Chamonix in summer - advice appreciated

[Buke]

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I'm going to be in Chamonix for a week in early August with my wife and 3 kids (10, 12, and 14). I'm sure someone here has some good advice about what to do.

Easy/Moderate hikes are good. I'd like the kids to see the Mer de Glace while it's still there so I assume we'll ride the train and take the gondola that way.

Is t here anything that we shouldn't miss that isn't obvious?

Looks like the Mont Blanc MultiPass is probably the way to go. I'm wondering if we should get 3 non consecutive day pass or spend a little extra for a 5 or 6 day pass. We'll be in Cham for 6 full days.

[nest]

Hike from the top of planpraz gondola to the top of brevent is shortish and has amazing views of Mont Blanc. Go look down l’ENSA couloir and drool. Can take tram back down to top of gondola.

[old goat]

An easier hike would be from planpraz to flegere where you can take the gondola back down to town.Take the tram to the top of the Aiguille du Midi, then the cable car across the Vallee Blanche to Helbronner Point (Italy). From there you can take another tram down to Courmayeur if you like and then take a bus (I think back through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix.

[Buke]

Hiking Plan Praz to Fleger on the Balcon du sud trail is on my list, as is hiking to Lac Blanc from the top of the Brevant.

I was wondering how feasible it is to take the Aiguille du midi cable car -> Pointe Helbronner Gondola -> Skyway Monte Bianco and then either take a bus back to Chamonix or take the lifts back. Information about busses is limited. The only one that I can find runs only 4 times a day and costs €15/pp, which doesn't seem worth it.

[Foggy_Goggles]

If you think 15euro is expensive you might get a bit of sticker shock. All of your ideas are good ideas. Just like winter, I have a love hate relationship with Cham. The mountains are insane, but the town is pretty forgettable.

[toast2266]

^^^yup. I think taking that assortment of lifts is something like €150 pp. Just going up and back down the aiguille du midi is like €75 pp.

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[mcski]

Wow! Cable car rides aint for socialists

[Foggy_Goggles]

Single rides on the Brevant Gondi are cheap and included in your IKON.

[Buke]

I assume we'll get a multipass. It includes most of the lifts in the valley, as well as the Montenvers train and gondola, and the busses in the valley. It doesn't include the gondola from the Aiguille du Midi over to Pointe Helbronner unfortunately. I'm trying to figure out how many days to get the pass for. Maybe we want the first day to be an explore the town day and then get it for 5 days, or maybe just 4 days. There's a 3 day nonconsecutive option but it's the same price as a 4 day pass.

Of course, my preference would be to hire a guide and spend a day or two climbing, then rent mountain bikes and do some mountain biking. But, it's a family trip and I think we'll be limited to more low key things like short hikes, site seeing, maybe a day at the pool, etc.

[Foggy_Goggles]

No specific trails or anything but just a heads up about the mindset that works versus one that will grind you up and split you out and wonder why you put such a hurt on your wallet.

If you end up at the busy places at the busy times, it will seem like you are at the mall with your least favorite type of people. But if you have some intentionality and get up early with a plan, you will be winning.

Do you know where you are staying? Will you have a car?

The tourist office is an amazing resource. They speak great English. All of the high mountain huts are great destination for hikes. The (american term) lodges and cafes at the top of the lifts are great. Maybe the more mellow part of your group can chill while you go on a bigger hike. The town pool it pretty cool. Courmayer has some of my favorite pizza in the world.

What else?

[old goat]

If you do figure out the bus, the best view of Monte Bianco is from the Italian side. Just walking in the Val Veny is worth half a day.

[Foggy_Goggles]

True. Summer before last, the tunnel traffic was hours wait. I know nothing specific but something to figure out. It has been said before, the best part of Cham is Italy.

[old goat]

My wife wanted to do a tandem parapent from Plan Praz but I wouldn't let her. If your trip has been very stressful you might want to consider that option for one or more members of your party.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Segway. The best view of Mont Blanc is from a paraglider. Go for a tandem flight if you are curious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lMaWwZF-DE

As mentioned the view of Mont Blanc from the Brevant Gondi tram is awesome. There, Plan Praz, is one of the main launches.

[californiagrown]

It has been said before, the best part of Cham is Italy.

Courmayer has some of my favorite pizza in the world. What else?

Cannot agree more. Id go back to Chamonix if in the area. Courmayuer is somewhere i want to go back to as often as possible... the highlight of our trip to Chamonix was the 2 days we spent in Courmayuer... the mountains, the people, the town, the food, the prices... all of it 10/10.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Downtown Cham is objectively bad in anyway and it functions just fine. But in many ways it is the Alps version of somewhere like Grand Lake. Surrounded by awesome but a bit of a ice cream and t shirt shop tourist trap. So their is certainly something for everyone but your experience is enhanced by being a bit strategic and swimming against the tide as needed. With a bit of effort you can find that really awesome patio with unbelievable views, good food and drink or whatever your 10/10 experience is.

[old goat]

Stop by the guide bureau--same building as the visitor center. Note that the names of the guides are the same as the names of the streets. It wasn't that long ago that you had to be born in Chamonix to guide there. A lot of history in the birthplace of mountaineering.On one of our trips we witnessed a funeral procession for a guide--killed in a crevasse.The view from the Brevent Gondi is great, the view from the Skyway--from Courmayeur to Helbrunner i, along withs greater, especially if youre a climber and have read about the climbs on the south face of MB. (We had a ski guide who turned out to hold the record, along with two partners, for the fastest winter assent of the Superintegral --climbing the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey, descending to the base of and climbing the Aiguilee Blanche, then descending to the base of the central pillar of Freney and climbing it.)

[Buke]

Good advice all around. We looked at a bunch of different airbnb's in the valley. We decided to let the kids have some agency on the decision and of course they picked the most expensive option that we gave them and it's right in the center of town. The plus side of that is the central location. I suspect the downside is that it won't be nearly as bucolic as it would be if we were staying in Les Houches or Argentière. C'est la vie.

[old goat]

If you want bucolic I suggest Switzerland. Particularly a village called Bovine, which is on the TMB.Switzerland has to be the only country in the world with cows on the driving range.