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.

Les Praz de Chamonix at sunrise, originally uploaded by chaletlaforet.

Mist in the valley as the sun hits the fresh snow

Clouds in the Chamonix valley from Flegere, originally uploaded by chaletlaforet.

]]> http://www.les-praz-de-chamonix.com/photos/clouds-in-the-chamonix-valley-from-flegere/feed/ http://www.les-praz-de-chamonix.com/eating-drinking/hotel-excelsior/ http://www.les-praz-de-chamonix.com/eating-drinking/hotel-excelsior/#comments Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:08:19 +0000 La Forêt http://www.les-praz-de-chamonix.com/sleeping/hotel-excelsior/
Although not strictly in Les Praz, I’ve included this as it’s well worth a mention. It’s about ten minutes walk away in the village of Les Tines, and has a lovely garden with a swimming pool, which you can use if you go for lunch. It would be a particularly good place to stay in summer as it’s in a very pretty situation and the garden terrace with the pool looks really gorgeous.

Over the last few years, it seems to have made huge improvements in the food. The menu sounds delicious, and I have heard very good reports from friends that have eaten there. I’ll try it this summer and report back , purely in the interests of research, you understand!

Excelsior website

Sunset Alpenglow on Les Drus, from the chalet garden, originally uploaded by chaletlaforet.

After the thick snow of last week, we have clear skies in Chamonix, and some spectacular Alpenglow in the evening…

Chamonix Panoramas, originally uploaded by amazingmonkey22.

Another of these gorgeous panoramas - this one, I think, is taken from near the top of the Floria lift at Flegere? The huge circular formation is the Lavancher bowl - the left hand side of this is part of the Grands Montets ski area. It’s really worth clicking through to see the larger version!

Chapelle des Praz de Chamonix, originally uploaded by chris.paul74.

Lovely light on this atmospheric shot of the church and the Aiguilles du Dru & Verte