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European Vaccation


jj221

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I’m fortunate enough to be heading to Europe this holiday season. My family is planning on spending Christmas abroad and I have been charged with site selection (30 years of Christmas in the Midwest finally pays off). I will not be able to make this a total climbing trip but I ought to be able to sneak a day or two in. I’m looking for some ice with fast and easy access. What is the European equivalent of Crawford Notch, NH? Time will be of the essence I will be breaking away from the family so I will not have time for a huge approach. I realize Chamonix is the alpine capital of the world and it may be in fact what I’m looking for. What I’m not looking for is a major alpine route in the dead of winter. I have to give the family some assurance that I’m not marching off into a possible epic. The ideal situation is a place with easy parking/train/trail access that has plenty of options in the WI2-WI5 realm; if there is a place that is heavy with WI3-WI4 all the better. Please advise on suggested locations- my Internet searches have not been too effective. First hand accounts preferred but not required. From the non-climbing side if there are any recommendations of inn’s, hotel’s, locations, activities, unique events or other things that the rest of the family can find enjoyable I would be interested in hearing that as well.

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Wengen, Switzerland: Just a hop, skip, and cog-rail ride from Grindlewald and the Eiger, Jungfrau, and the Monch. Skiing abounds right out of Wengen. Think Klein Scheidig.

 

Or try Aosta in the Alps of Italy, just across the ridge from Chamonix. It will be way cheaper to stay in Italy than in Cham. You could probably even stay in Courmayeur to be closer, but the amenities would be much better in Aosta for the rest of the family. It takes about an hour from Aosta to the cablecar departure in Courmayeur by bus (and it's a cheap fare). Ride up to Punte Helbronner (intermediate landing on Italian side - tram leaves every 30 minutes) and start your adventure from there. Or ride all the way over and down into Chamonix and start back up from the French side (but you'll need to descend back down to Cham to catch the cablecar back over the border, unless you summit the border ridge and descend back into Italy to Punte Helbronner -> lonnnnnng day).

 

It would be dicey to trust your adventure beyond Punte Helbronner to weather, as the tramway gets shut down a lot by high winds (esp. in winter). There's plenty of ice (same as your NEI3/4) on the lower slopes of the Italian Alps around Courmayeur. I started ice climbing in Tuckerman's and Huntington's Ravines, and know what NEI3/4 is, so I'm pretty sure I know what you're looking for. Try a Google search for "Courmayeur, Italy" or search for Aosta, and look for climbing links. From there, you could probably find a guide service that could point you to what you're looking for better than this board.

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Its a beautiful place reminiscent of the North Cascades.

 

If you come in from the Slovak side take a train to Stary Smokevic and from there a tram gets you to a trail system leading to various huts in the range. From there its a short distance to lots of ice climbs assuming conditions are good.

Edited by rbw1966
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