Oliver Laxer's Adventure

The summer following my senior year flew by. My days were spent outside building trails and my evenings swimming, running, climbing and playing music with friends. Guitar nights, bouldering sessions and long runs filled my journal and the realization of leaving home didn’t set in until a week before. What began as a pile in my basement, slowly transformed into a backpack filled with clothes, cameras, a sleeping bag, tent and everything else I’d need to be self sufficient for a year.

The inevitable goodbyes took their turns, and the morning of August 13th came all too soon. My last long run with the boys had been run, the last Sunday night board games had been won, and my summer climbing project had been sent. My bags were packed and my parents drove me down to the bus stop. Less of a goodbye, but instead, a see you soon was followed by a strange time as my goodbyes had all been said, before the new hellos had begun. Heading south on I93 to Boston and in those almost comfortable coach seats, I watched suburbia go by. In fear of the upcoming year, I asked myself “What the hell are you doing?” and “why do all good things have to end?” The bus continued south towards an uncertain future, but, even in my already homesick state, I knew I couldn’t ask the bus driver to turn around. Sitting next to me, my friend Luke stared off into the distance. I wasn’t alone. He was joining me in Chamonix for the first two weeks before attending university. We were ready for some adventures.

The questions continued until I landed in Geneva, Switzerland and began to get a view of the mountains. Sleep deprived, jet lagged, and hungry I got off the plane and texted my friend, Seth, who I planned to stay with in Chamonix, that I landed, was going to meet up with Luke (he was on a different flight) and was headed to baggage claim. When I looked back at my phone, my heart sank. A text from Seth saying “Luke has been detained by the police” left me flustered, confused, and responsible. I continued to walk towards baggage claim, looking for a police officer to talk to, to free Luke. What on Earth could Luke have done in the three hours he was waiting for me to already be imprisoned. Thankfully and surprisingly, I then got a text from Seth saying “Just kidding, he’s with me. We’re waiting outside baggage claim.” Phew. Big relief. Luke’s free. I met up with Seth and Luke, under the welcome sign of the Geneva airport, not prison, and drove together up to Chamonix.

Last summer, while photographing my neighbors wedding, I was in line for dinner and began talking to the groomsman behind me. It was Seth and once we got through the queue, he told me “If you ever need a place to stay in Chamonix or Geneva, let me know.” Now, the dream had become a reality and we were driving out of Geneva into one big crescendo of stunning mountains. As we left the city, the hills around us turned into mountains and they grew after every corner. We shared stories with Seth, and then Mont Blanc appeared in the distance. A glacier covered mountain in the distance, towering above the surrounding peaks. I was blown away, until Seth told me that was not in fact Mont Blanc. We continued to drive and somehow, what I thought was Mont Blanc began to look small compared to the peaks around the next corner. We drove into Chamonix, turned a few more corners and then we parked outside Seth’s house. Luke and I were just stunned. We got a tour of the house and of Chamonix, and we couldn’t get over the proximity to these grand peaks. Putting art on the wall seems pointless in this part of the world as the views out the window displays granite spires and glaciers 10,000 feet above, dark green forest, and fresh flowers. Once we picked our jaws off the floor, we began to settle in and got ready for the upcoming days.

We woke up on our first morning to clear skies and fresh legs. Our objective of the day: La Jonction. A 14 mile round trip hike/run with 6000+ feet of elevation gain to a rocky peninsula surrounded on three sides by glaciers flowing off of Mont Blanc. The first 2.5 miles were along the Arve river through the Chamonix Valley to Les Bossons, before turning and heading up the trail. The next few miles were filled with never ending switchbacks through thick pine forest until it eventually brought us up and into the grassy alpine. At 8400 feet, we topped out, surrounded by blue cracking glaciers. Towering above us, le Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc made us feel small and mesmerized. I took out my sketchbook and painted the view, followed by a long 5000 foot descent that left my legs missing home. We returned to our friend’s house in Chamonix, completely exhausted from the run and spent the rest of the evening planning and shopping for the Tour du Mont Blanc over the next week!

