Pointe de Tardevant (2501 m)

This weekend Ania planned the last hike before a trip to Poland and maybe even last in this season. She gathered a group of people and prepared for starting early Saturday. Unfortunately she got sick during night and she passed the torch to me.

We started climbing to our first destination – Lac de Tardevant (2110m) where we made a small stop for pictures.

Together with Ania we have hiked a lot this summer but we never had a perfect weather with perfect visibility. This October hike was the firs this year when for all day long there was no even a smallest cloud.  

We had the perfect view – from Mt. Blanc to Jura. Hiking with such conditions is pure pleasure, especially that even though we had full sun it was not hot.

After year of hiking I felt in Haute-Savoie Alps like in home. I was able to recognize lots of peaks around me and that feeling that I hiked lots of them was awesome 😉

Lac Blanc et Lac des Chéserys (2352 m)

I am feeling that these might be the last days to go hiking this season for me so I am trying to use the time I have. With two other colleagues I drove past Chamonix to do a must-do route (yet another one!). I know this place is very crowded in high season so I waited until autumn to visit it. There were still quite some people but nothing too bad. The surroundings were not new to me as only a couple of weeks earlier I did two routes close by.

We soon reached Aiguillette d’Argentière – two spiky tops – that started a fun scramble to the lakes through chains and ladders. It’s always a very efficient way to hike because the more vertical you move the faster you get to the top. This time we moved very vertical.

When we finished the ladders section we found ourselves on a beautiful mountain plateau full of the most amazing autumn colours and a view on Mer de Glace glacier. Trully stunning.

I accidentally changed our planned route (yeah, I’m not a master of navigation) and we reached Lac des Chéserys first. I kind of thought it was our destination point so we made a pause there to have a bite and bask in the sun.

I was surprised to learn we still have some meters up to cover but I was also content to have additionals steps ahead. When we reached it,  the White Lake and it’s surrounding tops were in clouds making for a mystic ambiance.

We descended through a different path but the views were more or less similar. We quickly went out of the cloud and benefited from the sun rays. Have I mentioned I love autumn in mountains?

La Désalpe in St-Cergue

This is an event we missed last year and I was looking forward to it this season. La Désalpe takes place when the cows come down from their grazing fields and stay in barns for winter. Yep… it means summer is definitely over.
We headed to a small village of Saint Cergue, already high up in Swiss Jura mountains. Cows were undoubtedly in the spotlight but other attractions included mountain shepherd dogs, long musical tube-horns (I’m pretty sure I once knew their original name but it’s gone now), and lots of countryside goodies like cheese, ham, liquors etc.

Did I mention the goodies? 🙂

There were lots of people, lots of cows, lots of noise and lots of sunshine. Such a nice day to say goodbye to summer.

Discovering France and Switzerland in summer

Another season is past. This summer wasn’t the best one when it comes to weather. I really was hoping for more sunshine that would enable us to set out for more challenging routes in mountains. Maybe the next year. Nevertheless, we managed to see some lovely places and instill the views in photos. See yourself. Other photos of this kind: Discovering.

Rolle:

Russin

Gruyeres:

Broc:

St Genis Pouilly

View on Mt Blanc:

Villaz

CERN:

Chamonix:

Vevey:

View on Geneva:

Annecy:

Dardagny:

Challex:

Cessy:

Ornex:

Montreux:

Fort l’Ecluse:

View on Chamonix:

Our balcony:

Friends’ visit: Annecy, Gruyères, Montreux, Salève

We are hosting Monika and Przemek this week and so, we are doing a must-see-places tour with them. Since they have all appeared on our blog thousands of time, I decided to do a summary post about all the places so that you won’t be bored.
So here it is…

Annecy:

CERN / CMS:

Salève:

Gruyères:

Montreux:

Goldenpass train ride: Gstaad and Château-d’Oex

We have friends coming over to our place so this always mean busy and fun days. I really try and keep my house open to anyone willing to visit us and I always enjoy those visits. Although seeing the same places becomes a bit of a routine to me (I never enjoyed going twice to the same spot) there are still places we haven’t seen around and friends’ visit is a very good occasion to discover something new.
And so… Switzerland is well known for its panoramic trains that meander through mountains and lakes. There are two that are particularly famous – Goldenpass panoramic trail and Glacier Express. The first one is a train that goes way up to the Swiss Alps and has big panoramic screens. The other one goes through glaciers and snow caps.
We drove to Montreux with Monika and Przemek where we hopped on the Panoramic train that would take us up to Gstaad.

The panoramic trail was nice but I guess living here we are a bit used to those landscapes of Lake Geneva and mountains. Gstaad on the other hand was really nice.  It’s a well known ski resort and a very posh place where all the high class of Switzerland spend their holidays and shop for accessories in fancy boutiques.

After a short walk and a hot chocolate break in Gstaad we hopped on a train again and rode to Château-d’Oex (crossing the language border – back to Frenchies). Again, we had a walk in this picteresque village, situated in a valley between the mountains. We didn’t get to see the castle in close up but I don’t regret it as we had a pretty tasty lunch instead. Tummies full? Yes? So let’s go back to Geneva.

La Jonction (2598 m)

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Yet another splendid hike that truly took my breath away. I am so happy I went up this route – it’s just amazing what marvels there are in mountains. La Jonction (2598 m) is the place where two glaciers join (or split – depending on the direction you chose to think about). But let me start from the beginning…

This is Glacier des Bossons:

And this is Glacier du Taconnaz:

The path leading to La Jonction is situated exactly between these two – enabling keen hikers experience „the wow effect” twice (thrice if we count also WOW at La Jonction).
At first we spotted Glacier des Bossons…

…and then Moraine de Taconnaz.

