Embrun Olympic Distance Triathlon

Over 1500 people at the swim means more wrestling than swimming.

Feet out of shoes ready for a fast transition.....well that's the idea.

Hot run with an amazing back drop.

Embrun Olympic Distance Run by ironmanAllen at Garmin Connect - Details

Untitled by ironmanAllen at Garmin Connect - Details
Not my best run to-date but then I blame that on the beer and cheese....bring on the beer and cheese..
Photos to follow.

Embrun Olympic Distance Cycle by ironmanAllen at Garmin Connect - Details

Untitled by ironmanAllen at Garmin Connect - Details
Thanks to Paul and Peter I knew exactly what was install on this little beaut....Gear issues again but a solid 1hr 47min. Very pleased.

Embrun Olyimpic Distance Swim by ironmanAllen at Garmin Connect - Details

Untitled by ironmanAllen at Garmin Connect - Details
Not to sure what course I actually took but I certainly don,t remember swimming up the run finish line....

Pont Du Gard

Somehow missed this from the blog....Whilst on route to Ventoux we stopped off for a few nights at the Pont Du Gard. Its an ancient Roman Aqueduct (what did the Romans ever do for us???) The bridge has three tiers of arches, standing 48.8 m (160 ft) high. 

Dog on a ski Lift

Harley has taken to cable cars, he seems un-phased by any type of transport....he yelps with excitement whilst waiting for the cable cars to arrive and when on board he likes to sit up high to get a great view of whats below.

The Grands Montets and Mont Blanc Mountaineers

Two altitudes with two environments, the Lognan pastures at 1970m and the Argentiere Glacier at 3275m. The panorama across the Chamonix needles to Mont Blanc is epic and I was able to pick out five to six groups of mountaineers climbing and conquering MB.

 View up the Argentiere Glacier 

MB in the back ground

MB, one of the main routes up is across the glacier then up the ridge to the top.

If you look hard you can see 5 groups climbing and several people at the summit of MB.

Mer De Glace - the sea glacier

Just outside Chamonix station you can jump on a little red cog railway train that takes you to 1913m to view the Mer De Glace. The track runs through forests and over viaducts and tunnels cut through rocks as you enter the realm of the high mountains. As you round the last bend you see the glacier in all is grandeur with the moraine lines easily visible.

The day we visited the cable car was not in operation so this meant a hike down the face of the u shaped valley where once the glacier gouged its way along to the current level a clear identification of the climate change. Once at the glacier you can walk underneath it....and of course give it a lick.....not many people can say that they have licked the underside of a glacier.

 The tunnels under the glacier

 Under the Mer De Glace

 mmmm tasty, now how do I get my tongue off

 Under the Mer De Glace

Mont Blanc

We are now in the foot hills of Mont Blanc and its our 26th Campsite and the best to-date. Our location is Saint Gervais about 22km from Chamonix and at the foot of Mont Blanc. The weather is still very hot though a heavy thunder storm a few days ago cooled things down somewhat and also set off the flood warning sirens at 2.30am. The result of this was an emergency evacuation of the campsite and all residence of the valley to strategic assembly points. Well it turned out to be a false alarm, though in 1892 over 175 people died in a similar incident when the melt water under the glacier broke through and cascaded down the valley.

Our days are filled with mountain hiking and utilising the plethora of transport systems, rack tramways, cable cars, trains, coaches, buses, etc,etc to aid our ascent. Our first climb was via the Tramway Du Mont-Blanc which took us upto 2380m to the Nid d'Aigle. This is one of the most used routes for those wishing to scale Mont Blanc, so we were among mountaineers with ice axes, crampons, ropes, harnesses, it brought back memories of my climbing days and got me thinking about taking it up again......

When at the top the view of Mont Blanc and the Glacier was quite beautiful.

The descent down from the Nid d'Aigle follows a well trodden path and includes sections of quite exposed ledges and some man made  steps. As you look back up mont Blanc you can see on of the refuges de Gouiter at 3863m the final stop off before the push to the summit of MB.

At an altitude of 1794m we came across a Himalayan style bridge spanning a glacial river. The bridge foot boards had large gaps between and it swung as you crossed it, though Harley didn't seem to mind as he dragged me over it.

Its quite strange walking on ski runs in the summer and coming across piste signs.