The Chamonix valley in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps is a perfect base for a whole range of alpine adventures. The routes in this guide range from short walks and cycle rides for the whole family to long mountaineering routes to the highest summits, including Mont Blanc.

Activities covered in detail include walks, treks, mountaineering routes, road cycling, MTBing, rock climbing, bouldering and via ferratas, all within easy reach of Chamonix – with suggestions for other outdoor options in the valley, too, from rafting to paragliding.

Whether you and your holiday companions are adrenalin junkies or Alpine ramblers, or a mixture of both, there’s plenty to keep everyone happy, day after day, in this spectacular region.

• 6 sections, with basic information gear, terrain, technique and access for each activity and a range of contrasting routes, illustrated with maps or topos as necessary
• notes about activities such as rafting, canyoning, paragliding and trail running and things to do when it rains
• clear overview maps to help you choose and plan your days

Content:

Map key 
Map of walks and Alpine mountaineering routes 
Map of trail running, road biking and mountain biking routes 
Map of rock climbing, bouldering and via ferrata routes 
Chamonix town map

Introduction 
The region 
Glaciers 
Flowers and animals 
How it all started 
Mountain adventures 
Other activities 
When to go 
Getting there and getting around 
Accommodation 
Tourist information 
Language 
Health and safety 
Using this guide

1 Walks 
Classic Walks 
Route 1 Mont Joly 
Route 2 Le Prarion 
Route 3 Aiguillette des Houches 
Route 4 Montagne de la Côte 
Route 5 Lac Cornu and Lacs Noirs 
Route 6 Plan de l’Aiguille to Montenvers 
Route 7 Grand Balcon Sud: La Flégère to Planpraz 
Route 8 Aiguillette des Posettes 
Route 9 Lac Blanc from the Col des Montets 
Route 10 Mont Buet by the Normal Route 

Family Walks 
Route 1 Lac des Ilettes 
Route 2 Lacs Jovet 
Route 3 Chalets Miage and Truc 
Route 4 Charousse 
Route 5 Lac du Brévent 
Route 6 Argentière via the Paradis des Praz 
Route 7 Le Chapeau 
Route 8 Montroc–Col des Montets–Vallorcine 
Route 9 Bérard valley and Sur le Rocher 
Route 10 Dinosaur tracks

Hut Walks 
Route 1 Refuge de Platé 
Route 2 Refuge de Tré-la-Tête 
Route 3 Refuge Moëde d’Anterne 
Route 4 Refuge Bel Lachat 
Route 5 Refuge du Lac Blanc 
Route 6 Refuge Albert Premier 
Route 7 Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard 
Route 8 Refuge de Loriaz

Adventure Walks 
Route 1 Pointe Percée 
Route 2 The Dérochoir and Désert de Platé 
Route 3 Aiguille du Belvédère 
Route 4 Mer de Glace Balcony Trail 
Route 5 Tré-les-Eaux Circuit 
Route 6 Loriaz to Emosson 
Route 7 Mont Buet by the North Ridge 
Route 8 Cheval Blanc

Trail Running 
2 Alpine Mountaineering 
Route 1 Champex to Le Tour 
Route 2 Grand Montets to Lognan 
Route 3 Aiguille du Midi to Helbronner 
Route 4 Petite Aiguille Verte 
Route 5 Aiguille Crochues 
Route 6 Aiguille du Tour 
Route 7 The Cosmiques Arête 
Route 8 Mont Blanc

3 Mountain Biking 
Route 1 Les Contamines: Truc Miage circuit 
Route 2 Saint-Gervais-les-Bains: Prarion circuit 
Route 3 Pipeline descent: Saint-Gervais to Le Fayet 
Route 4 Tour des Ayères 
Route 5 Promenade de l’Arve 
Route 6 Petit Balcon Nord: Chamonix to Le Tour 
Route 7 Montroc to Chamonix along the Arve 
Route 8 Col des Montets to the chocolate shops 
Route 9 Vallorcine–Col des Posettes–Le Tour–Montroc 
Route 10 Vallorcine to Martigny

Descents and airtime 
4 Road Biking 
Route 1 Chamonix to Sallanches 
Route 2 Col des Montets 
Route 3 Emosson Lake 
Route 4 Col de la Forclaz 
Rides outside of the Chamonix valley

5 Rock Climbing and Bouldering 
Rock climbing 
Area 1 Les Gaillands 
Area 2 The Index 
Area 3 La Joux 
Area 4 Les Chéserys 
Area 5 Aiguillette d’Argentière 
Area 6 Vallorcine Slab (Rocher de la Saix) 
Area 7 Barberine

Bouldering 
Area 1 Col des Montets 
Area 2 Pierre d’Orthaz 
Area 3 Les Bossons 
Area 4 Le Coupeau 
Area 5 Le Médonnet

6 Via Ferratas 
Route 1 Le Mont, Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval 
Route 2 La Curalla, Passy

Other routes in the Haute Savoie region 
Route 3 La Yves Pollet Villard, La Clusaz 
Route 4 La Roche à l’Agathe, Thônes

Appendix A Useful contacts 
Appendix B Useful French words and phrases 
Appendix C Further reading 
Appendix D Glacier travel and rescue techniques