal stairs and took the cable car back to the train stop.
Since we had a few minutes, we walked to the Grand Hotel du Montanvert a la Mer de Glace, built in 1880 to accommodate the first mountaineers and travelers. Renovated in 2017, it looks like a beautiful place to stay.
We returned to Chamonix about noon and nine of us had lunch together at Josephine’s, another cute cafe and another Croque Monsieur. Afterwards we only had time for a brief walk and final photos of the village.
Now on to Geneva for our final evening!
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