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We took advantage of the Holiday Inn breakfast buffet and ate an enormous breakfast. It was pretty good! Then we checked out and took the shuttle back to the airport. Stephen's plane was due to land at 7:30 A.M. - and it worked perfectly, we joined up together into our party. The Alpy Bus shuttle left the Geneva airport at 9:00 A.M., and an hour and a half later we were in Chamonix, France. We got dropped off at Hotel Le Faucigny - it was too early to check in, so we left our bags at the hotel desk and headed out into Chamonix. We walked over to the Aiguille du Midi (which translates as Twelve o'clock Needle, or Noon Needle or Mid-day Needle) cable car. Most of the mountains on the Mont Blanc massif are called Aiguille (Needle) because of their sharp, pointed peaks - the famous Needles of Chamonix. We rode the cable car only half way up, getting off at Plan de l'Aiguille (Translation: Plan of the Needle). Although we were "only" halfway, we still ascended 1300 meters, so we had a tremendous view down to the Chamonix Valley, and looking at the surrounding mountains. We began with a short hike to a little blue lake called Lac Bleu. From the coloration, it must be a pool of water from one of the nearby glaciers. We then hiked a traverse across the mountainside, following a trail called the Gran Balcon Nord (Great North Balcony) - this trail gave us fine views across the valley to the other side, which where we would be hiking tomorrow on our first official day on the Tour du Mont Blanc. The trail on the opposite side is called the Gran Balcon Sur (Great South Balcony). When we came to a fork in the hiking trail, we opted to take the higher route, which took us up to Signal Forbes - which is an ideal viewpoint for admiring the Mer de Glace, the largest glacier on Mont Blanc. Melanie spotted some hikers on the glacial ice, their tiny figures showed the enormous scale of the glacier. The Gran Balcon Nord trail ends at Montenvers. From here, we could have taken a tram down to Chamonix, but we elected to walk down. Recall that the Aiguille du Midi cable car lifted us 1300 meters above the Chamonix Valley - we now had to descend all those meters to return. It took longer than I expected, and my knees and toes were aching in my boots by the time we finally reached the bottom. I suppose this was a good preparation for the epic descent would make tomorrow on the first stage of the TMB. We checked into La Faucigny Hotel, got cleaned up, and when out looking for dinner. We found a pizza place - Stephen and I ordered calzones, Melanie got a Hawaiian pizza, and James had their vegetarian pizza. It was pretty tasty, but everything tastes better when hungry. Back to the hotel, and then off to bed. Panorama Photos
MapsI found these maps on a website named Compagnie du Mont Blanc. Their description of the Grand Balcon Nord trail how I got the idea to the hike on our first in Chamonix. 
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Click on any thumbnail to begin the slide show at that photograph Chamonix
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