The test: La Brevent

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This morning I slept in a little to give my body a rest from the tiring hike to la mer de glace.  I woke up around 0930 and started heading out to the trailhead to get up to La Brevent.  My legs were very sore so I decided to just take the lift up to Plan Praz, a little more than halfway up.  I know what a cop out.  But I was very glad that I did because as soon as I got off the lift a thunderstorm poured into the Chamonix Valley!  I was stuck at Plan Praz for about an hour as rain came down along with lightning and thunder.  Many hikers were huddled in a heated room, some busted out food and started to eat a brunch.  I didn't bring a jacket or anything warm except my Body Armor undershirt.  I was making this decision based on the fact that yesterday was extremely hot all day and this morning was sunny and blue skies!  So in a matter of minutes the weather changed and remained crappy for the rest of the day.

The skies around La Brevent finally cleared and the peak was visible so I started making my way up.  The temperature was roughly 15C at Plan Praz and reported to be about 10C at La Brevent.  I put on my Body Armor and started hiking.  Last night, I talked to a lady at the gite and she said to hike the ridge trail rather than the well-defined trail.  I took her suggestion and hiked straight up the mountain face to hit the ridgeline of the mountains.  Then I walked along the ridge to la Brevent.  It was a great hike and the weather wasn't toooo bad.  It was drizzling a little but nothing I couldn't bear.  There were other people on the same trail and I decided to be safe and just follow rather than pass them.

   We went through some icy snow.  It was scary at some parts because a slip would mean falling down the slope pretty far.  It wouldn't mean death or injury but it did mean a looooooong undefined haul back up.  My New Balance sneakers were just fine for the job, though I wished I had hiking poles.  I only brought food and some extra clothes with me on this trip so my bag was considerably lighter and that helped me to be more agile.

   I finally caught on to the red trail markers and decided to pass the guys in front of me.  They were roughly 60 yrs old and chugging along at a healthy pace but I wanted to get to the peak quickly so I could also get down quickly!  I had good-enough weather all the way up.  The views were amazing but the camera couldn't catch it well because of the fog.  You couldn't see Mont Blanc but the opposite mountain range (the one I was in yesterday) looked amazing!  I can't really explain how overwhelming it felt.  You know that feeling when you're in the ocean and all of a sudden a HUGE wave comes and all you think is "oh crap".  That's the same feeling I had when I stood on top of la Brevent...but without the imminent danger!  It was amazing to take in!

    At the top there was a tiny little refuge with a small restaurant.  I just busted out my own food and ate in their warmth.  I met a man who was from the Pyrenees.  He is a professional hiker and leads groups into the mountains all over the world.  He said he's crossed the Pyrenees several times from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean!  Wow, these people are amazing!  They're so inspiring too because they talk about it with so much passion.  Nothing matters in the wilderness except enjoying being there!  The weather didn't look like it was getting any better so I decided heading down sooner rather than later would be best.  This time I took the well-defined, bulldozed, ugly, etc. trail down the front face of the mountain.  I met up with an American named...Mitch I think.  He was just cruising around the mountains waiting for his friends to arrive in a couple of days.  They were planning an expedition to the top of Mont Blanc!  He was telling me stories about all of the mountains he's climbed and I was absolutely wow-ed.  He says you can climb Mt. Shasta, up and back down, in a single day so I might try that to start off. 

I returned to Plan Praz and then continued deeper into the valley in the direction of Argentiere.  There were a myriad of trails along the face of the mountain and I just continued on one of them.  I snapped tons of pictures along the way.  I didn't stop to eat because I was so intent on seeing as much as I could.  The weather was holding up just fine, still ugly, but at least not pouring.  I didn't get far enough to see la mer de glace but I could see the valley and the hiking trail that I took to get there.  It looked itty-bitty from where I was!

By the way, Chamonix is 1036 m, Plan Praz is 2000 m, and La Brevent is 2525 m.  I continued on my journey and hit La Flegere (1877 m).  I knew where I was, and I also knew that I had gone too far and needed to back track a little to get to the path leading down into Les Praz (small town deeper into the valley beyond Chamonix).  The way down was very tiring, more so than anything else.  Also, it started to rain pretty hard and the rivers going down the mountains became stronger.  I had to puddle jump a couple of times but my shoes got soaked anyway.  I finally got down to Plan Praz after about an hour of hiking.  Then it took me another 30 minutes to get to my gite in Chamonix. 

I kept looking back up at la Brevent and couldn't believe I made it all the way up there!  Okay, so I caught a lift that did most of the work but I think I could have done it on my own if I had a little more daylight time.

I had more of my bread, cheese, sausage, milk, and fruit for dinner and talked to another American staying at the same place.  His name was Steve and he was about 60 or so.  He's semi-retired and traveling the world.  He was telling me about places he's been like Everest base camp, K2 base camp, Killimanjaro, Nepal, etc.  Man these people go everywhere!  He had been in Chamonix for a week and said that yesterday was the only good-weather day.  He was hiking in the same mountains as I but it started to rain so he got trapped up there and had to sleep at a refuge. 

Anyway, to all who go, I would highly recommend the two hikes that I did.  I think they are easy enough if you're semi in shape and start out early enough in the morning.  Check the weather reports!  www.wetter.de was pretty accurate for my journey.