Champex - Part I

Today Emilie and I went hiking above Champex, which is not far from Trient (the spot where we hiked a few weeks ago). The hike began with a chairlift ride up to the main trail, and though I’m not afraid of heights I have to admit that it left me a bit uneasy at times. The combination of the overall vertical distance covered, the significant height of the lift above the ground and the numerous stops (and subsequent swaying) along the way made for an exciting 20 minute ride.

There was a positive, though -- by the time that we got off the chairlift we already had a very nice view.

Despite being so close to Trient, the scenery was very different given the much more rocky and arid feel.



















After a while we reached a flat, open area where a number of families had stopped to picnic. There was a small stream and the location offered nice views back down towards Champex.










By this point I was already hungry, and seeing people eating didn’t help. We planned to eat further up the mountain, though, and still had a few hours ahead of us so we kept moving.

As we got higher up the mountain we began to see a huge glacier. This was a good sign as the area that would serve as our lunch stop was just above the glacier.











Here’s a shot of a fellow hiker who was much more surefooted than the rest of us.

Finally we arrived at our lunch destination and found a nice spot with a view. I was famished and couldn’t wait to eat, but I was able to hold out a few minutes in order to take some pictures of the fantastic view. I like the following picture in particular, with Emilie and a rock sculpture in the foreground and the Swiss Alps in the background.