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Courtney Dauwalter tour La Balme
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Courtney Dauwalter’s Chamonix Adventure Trip

Courtney Dauwalter’s Chamonix Adventure Trip

Aug 16, 2022
Courtney Dauwalter tour La Balme

“What’s your dream trip?” 

Run the Alps Tour Manager Steph Lefferts asked Courtney Dauwalter that question last fall, when the two were exploring teaming up for a trip here in Chamonix. The answer? Trail running some of the world’s most famous mountain trails, a night at a high alpine hut, and parapenting off the top of the vertical kilometer. 

Plus, eating great food and drinking lots of local beer from Big Mountain, the best brewery in the region. 

And that’s exactly what we did. And more. Much more. Including lots of fresh tarts, a special beer tasting event with Jack Geldard from Big Mountain, and a catered dinner at The Hub Chamonix

Here’s a look back on some of the fun we had on Courtney’s Big Adventure in Chamonix, aka, the Run the Alps Chamonix Summer Camp with Courtney:

Pole practice on the way up to Refuge de Loriaz. Photo: Sam Hill.
Catered dinner at The Hub Chamonix. Time to relax, sample beers, and tie-dye t-shirts. Photo: Kim Strom.
Crew Brew: Kevin’s special edition beer surprise. Photo: Kim Strom.
We spent a night at Refuge Albert Premier making the massive climb in the afternoon after running the vertical kilometer and parapenting back down in the morning. Photo: Kim Strom.
How about that sunset? Photo: Kim Strom.
Time to head back down from Albert Premier. Wake up legs. Photo: Kim Strom.
Morning decent from the hut. Photo: Kim Strom.
Of course we stopped plenty to enjoy the views! Photo: Kim Strom.
Tie-dyed t-shirts! Some people have got tie-dye skills. Photo: Kim Strom.
We raced through the streets of Chamonix on a crazy scavenger hunt. Photo: Kim Strom.
On that scavenger hunt, which also added up to another 10km of running, we carried cheese, shoes, baguettes, and croissants. Most of those got eaten at the final stop, Big Mountain Bar. Photo: Kim Strom.
Sorry, no pie left. We ate all the pie. Photo: Kim Strom.
We made some friends, ate plenty of gummies and jelly beans, and did some running too. See here’s the running! Photo: Kim Strom.
More running on the Grand Balcon Nord. Photo: Kim Strom.
Still running. Photo: Kim Strom.
We had no fun at all on the trails. Photo: Kim Strom.
And no one was ready to be done. Photo: Kim Strom.

It takes a (French) village to make a trip like this happen!

Thanks to our guides Giles and Marion, Big Mountain Brewery, The Hub Chamonix, Peppered Strawberry chef Lisa Murgatroyd, our own Tour Manager Steph Lefferts, our wonderful guests, and Courtney and her low-key, fun husband Kevin Schmidt for inspiring such a memorable week here in Chamonix!

author
Kim Strom
Besides being the Content Producer for Run the Alps, Kim is a freelance writer and photographer who works with PatitucciPhoto. She co-created the online resources for trail running and mountain sports: ALPSinsight and Sierra Trail Runs.