There have been lots of changes in the shops and bars of Chamonix recently. Mix Bar in Rue du Moulins opened at the beginning of Winter and is already popular. Close to the micro-brewery a seasonnaire block has been constructed, and alongside the Midi cable car a high quality apartment building and hotel is being built. For those who remember the Planpraz bubble cable car, it is being replaced during the Summer for bigger cabins and new pylons, but access to Brevent will be impossible unless by foot! Icicle guides Benoit and Julian were back on the North Face of Grandes Jorasses this Winter, opening new lines. For those of you who have met Maximus the Icicle office Bernese Mountain dog, he has just celebrated his 1st Birthday in style and now weighs 40kg.