Almost the end

When we were in the cable car, a Frenchman heard our Englishness and asked if he could give me something. I was hoping that it wasn’t advice about what to do “now you aren’t Europeans”. That has been said a couple of times and I’ve allowed myself to be drawn into a discussion once but that was enough.

This was different. He passed me a UK driver’s license, saying that he’d found it the day before and asking if I could do something with it. I only had time to ask where it was found and he said Courchevel and then he melted into the cable car ‘crowd’ again and I lost him.

The license has the driver’s name and address on it and so I made a quick request to members back at Peelies base and within a few minutes, following up these basic details on the internet, telephone contact details were provided, not for the ‘youth’ featured on the license but his Dad’s business!

Peelies base sent the Dad a message aaking him if he could confirm his Dad position and of course telling him that his son’s license had been found and was only a few kms from Courchevel.

Dad seems to be a man of few words or manners and simply confirmed it was his son but after a prompt, agreed to tell the boy and pass on my phone number.

I was wondering how I would feel if contacted this way about a travelling daughter. Probably nervous.

I waited. Nothing happened. I waited longer and still nothing. Then I thought he’d probability lost other stuff including his phone and started to worry, just a little.

I went to bed and in the morning checked my phone and nothing had happened overnight. I waited until the afternoon and then decided to contact Dad directly. He said, via Whatsapp, that he had told the son yesterday but “he’s now back in the UK”. I suggested that as the son hadn’t got in touch with me that his Dad might like to remind him that politeness would be appropriate.

I did then get a response; a grateful and thank you but curiously, he was working in the ski resort last winter and had his coat stolen in November. He was presumably more chilled than I was about it and his Dad certainly was! Funny thing is that the licence looks brand new and must have been somewhere warm and dry for several weeks.

Do I ever have a little rant, or maybe just complain too much? Yes probably. Well here we go again.

In France…

Fuel (diesel) can’t be bought for less than €1.65 and that’s at supermarkets (UK £1.45)

A litre of pasteurised milk is €1.40 but varies (UK £0.70)

Everything edible in a supermarket is considerably  more expensive than England

Lots of small places have great sport facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, scooter (was skateboard) ‘tracks’

Roadside verges are maintained 

I haven’t seen any roadside litter

Villages have council workers maintaining grass, watering beautiful flowers in beds and containers

They poll their trees so that they stay shapely and work properly as shades. They don’t let them go wild and lift pavements and then have to chainsaw massacre them under cover of darkness

The roads are in good condition, not because they don’t get as much use but because they get maintained. I’ve seen them doing it all over.

It’s still often free to park, or cheap

Many roads have cycle paths and these are properly maintained

All villages and towns seem to have ‘traffic slowing’ arrangements. Usually these are timber chicanes but can be anything. They appear to have freedom to place them where and whenever

Yet the working population retire at 62  It might be raised to 64 but that extra tax income hasn’t started yet 

So, what am I missing? What are we spending our taxes on? Where’s the money going?

We have driven for three days now to be ready for a 09:50 tunnel crossing in the morning. The drive out of the Alps was steep and twisty and then we took a route through the Jura, Having been reminded a couple of weeks ago by a camper that my watch has an altimeter, I can confidently say that much of the Jura is well above 1,200m and it’s something of a winter ski destination.

We have driven across the vast prairies of eastern France where the grain harvest is underway. We have pulled over for combine harvesters and got stuck behind tractors and trailers but we are here now, in the Calais hinterland, on a familiar campsite, Manoir de Senlecques. Tomorrow we will be back home.

Camping Nature at Luxemont - very handy N4 between Challons en Champagne and St. Dizier

A last alpine day

It’s just luck that we came to Pralognan-la-Vanoise in time for Le Weekend and thus the cable car was running. We were able to avail ourselves of it again on Sunday, this time each getting a €2 reduction, as we now have the ski pass on which the turnstile access charge is placed.

We therefore started the day at 2,000m rather than 1,400m which could be considered a cop-out. Well it was but it meant we could hike with earnest above Mt Bocher.

Down at the campsite there was a list of walks on the notice board and all were advised as ‘oui’ except two which were ‘non’, due to ‘beaucoup de neige’. Obviously we wanted to test the ‘non’ theory and so set off for Col Rosset at 2,570m.

