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CHAMONIX-MONT BLANC |
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Expensive, tourist-choked
CHAMONIX
may have long since had its village identity submerged in a sprawl of tourist development, but the glaring snowfields, eerie green glaciers and ridges of shark-toothed
aiguilles
surrounding Mont Blanc are more than ample compensation. The town itself is of little interest, while being extremely expensive, and it crawls with tourists in the high summer season. The
Musée Alpin
, off avenue Michel-Croz in the town centre (daily: June to mid-Oct 2-7pm; Christmas-May 3-7pm; 10F/¬1.52), will interest mountaineers, but its collection of equipment and documents is a bit disappointing. The star exhibit is Jacques Balmat's account of his first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786, written in almost phonetically spelt French.
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