Day 1 Trekking
Chamonix to Cotamines-Montjoie
9 Miles, 2200 ft Ascending, 4000 ft Descending

The word in French is “Col”, which, loosely translated, means “You will sweat like a beer bottle in the sun both ascending and descending”. We are heading for the Col de Tricot, a 7000 foot pass between two taller peaks. This is our only Col of the day but certainly not the only challenge. The first was getting a hot coffee at 5:30 am when the sleeplessness arrived like the morning train. Technically that happened at 5 am but after an unfruitful attempt to repel it away and actually get a few more minutes of shuteye, it was time to give up, give in, and get up and at ’em. But coffee, as we established yesterday, is my top priority and not sitting still is Gina’s, meaning she was sent to the hotel lobby in search of the morning elixir. She did not come back empty-handed.

But back to the Col. Today was our first day of hiking on our 10 day trek around the Mont Blanc massif. Our friendly group of fellow crazies includes Ian and Caroline of Canada, buddies Steve and Dave of Boston, Jill and Guy from New York, KS and Lou from Singapore (they win for longest flight), and then us idiots from Seattle. Our lovely guides are two young accomplished women, leader Jen from the UK and her assistant Erica from France. We are definitely in good company and good hands.

And speaking of good things, there is no denying the outstanding scenery as we begin this epic adventure. I can’t decide which is more important – hands occupied by trekking poles or by the camera – but it doesn’t take long to realize that the poles must go. Capturing the beauty of this area via an insignificant camera lens is impossible, but definitely worth the risk of a stumble or two.