Tour du Mont Blanc #4 Elena, Italy - Champex, Switzerland (European Alps)

Another beautiful day in the Alps starting with a gorgeous sunrise at Italian Val Ferret. It had been already a week since I began the 110+ mile Tour du Mont Blanc trail on the French side of Mont Blanc for a photo project. It was constant rain from the beginning with a surprising snowfall on the mountain pass. Finally, the sun came out after I entered the Italian side of the mountains. A spectacular view of the Italian side of Mont Blanc and Grandes Jorasses the day before, then Switzerland is ahead.

Leaving the mountain refuge early in the morning, I climbed up the Grand Col Ferret (Ferret Pass) where the Italian - Swiss border lies. My 30+ pounds camera gear pack is heavy for this kind of terrain... The scenery was well worth it! As I climbed up higher, the receding Prè de Bar Glacier looked much larger than it was from the valley below.
 

Entering Switzerland, I climbed down into Swiss Val Ferret with its bright green pastureland and more cattle.

 

A small church overlooks a glacier over the mountains in the village of Ferret.

Arriving at the charming Swiss village of La Fouly with chalet-styled buildings decorated with flowers.

Sunrise painted on I'A Neuve Glacier in golden red, viewed from La Fouly. Another beautiful day in Swiss Val Ferret.

Wildflowers in the meadow of Swiss Val Ferret.

Passing through the village of Praz de Fort. Old buildings and narrow alleys... felt like going back to centuries ago...

Arriving at Campex, Switzerland, a small resort town in the Alps. The alpine lake, Lac Champex, is located in the center of town, surrounded by wooded mountains. It is a resort town but quiet and peaceful. The lake was amazing with deep blue-green colors under the afternoon sun.

Sunset at Lac Champex. The last sun glows on the distant mountains with reflections on the lake... 

This story continues on the next blog update. Please check back.

 

Tour du Mont Blanc #3 Courmayeur – Elena, Italy (European Alps)

 

As my first European photo project, I hiked with my camera gear on the 110-mile Tour du Mont Blanc trail in July 2014. The first 3 days were done in drenching rain while I trekked the mountain pass. After crossing the French – Italian border, the weather slowly improved. After days of frustration, I finally was able to capture some of the spectacular landscapes in the Alps. Continuing from my last posting, I made it to the Italian side of Mont Blanc to the town of Courmayeur. 

 

After a few days break at Courmayeur, I headed back on the journey. It had been already a week since I began hiking on the Tour du Mont Blanc trail. Leaving the outskirts of town, the trail slowly climbed up through the woods. Then, the trail got steeper as I left civilization behind… The town of Courmayeur was already down below!

The dense forest opened up with a wildflower meadow.  I’m impressed with the abundance of colorful wildflowers in the Alps. 

As I climbed up higher, the south side of the Mont Blanc range showed up again with the majestic Grand Jorasses rock wall with glaciers. The long awaited sunshine brought bright blue sky above the mountains and the trail.

Under the sunlight, the vegetation was bright green and the colors of the flowers brightened up as the glacier and snow-capped peaks shined against the blue sky. Many times I stopped and set up my camera until I finally arrived at the mountain refuge for the night…

At the late afternoon, the clouds on the peaks slowly cleared out and the entire Mont Blanc appeared from its long absence! The Italian side, the south face of the Mont Blanc summit was different from the French side (North face).

Mont Blanc was still out the next morning.  Alpenglow painted the summit at dawn.

Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) at sunrise.

 



Grandes Jorasses and Frebouze Glacier.

Another beautiful day in the Alps… More flowers along the way. Looking down Ferret Valley (Val Ferret) below…

This story will be continue on the next blog with new images, please check back.