Fleeing the Heatwave: A Chamonix Traverse, 20-21/6 2026
20/6 — Saturday
A heatwave warning had been issued the previous day (as it would turn out, this was just the beginning), so naturally it was time to flee to the mountains. I biked to Geneva airport and jumped on a surprisingly affordable shuttle heading toward Chamonix, and got off early in Sallanches. The plan was to explore a lesser-known corner of the valley.
First things first though, walk into town and by water. Then the climbing started, because in France it always starts with a climb. I had a bit of bad luck right away — the trail I wanted to hike was closed, apparently due to the risk of trees falling and, if I understood the sign correctly, explosions (dynamite). It was very unclear. Anyways, long detour it is.
The start of the hike was easy on well maintained trails, the kind you can switch your brain off on. That didn’t last, however. It quickly turned technical — scrambling over boulders with patches of snow. No room for a bad feet placement here. The snow was soft and weak with zero durability, the kind where you’re never quite sure if the next step holds or drops you into a crack underneath.
Clearly this is a part of Chamonix (or close to Chamonix) that is much less travelled. I didn’t meet a single person until I crossed the ridge taking me into the actual Chamonix valley. As I crossed over to the Chamonix valley, there were suddenly hut-to-hut hikers everywhere.
As I descended into the valley, I came to a crossroads where I had a decision to make: push on without water, or detour to a hut to secure some. Water had been surprisingly hard to find along the path so far and I’d been out for a while. Detour to the hut it was. I assumed the hut would have a water tap like every other hut, but no here it is 4.5 euros for a 1.5L bottle — someone’s making a good profit. Everything else at the hut was reasonably priced though, 56 euros got you a bed for the night, a three-course dinner, and a buffet breakfast.
In retrospect going to the hut was a big mistake, because literally 30 minutes later, very close to the crossroad, I walked straight past a stream. Money well spent. While I was at the refuge I also checked the weather forecast. No rain expected, which was proven incorrect a couple of hours later. I suppose if we are to be technical, it didn’t rain, it hailed. But the sky was still mostly blue and the sun was still on full display. It was a strange combination, but I’ll take it.
I hiked until I came by a nice campsite between two lakes. I mentally prepared myself for an ice-cold dip, the kind you’d expect from a mountain lake surrounded by snow. But it turned out the water was closer to 18°C, more than warm enough for a few strokes.
I spent the evening in the tent with a god book by my side. It feels good to be camping again.
21/6 — Sunday
I awoke to a beautiful morning, quickly packed up and got moving, passing several trail runners and other hikers. During a long climb there was a rather large group of runners commencing the ascend at about the same time as me. Due to my inner competitiveness I could not help myself racing the trail runners to the top. It was a hard effort, but I beat them despite the backpack. For the victory I awarded myself with an omelette at the next refuge. After which I hiked to another lake for a second surprisingly warm bath.
From the lake it was just a short hike down to Servoz, where I took a local bus to Chamonix, and then another bus back to the airport, rode my bike home to the sauna that is my apartment, and then straight to bed.
My Route