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Switzerland 2025
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Friday August 8, 2025
Martigny

Saturday August 9, 2025
Mont Blanc
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Sunday August 10, 2025
Zürich

I have been up Mont Blanc once in 2023, traversing from Italy to France using the gondolas.
I've gone down the gondola in Aiguille du Midi, but not up it.
In 2023 in Italy I was able to buy the last of 40 tickets online for the first 630am Skyway the next morning.
The first lift is popular with climbers; the other times were pretty much wide open.
When I got to the top at about 7am it was empty since the rest of my party were climbers who left the building quickly...

I discovered to my chagrin on Friday that tickets to go up Aiguille du Midi are fully sold out five days in advance in great weather in the August.
A couple of times I saw a single ticket go up for sale on their website, but it would be gone before I could try to buy it.

Worst case, I would spend the day on Brevant, it has a lovely view of Mont Blanc.
I kept trying on the website on and off all day and all night Friday.

Saturday morning I woke up shortly before 7am and tried again.
To my delight there were 4 tickets available for 1120am this morning, and I was able to buy one!
I quickly got ready, it's about a 90 minute train ride to Chamonix.

Both my kids and all their friends are at  Outside Lands all weekend
Outside Lands is one of the big events in the Bay Area now....
This morning's sfgate.com headline was about Mannequin Pussy
Never heard of Mannequin Pussy before but I love them :)

Ray:
Love that name. I'm in Ravenna, about to check out a musuem and some of the sites.



08:56 Switzerland time 00:56 California time

From the train to Chamonix, the Mont Blanc Express (it is not an express! :) ), I saw the t-rex in the bike helmet in the parking lot of Emosson in 2021.
He has a better home here (I guess), but a worse view - he could see Mont Blanc before.
The Tour de France went up Emosson, he's part of that event.

I've ridden this train in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2023, and now 2025.
You (almost) always changes trains at the French-Swiss border on the Mont Blanc Express.
I thought the train lines were separated and changing was mandatory, but that was incorrect, this morning for the first time ever we did NOT have to change trains, they made a special announcement.



09:57 Switzerland time 01:57 California time



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The place the may or may not have given me food poisoning in 2023.



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I bought a croissant, a coke, and found the gondola.
I arrived with about an hour to kill.
They helpfully number each gondola - you can see "34" is currently displayed in red, mine was "42" for 11:20am.



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As you get off the gondola they hand you a ticket with your assigned time to go back down, 90 short minutes from now.
When they tried to hand me a ticket I asked if the lift to Italy was open.
Italy awaits, I thanked him and walked away without a silly ticket...

The pictures between Aiguille du Midi and Pointe Helbronner all have climbers in them unless otherwise labelled "no climbers".





12:04 Switzerland time 04:04 California time



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12:16 Switzerland time 04:16 California time
no climbers



12:20 Switzerland time 04:20 California time
no climbers



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Ray:
The 1,500-year-old mosaics in Ravenna are breathtaking. Pix do not do justice.




Ray's pic



Ray's pic



12:15 Switzerland time 04:15 California time
Ray's pic



12:15 Switzerland time 04:15 California time
Ray's pic



Ray's pic



12:30 Switzerland time 04:30 California time
Ray's pic



12:33 Switzerland time 04:33 California time
Ray's pic


Ray's pic



12:37 Switzerland time 04:37 California time

Dusty's pic



Dusty:
and like Ray, I am now in Italy...

The italian side is better and much less crowded.... though much more challenging to get to....  very few people cross over to italy, most Chamonix tourists have no clue it exists....



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PANO, scroll right



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In 2023 I saw the refuge a few hundred feet below the Skyway, but I had no idea how to get there - I assumed you had to climb.
Elevator and tunnel ftw....



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First reasonable prices I've seen in two weeks.



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PANO - scroll right



13:20 Switzerland time 05:20 California time

I bought a hat Rifugio Torino hat, a Save the Glacier hat, and boarded the gondola back to France...

The pictures between Pointe Helbronner and Aiguille du Midi all have climbers in them unless otherwise labelled "no climbers".





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There's a party of 6 climbers on the far right...



14:02 Switzerland time 06:02 California time
no climbers in this one (I think)



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Refuge des Cosmiques



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Dusty:
...and back in France...

