For the last year I've had a secret dream. Something I've only dared whisper while sleeping. This week I was forced to either continue dreaming or wake up and step forward.
Last August Mrs A and I found ourselves in the centre of Chamonix town square where we came across the finishing line of the 5 UTMB ultra races. It was a truly inspirational setting and I found it utterly captivating, I posted about it here The emotion within the square was palpable and infectious. On one of the nights we sat having a beer watching everyone pass through the town, every finisher was totally spent and utterly happy. I decided there and then that I wanted to cross that finish line. The UTMB race is spectacular in its length and challenge. This would be too much. There is however a smaller race. The Orsières - Champex - Chamonix (OCC). If you can count 32mile/ 53km and 3,300m/10876 feet of ascent as short. Some bizarrely do.
Unfortunately the shear size and popularity of these races mean that in order to enter you need to have earned enough UTMB qualification points to enter. Fortunately as the OCC is the shortest and easiest (I cringe when referring to this as easy) of these races you only need one point to be able to enter. The points are allocated based on how hard/ long the qualification race is. Because I haven't researched properly I only now realised that you need to have 1 qualification point to enter the OCC in 2016. With there only being so many races left this year I have had to act quickly. The only achievable race that I felt I could do was in either October or November. With the weather in the UK a factor I choose to enter the Round Ripon Ultra in October.
The round Ripon Ultra is a 35 mile Circular route ultra that has 2856ft/ 870 metres of ascent and takes place on Saturday 3rd October through Yorkshire.
Ideally I would have longer to train and get ready for this but sometimes you need to step forward and take stake your claim. I wont break any records but if I'm willing to entertain the idea of entering the OCC. I need to be fit and strong enough to complete this. More and more I have been reading Ultra Blogs and podcasts. Mainly because of the sense of community they have. I haven't had any desire to enter an Ultra especially the huge distances but the smaller ultras do hold an appeal generally because they tend to involve beautiful places and great terrain.
All of this means that I have to ensure I am running regularly and at a decent level. I haven't posted recently but I have been running or hill walking but without any structure or even using my Garmin regularly.
I have 16 weeks to prepare but that includes a big US holiday and the inevitable nightshifts that my job brings. I'm not sure if that gives me enough time to prepare or if I have enough of a base, but that's life. I have spent the day looking at various training plans and am not sure what the best way forward is. One thing I have been looking into for a while is getting a running coach. Originally this would have been after Christmas to train for the OCC (last year you didn't need any qualification points). They aren't cheap though and although I understand that there will likely be huge benefits from getting some proper structured help I can't stop myself thinking 'it's only running'. A statement I'm sure I'll regret putting into ink. Either way I'll have to decide soon.
Yes it may be hard, and leave you blowing out of your arse but after spending the week in Chamonix I agree with Buff (other head wear available, and might do the same job cheaper). Flat is boring!
Chamonix is often said to be the outdoor sports capital of Europe and it's a place that leaves you aching to get outdoors and be active. In the south east of France based in the Rhone-Alpes region. It's primarily a ski resort but opens it's doors to walkers, climbers, runners, and adrenaline enthusiasts from across the world during the summer months. Huge amounts of accommodation mean that it's dirt cheap to hire an apartment in the late summer. We went for a week from the last weekend of August.
We arrived on the Saturday and it was the the last day of The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc. It was a really cool thing to stumble upon. The atmosphere was electric at the finish line with family, friends, support teams and well wishers all giving the finishers the cheers they deserve. came back later that evening to have a drink and support the runners coming in in the evening and if anything the atmosphere got better. Anyone that even qualifies for this is superhuman in my book but seeing some of the later finishers with their friends and family made you smile. Even though I didn't know anyone there Anna and I cheered away like the finishers were family, getting wrapped up in the festival atmosphere.
The race is the culmination of a week long festival containing 5 races. The UTMB is 166km long with over 9600m of ascent.Travelling through France, Switzerland and Italy, around the Mont Blanc Massif. As a partial explanation of just how hard that must be, I'm trying to convince Anna to walk it over 10 days as a holiday next year. 10 DAYS!!! The winner finishes it in a little over 20 hours, the last finishers in 46 hours.
If watching all the finishers cross the line and preparing for your own Mountain challenge of the Glen Clova eXtreme Duathlon doesn't get you excited and motivated in this sort of environment I don't know what will. However, I'm not an Ultra runner of the same capabilities so after some pastries (When in France) we decided to head for the hills with a walk up to the Cascade Du Dard, a wonderful waterfall with a mountain Chalet (hut) then on towards Chalet Du Cerro and get some views of the Glacier des Bossons. This was a red route and would let us see what we were letting ourselves in for on these none highland peaks. Starting from Chamonix town itself we climbed gently then very steeply. Having lunch at the Cascade Du Dard and then going on to play about at the edge of the Glacier (don't be stupid enough to walk on it unless you know what you are doing). The views over the valley are great and it was pretty cool to be warm enough to be wearing a T shirt but be sat next to a Glacier.
