Blog Ani i Radka
This year’s winter passed so quickly! It wasn’t the fircest one (actually it wasn’t fierce at all) and now the world starts to bloom. Due to the fact that we started skiing we didn’t have much time to do short trips around but I manged to collect a couple of photos mostly from my (or neighbouring) village. here they are.
Challex:
Saint Genis Pouilly:
Annecy:
Our first big hike this season -Tete de Bostan. We’re gaining elevations gradually, 2406 m is already pretty high up so I can’t wait for the rest of the season to see if we are able to beat our record. I saw photos from Tete de Bostan on my friend’s FB and immediately decided I wanna go there. I knew it would be a challenge with nearly 1400m of elevation gain but couldn’t resist anyway. Especially after our previous hike that was not very satisfactory when it comes to length.
Before having challenged the mountain, as usual I checked the opinions and conditions on route. One guy wrote: „It sure is one long ridge”. I seriously can’t argue with that! This mountain has like 3 false summits! You think it’s there, you can see your destination, you’re approaching with the rest of your powers only to learn that it’s not there and you have like another hundred of meters to cover. A bit annoying 🙂 For example look at the photo below where I am pointing to what turned out not be our destination and Radek pointing to the real Tete de Bostan.
We had a very nice weather that day. The sun was frying us and we got some really nice tan despite having put factor 50 of sun block 🙂 And the views were rewarding throughout almost all of the hike.
Final meters were tough to me but I was making a steady progress because I was curious of the vertigo-building line right before the summit (see photo below).
We were right on time on the top as soon after we did some photos the weather changed and became clouded. Going down was frustrating. We shared our route up with lots of ski tourers and every time I saw them I was envy they had skis and I didn’t. I mean, I know I probably don’t have enough skill to ski down such a slope but it would have made everything so much easier! I have no doubts that ski touring will become my thing soon! But for now – long and tedious way down on snowshoes.
I am seriously unable to count how many times I have seen this place. I know every corner of it’s main part now, yet it doesn’t stop to entertain me. Such a beautiful dot on a map of the world.
I really longed for a proper hike and was very excited about the one we were supposed to have that day. But I also chickened out a bit and settled for a not-so-challenging route which turned out to be a mistake. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the hike was very nice but I had a bit of a feeling of dissatisfaction afterwards – like I wanted more that day but the route had finished… Anyway, we will have a chance to have another one so nothing’s lost.
But to the point – our destination: Pointe de Bellevue – which in translation would be Peak of Beautiful View. It really was, but I’ll get to that later.
We started our hike on a very steep meadow where we gained elevation super quickly. It wasn’t a real trail, we just crossed the field where convenient for us. We didn’t intend it, we were following someone else’s gpx track that had been named as the official route. Bummer.
What I liked most about this hike was the constant presence of Dents du Midi. Most of the hikes we do here are more in vicinity of Mont Blanc. It’s funny because every time I see Mont Blanc it tempts me to climb it some day. And when I was close to Dents du Midi it made me wanna hike them again since last time we were there we didn’t have perfect conditions and it’s this kind of mountain that you wanna see crystal clear all around you.
Back to Pointe de Bellevue – our route there was pretty easy and as soon as we left the grassy steep hill behind us, we equipped our snowshoes and continue along the slopes straight to the top. From there we had a really nice view around the valleys and to the surrounding tops. Although there was no sunshine, we could see as far as the Italian mountains.
It was pretty windy up there so after a couple of photo shots we continued our hike down the marked trail to the ski station, where we took the already known off track path. It was a nice walk but made me want a bit more.
Stats: Max altitude: 2041m; elevation gain: 800m; Length: 7.3 km; Duration: 3h 40min
Today we made a walk to Jardin Alpin in Meyrin and we discovered spring! No wonder the blooming started since the warm temperatures are taking in lately.
Our first outing together as a marriage and at the same time our last outing this year… In any case – an important day! We set off to Espace Diamant resort – one of the biggest in the area. We were both really looking forward to this day and the fact that we had had to wait for such a long time to ski together was rewarded by the most beautiful day in the mountains! The sky was cloudless and we could see as far as the horizon let us.
I really enjoyed the freedom of choice when skiing with my husband. By that I mean the freedom of routes, freedom of speed, freedom of timeline etc. Although the conditions were already so-so due to spring temperatures, it was a very nice day for us. Our lunch break was a cherry on a pie to all of that. We stopped at the most beautiful restaurant with an amazing views over the Alps. When we finished our meal at the table we moved over to sun loungers. The sun was literally frying us and it was such a blissful moment.
We were planning to go skiing again this season but due to really high temperatures, snow is not the best for skiing now and we prefer to use up our free days in a different way. But we are looking forward to the next season. Wherever we are next winter, we will find a way to ski together again.
Check out the movie we filmed during this beautiful day:
At last! Clear blue skies, lots of sun, lots of snow and mountains. Liking it… No… Loving it 🙂
We set off for our second hike this year and it was a blast this time. We headed for Chalets des Auges and in order to reach them we needed to traverse the Plateau des Glières which opened a magnificent view over the Aravis mountains. Simply stunning, but we’ll get there in a moment.
We set off from Col des Glieres where nordic skiers have their earth paradise. It looked really awesome with all the routes prepared for amateurs of winter fun. We never got into nordic skiing but who knows what will happen in the future!
The route was pretty straightforward (I always choose easy ones when we go with our son on the back). Except for a pretty steep section in the woods, it was all nice and neat. When we reached the plateau the views took our breath away. It was fun to have a look at the chain and to recognize the mountains we had already hiked.
Once on the plateau, we did a short walk to Chalets des Auges (1782 m), took a few other photos and went back to the car by the same route. It really was a very nice family hike for us.
Stats: Length: 7 km; Elevation gain: 400m; Duration: 3h
