Miesiąc: lipiec 2013

Today I went to see Lac d’Arvouin and to climb Pointe d’Arvouin (2021 m) towering above the lake. I chose this route because it was a relatively fast one and lakes are always cool. Pointe d’Arvouin (2021 m) is a peak in Cornettes de Bise mountains which make up a natural border between Switzerland and France. The climbing path is on the French side though.
I started already from the hight of ~1600 m and it took 30 minutes on a mostly flat terrain to get to the lake. I admired already nice views and blossoming slopes of the surrounding mountains.

There were quite a few people picnicing by the lake. The mood around was party-like, people laughed and chatted quite loudly (especially by the chalets – mountain huts), dogs swam in the lake, children dipped their toes in a stream, etc. I sat by the lake for a while to gather strengths before climbing higher. It was really hot, so any piece of shadow was appreciated.

Since there was no official trail to Point d’Arvouin, frankly speaking I didn’t know exactly which way to chose. I could go right through col de Savalenaz or left through col de Serpentin. I chose the latter and proceeded up a moderately steep slope. When I reached the col I had some nice view both, on the lake valley and on the Cornettes de Bise mountains.

From col de Serpentin I followed a wild trail up the mountains (there were no signs whatsoever that that was a trail, but I could see people walking down that little path from the top, so I hoped it was a good sign). I thought it would be possible to go on the mountain tops to reach Pointe d’Arvouin. The higher up the wilder the footway became. In the end it really looked like a goat trail or something, but it was not really long, so I proceeded up. I was hoping to reach to a better path on the top. Well, vein hopes… Instead, what I found at the top was… a chasm! It was pretty scary, with no protection from falling whatsoever. There was also no trail to the actual Pointe d’Arvouin which was situated just ~100 m away and ~80 m up. So, yet again, although I was very close, I didn’t reach the actual top I was aiming for. But the view was nice anyway, so I spent some time in a safe distance from the chasm and looked over and back to French and Swiss side. At this height it was already nice and cool, so I took my time before following the same route to the car.

 Chasm:

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.