(More images in the French Alps gallery.)

Here are a few images from a few days recently spent in Chamonix, European mountaineering Mecqua. Alpine touring is similar to trekking in its spirit: it is about enjoying a natural mountain environment and often involves much physical effort to climb up before being able to ski down. In Chamonix, where ski lifts bring skiers and mountaineers high in the mountains, that physical challenge is sometimes reduced, though...