This gallery is in a lovely old building in Les Praz – once a mill, as the name suggests. They always have something interesting inside from the collective based there, including Andy Parkin and Philippe Vouillamoz. We dropped in on the way back from Chalet Floria – it’s just beside the path back to the chalet – as they were having a big one-day exhibition of local artists. There’s another one planned for October 4th 2009 – hopefully they’ll continue on a regular basis,  as it seemed to be a big success with some lovely work on display. http://lemoulindesartistes.blogspot.com/

The larches still have their gold needles…View from near the railway station, towards the Dru:

Crab apples peeping through the snow

Scattering when the sun hits the trees…..

After that, Flégère only will open on the weekends of:

• Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November 2008
• Saturday 22th and Sunday 23th November 2008
• Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November 2008

Apparently, this will continue until early December, so it’s a good opportunity to get up for some last looks at the Autumn colours, or to crunch around in some early snow…

Full details and opening hours on the CMB site

Meanwhile, Montenvers will close from October 13rd to 24th 2008, and the Aiguille du Midi will close from November 10th to December 12th 2008 – details and timetable here.

Hôtel La Prairie
53, Chemin Lavousse
74400 Chamonix Mont Blanc, France
+33 4 50 53 19 96‎
(Open Summer only)

Near the centre of the village, you’ll find this tranquil lake – a beautiful place to admire the reflection of Mont Blanc. It’s surrounded by quiet back roads, which are good places for a relaxing stroll, and perfect with pushchairs.

Les Praz de Chamonix, originally uploaded by kutlugkagan.

Beautiful photo of the beginnings of the “bonnet d’âne” cloud that often forms over Mont Blanc.

Les Drus and Aiguille Verte, originally uploaded by firechick.

Another stunning photo from Genyphr, with fiery alpenglow on the Drus and the Verte. You can see their relative sizes more clearly from this angle, with the more snowy bulk of the Verte behind the geometric granite of the Drus.

She has a wonderful series of photos here where you can see the progression of the colouring – it’s very quick when it happens, moving through a spectrum of reds, pinks and oranges before suddenly disappearing.

The Dru from the Buvette des Mottets, on the way up to Montenvers from Les Praz

If looking at the soaring peaks surrounding Les Praz gives you a thirst to climb, there is no better place in the world than Chamonix. For those aspiring to routes like The Dru or the Aiguille Verte – “the Alpine summit that turns you from a climber into a true mountaineer”, Icicle Climbing can arrange flexible itineraries and guiding. For those who aren’t quite yet ready for those heights, they also offer climbing courses at all levels. In winter, there’s the exhilaration of ice climbing to try, too.