The Tour du Mont Blanc: Day 1

The following morning, we began the Tour du Mont Blanc, a 102 mile trail around the Mont Blanc massif with over 30,000 feet of elevation gain. Our day began with a train ride from Chamonix to Les Houches, the start of the tour. I figured we could buy train tickets at the station, but quickly realized that was not the case, but shrugged it off assuming we could then buy our tickets on the train. We boarded the red train and were met with multiple signs telling the oblivious (probably American) tourist that if one is caught without a ticket, a €50 fine would be issued immediately. My stomach dropped and the doors closed behind us. “I have a bad feeling about this,” I told Luke. “We have to get off at the next stop.” I pressed the stop button and the minutes that passed felt like hours as we held our breath, hoping the train conductor wouldn’t catch us. Luckily, we got off at the next stop avoiding the fine. Feeling humbled and a bit too much like a stereotypical stupid American tourist, we walked almost an extra four miles from Les Bossons to Les Houches, the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc, making our long day even longer. The hike began with a 2200 foot climb. Our train fiasco added quite a bit of time, so the heat of the day was already upon us. Our packs were overflowing with food so much that apples and peaches filled my pockets and a bunch of bananas dangled off of my backpack. I felt like a walking grocery store. We climbed up the gravel path with sweat dripping down our faces in awe of scenery in front of us.

We then descended the backside of the pass, dropping 2000+ feet. We walked and talked with two guys from New Zealand also on gap years. We passed through cute French mountain towns and refilled our water in the frequent public water fountain. I took a short nap at Les Compatine before climbing the final three miles to Refuge la Balme. I soon found out that Luke didn’t read my reminder text to bring a utensil and bowl. My spork soon became more of a communal item. By communal, I mean Luke used it everyday, but usually didn’t clean it. La Balme was more than seven miles away from the campsite we meant to stay at, as a result of poor mapping on my part and our train confusion. There was a campsite at La Balme, but tents were only allowed from 7pm to 9am, which resulted in 30+ people sitting at the campsite with their tents laid out, but not actually put together. Luke and I sort of bathed/rinsed off in the water trough, made burritos and I did a painting. An impressive jagged peak loomed over us as we slept. A long first day. 20 miles and 7500 feet of elevation gain. 

TMB: Day 2

We woke up to a clear and chilly morning and were well on our way before 8 AM. We climbed the first four miles up to 8000 feet, passing a herd of sheep, a marmot, hikers and endless mountains. 

The next three and a half miles, we dropped 3000 feet into the small valley town of Les Chapeaux, the place we meant to stay last night… Eight miles in, with no food for lunch (because Luke ate mine and forgot his own), we stopped at a little shop for food as the realization that we were only a third of the way done for the day sunk in. We followed the valley from 5000 feet to 8200 feet, as we passed into Italy. 

Jagged glacier carved peaks surrounded us and we descended and climbed up to 8000 feet one last time for the day. With tired legs, I climbed in awe. Some of the grandest mountains and glaciers stood before me illuminated with the golden hour light. We were 21 miles in and supposedly with less than two miles left, but soon turned into more than a 25 mile day. We reached the campsite northwest of Courmayeur after 9 PM and spent the next two hours setting up the tent, taking a much needed shower, and cooking two pots of pasta and one pot of rice to fuel our tired bodies. I took control of the communal spork and hungry Luke took out his drivers license and began using it as a utensil. I’d watch his tired eyes look more and more dejected after seeing his pasta slide off his license before reaching his mouth, however, it seemed to work better with the rice. After 25.6 miles with 9800 feet of climbing, we finally had a chance to rest. 

TMB: Day 3

I woke up rather delirious after six hours of sleep and hobbling around the campsite after the long day yesterday. Some friends we made yesterday told us there was a bus to Courmayeur, allowing us to skip backtracking up the climb we did last night. We took the bus, grocery shopped and I put moleskin on my unfortunate looking feet. Yesterday, I told Luke I was done doing these long days. I thought it was unfortunate that we were in such a cool place, but were moving so fast, we never had time to sit and appreciate the view. So I found a campsite halfway through the day. As soon as we began climbing up out of Courmayeur, my feet began to hurt and I felt relieved that today would be shorter. We climbed up 2600 feet to the balcony, across the valley from Mont Blanc. 