The idea was that we would get a stupendous view down and across our route of the previous day and see La Grand Casse in all its splendour.

It was baking hot but we set off in a straight line direct to Cirque du Creux Noir, following the stony slope under a chairlift. Straight up.

This is where alpine walking differs from other ‘styles’. The vertical-ness far dwarfs the horizontal. I could just say “it’s steeper” but the point is that there are few routes that have any horizontal-ness in them.

We caught up with a French couple in front and blasted away because the cirque was inviting as there would be respite once over the lip.

It really is a small, classic corrie and we dropped in and discovered it’s a boulder-strewn area with plenty of winter snow melting. There was so much left though and we had to walk through it, before we got to the side of the back wall that leads up to the col.

This is really steep, as are all corries / cirques but at about 2,300m in the sun, it was a challenge.

We got to Col Noir and peered over to look for Col Rosset but we only saw a very dodgy snow bank and then a seriously narrow path above a very steep drop, before the Col proper.

Thus we couldn’t see down the next slope towards Chalet des Gardes, that would be the crux of the walk, if we wanted to get down to Lac des Vaches, the stepping stones of yesterday.

So we sat at Col Noir, opened our paper bag of pastries and drank our water. The desired views were tremendous, especially La Grande Casse.

A Dutch couple appeared from behind us and had just been checking the decent, deciding it was too dangerous, advising us accordingly. The information at the campsite was correct! Too dodgy to descend; maybe ok to ascend - but that didn’t help us.

We lounged around for as long as we wanted and then retraced our steps, back through the cirque to the top of the ski mechanicals. There we had lunch and then made our own steep descent over a scree slope, to Refuge des Barmettes and from there back to Mt Bocher, via The Balcony route, itself an airy path but across an acceptably angled slope.

It was a great final alpine day and this really is a superb high mountain walking area. I think we will be back but either with crampons and two poles each, or later in the season when those tricky snow ‘patches’ have gone.

The very top of La Grande Casse is visible from the campsite and holds the sun for a very long time during dusk in the valley. Camping Le Chamois is here

Alpinism

We came a little south and west, to what has turned out to be the best mountain walking area, that I think we have ever been in.

Arrival was during a particularly unsettled day and it wasn’t at all obvious that this village is in the most dramatic setting but there were a few signs.

We had a night of heavy rain but not before we’d had long chats with the owners of this 130 with their homemade living accommodation, sitting on the back of a crew-cab late model TD5.

He apparently made a lifting roof for his Land Rover 109 (so 1970s) and drove it and his family around Africa.

They are from Brittany and have come to present a paper or chair a discussion (couldn’t work out what) at a nearby conference over the weekend.

We eventually determined that they are both geographers and are trying to ensure that Brittany doesn’t turn into Cornwall. Incomers, money, increasing tourism are all putting pressure on the area. I expect they said “measures to mitigate pressures on the shoreline” but my French isn’t good enough 🤣

The mountains go straight up from here. As I type I can hardly look up it’s so ‘vertical’. The village, whilst having some ski lifts, seems to be a walker and alpinist base and it’s refreshing to be in the buzz after some sleepy ski only places.

It’s another municipal campsite, so very economical and ‘basic’ but it has been popular over the weekend. The best bit is that everyone goes quiet at dark, so 10:30pm. Also we are all a bit cream crackered by then too.

Walking up into the mountains is hard. It’s always hard in the alps as the valley sides are steep. We are somewhat acclimatised and had a quick up and down after arrival and saw someone on a zip (Tyrolean).

Luckily on Saturday the telecabine was open, to lift us from the village. It’s a 600m ascent and saves a lot of legs. From there we did a classic walk right up to Col de la Vanoise and the refuge, at 2,516m. This is a superb climb, right in the proper mountains.

It is really a slog to walk up as it’s so steep but we are ‘fit’ now and passed people all the way up to Lac des Vaches. This has the longest set of steeping stones that I have ever seen.

We ate pastries from the boulangerie when above there and then the usual baguette, tomato, cheese and apple when right at the top.

There is plenty of snow in huge patches and we had to walk on lots of it. Fortunately we had two walking poles between us although only one has the snow thing at the bottom. The other pole just pushes in!

