Trail Running Chamonix (October ‘24)

 

Trip Overview

For my mid-semester fall break, I spent a night in the Montenvers Refuge at the base of Mont Blanc. I got one solid out-and-back run in on the Chamonix valley wall, and a second run around Lac Leman.

Getting There

Flew into Geneva from NYC, landing in the early morning. From the airport, I took train from Airport to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc train station (I couldn’t book French tickets on the SBB app so I had to go to the ticket booth in the Geneva airport in person when it opened). On arrival I walked from the train station to the Gare Chamonix Train du Montenvers. Along the way I stocked up on food and drink for the run. I rode the picturesque tram up to the Refuge du Montenvers. I didn’t have a reservation ahead of time, so I booked my room in person upon arrival (almost nobody staying there in October, it’s middle of shoulder season). At this point, it was early afternoon, so I changed into running gear, left my bags with the front desk, got out on the trails.

The Run

I did an out-and-back along the apron under the mountains. Weather was rainy in the morning but transitioned to partly cloudy in the afternoon. Steep section at the beginning, then lots of super nice rolling trails. Turn-around point was Plan de l’Aiguille. Views of the valley the whole way. No scrambling at any point. Strava

I regret not having enough time to explore the tram at Plan de l’Aiguille, but that was unavoidable given the timing of my flight and limited time in the alps.

Geneva

On my way back to New York, I stopped through Geneva and ran along Lac Leman. The waterfront has a pretty nice, uninterrupted path with gardens along the way. Strava

Advice

• Buy food and water in the valley before heading up; there’s not much up top
• You probably wont be able to check in to your room early, but it’s fine because they’re very much used to people leaving bags and going out on hikes before/after check-in/check-out
• If I were to do this again, I would somehow try to get to Plan de l’Aiguille earlier so I could catch the tram up and see the views from the top. I would probably also stop for the food that they were serving at the hut
• The food at Refuge de Montenvers is very good; definitely purchase the room/food combo

 

Photos from Chamonix

View of Moulins de la Mer de Glace from the refuge

Plan de l'Aiguille

Sunset over Moulins de la Mer de Glace, from the under-construction tram station

Refuge de Montenvers

View from my room

 

Photos from Geneva

Inside one of the greenhouses

Another greenhouse