After that the path kept bouncing from one glacier to another. An interesting piece of fact: this route is a historic trail of the first ever climb to Mont Blanc mountain in 1786. The two climbers hiked up to la Jonction, stayed overnight under two big boulders (which are now called Gite a Balmat – from the name of one of them) and then successfully attacked the mountain the next day.

I was really hoping that at some point the trail will be close enough for me to touch the glacier. In the end, not only did I touch it but I also climbed on it. How cool is that?

The views were already super cool at the place I took the photos, but they were even more awesome at the Jonction. I think it was one of – if not 'the’ – most beautiful view I have seen in the mountains.

We spent almost an hour staring at the ice ahead of us, bathing in the sun rays, talking to fellow hikers, and doing photos. We had lots of fun taking the group shots (photo credit goes to Matthias and his wide angle lens). Usually I don’t like having long pauses while in the heights but this time I just couldn’t get enough of this view. I actually think that for this place I could break with my rule of not going twice to the same summit.

Museum Ariana

Today we visited Ariana Swiss Museum for Ceramic and Glass. Although I am not a particular fan of museum (especially on a day like today), we are all still feeling a bit ill and need a break from tiring and challenging weekends. That’s why we decided to see an exhibition.

I won’t lie to you – I didn’t like the exhibitions… 22 000 ceramic pieces – it’s just too much to take in and I am not into the topic anyway. There two most interesting bits about the museum were the building itself (built at the end of the 19th century) and a contemporary artist exhibition (but that was very small).

When we finished the tour we sat outside by the fountain and enjoyed a truly summery weather. It was hot like it should have been the whole August! After that we went to see the United Nations. We are planning to pay a visit to the building itself but we never had occasion so far. but even the surrounding is nice. There is the Broken Chair (5.5 tons of wood and 12 m high) that is there to remind about the land bombs and mines’ victims. There is also a fun fountains installation – they change size and sprout water in various manners. That one is kids’ favourite on a hot day like today!

Aiguillette des Posettes (2201 m)

We hesitated till the last moment with a decision what to do with the day. A quick look at the forecasts… Ok, looks like a fine day for hiking. It was not our first time in mountains with our baby boy, but the most serious outing without a doubt. Technically the route was the easiest one you could have, but it was not that short and moderate when it comes to elevation gain – Aiguillette des Posettes (2201 m).

Yet again, I wa ssurprised by the colours in higher parts. It’s summer in plains, but fall in mountains and I love it!
Our road led through a forest up to Col des Posettes. When we reached it we experienced what I call „the WOW effect”. Beautiful landscape on the surrounding mountain and La Tour glacier. It’s a pity that clouds covered it a bit but still, it was amazing.

From there we continued through more and more colurful surroundings to reach the top. We had the glacier on our right side continuosly so we watched it showing up and disappearing behind the clouds.

Originally we planned to do a loop but because the weather was changing we decided to go back by the route we already covered. Distance-wise it was similar but at least we knew what to expect and there was also a possibility to take the cable car down in case of rain.

I really enjoyed this walk. Autumn… It makes me melancholic!

Col de la Terrasse (2645 m)

It’s been a while I did a serious hike so I was looking up to this one. Col de la Terrasse (2645 m) is situated in a beautiful terrain around French-Suisse border. The peaks that are there differ from the ones I know, as they are more harsh, with plain rocks or lunar sand. Really beautiful!

I started my day going through a forest with a group of CERN colleagues. Humid but warm weather is favourable for mushrooms but I’m no picker. I guess the red ones were inedible anyway.
When we left the forest we entered the fields. It’s the first time this season that I saw autumn pushing forward. The colours were amazing – yellow, brown and red. Is it really fall time? I haven’t had enough of summer yet!

After Chalets de Loriaz we were constantly haunted by the clouds. we somehow managed to get away from them but they limited our view consistently. In the end, I was happy they didn’t hide everything from our eyes. For example we were able to spot a pack of chamois grazing somewhere by the snow. Or a groundhog – always a treat to see!

When we sat for a snack break the clouds played hide and seek with us. Sometimes we could see the sky, sometimes we couldn’t. It was the same with our destination – every now and then it would show up behind the fog. We were hoping to have at least some view when we reach the pass. Final meters were more difficult but nothing too bad.

And here it is – Col de la Terasse. Although visibility was not perfect, it definitely was good enough to make me marvel. Pointy, rocky tops, red and black stone, and before all – the lakes!

The lakes were really stunning. There were at least a couple of them and they looked differently from each angle. That is why I took tons of photos of them – I just couoldn’t resist. I usually make this a tradition to dip my feet in mountain puddles but not this time! The snow there is not without a reason. It was pretty windy and cold!

Ok, enough of the lakes… Let’s move on to pink and red rock. I haven’t seen such colours in the mountain yet. I wonder what kind of stone is that – painted in unicorn’s colours 🙂

Time to leave the clay valley and move on to pastures of green and waterfalls. That was pretty awesome too. It’s a pity we didn’t see the top of Buet mountain but Buet is already on my to-do list for some time so I will be back for sure!

The last part of the route led through a valley, along a stream and Buet mountain. Final look on the pastel colours that aren’t there yet in the plains and back to summer in lower parts.