Saturday, September 13, 2014

La Jonction (2598 m)

Yet another splendid hike that truly took my breath away. I am so happy I went up this route - it's just amazing what marvels there are in mountains. La Jonction (2598 m) is the place where two glaciers join (or split - depending on the direction you chose to think about). But let me start from the beginning...

This is Glacier des Bossons:

And this is Glacier du Taconnaz:

The path leading to La Jonction is situated exactly between these two - enabling keen hikers experience "the wow effect" twice (thrice if we count also WOW at La Jonction).
At first we spotted Glacier des Bossons...



...and then Moraine de Taconnaz.


After that the path kept bouncing from one glacier to another. An interesting piece of fact: this route is a historic trail of the first ever climb to Mont Blanc mountain in 1786. The two climbers hiked up to la Jonction, stayed overnight under two big boulders (which are now called Gite a Balmat - from the name of one of them) and then successfully attacked the mountain the next day.



I was really hoping that at some point the trail will be close enough for me to touch the glacier. In the end, not only did I touch it but I also climbed on it. How cool is that?






The views were already super cool at the place I took the photos, but they were even more awesome at the Jonction. I think it was one of - if not 'the' - most beautiful view I have seen in the mountains.






We spent almost an hour staring at the ice ahead of us, bathing in the sun rays, talking to fellow hikers, and doing photos. We had lots of fun taking the group shots (photo credit goes to Matthias and his wide angle lens). Usually I don't like having long pauses while in the heights but this time I just couldn't get enough of this view. I actually think that for this place I could break with my rule of not going twice to the same summit.




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