Simply Savoie
Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent
Meteo Chamonix www.meteo-chamonix.org is announcing a big drop in temperature for this week with temperatures between -4 and – 7 deg. even in the valley floors.
For more details (in French) check out this link:? http://www.meteo-chamonix.org/drupal/p-r-e-v-i-s-i-o-n-s/alpes-du-nord
Two consecutive days of skiing at La Feclaz on one of France’s biggest cross-country skiing areas.? La Feclaz is in the Bauges mountains (bounded by Annecy, Chambery and Albertville).
The area has more than 140 km of pistes on an undulating plateau area covered in pines.? The pistes are maintained to a high standard.
Both days I skied with Patricia covering around 20km on each occasion and today I finally got to grips with the “pas un temps” where each time there’s a push off one ski to the other there’s a similar push with both poles.? (Here I’m talking of the “skating” technique).
The big Freeze!? Following all the big snow falls we now have the big freeze.? Bessans, in the Upper Maurienne valley, Savoie, recorded temperatures of -28 deg. C.? Snowshoeing near Albiez-le-Vieux in the Maurienne (c.1600m) night time temperatures dropped to below -20.?? Well, so what?
It’s a good reminder to think of how to protect yourself, or your friends from cold injuries like frostbite / nip.? Exposed skin, especially if there’s an additional “wind chill” factor will start to freeze.? Skin cells literally end up being damaged and destroyed irrepairably.? Prevention is the key.
Make sure you cover up exposed skin and prominent features!? Nose, ears, fingers and cheeks are particularly vulnerable (oh, toes of course too – over-tight boots can be a real problem).? Remember also that? skin will literally stick to very cold metal so use gloves.
The first signs of frostnip are white, waxy skin and it’s often easier for a friend to spot this so think “buddy system” and keep and eye out for each other.
Don’t forget your vehicle too.? Diesel, except with special additives starts to jellify below – 15 deg. and so will give problems.? There were loads of cars being looked over by breakdown vehicles.? Remember to get low temperature rated screen wash too.
A wonderful day out in the Vanoise leaving from the small, unspoilt village of Pralognan-la-Vanoise we walked in the crisp mountain air with the sun illuminating the surrounding peaks.? Soon the Grande Casse could be seen; the highest peak in the Vanoise.
We followed the gently rising valley passing the cross-country skiing pistes that were more or less deserted.? Soon we left these behind and crossed over the river before entering a world of bright sunlight as the sun reached the valley bottom.? We saw a chamois on the opposite slope searching for something to eat amidst the deep snow.? Remnants of avalanches reached down towards the valley.
The little of hamlet of Prioux was all shut up for the winter and the roofs of lozes and toles heavily laden with the winter’s snows.
Today dawned with clear blue skies and temperatures of about -7 deg.? We put on our snowshoes about 200m from the Hotel Grand Bec before joining a track rising gently through the lowers slopes of the mountains.
The views increased as we gained height and we looked out over the village of Pralognan as our snowshoes crunched on the compacted snow of the track.? Soon we were in the sun looking across the valley to the highest peak in the Vanoise, the Grande Casse (c. 3800m) and the Grand Bec.
We left the track to follow a winding path through the widely spaced pine trees towering above us.? The only sound that we could hear was the tweeting of birds high overhead.? A slow, rythmic base helped us to gain height without apparent effort and we gained a couloir with lovely powder snow.? A small spur in the forest and a spot in the sunlight was a good spot to have a snack.
The path’s angle relented and it traversed in the forest before it opened out as we reached the summer alpine pastures.? We passed some chalets completely buried in snow that would have been well over 2 metres deep.
The views were stunning as we approached the small group of chalets, known as La Montagne, perched on a small knoll.? It was the most wonderful place to enjoy our picnic.
The descent took us momentarily into the shade of the summits above before we picked up the route for our descent.? A great powder field took us down through small pines to a well defined track and our route home.? A great final day snowshoeing in the Vanoise.
7 Chalet staff were sacked by email by a company called “Ski The 3 Valleys” in very dubious circumstances and were told they would not be paid for the work they had done.? In addition they would be left to their own devices to return to the UK.
What followed was an incredible level of solidarity, not only from other “seasonnaires” but from previous clients and indeed all over the world.? Their Facebook page reached over 4700 “Likes” in about 48 hours.
Their action was reported by the Dauphine Libere, The Daily Mail, TV8 Mont Blanc (local TV station), The Telegraph and many internet forums and of course Twitter.
Les Menuires 7 created video blog posts and had interviews with the press and it was a very good example of the power of “social media”. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Les-Menuires-7/135799119875601
They had support from the local Gendarmerie and finally a meeting was set up with one of the tour operator’s representatives.? This was attended by the French “Inspection du Travail” and the staff were successful in being properly paid for the hours they had worked.
The tour operator was apparently made to register his business with the French tax authorities (“Impots”) and comply with other French business requirements.? This may be a salutary lesson and may be a warning to other tour operators who use, arguably, dubious employment practices.
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