The tongue of des Bossons glacier aglow with its distinctive blue hue towers over the village of Chamonix just below the Mont Blanc massif and is visible from almost any point around the Chamonix valley. Glacier des Bossons is the local glacier easiest to reach on foot.
We visited Glacier des Bossons during a short hike from the Des Bossons village, which is about 4k west of Chamonix. We walked to the village and, from there, we hiked up to the Chalet du Glacier, which can be also reached by a ski lift from the village of Des Bossons. We wandered off during the hike into the river valley just below the glacier, which was a pretty good spot for some photos. I used my zoom lens for most of the photos below:
The hike up to the chalet took less than an hour: it was on a trail marked as “easy” on Chamonix’s official trail map. The change of altitude is not significant as you ascend less than 400 metres above the Chamonix valley. The chalet had barely any people, the food was tasty and cheap, and the hosts were wonderful. There is a viewpoint above the chalet and the walk to it is lined with photos and information about the glacier: some historical facts as well as the stats of how fast it is receding. The chalet also offers some of the best views of the glacier from their deck that is just below Des Bossons:
During our quick lunch we even witnessed a small caving event where a piece of the glacier broke off sending a thundering sound of falling pieces of ice through the valley. If you would like to visit a glacier while in Chamonix, a trip to des Bossons could be done in a few hours.
