Alps of France and Switzerland: Travel Details
This is a quick and handy source for details on the sights, hotels, tour guides and restaurants featured in the "Alps of France and Switzerland" show. For much more (and updates), see this year's edition of Rick Steves' France and Rick Steves' Switzerland guidebooks.
Aiguille du Midi
This is easily the valley's (and arguably, Europe's) most spectacular and popular lift. If the weather's clear, the price doesn't matter. Pile into the téléphérique (gondola) and soar to the tip of a rock needle 12,600 feet above sea level. Chamonix shrinks as trees fly by, soon replaced by whizzing rocks, ice, and snow until you reach the top. No matter how sunny it is, it's cold. The air is thin. People are giddy. Fun things can happen at Aiguille du Midi if you're not too winded to join the locals in the halfway-to-heaven tango.
From the top of the lift station, cross the bridge and ride the elevator through the rock to the summit of this pinnacle (€3 in high season, free off-season). Missing the elevator is a kind of Alpus-Interruptus I'd rather not experience. The Alps spread out before you. In the distance and behind a broader mountain, you can see the bent little Matterhorn; the tall, shady pyramid listed in French on the observation table as "Cervin — 4,505 meters" (14,775 feet). And looming just over there is Mont Blanc, the Alps' highest point at 4,810 meters (15,771 feet). Use the free telescope to spot mountain climbers; over 2,000 scale this mountain each year. Dial English and let the info box take you on a visual tour. Check the temperature next to the elevator. Plan on 32º Fahrenheit even on a sunny day. Sunglasses are essential.
Explore Europe 's tallest lift station. More than 150 yards of tunnels lead to a cafeteria, restaurant, gift shop, and the icicle-covered gateway to the glacial world. This "ice tunnel" is where summer skiers and mountain climbers depart. Just observing is exhilarating. Peek down the icy cliff and ponder the value of an ice ax.
Hotel Touring
Hôtel Touring has 23 basic but cavernous rooms (many with 4 beds), some saggy mattresses, and no elevator, but employs a friendly British staff (say hello to Nick) and is a good option for families (Ds-€40-52, Db-€49-64, 3rd person-€15, 4th person-€8 more, 95 rue Joseph Vallot, tel. 04 50 53 59 18, fax 04 50 53 97 71, www.hoteltouring-chamonix.com, hoteltouring@aol.com).
Gasthaus Ascher
Berggasthaus Aescher promises a memorable experience. The 170-year-old house has only rainwater and no shower. Friday and Saturday nights sometimes have great live music, but are often crowded and noisy, with up to 45 people, and parties going into the wee hours. Monday through Thursday, you'll normally get a small, woody dorm to yourself. The hut is actually built into the cliff; its back wall is the rock itself. From the toilet, you can study this alpine architecture. Sip your coffee on the deck, sheltered from drips by the gnarly overhang 100 feet above. The guest book goes back to 1940, there's a fun drawer filled with an alpine percussion section, and the piano in the comfortable dining/living room was brought in by helicopter. Claudia can show you rock-climbing charts. For a strenuous 45-minute pre-dinner hike, copy the goats: Take the high trail toward the lake, circle clockwise up toward the peak and the lift, then hike down the way you originally came (dorm bed-35 SF, includes breakfast and comforter, no towels or showers available, dinner-14-22 SF, no credit cards but euros and travelers checks accepted, closed Nov-April, 12 min by steep trail below top of lift, tel. 071-799-1142, www.aescher-ai.ch, reserve by phone, run by Claudia and Beny Knechtle-Wyss and their 5 children — Bernhardt-age 21, Reto-20, Lukas-17, Lilian-16, and Dominik-14 — plus 3 pigs, 35 sheep, 3 donkeys, 20 rabbits, and 2 dogs).