Hi all -
I've been busy the last couple of years making more people (two, at last count) and haven't been on the site as often as I used to ... but now I've got an adventure planned and I'm looking for some advice! I'll be heading to the Alps for a couple of weeks this summer and I 'm looking for good hiking ideas. My wife and I will be carrying our 1 and 2 year old children, so we're looking for shorter hikes with amazing views and hopefully not a huge amount of elevation gain. We'd still love to get up high, so we were thinking of spending most of our time around Chamonix and Saas Fee to make use of their extensive cable car networks so we can skip a large portion of the elevation gain and make shorter excursions in hopes that the kids don't go into meltdown from hours in the pack. We're OK with moderate climbs ... our two year old daughter has made it up three fourteeners thus far, so we're not entirely averse to some elevation gain, just not too much suffering this go around. Anyone have any good suggestions for where to start? Thanks!
Howie

Chamonix Valley starts to become a living hell as regards the degree of pollution due to the truck traffic between northern and southern Europe. For months the air quality is between average and very bad, and the outlook is not encouraging.

Why I say that? Because the trails in the bottom valley (Le petit balcon, Little balcony), best suited for your case with toddlers may be impassable. Remains Le grand balcon (Great balcony), altitude, ie to 2000m. Access is by foot or by cable car.
About the quality of the air, take a look here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202170530599569&set=a.1061310007820.10824.1078021015&type=1&theater

For more questions you can ask the owner of the page, he's more honest than the tourist office. No need to ask why
My advice ? Go to Montjoie valley: Saint Gervais, Les Contamines, Saint Nicolas de Véroce: cheaper and healthier.
Keep in touch!

I spent two summers in Saas Fee with my three little girls and will be back this year. If you don't have a map yet check out this site: https://map.geo.admin.ch - many trails, perfectly marked and you will find what's suitable for you. A great advantage is that all the cable cars are for free if you overnight in the Saas Valley.
My kids love the marmots - you can even play with them! They are easy to find at Spielboden or just above the village on the meadows towards Mischabelhut. There are also playgrounds on the Hannig and Plattjen.
Sometimes it feels hard to see all those beautiful mountains and be grounded due to family business.
Enjoy the Alps!

With kids to carry, my recommendation for hiking in the Chamonix area would be to explore the Aiguilles Rouges. These are the mountains on the NW side of the valley, opposite the Mont Blanc massif, and therefore offering excellent views.

A scenic destination would be Lac Blanc, a small high alpine lake - well, two connected lakes to be precise. From the valley floor it's a long way up, but you can easily shorten the hike by taking the Flégère cable car up to 1877m and start walking from there, and then it's just some 500m up. Right by the lake is the Refuge du Lac Blanc. You can eat and drink something there, or even spend the night. Most people that so so are on multi-day hiking trips, a few come to climb something, such as nearby Aiguille de Belvédère. Nice, but with the route being lower 5th grade that's not an option with kids on your back. You can hike towards the base of the climb though.

After that, you can either go back the same way and take the cable car down, or walk down the whole way to the valley (for the record: Lez Praz-de Chamonix is just under 1100m). There are plenty of marked hiking trails to choose from.

I'm in the same situation, I was thinking of Lac Blanc and the Grand Balcon on the other side of the valley. But does anyone know how realistic it would be to hike to the Refuge du Couvercle with a child in a backpack carrier? From what I understand there are some ladders to descend onto the mer de glace, then you have to cross the glacier which should be pretty straightforward in August, then there's a via ferrata ledge hike and more ladders to get up to the hut. We could also look into hiring a guide. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It seems like it would be incredibly scenic and a nice way to get into the heart of the massif

qwimjim wrote:I'm in the same situation, I was thinking of Lac Blanc and the Grand Balcon on the other side of the valley. But does anyone know how realistic it would be to hike to the Refuge du Couvercle with a child in a backpack carrier? From what I understand there are some ladders to descend onto the mer de glace, then you have to cross the glacier which should be pretty straightforward in August, then there's a via ferrata ledge hike and more ladders to get up to the hut. We could also look into hiring a guide. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It seems like it would be incredibly scenic and a nice way to get into the heart of the massif

First of all, I haven't been at Refuge du Couvercle myself. That said, I would never consider crossing a glacier with a child on my back unless it's (almost) flat and there is no snow on it. Perhaps that's the case in August, but obviously that's impossible to tell just yet. My reason is simple: I wouldn't want to run even a remote chance of a crevasse fall.

I don't think that, with a child, I would want to be on a via ferrata either, but that's a bit different. While a crevasse fall can happen even to the best of us, the stronger and safer the climber, the more difficult the terrain can be and it will still be safe. I mean, most people will not allow a frail octogenarian to carry their child even on a flat sidewalk in town. But some experienced climbers that I know I would not hesitate to trust with a child, as long as they say it's safe. Mind you, these experienced climbers I'm talking about happen to be professional mountain guides. As for myself, I'm confident in my climbing skills and have never taken a lead fall in alpine terrain, and have never fallen on a via ferrata or on a ladder, even with a big pack, but still I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it with a child on my back.

rgg wrote:

qwimjim wrote:I'm in the same situation, I was thinking of Lac Blanc and the Grand Balcon on the other side of the valley. But does anyone know how realistic it would be to hike to the Refuge du Couvercle with a child in a backpack carrier? From what I understand there are some ladders to descend onto the mer de glace, then you have to cross the glacier which should be pretty straightforward in August, then there's a via ferrata ledge hike and more ladders to get up to the hut. We could also look into hiring a guide. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It seems like it would be incredibly scenic and a nice way to get into the heart of the massif

First of all, I haven't been at Refuge du Couvercle myself. That said, I would never consider crossing a glacier with a child on my back unless it's (almost) flat and there is no snow on it. Perhaps that's the case in August, but obviously that's impossible to tell just yet. My reason is simple: I wouldn't want to run even a remote chance of a crevasse fall.

Thanks, I don't have any summer glacier experience, I've always gone in a group, roped up and guided, in the winter. But if the glacier is completely dry end of august/early september, is there really any risk of falling in a crevasse since you can see them all? I guess it all depends on what the glacier is like in that area, would have to inquire with a guide service. I'm pretty sure it's possible to just walk up the glacier instead of taking the Via Ferrata

qwimjim wrote: if the glacier is completely dry end of august/early september

Before walk on the glacier, Mer de Glace, you must arrive there

http://compagniedesguidesdechamonix.ove ... 14368.html

macintosh wrote:

qwimjim wrote: if the glacier is completely dry end of august/early september

Before walk on the glacier, Mer de Glace, you must arrive there

http://compagniedesguidesdechamonix.ove ... 14368.html

Well that doesn't look bad, it's just a ladder?

qwimjim wrote:

macintosh wrote:

qwimjim wrote: if the glacier is completely dry end of august/early september

Before walk on the glacier, Mer de Glace, you must arrive there

http://compagniedesguidesdechamonix.ove ... 14368.html

Well that doesn't look bad, it's just a ladder?

Yeap, but not only one http://blog.ove.asso.fr/guyyver/2010/10/08/randonnee-glaciaire/



If necessary, for safety reasons, you can use the cable car



For more infos, timetables, prices, etc, check here
http://www.compagniedumontblanc.co.uk/en/site-overview/montenvers-mer-de-glace