Well our plan worked pretty well today. We woke up, had breakfast at our campsite, left everything in our tent, and took all our warm clothes with us to the bus. We rode the bus for 30 minutes from Les Houches to Chamonix, where we purchased a one way lift ticket and met our paragliding guides.
As we rode with them up the ski gondola, they conversed with each other in French. Zoë would later say, it was totally fine, but very French and not American where they are very service-oriented, trying to earn a tip. At the top, our guides basically found a free spot to lay out the chutes, strapped us in, and told us to run. Before we took off, my guide pointed out another paraglider and told me she was the world champion in paragliding acrobatics. Pretty cool.
I loved running off the side of a hill. That was badass. Then we swooped along the hillside, just above the treetops. I got to pilot it for a little bit and try out a couple of turns. Apparently the licensing requirements for paragliding are a lot lower in France than in the U.S. so many people come to France to get certified, at least according to my guide. Just before the landing my guide decided to have some fun and executed some sharp turns that felt like a roller coaster. I heard myself saying “oh shit!” at some point. The landing was straightforward, we just landed on my butt. When he told me that, I was worried we were going to be sliding on the grass. We just sort of plopped down. And after about 15 brief minutes, it was over.
For some reason afterwards, both Zoë and I felt nauseous, like when you read a book in a car. I’m not sure why as most of the time I felt fine paragliding. Maybe it was the brief acrobatic turns at the end? We strolled through Chamonix just to check it out. We walked into some cheap outdoor retailers, Intersport and Decathalon. Zoë bought some electrolytes from Decathalon to spice up our hiking beverages. Then we took the bus back to the campground.
We weren’t the only tent left, which surprised me. Our stuff was all as we had left it. We packed up under the beating sun. Today was forecasted to be the hottest day in the foreseeable future. And actually, after Tuesday, it looks like we might be dealing with some rain a lot of the days.
We headed out and immediately saw other hikers. This place is the recommended start/finish for TMB hikers so many people staying at the campground were either finishing or preparing to start their hike. The reason this is the popular starting point is because the public transit to this town (Les Houches/Chamonix) is easiest.
Once we left the main road in town, the cars and restaurants disappeared. We started out on a fairly steep paved road and transitioned to an even steeper portion of trail. What an introduction to the TMB! At one point I asked Zoë, “do you think this makes some people quit? It’s really steep!” Apparently there’s a ski lift/gondola option that is popular and allows people to skip this climb. Almost at the top of the climb, we took a break for lunch. I sat with my back in the sun and the rest of me in the shade, in an attempt to dry off my drenched shirt. At least most of the climb was shaded.
After lunch we finished up the climb before we had a “relatively flat bit” followed by a “big climb” and a “stupid steep descent.” I think the descent was accurate. The flat bit undulated quite a bit but the climb was over faster than I expected. The views were really good, but it’s because we were on an alternate specifically designed to optimize the views. It worked.
At the bottom of the loose, steep descent was a Refuge and a free bivouac area. We went to the free area after not wanting to pay €10 for a bowl of ice cream at the Refuge. The area was actually really nice. We found a spot in the shade and set our stuff down. I rinsed off my sweaty shirt and half of my body in a shallow creek just feet away from the campsite. There’s supposed to be a free toilet nearby but we have yet to locate it. Zoë is off looking for it now. Not a bad day. Happy early birthday to me, I guess.