The Panoramic Mont Blanc gondola to re-open 15 June
The Panoramic Mont Blanc Gondola has been closed since January 2018, when storm Eleanor laid too much snow on the cables and that cause them breaking and two gondolas falling down on the Glacier du Géant.
The lift connects the Aiguille du Midi (3,842m) in Chamonix, France to Punta Helbronner (3,466m) in Courmayeur, Italy, and the people that ride on the lift can see the marvellous Mer de Glace underneath. The ride takes 30 minutes to cross 5 km and is only opened in summer.
Around February the Compagnie du Mont Blanc found some more faults, but the company was still optimistic to open by the end of May. Now they are announcing its opening on 15 June. Last summer the gondola has to remained closed in order to change its power cable.
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The Gran Baita Hotel is a four starts hotel, part of the Alpissima group of hotels in the Aosta Valley. It is located in Courmayeur, 15 minutes from the Armani funicular, 10 minutes from the Via Roma, the elegant pedestrianised shopping road in Courmayeur, and five minutes-drive with a free hotel transfer to the Dolonne gondola.
It is located in a quiet and elegant neighbourhood in Courmayeur, with amazing vistas of the Mont Blanc chain, and the characteristic Dent de Géant peak. I totally recommend it as a lovely hotel to go for your ski or summer holidays.
Restaurant of the Gran Baita. Spot on: Gran Baita Hotel – Courmayeur
Decoration is all in the Valdostan style, with lots of wood and cosy interiors. The hotel has 54 well-appointed rooms, many of them with balconies offering magnificent views of the Alps, as Courmayeur is located just by the Mont Blanc and the views everywhere you look at, are amazing! From the regular rooms, many of which are being renovated for the next winter holiday, to the Executive Rooms, with a wooden rustic-chic feel and mini private outside pools with jacuzzi, you have a choice for your stay. Some of the rooms are connecting, to house families. I’ve recently stayed in Room 222, that does not look towards the pool, but has a lovely feeling, with two balconies, and you can see the Dent de Géant while in the balcony. Completely loved my room. Travelled with my mum and she said she wants to buy it!
The in-house restaurant is lovely decorated in wood with oozes cosiness and offers local and international dishes. La Sapiniere, is their newest addition, a stübe, typical from the Alps, serving Valdostan cuisine in a super cozy ambiance. The American bar has a welcoming fireplace and a spacious terrace with amazing views of the Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains.
7 killed as helicopter and light aircraft crash over the Ruitor Glacier near La Thuile in the Italian Alps.
From CNN and AFP/NST
Emergency services on Saturday found the bodies of two people missing after a helicopter and a small plane collided above a glacier in the Italian Alps the previous day, taking the total number killed to seven.
The crash occurred over the Rutor glacier near La Thuile, in the Aosta Valley, close to northern Italy’s border with France and Switzerland.
7 killed as helicopter and light aircraft crash over the Ruitor Glacier near La Thuile in the Italian Alps. Photo: Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico.
Five people were confirmed dead and two injured on Friday.
The two people who remained missing were found after the search resumed Saturday morning.
Two helicopters were sent up carrying medical personnel and emergency rescue workers to scour the area, the officer said. All those on board the two aircraft are now accounted for.
The helicopter was carrying six people — the pilot, an alpine guide and four passengers who were heli-skiing. Three people were aboard the light aircraft, all of them pilots who were training in mountain flying.
Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie (Courmayeur’s lift company), will be opening this winter season two new slopes with priceless panoramic views.
Guests will be able to ski down the new Arp slope, which overlooks the wonderful southern side of the Mont Blanc. After the dismantling of the Arpetta ski lift, for decades, the only people able to enjoy the magnificent panorama of the 2,750 Arp ridge were free-riders, who did the off-piste routes reachable via the Arp cable car.
Courmayeur is renown for its territory for free-stylers, usually accompanied by Alpine Guides. Now, there will be two new pistes for expert skiers. Photo: Courmayeur Alpine Guides. Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie is opening two new slopes with amazing panoramic views.
The new slopes consist of a section of a path that can be skied of about 700 m., which gives access to a north facing slope where a very challenging 600 m. long black piste, with a gradient of 70%m, has been created in addition to the numerous off-piste trails already in place.
L’Heliopic Hotel Sweet & Spa in Chamonix- a hotel’s review
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L’Héliopic Hotel Sweet & Spa is a four stars hotel next to the Aiguille du Midi lift in Chamonix. Very well located in Chamonix; it is ideal if you are going up to the Aiguille du Midi and 10 minutes from Chamonix centre.
