Boondock Puffins

… (continued from previous article)

Almost a year ago, we travelled over to Chamonix and stayed in an awesome little hotel that we would never be able to afford in high season.

On the way back from Varese, we stopped off at a campsite on the opposite side of Mont Blanc, at Courmayeur. Driving up and up from the little town, epic glaciers cascaded down on both sides of us from the behemoth of a mountain that loomed high above. We were originally aiming for the beautifully named ‘HOBO Camping Val Veny’, but this didn’t open until the following day (terrible timing!) so we instead made our home for the night at Camping Aiguille Noire.

This stop off proved to be an excellent choice, supplying us with a lovely night camping surrounded by beautiful, incredibly imposing mountains. The campsite was one that was clearly geared towards hikers, and many of the other people around had serious packs with them. There were many insane (actually crazy, you’d need to be a bit nuts to attempt them… or be very happy with heights!) Via Ferrata routes in the vicinity (see the routes up to this Rifugio) so it’s not too surprising that it’s a popular location.

In the morning, we set off for a hike. We didn’t have our proper hiking gear so we made do in our trainers and our day bags, and enjoyed a great wander around the area in the morning. Normally we’re not overly keen on low level walks, but the imposing scenery made this a beautiful and interesting procrastinatory walk along either side of the river (and up to supposed ‘glaciers’ which may have been glaciers a few years ago but now are only remnants made up solely of rocks barriers) before we eventually headed home.

If you’re in this area anytime in summer, we would highly recommend a stop here, whether for a hike or simply a cup of coffee and a moment to take in the views.