The Eagle's Nest

The Eagle's Nest in the Cirque des Fonts is a 19th chalet. Its history is closely related to the exploration of the Alps by the British. It was built in 1859 by the English alpinist Alfred Wills, one of the founding members of The Alpine Club, first Alpine Club in the world, created in 1857.
Alfred Wills had extensively travelled and climbed in the Alps when he discovered the Giffre valley. He was at first impressed by the natural beauty of the Cirque de Fonts, which he discovered while descending from the Mont Buet, then later by the rugged majesty of the mountains surrounding Sixt as well as the lush valley leading to the village.

At a day's walk from Chamonix, this mountain pasture seemed to him to be the ideal location to build a summer home, a place from which to climb and rest, close to the Mont Blanc massif, but still a fair distance from crowds.

The negotiations with the municipal council for acquisition, by one individual, of communal land were long and heated. Some villagers were in favour of the sale, seeing it as a possibility of development for the village, others were against it, suspicious of the intentions of the foreigner and in principle against the sale of community ownership land. The rumour spread that he must be looking for gold!

The purchase was eventually made. A sawmill was built on site, but the construction of such a project required the efforts and expertise of many villagers.

Alfred Wills' first wife Lucy drew the plans of the building. She unfortunately died before it was achieved; she left numerous drawings of the cirque des Fonts and its surroundings, some of which illustrate her husband's books, "Wandering among the Alps" and "The Eagle's Nest in the Valley of Sixt".

The family spent numerous summers there. A few years before he died, Alfred bequeathed the property to his daughter Edith, whose married name was Norton.

She loved the place and spent many summers in the chalet where she died at the age of 90 and is buried in the Sixt cemetery.

Stories related to the ways and lifestyle of "the English" are still vivid in the memories of some of the inhabitants of Sixt as there forefathers were employed by Wills. The Wills and Nortons were passionate mountaineers who opened many routes up the Buet and did many walks and climbs around Sixt as well as in other mountains.
They hosted many climbers. Alfred, his second wife Bertha, and later their descendants, progressively improved the comfort of the Eagle's Nest by installing running cold and hot water, a bathtub, a piano, a telescope, a billiard table, and even a dark room to develop photographs!

A few members of the family became alpinists; the most famous is Edward Norton, known as Teddy, who took part in two expeditions to the Himalayas. He climbed to within 300metres of the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen. These expeditions were marked by tragedy as several porters died during the first climb and the celebrated alpinists Mallory and Irving during the second one. Another well known character associated with the chalet is Auguste Balmat, great nephew of Jacques Balmat, the first man to climb the Mount Blanc, who was for many years Alfred Will's guide, then manager of the Eagle's Nest where he died.

During World War II the property was vandalised and neglected. It was put for sale but it was not until 1957 that a french-english couple, Denise and Ronald Lucas was acquired it. They were attracted by the chalet and the site, while on a walk to Mount Buet, and fascinated by the beauty of the building, as well as by its rich history which appealed to their imagination, in spite of the degradations. They began the first work of restoration.

Situated on a promontory dominating the valley that leads to it, one has a panoramic view, from the chalet, of the entire cirque. The foundations of the first floor are of stone and wood with large bay windows. The two floors above are of wood and a fine central staircase connects them. Many aspects of the Eagle's Nest are being restored.