European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 26, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ski Europe shame of climbing Back up to the Cable car and Riding Down was too much. Granted the skiing was not the greatest As we plodded on one after another in the , going slowly Over the crusty Snow and ice and picking our Way through the occasional rocks. But the scenery was breathtaking. There were violent Blue Glacier pits strewn All along the Glacier plateau. There was an eerie stillness around us broken Only by the scrapes of skis Over ice and rocks and our rather heavy breathing. We could have used More Snow a lot More. There were places we had to take off our skis and climb clumsily with our ski boots Over huge boulders and Between Avalanche debris. After about an hour we reached a rather Flat stretch of easy gliding and stopped for a Small picnic against one of the huge boulders. It was like a moonscape so quiet and wonderful that it is hard to explain. We were extremely Lucky with the weather. We had Sunshine All the Way although sometimes the winds would blow and Echo like sighs off the Walls of the formidable Mountain. Our guides told us that often the weather changes suddenly and severely during descents. They said that heavy snowstorms whited out everything requiring them to attach safety ropes to their group along the danger spots. After some More wonderful sliding a rather difficult climb and some fun off Trail skiing we reached civilization again. We saw our first ski lift and soon came to a used ski track and then to prepared pistes leading into Chamonix people and restaurants. Time to celebrate our famous run with a bottle of Good French wine. Phyllis s. Johnson is a freelance writer living in Griesheim  we  ,. A. \ v above and left three Steps in the descent from near the top of Mont Blanc to the ski resort of Chamonix. Office do Tourisano Chamonix Mont Blanc Mont Blanc France Chamonix is office do tourism Chamonix Mont Blanc office do tourism Chamonix Mont Blanc october 26, 1994 19