Autor: radoslaw.orecki

Today I took my brother and his friend to see Fer-à-Cheval. It’s a huge limestone amphitheater of mountains and waterfalls. There are a couple of routes to walk – we did the easiest one: an 8-km-circle in the valley (mostly flat). Even though at first the air clarity was not perfect and in July some of the waterfalls have already dried up – the view was magnificent and the walk very pleasurable. At some time we even dared to dip our feet in a cold brook – perhaps it sounds trivial but it was a real challenge with the water as cold as a couple degrees Celsius.

At some point we reached a huge waterfall splashing heavily just a couple of meters from us. It was immerse and gave us a really nice chill on a hot day. Bartek was a daredevil – he stepped into cold water to be closer but didn’t make it long. The water was freezing and the air wave rather tremendous.

We reached the furthest point in the circle where we had to turn back and go at the other side of the stream. We sat down in a shadow and had some lunch and then we moved on down the route to see (and touch) the glaciers. That was pretty awesome, yet another point to cool down on a very hot day. Yep, that’s snow by 32 dg. Celsius.

Then the path moved on mildly through the rest of the valley and later in the forests. It was a very pleasant walk and I’m sure I will do it again in spring when the waterfalls are even more prominent and plentiful.

 

 

Le Reculet is a fun mountain for Genevian area inhabitants because in principle you can climb it after work. Today we had some free time so I took my brother and his friend for a walk in the mountains. They finished tired (after whole day of sightseeing it wasn’t that easy to climb) but satisfied. And for me… Yet another season at Le Reculet. Amazing, every time I go there there is something new (this time these were the yellow blossoming trees).

This weekend I went for a hike to see Lac de Lessy situated in French Aravis mountains. Even before doing a first step, I knew it would be something special, because in order to get to the starting point I went by car through a marvelous pass situated at ~1700 m. Eventually, I started at 1350 m and ascended to 2050.
This is how my starting point looked like:

The route was rather mild in the beginning, I followed the trail which was well marked (I lost it only once and had to go past the field in order to get back on track). After a while I reached a viewpoint where most families with children stopped. It looked really nice, but it was only a prelude to what I was to encounter later.

I continued the trail side by side with a flock of goats hidden in a shade (it was a very hot day). I continued along the trail which led first through a hill-side and then through the ridge of the mountain with a spectacular view on the valley. The higher I got the more beautiful the view became. While on the ridge I was able to see both sides, Lac de Lessy on my left and valley and view on the Alps on my right.

In the last picture you can see Aiguille Verte („green needle”) on the left and Lac de Lessy on the right. Up to that point the route was a mild one, but the last 50 meters to reach the peak were much more difficult with last 10 meters I called a „Cursed Pass of Death”. I read earlier in the net that the small passage between the two teeth of the mountain is a very dangerous one and the Internet was right this time. I didn’t dare to cross the Cursed Path of Death. But the two peaks were situated just a couple of meters away, so although technically I didn’t claim Aiguille Verte, practically I feel like I did.

To descend I took a short and very steep way down. Although it wasn’t an official trail, a lot of people went that way and it saved a lot of time to me. All in all I made almost 8 km that day.

Today I got a bit further out of my city to climb Le Môle (1863 m). It’s a nice little mountain with a spectacular panorama that stretches out both, on the Alps and on Geneva. In fact, you can see almost 360° round when you reach the top. Moreover, an ascent to Le Môle is a mild one making it a perfect mountain for the season start, or for a pleasant walk.
In the very beginning of my climbing the weather seemed a bit ominous, but these were only the remnants of the past day which was very grim with a lot of rain. However, the higher I went the more sun I could see through the clouds.

When the forest finished I reached the plains and cows herd grazing on the grass. From that moment on the route became way steeper and more difficult, but also more enjoyable since the views became magnificent.

When the steep part was finished I was left with only a couple of meters left till the peak. However, I kinda lost my way to the peak and took a neighboring mountain to be Le Môle. But, as French say, c’est pas grave. Le Môle was just 50 meters and maybe a couple of meters higher, so I don’t feel like I missed anything. I rested for a while by the cross, admiring the Alps in clouds (with Mont Blanc showing oneself every now and then) and enjoying the breeze and then went down through Le Petit  Môle path.

I guess we can finally say that winter over le Reculet is finished. It took some time for a spring to push through, but now snow in the mountains is, let’s say, occasional. In the past few weeks I went to climb that mountain a couple of times but each time is different so I really don’t mind following the same route repeatedly. I also like observing my form getting better and better, now it takes me much less time to reach the top than it used to.
So, this time on Le Reculet slopes:
– fields of daffodils replaced by fields of marsh marigolds
– Le Reculet cross no longer frosty
– wildlife safe and sound on the rocks and ready to pose for pictures as usual.