It is 9:15 a.m., tourists have exceeded the tolerated time for hiker camps: 68 euros fine. Limitations and punitive controls are part of the measures taken to protect the nature reserve and its lakes from the risks of overtourism.
These alpine jewels offer a breathtaking view of the Mont-Blanc massif, with an accessible family hike: following an ascent by cable car from Chamonix, it takes two hours to reach the Lac Blanc, at an altitude of 2,350 m. And the site sees 1,000 to 1,500 people pass through it per day on average in summer, according to an estimate by the association responsible for its conservation.
“This is one of the hot spots to deal with” in the Chamonix valley, recognizes Éric Fournier, the mayor of this town in the Chamonix-Mont Blanc territory which has around 13,000 inhabitants and 82,000 tourist beds, with summer attendance up by 5% in 2022. The elected official insists, however, on the character “not representative” of the site compared to other natural spaces in the valley which, according to him, does not suffer “no overcrowding”.
No swimming
Many come to the lake for the day, but some prefer to sleep on site, in a refuge or in a tent. That night, around forty canvases were deployed around the Lacs de Chéserys, the only spot where bivouacs are tolerated, below Lac Blanc.
“On the evening of July 14, there were a hundred of them”, remembers Marion Guitteny. Desires for escape related to the effect “post-covid” touch this site very “instagrammable”.
Hikers leave following packing their bivouac, in the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve, above Chamonix, on July 31, 2023Photo AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND.
For better “objective the situation”, the public authorities are working to find new counting methods. Flow is more difficult to measure than for others “hot spots” valley, such as the Aiguille du Midi cable car or the Mer de Glace train, which sold 345,000 and 205,000 tickets respectively in 2022.
In the meantime, since this summer, Lac Blanc has benefited from new protective measures: cords to deter trail exits, bivouac self-declaration system, swimming prohibited in July and August, awareness of walkers?
Lunchtime crystallizes the crowds on the ideal site for a picnic with a view. And despite the large signs specifying the various prohibitions, the message sometimes has difficulty getting through. “Since the start of the season, we have already had to shout three or four times at people in their underwear, ready to swim”says Marion Armand, the guardian of the neighboring refuge.
Pedagogy
Bathing, prohibited for safety reasons, is liable to a fine. “I saw it on the panels, it seems normal to me”emphasizes Esther Vos, a young Dutch woman accompanied by her parents, while a young man escaping surveillance plunges into the cold water of Lac Blanc.
Hikers walk on a newly built structure to preserve nature on a trail leading to Lac Blanc in the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve facing Mont Blanc above Chamonix on July 31, 2023Photo AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND.
Other “scourge”, drones, prohibited in nature reserves. In the space of 15 minutes, Marion Guitteny intercepts two devices. “Sorry, we didn’t know”pleads an English couple. “Drones, we see more and more of them”sighs the curator who takes care to erase the illicit images.
In anticipation of the next renewal of the management plan for the nature reserve, local players are thinking regarding other regulatory measures: strengthening human resources, pricing policy adapted to the type of stay. “We can’t be open bar”sweeps the mayor of Chamonix.
The aedile recommends “a much stronger pedagogy” faced with a new public, which appeared following the health crisis and less informed regarding the right gestures in the mountains.
No question for him of establishing quotas to access the lakes of Chamonix, like what is done in the creeks of Marseille or the Breton island of Bréhat: “it would be an admission of failure”even if some in the valley are calling for drastic measures to limit overcrowding.
On the other side of the Chamonix valley, the attractiveness of the Mont Blanc massif, a mecca for mountaineering and hiking – with more than 20,000 climbers per day – has already prompted the authorities to limit access to the summit to those with reservations in refuges, establishing a de facto quota.
