After Pointe Isabella the official timetable was vague; we had a notional middle week - actually more like 5 days - to do "something". Originally this was to be "go up somewhere" but at this point "rest somewhere" seemed like a rather pleasant alternative, and what are plans if not flexible. Also if my pictures don't lie, the weather went wet for a while. And so we found an apartment in Argentiere (ground floor middle), from the night of 7/29 to morning 8/1. It was fine; I didn't bother with formal pix as it was a "ski appt generic"; here's one of D and his characteristic feet.
Most of the text here is from quick notes I took at the time.
7/28 Sunday: down in Chamonix - actually Argentiere - after a week mostly up, except one rest day. That was good but hard and I feel well used and stretched. Today - Sunday the 28th - was a day of rain which was fine. Up 9ish b'fast slowly on what we super-u'd y'day and MED went out for croissants etc. Outside medium rain continues and mist shrouds the trees.
Note: pix with some captions on fb.
Our appt in the Residence Grand Roc proves adequate to our first night. We get the double, E the single upstairs with us and D the sofa which he doesn't bother xform into a bed. It's nice to get on well enough with each other for this not to rub. 12:30 go out to buy stuff for lunch but discover super has just shut so get at marche: E 15 of olive pate - a slight overbuy perhaps though it proves good - carrots tomato sliced ham saucisson sec a goat cheese and a big block of Tomme for only E 5. And a flute from the bread man.
14:30: coffee and prevarication done so head out to Martigny to see the tower cos I've passed it by too often. And it's a trip of about the right size. More cloud higher up (return to get passports; comedy trying to leave appt car park) Montets Forclaz border no guards Martigny park walk up to tower. Abeilles on way up. It's only about ten mins. No entry formalities or staff and we can climb right up. Bare stone wood stairs views good. Inside D and I puzzle over odd two storey room in tower side before realising it is a fireplace. Back via paths. Walk to river old wooden arched bridge church small ex voto. Back. Pic: D and E on the top.
Soir: decide to eat in. Just enough bread. Quiet reading.
7/29 Monday: up at the unearthly hour of 8:30 though actually I also got up at 4:30 as my phone alarm was set and downstairs. B'fast sit then to shops for bread coffee etc. Also looking for Chamonix crags guide. Bureau des guides not open till 5 and tourist not useful but total-liquidation has a (sadly undiscounted) copy for E 27. Back more food off about 11 I think head up to Col Des Montets then back a little park and track just opposite. There's a cluster of boulders we pick Le Transat whick book says is most pop N face is in shade some Spaniards there. Have a play... E does 3c r2 I do 4c r3 D does a harder 4c. Put top rope on and E and I do the slightly longer central 4c and I think D does the 5b r7. Go round to W face lovely by little stream bucolic as book says. 3c r1 to R I do and E does with a little push on her bottom. 4c r7 to L then D fights up the 5c r4 central.
Time for coffee. Up to Aig Rouge accueil who do drinks and ice creams and a choc bar and a nice terrasse for cards for an hour or so. Wx is fine: sun but coolish with wind and evap of last night's rain.
Down other side not far - not as far as le Buet - to railway tunnel boulder park by road (this I think is a pic of where to be to find the rock... or this; it's not obvious from the road; GPS trace of return) hard 3c nice also hard 4c top rope and top rope D on several attempts at 6a. Home and the out to Pet'te Verte v good esp E's Perigoudian (gizzard!) and D's summer salad - smoked salmon. And views of Mont Blanc on the walk back to our appt.
7/30 Tuesday: again 8:30 slow b'fast sun outside.
Rocher de Saix (signpost; GPS trace): 85m 4c good quite scary as lead and DE's first real multi-pitch. Hard to get a good pic; here's a not-so-good one. From the top there's effectively a via ferrata to walk-off (GPS trace); notice that we are still clipped in.
And the walk through the pine woods is pleasant. Just after the woods, nad before you get back down to the campsite-road, there's a little bit of fields-slowly-returning-to-nature where the stones have been collected into walls in the patience years of yore; I'm almost certain this is where I slept, years ago, when on the CG125 to Vienna.
Soir: galettes / crepes.
7/31 Wednesday: light day. Up to Col de Forclaz for little walk nearly level to the buvette [GPS trace]. Cool mostly in shade alongside the bisse. Panels tell us the glacier was formerly exploited for ice but it has retreated a lot since the and the tongue pants easy up above. Pines, running stream, shade and a vin rouge while we play cards. And we share two pieces of apricot tart.
Back to col for cafe and M has E30 salad forgetting sf is 1-1 with Euro but it is good. More cards: I think I just edge ahead of D.
Down to Tete Noire and finally stop for its advertised "gorges mysterieuses". Or rather the top thereof: the path goes down down and we don't though I'd like to some time.
Soir: La Remise. Good but pricey prob worth it.
8/1 Thursday: up 7:30 to get croissants bread b'fast and then packing and cleaning and finding and sorting. Pic; Bar "Le Savoy" which I include because I think I remember it from the first climbing trip here oh so many years ago. Off 9:45. That completes our rest period, it's time to get mountaineering again!
Down the valley to St Gervais les Bains, well actually it is St Gervais - Le Fayet in the valley. Park the car (with, I recall, some slight difficulty, ending up just outside the cemetery in the Chemin du Casino; but there was plenty of space there). And so we say goodbye to M. We're off up Mt Blanc, and she does not much care for the snow and ice, so will take the train back home. I wave her off.
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