Mer de Glace

Thank you all ever so much for the kindness and appreciation shown for yesterday's magic moment, hugely appreciated :-)

I think we can lay the genesis for today's little adventure well and truly at Hilary's door....

Chores all done this morning (I fixed plumbing, woohoo), I took full advantage of my guides lift pass and rode the classic little red train up to the iconic Montenvers Station at La Pierres aux Anglais. A quick descent to the glacier proper and then an hour's hard push up it till I reached the climbers ladders. An exhilarating if easy 250m of metal rungs rises you high above the glacier, jagged peaks surround you in every direction, rockfall echoes continously, but it's a stunning place to be.
From near the top I paused on a relatively large ledge and took this blip, I think I've just about captured the rightly famous snake shape of this huge (7km long, 200m deep) but rapidly shrinking glacier. To give a sense of scale there is a large rock visible on the right side of the first (left) sweeping bend of the glacier (in this shot) - it's the size of a very large house.
At this level the glacier is termed as "dry", that is, covered by rocks. When they are more than 6inches thick they act as an insulator so only occasionally does the ice show through. Higher the movement and fracture lines can be seen, the ice moves too quick to hold much rock, fluid dynamics in stunningly slow motion, a vast raging river in geological terms, a waiting trap for the fast paced human mind that sees things only in the instant.
The glacier is alive. Despite appearancez this is a fluid ever changing environment. Moving at a centimetre an hour, and reducing in depth at a foot a year, yet subject to constant barrage from the rocks above - it's wild, impressive and demands respect - an adventure every time.

From the top of the ladders I traversed the Grand Balcon Nord to Midi Plan, one of the very finest half day walks the valley has to offer, so it's grabbed a spot in extras.