Clouds are finally starting to shroud the peak....
I got perfect weather and visibility in the middle of the day, that doesn't happen very often
I didn't spend much time on the French side, it is crazy crowded and honestly all the best views are from the gondola or Italy.
I bought an Aiguille du Midi hat and got in line to come down.
Guy taking numbers in the mob scene to return to Chamonix was slightly confused that I didn't have a ticket but i didn't care, i just acted like i own the place and smiled :).
I may have managed to skip part of the line by not having one of their silly tickets.

I had considered going up Brevant next, but there's no point in going up Brevant if you can't see the summit, I've already got better pics from Brevant.



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Ray's pic



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Ray's pic

Ray:
Weird. But you do practically own the place. I'm off to Ferrara.

Ray:
I am so far from the Alps, my phone is warm just from sitting here.
Feels like 92.
Iphone says it's 90 but feels like 95.
Won't argue with it.
Considering I have always wanted to go to Ravenna and it's already exceeded my expectations, I can deal with a little heat.
My late, after-museo lunch is incredible.
And cheap, compared to Switzerland.

Ray:
The coast is way too crowded and there's nothing I want to see there.
May spend night in Verona.



17:00 Switzerland time 09:00 California time
Ray's pic

Kent:
The mosaics in Ravenna are incredible.
My museum today.
A magical day.
No track on the glacier and constant decision making.
At Konkordiahütte.
I kept my eyes open.
The knotted rope I think is very old.
Made from animal hair and I don't think it's horse.
The stick.
Looked rounded on one end.
Was brought up by someone.
No trees up here.
An odyssey.
Also found this crystal today.

Dusty:
Nice!

Ray:
Fun!
Just toured Estense Castle in Ferrara.
Now heading back to Bologna.
Will motor back to Milan early morning. 

 

12:32 Switzerland time 04:32 California time
Kent's pic



13:29 Switzerland time 05:29 California time
Kent's pic




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19:11 Switzerland time 11:11 California time

Dusty:
On the way back from Chamonix, since it is MUCH cooler up there, I wandered over to highly rated Le Cafe Comptoir to see about a lovely french dinner, but alas there weren't serving food yet.
They had 3 beers in tap, one of which was Laganitas ipa

I started the meal scarfing a coop salad and beer in my room before selecting a restaurant in the Martigny main square - room is unbearable hot and will remain so until around dawn.
(i have 2 hair dryers and no fan in the room)

La Cache Qui Vole - "The Flying Cow" 
Sure enough there's a large cow overhead inside. 
I vaguely remember it from 2021...



19:49 Switzerland time 11:49 California time

Tapas - pick 4 out of 8 choices - i chose smoked salmon, jampon, beef, and gorgonzolla. oh my god yum, a 12chf bargain.




20:22 Switzerland time 12:22 California time

Duck clementine - nice brown sauce with a tinge of sweetness, yum...



20:35 Switzerland time 12:35 California time
Kent's pic

Kent:
Martigny isn't horrible but I think post hotel has degraded some since new owners. 
I skated over to sports hotel and it had same video receptionist.
I wonder if all inexpensive hotels there are owned by same group like Jackson hole. 
In pic the tall one is jungfrau and can see the sphinx station on right side of saddle. 
Hut is full. 
Lots of loud drunk Germans
I doubt I'll sleep much. 

Kent:
The glacier has receded 200+ meters since hut was built at its edge in 1870s! 
Not fun to hike up from the glacier after a long day hiking. 

Ray:
Bunking down in a hotel in Milan now.
I figured there were too many critical failure points to leave the 3-hour ride to Milan until tomorrow and I wanted to keep the stress level down.
Put almost 300 miles on the moto today, which might be a record for me.
It was kinda brutal but a good adventure and plus I saw and did a lot of shit, probably walked 7 or 8 miles through Ravenna and Ferrara.
Truly memorable and satisfying day.

Ray:
One thing I learned on this trip is how to deal with Italian toll booths.
You get issued a ticket at one booth and have to insert it miles later at another booth along with the toll, but last night the 2nd toll booth machine would not accept my ticket.
Said it was illegible.
I put it in every which way.
Then a voice came on in Italian and a message came up saying they wanted 74 euros as a penalty.
I argued, they argued.
I told them several times fuck you, I am not paying 74 euros.
Then I began backing the bike up (not easy) and the two cars behind me got the message and started backing up.
Then the toll people lifted the barrier and let me go thru.
Fuck em!!!

Previous
Friday August 8, 2025
Martigny

Saturday August 9, 2025
Mont Blanc
Next
Sunday August 10, 2025
Zürich