into the mountains...

one of the things i adore about switzerland is that you can decide at your leisure to drop everything and head into the mountains. and if you feel like staying in the mountains (literally), it's not a big, backcountry camping production. at least for the kind of hiking we do.

in mid-september, a couple friends visited from the states and requested a truly authentic experience in the european alps. we opted to spend our time in chamonix (technically in france) and hiked 5 hours+ up to the refuge chalet du lac blanc at 2352 meters to spend the night.

we slept at the base of a glacier, surrounded by jagged peaks, alpine lakes and ibexes. the berghut is stocked and resupplied by helicopter only, it has bunks for 20, and its only open during the summer season (we were there the last week). they fed us a hot dinner, and served breakfast in the morning. we met mountaineers from france, an american couple on a 14-day trek across the range (who had chickens as pets in their seattle apartment!), among others. here are some pics:



it was like taking a walk out of the world one day to stand above, watch and reflect. the next morning we walked back into it. amazing feeling.