We have been twice at the hotel with my kids and husband in the summer in our way to Italy. My kids called it ‘the best hotel in the world’ – mostly because it has a dedicated kids’ area with free sweets, juices and a virtual reality machine and computer…. No brainer! The only thing is that while you are having breakfast suddenly your kids -maybe yours are very well educated and don’t do that, but I can say I educated mine, but they still disappear from the breakfast room and suddenly are – where? – obviously in the kids’ area having more sweets than their little bellies can bear!
The bar at L’Héliopic. Review of L’Héliopic Hotel Sweet & Spa in Chamonix.
My kids would also say that the spa area is really good, which it is indeed! With a nice large pool, a jacuzzi, an ice grotto, an ice dive standing pool, a sauna and hammam, plus a lovely relaxation area with hanging cocoons, it is a very nice place where to finish your day. It can get busy, so choose your time during the early afternoon or a bit late, just before it closes in the evening.
What’s new in Chamonix for the 2018/19-ski season.
Chamonix is the capital of skiing, and it does not cater only to the daredevil, extreme skier, but also to families and beginners. Its different areas have something for everyone. Chamonix is a long valley within tall mountains, with a series of ski resorts on both sides of this valley.
Ready for the adventure – Vallée Blanche, Chamonix- what is new for Chamonix’s ski season 2018-19 – Never ski the Vallée Blanche without a ski guide. Photo: Salome Abrial. OT Chamonix.
With 13,000 inhabitants Chamonix is a lively town that caters to tourists in all seasons. 400 shops opened all days, all year round and 130 restaurants can entertain the most discerning client, and those who don’t want to spend their bonuses. There are plenty of options for everyone.
Located in the border of France with Italy and just very near Switzerland, one can stay in Chamonix and ski the three countries with the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass. If you want to only ski in the Chamonix Valley Ski Areas, then purchase the Chamonix Le Pass.
The 68-year-old, along with Sam and his nephew Noah Devereux reached the top of the mountain on Saturday afternoon after completing the 33-day Virgin Strive Challenge – a 2,000km trek across Western Europe.
Sir Richard Branson climbs Mont Blanc in the Alps in the final stage of the Virgin Strive Challenge (Picture: PA) Nepal Herald.
A core team of 13 hiked, climbed, cycled and even used sea kayaks to complete their journey from Sardinia to the top of Mont Blanc – raising money for the charity Big Change which helps disadvantaged young people in the UK.
After completing the climb, Sir Richard said: ‘God forbid, a few seconds earlier it would not have been as pretty – so I’m very thankful we got through it.
QC Terme, the Italian brand of deluxe spas has just opened in Chamonix, by the Mont Blanc. There has been for years another QC Terme on the other side of the Mont Blanc, at Pré de St-Didier.
In this new QC Terme spa, nature is the protagonist, offering an indulging experience of swimming amidst the snow and grassy meadows.
Infinity pool at the QC Terme in Chamonix.
The spa has an unexpected combination of warmth and freshness, water and earth. Within the spa’s 3,000 square meters there are more than 30 wellness practices, offering a multi-sensory journey. An infinity pool with a reflection that merges with the water of the adjacent Alpine lake and the Bossons Glacier.
A Day Visit to the Terminal Neige-Refuge in Montenvers, Chamonix
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On our way to Courmayeur, this year we stayed for two nights in Chamonix. We had the luck to go this time up to the Gare du Montenvers and take the train up to the mountain to see the glacier of the Vallée Blanche. That in itself was a great day out! The train goes over a rack and pinion railway and through some nice forests and then climbs up giving travellers amazing views of Chamonix and the mountains surrounding the valley. Most people go up the station and then climb down the stairs to the ice cave, which needs to be carved each year in the glacier, as each year the glacier retreats many meters. It is impressive to see how high the glacier was not so many years ago. There is a small gondola that takes you to the top of the stairs, and then each year the stairs have to be extended down and down to reach the entrance of the ice grotto.
The train takes you from the station in Chamonix up to Montenvers, where the Mer de Glace awaits. Photo: The Ski Guru
The day we choose was amazing, pretty warm in the sun, with some clouds menacing a storm that did not materialise, and we were happy to be up the mountain, as in the valley of Chamonix it was 31 C (this summer was way too hot all over Europe!). This considering that Chamonix is by Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe and even here it was hot!
The Mer de Glace as seen at the arrival station at Montenvers. Photo: The-Ski-Guru.
Not too many people know, that 100 metres from the train station (gare), walking back to the valley, you find the Terminal Neige-Refuge. This hotel was built in 1880 to accommodate the first mountaineers and travellers who went to visit the Mer de Glace. From outside is a typical ‘rifugio’ of the Alps, with granite façades and small windows. The hotel is perched at 2049 meters over sea level (6725 feet) with magnificent views to the Mer de Glace glacier, the mythical Aiguille des Drus, the Grand Jorasses, and also the Valley of Chamonix.
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