The major view, if there is just one, is La Grand Casse (3,855m) and down the front are two glaciers. There was new snow on the dome from the previous rain and we looked up with binoculars to see ‘Alpinists’ walking down the incredibly steep face from the summit that was still over 1,000m above us.

That’s algae on the rock!

We managed the walk as a partial round trip and rejoined the outward route halfway back but continued all the way to the valley. It was a big day. Total distance was 17km with 736m gain and 1,267m lost as we walked all the way down.

Col d’Iseran

We were still in the Tarantaise valley area, so going to Val d’Isère and then the highest tarmac pass in Europe, seemed to be a sensible thing.

It’s quite a long way and the road is steep. Also there are lots of tunnels and open sided tunnel things that allow avalanches to slide over. One had water pouring over it as we turned a curve - quite a shock to see.

Val d’Isère was what we expected; a ski town that’s not really awake. The wooden chalets of lower down have changed to stone and that reflects the distinct lack of trees around here.

We didn’t know what the Col would be like but did know that it’s about 1,000m above Val. So as you can imagine, the road ascends steeply. As it gets higher, it gets narrower and just when you want some barriers, everything at the side disappears. Driving a right hand vehicle meant that I was looking straight down over the edge, driving one leg to a hairpin and then safely tucked against the mountain on the next leg.

Soon we were passing snow and then reached the summit with no bad things happening to our 27 year old vehicle. Some of it is newer but I think I’m allowed that.

It’s bleak at the top but surprisingly warm today and there’s plenty of people up here, even though the southern side is closed due to a landslip. This is a pain, as we wanted to move that way but came up aware of this.

We took photos for some Italian cyclists and I feel a little inadequate, when I see just what an effort they have made to get up.

Returning to the valley we tried four campsites before settling at one for the night. The Huttopia site had given us a barrier code for our stay a few days ago and as the office was closed for the afternoon, we tried it but of course these digital types are wise and it was disabled.

We finally stopped in Montchavin, just under La Plagne and the site was strange, in that it has a few battered permanent tourers that are setup for the winter  but the best bit was the ‘sanitaires’ which are sealed from the weather, beautifully clean and full of hot water.  They also had very clear instructions on how to use the various facilities.

There were only two vehicles on site so it was very quiet. The view down into the valley was stupendous and included peeps of Mont Blanc.

We wandered into the village and learned from the English owner of a tapas bar, that it would wake up for the weekend but then go back to sleep until France goes on holiday in July/August.

With that, we decided to explore a new area and do some proper mountain walking.

A wander along an alp

The next day we tried an easier walk, towards the ski area of Vallandry and Plan Peisy. Mostly this was on an agricultural track, once we were up and past the chalets but in part it was walking up a steep grassy path. We appreciated the myriad of wildflowers that are everywhere.

The grasses are left to grow far longer than in Derbyshire, even accounting for making hay which is universal here, rather than the silage at home. Even the cows graze very long grass pastures, where the grasses have seeded, which is unusual in the UK.

Reaching Plan Peisy was reaching a building site. Everywhere there are vans, lorries, holes, dust, timber and chalets being built. It’s as if they can’t help themselves and need to keep developing. Many years ago the Vanois Express cable car was built. Two cars transfer about 180 people in each, across the valley to reach the La Plagne ski network. The joint complex is referred to as Paradiski.

Reaching Vallandry for a quick fond reminder of the 2013 ski trip, we found this place almost deserted. At least they aren’t building too much. I left with a grumpyness because of an awkward café owner at the only hospitality venue open, who couldn’t be bothered to serve just coffee - she was too busy chatting and we didn’t want to eat.

To make it more attractive for her we then said that we would eat and she got into a flap about not having a table that was laid and in the shade.

So I got cross and made it easy for her and we turned and left. Our loss and her’s too.

We slowly walked higher, in the alpine heat and then contoured back towards the meadows high about Les Lanches, where the cat had been drinking from the feed to the trough.

Here there’s an 18C chapel, the focus of many walks, as there were many who had arrived for their picnic lunch. It is quite amazing to see inside.

Then it was a steep walk back down to the campsite but I managed to take the very steep route down a ravine. This required some confidence when crossing the stream, which was wetter than it looks.