Day Two: Mountains and Geneva

Today, Alex and I took two cable cars (telepherique) to the top of Les Grands Montet. It's about 12,000 feet at the top and in the midst of les aiguilles or needles that cascade across the skyline east of Mt. Blanc. This is an area where Alex skis regularly and he was shocked at the size and number of boulders strewn across his favorite trails. Things look different when there are 12 to 15 feet or snow on top of everything!

The weather was perfect, although there were lots of clouds at the top which kept us from seeing Mt. Blanc. Still, it was a balmy 32 degrees on top. On the way up, several people in the car had bulky backpacks with them. Turns out, these were folks into para-gliding, a sport which involves unfurling a large kite and just stepping off the side of the mountain and riding the thermals coming up from the valleys. Looks like fun!

Other groups were hiking all over the glaciers. Apparently there is an annual race from Mt. Blanc to Zermatt, some 70 miles away. The good ones take about 24 hours for the trek. It would take me about 24 days.......

Afterwards, we drove down into Geneva and spent some time walking along the lakeshore. And taking pictures, of course. Geneva is quite beautiful with impressive buildings and many parks. Where Lake Geneva flows away from the city is the beginning of the Rhone river.

For today's photos, please follow this link: Day Two