• Français
  • English

Simply Savoie

Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent

Mark

Cross-Country Skiing (Ski de Fond) at Les Saisies

Pat and I went up to Les Saisies today to enjoy the excellent nordic skiing pistes located adjacent to the downhill slopes.? Les Saisies hosted many of the nordic skiing events for the 1992 Olympics that were based at Albertville.

We took in one of the “red” pistes which like most of the trails here has a fair amount of climbing.? Climbing using the “skating” style is quite hard work (to put it mildly) although as my technique has improved it has become easier.

We ended up doing about 20km and took one of the teleskis back up to do another 7km without having to do all the climbing.

The day finished at the great Chocalatine Tea Rooms with a real hot chocolate and a couple of “Chausson” to re-stock some of the calories expended.

Superb Powder Skiing Off-Piste at Courchevel Today

All work and no play … so it was time to get out and enjoy some of the exceptional snowfalls of recent weeks.? Records are saying that it is one of snowiest winters for almost 60 years!

Patricia and I went up to Courchevel today.? We intended to park at Le Praz (1350m) and catch the gondola to 1850 however having parked up and walked towards the gondola word came that it was shut!? Apparently a motor problem with no quick fix.? A quick decision was made and we took the car to 1650 and parked up in the underground car park to avoid hunting around for elusive parking spots and to avoid the prowling Police Muncipal.

Anyway back to the skiing.? Despite a lot of lifts being closed we managed to find some great skiing parallel to the Chapelets and by the Caves de Creux.? Whoopee!? Swooping between close spaced trees with great big grins.? Happiness!

Mayhem on the Roads!

A meeting in Bourg St Maurice turned into an epic today.

Normally, in clear conditions, Bourg St Maurice is about a 45minute drive for me.? Today it was different!? Leaving home it was starting to snow but nothing out of the ordinary for Savoie in January and being a Thursday and not a changeover day in the resorts of the Tarentaise I didn’t expect much traffic.

All went well at least as far as Moutiers when the road reverts to a single carriageway.? Now apart from a few opportunities to overtake it was down to about 50 kph but I wasn’t in a hurry.? I was slightly incredulous to see a Dutch car towing a caravan stopped in the carriageway with a rather frustrated tail of vehicles behind.? I got to Bourg St Maurice in time to buy the local rag, the Dauphine Libere and drink my first expresso of the day.

After a good meeting over lunch it was time to make tracks home in the growing blizzard.? My car, equipped with snow tyres, didn’t have any great problems but there were a lot of vehicles only managing about 30 kph a combination of poor equipment and not being used to driving in the snow.? I do carry chains, a spade and other equipment but it’s reasonably rare that I have to resort to it.

Signs on the “voie rapide” indicated that lorries not equipped with winter tyres/chains had to come off and stop and at this point I quit the voie rapide for the side roads with the snow becoming more and more wet.? The final climb to my home was a bit more awkward but I finally got there relieved to be off the roads.

Tonight it’s stormy with a lot of homes without electricity and the meteo announcing an avalanche risk of 5/5 which means there’s a threat to habitations and roads.? Now cosy with the log fire burning!

Blue Skies at Les Saisies

It was great waking up to blue skies this morning. I decided to head for Les Saisies again as the ridge heading towards Mont Clocher gives stunning views of Mont Blanc, the Beaufortain and as far west as the Chartreuse massif between Chambery and Grenoble. We bumped into a friend from the Albertville CAF (Club Alpin Francais) before we headed off. The going in the deep snow, almost 75cm, was hard work but the contrast of the blue sky with the snow-draped trees made it all worthwhile. Lunch was taken by a little chalet d’alpage that reflected the sun’s heat and we basked ourselves in the December sunshine whilst looking to Mont Blanc’s bulk.

Snowshoeing – Areches and Boudin, Beaufortain

The snow started to lie on the road prior to arriving at Beaufort and by the time I reached Areches it was getting deeper and deeper. Thanks to the snow tyres I made it up the winding road.

With such heavy snow we were able to set out on foot from the hotel walking up through the narrow old alley ways to the start of the footpath. Here we got our snowshoes before following the deeply buried path up the side of the stream.

We gained height in snow up to 30 – 40 cm deep with it still falling incessantly. We reached the entrance to the hamlet of Boudin, a hamlet renowned for the architecture and the way it blends into the mountain landscape. The smell of hay and cattle wafted in the air and an old lady carrying her shopping passed below the large overhanging eves.

We spoke with a farmer who was busy clearing snow from the front of his house before moving slowly but steadily through the fields above passing by old barns. We reached the line of the small road that makes its way to the Col du Pre which was closed now until the spring thaw.

Finally we reached a deserted chalet and sheltered under its eves to eat our picnic lunch making use of the wooden bench alongside the wall. Firewood was all precisely stacked against all sides of the house.

The descent was enjoyable taking big strides down through snow now reaching to the knees even with the flotation from the snowshoes. Finally we regained Areches after an enjoyable and invigorating day.

Stunning views from Mont Trelod, Bauges, Savoie

Mont Trelod (2181m) is in the heart of the Bauges with its steep, grass slopes and limestone ramparts.

Leaving from above the village of La Compote we gained height steadily through beech woods, the suns rays dappling the forest flow carpeted in rustling leaves. Breaking clear we were below the Dent des Portes and a well made path traversed below this impressive rock face. Alpine pastures of short-cropped grass greeted us and a path that traversed across to by the Chalets de Charbonnet. A sign now warned that the path we were about to take was for experienced alpine walkers only! We could see the summit and below it, steep slopes guarding the way.

The path was narrow and occasionally less sure but each moment it unfolded and we soon arrived below the cliffs guarding the summit cone. Two chamois appeared above us, a female and its young “cabri”. After posing for the camera they skipped away across the steep broken ground. A final traverse led us to the summit with a chance for some lunch with Alpine Choughs swooping around looking for a quick snack.

The views were tremendous from Aiguille du Tour, Mont Blanc all the way to the Ecrins in the south.