We ate pesto and cheese sandwiches at the refuge before traversing parallel to the Mont Blanc massif. Across the valley, glaciers flowed and bare glacial moraines left us imagining what these ice flows looked like 100 years ago. When we got to the turnoff to our closer campsite, Luke told me “we can’t stop walking at 1 PM, we have all day.” My blisters were growing and my energy was low, but Luke was persistent so we continued. I later realized that Luke’s only other backpacking experience was trying to set the U18 record on the Long Trail, a very different type of backpacking trip. His record setting mindset still lingered and clashed a bit with my “walk and smell the flowers” way of hiking which was the root of this idealistic problem.

The trail then descended through a grassy meadow to a refuge where Luke and I made another sandwich. As we were eating, a French woman walked by and said “bon appitite!” We said “merci,” but then she saw our package of cheddar and started shaking her head, disappointed in our choice of cheese and said “Oh non non non,” leaving Luke and I laughing. We then climbed up to 8300 feet and one foot in front of the other, I slowly made it up. 

I trusted Luke when I asked him what to do about my blisters. He is an accomplished long distance runner after all with a 2:48 marathon at 16 and the U18 record for the first half of the long trail (he got injured) so must have some experience with blisters. However, his advice was to tough it out because “they just hurt.” We crossed into Switzerland and were met with a six mile descent (four miles longer than expected.) A mile in, my blisters burst and I hobbled the next five miles walking primarily on my heels and big toes, giving my pinky toes a break. At 9 PM, Luke walked and I limped into the small Swiss town of La Fouly and was met by a friendly French man, around our age. He asked us about our day and helped us get situated as the reception at the campsite was closed. As I was setting up the tent, a confused looking Italian man came over to us. I looked at Luke, worried we were in trouble for not paying for the campsite yet, but he was simply looking for someone to help him set up his tent.

I walked over with him and taught him how to set up his green grand palace of a tent. He was so grateful, he gave me a hug, a handshake and offered to buy me a coffee in the morning. I was happy I could help. We then made dinner, and finally slept under the bright stars. A long 20 miles and had sweet dreams of being blister free. 

TMB: Day 4

In the morning, our French friend told us of severe thunderstorms heading towards the Mont Blanc area in the afternoon and he was taking a bus to skip the first 10 miles and make it to the next campsite before the storms. The bus left in 20 minutes and we hadn’t even begun to get ready, so we scrambled to take down the tent, pack and run to the bus stop. We made it with seconds to spare and our friends were impressed we made it. We took the bus to Champex-Lac, bought food at the grocery store, and ate it outside with our friends. We then hiked 10 miles to Le Peuty and set up our tent before the rain. We made our dinner at one of three picnic tables under a roof. As the rain began to fall, more people joined us. We ate pasta, made new friends and then I did a painting of the rainy view with a new friend! 

TMB: Day 5

I woke up hungry and soon realized we were almost out of food, just down to emergency rations. One small container of ramen and a questionable (and overpriced) chicken teryaki sandwich from Champex-Lac. We had planned to buy more food at the campsite reception desk, but a quick reconnaissance mission brought Luke back giggling. They were closed. No food and many miles to walk. Luke found it quite funny. The only other restaurant was also closed, so we began walking. We made it up the three mile, 3000 foot climb in an hour and 20 minutes and decided that the €17 chili at the refuge was too much, so we kept hiking with no food. We moved along the ridge, surrounded by clouds, which slowly gave way to glacial views through frames of fog.

We then descended 2500 feet and were going to buy food at a cafe, but soon realized it didn’t exist. We were planning to sleep at Les Lacs du Cheserey, up on the balcony, but we soon realized that we really needed food and the only place to buy food on the way only took cash. On top of that, it began to rain and with thunderstorms in the forecast, I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping so exposed. So, I stuck out my thumb and the 15th car, a nice Swiss couple, picked us up and drove us back to Chamonix. We may not have finished the Tour du Mont Blanc, but we saw incredible views, met kind people and I feel good about my decision to return, to live another day.