Hiking the Alps 2013: Departing and Arriving

We departed from Bakersfield on an airport bus to LAX on July 4, 2013, at 3:00am.  When we arrived at LAX, we went straight to the TSA officers to ask a few questions about our checked and carry-on bags.  We declared our crampons and peanut butter to the TSA and they were very helpful to make sure we checked our hiking sticks, pocket knife, and liquids safely.  After muffins and FaceTime with Alina and Dorothy, our flight departed at 8:15am from LA to Newark (5 hours).

Then we had a short lay over and pizza slices, before boarding our flight from Newark to Geneva, Switzerland.  

this flight was about 6 hours on United Airlines, which we spent eating pasta and meatballs, sleeping, watching movies, and video editing.  I was able to sleep the majority of the flight with the help of Advil PM.  

The view from the plane, as we approached Geneva, was especially gorgeous viewing the clouds and distant alpine peaks in the distance; a foreshadowing of events to come.

We landed at 7:15am, got a stamp at immigration, and waited for our luggage to arrive.  We had only checked one box, however the contents I had mentioned earlier were crucial to our trip.  Since my dad had a TSA "luggage malfunction" his way to California a week earlier, loosing a stuff sack of gear that had taken hours of effort and money to amass, we were very anxious, yet prayerful about this particular package.  However, by God's grace, it arrived as safely as we had.  

The common tongue in Geneva is French, because it borders and interacts with the Border of France.  My dad had been practice German, French, and Italian, so I was asking him with small language lessons as we looked for a train to France.  After, standing in lines and considering a train route that would include 4+ hours of travel, 3 train transfers, all for $56 a ticket, we decided on a ChamExpress van for $45 in 1.5 hours.  After purchasing those tickets, we sat in a small airport Cafe, my dad ordering a quiche and I a coffee, made our plans for when we arrived in France.  Euros (€) are the common currency in Europe, however in Switzerland the use the Swiss Frank, as well as Euros.  Exchanging differing currency with waiters and store owners can be a little tricky when converting, but fortunately, there's an app for that.

At 10:30, we boarded a 10-12 passenger van and headed for Chamonix [sham•o•née], France.  The passengers included a small troop of elderly women from Australia, who were going on a "walk about" amount the Chamonix mountains.  A young man that I sat next to spoke a different language that was familiar to me.  So I said, "Vorbesc Romanieste?" And he spoke back in Romanian to me!  I explained that my wife, Alina, is Romanian and he shared he had just arrived from Bucharest after visiting family.  His name was Cosmin and we had a great conversation about Romanian culture and history, while pausing to admire and photograph the increasingly spectacular view of the French Alps emerging behind the curvy roads.  As we transitioned from Switzerland to France, both countries had amazing lush, green forests and vegetation.  The day was cloudless and sunny, which was perfect for viewing the forested, rocky, and snow capped peaks of the monoliths ascending above us.  Finally we arrived at our destination, the valley of Chamonix.

This small ski/hiking resort like town is one of the most beautiful I've seen in Europe.  The town has a rushing white river flowing through it and has European and Swiss influenced architectures and building designs.  However, it's not the bakeries, shops, public water fountains, and village square that make the small city so beautiful.  Surrounding the city on all sides are massive snow and glacier capped peaks of some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.  The tallest mountain in Europe, Mount Blanc, towers over Chamonix at 4810m (15,780 feet), which is taller than Mt. Whitney in California.

We walked through the city on a bright sunny Friday, admiring the 360 degree scenic mountains surrounding the small valley.  There were many tourists, locals, workers, and hikers-- with a plethora of languages and cultures blending and interacting on the streets of Chamonix.  We purchased stove fuel for cooking, sun screen, gloves for cable climbing, and fruit for eating.  We also had our first gelato of the trip.  It's difficult to describe how amazing European  desserts taste, without disgracing American desserts.  It's just REALLY good!

After walking through the town, buying supplies, and reserving a room at a hostel, we Spent some FaceTime with Alina and Mom at the visitor center's wifi network (which I search for like gold while overseas) on reclining sun chairs, dangerously close to napping.

Our final stop was at the Club Alpine Francais, an organization for alpine hikers.  We purchased memberships and alpine insurance because they include 50% off lodging in Hutte's along both the Haute Route and the E5 trail.  Alina would be proud of us for all the €uros we will save!  During our application process at the club, there was a worried Japanese woman, who's husband had had a climbing accident and she was inquiring about insurance covering her spouse.  There was a language barrier between the club representative and this poor lady, so my dad jumped in and started translating Japanese with a mix of French and English.  There are not many people who know how amazing my dad is-- I was pretty proud of him.

We walked up hill to the hostel, Ski Station Chalet and Refuge, we had made reservations for, ate a humble dinner of salami, French baguette, wine, and beef stroganoff.  We talked to an Israeli guy, and went to our bedroom.  A hostel is like a hotel, however, it adds a casual atmosphere and communal living.  We shared a 4 bed room with a man from Brussels who had come to trail run the alps.  The bathrooms are also shared, although this refuge had separate bathrooms for men and women.

Before bed, I continued this blog, only to cut, copy, and paste another text over 70% of what I had written! I was very frustrated.  We went to bed at 9:30pm, but I woke at 1:00am, and couldn't get back to sleep... So here I am, 3:49am France (6:50pm in Bakersfield, CA), in a hostel, in the dark, on my phone, writing this blog.  Thank you for reading it!

Tomorrow we start the 110 mile Haute Route, which will take us over the French, Swiss, and Italian Alpine mountains for 12-14 days.  We probably won't have wifi, so there will be a long delay between posts.  Here's a picture of the villages, Hutte's (Alpine hostels), and mountains we will be passing through.  The graph shows the altitude ascents and descents of the route.  If you pray, we would appreciate yours for safe travels. Good night!  I mean, morning >yawn<

http://youtu.be/fy8oQjg9Hng