Cascade Du Dard
the mandatory selfie
the beautiful Chalet Du Cerro
Glacier du Bossons
After getting a taste for the Chamonix valley we decided to head across to the Aiguilles Rouges and did a loop from La Flegere up to Refuge Chalet Du Lac Blanc then down to the Grand Balcon Sud to get back to La Flegere. This is a great walk and has the benefit of Using a Cable or 'Telepherique' to gain most of the height. Because you jump from roughly 1000m to 1877m the views open right up and you really find it hard to get a rhythm because you find yourself staring at Mont Blanc from all sorts of funny angles. One word of warning, this is a popular walk and Lac Blanc can be really busy despite being there towards the end of the walking season.
For me the two best days of the holiday were the day we Walked from L' Index to Planpraz via Lac Noirs and Lac Cornu. and the day we ran from Refuge Du Plan De L'aiguille to Hotel Du Montenvers via Signal Forbes. The Lac Noirs walk starts really high and is one of the few walks without a refuge as a mid stop point so it felt much more like a 'proper' Scottish walk it also has the benefit of having 365' views as you top out at an unnamed summit. This walk is mainly scree path for the first half but becomes increasingly manicured paths towards the end with a little (very fun) Cable walking mid way.
The day we did the run we got up really early, well for being on holiday. We ran along the Grand Balcon Nord, interestingly it's on the south side but faces north. This is a beautiful route above the treeline and although it doesn't have views of Mont Blanc the sun was rising onto the AiguillesRouges. We didn't run it very quickly but it felt great to be moving quicker and a smile just creeps onto your face with such amazing views. As we were so early (9am) we only saw two other walkers, going the other way. The terrain was more technical than either of us were used to but when you're in Chamonix and have seen people run around the massiff you can't exactly stop and moan the going is a little hard.
The more I get through this blog post the more it looks like just an excuse to share some photo's but trying to pick out one or two is so hard I've just stuck a load in. It's really hard to take a bad photo in these surroundings.
Once we were at the Hotel Montenvers we had a look around and went exploring down the 420 steps to get to the Grotto, or Glacier cave that they build every year. It's fairly amazing to see in side but you can't help thinking maybe it's worsening the Glacier retreat. You can get the train down, or indeed up and it takes you back to the centre of Chamonix.
I thought Chamonix itself was very pretty and perfectly sized for everything we needed, plenty of good food, bars and cafes that meant you didn't need to eat anywhere twice though a big shout out to 'Cousin Albert's' which is a brilliant restaurant run by a husband and wife who cook some wonderful traditional french mountain food. Being so near Italy the Pizza was also of a really high standard. Also the Raclette is a thing, apparently its Swiss but see the photo below and experience it for yourself.
Cheese, lots and lots of cheese.
Another must for me was the beautiful oasis of Le Paradis. This is a beautiful chalet set in a forset clearing next to a river oozes relaxation. A great idea if you want a rest day as it is a short cycle or 30-40 minute walk from Chamonix town centre.
Playing about at Le Paradis
If all of this has done enough to convince you that a week in the
alps can be whatever you want it to be and that everyone should try it
once. Below are a few top tips in no particular order.
1.
Don't buy the 'Multi' pass for the cable cars straight away. It can
often be cheaper to buy tickets for the single or return trips you need
rather than a day multi pass. If you have wi-fi you can check online if they are running and what it costs.
2.
Try a little french, everyone is really helpful and just because most
leisure workers can speak English on the Continent doesn't mean you
shouldn't try the basics.
3. Take a comfy small back pack, I used this Holiday as an excuse to buy the OMM 32L and it's a great bag.
4. Self catering seems the best option in Chamonix and provides a lot of Flexibility
5. Despite the bad Trip advisor reviews the private buses from Geneva Airport seem to be the norm but leave plenty of time to get through passport control etc.
6. The cable cars are your friend, unless you want the workout take the cable cars down and save the quads for the next day.
7.There are plenty of books to help you plan these and we had bought the Cicerone Chamonix Mountain Adventures
which was a great around guide if you want to try a few different
things.
8. The summer hiking map from the tourist information office (who are also very helpful) provides walks in three grades, green
(easy), orange (medium) Red (hard) this seemed to qualify more for the
level of ascent and quality of the path more than anything else. If you
are used to walking in Scotland most of the classic walks wouldn't cause
you too much bother, Though we did make use of the excellent lift
system to gain the initial steep height, this means you can easily do
big walks on concurrent days without too much difficulty as the quads
don't get too much battering at the end on the way down.
Go to Chamonix, it's a wonderful place where you can do gentle to crazy exercise in any form you can imagine.
