Tag: Winter

Tete de Bostan (2406 m)

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.

Pointe de Bellevue (2041 m)

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

Our last skiing outing this year: Espace Diamant

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:

Plateau des Glières (1782 m) on snowshoes

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

Let the hiking season begin: Orsière (1750m)

I have to admit it – I got a bit tired of skiing. Maybe not that much of the activity itself but rather the side effect that we didn’t spend enough family time together. So this week we are taking a break from skiing, not from mountains though!
To inaugurate the hiking season I chose something easy, in any case, when we have a toddler on our back we’re not able to climb hell rocks and devil pits. Pointe d’Orsière seemed like a good choise – with no technical difficulty and low altitudes. And it was, with one 'but’.

The weather was a bit unfortunate. We drove there in full sunshine and took off all the layers in our car. But as we entered the car park it got gloomy and with every minute it was only worse. Throughout the whole day we saw the sun only a couple of times on our way back.

Although the route was very easy, we did struggle with ourselves. When you look at this outing from the perspective of our past hiking routes, this should have been like a walk in a park. But it really wasn’t! It’s sad how fast we lose the stamina when we stop doing sports. On top of that, our son is really heavy now so the 550 m of elevation gain we did is the maximum for hikes with him.

 
The whole trip made us so tired that 100 m before the summit we even considered turning back. In the end we turned down that thought and continue to the top following ski tourers’ trails. We spent only a couple of seconds at the top and descended by crossing the snowfields in the fresh powder snow. It’s always the best fun, as it literally lifts you when you rush down the slope in snowshoes. By no means the best part of the day!

Stats: max altitude: 1750m; elevation gain: 568 m; length: 12 km; duration: 4h 10 min

Skiing in Châtel

This weekend I went skiing in Châtel with my colleague from CERN office. Oliver is an experienced skier (CERN level 3.5 when I was 0.5) so skiing with him was a bit challenging. 

He convinced me to go down some black slopes and in the end I had a lot of fan what you can see in the attached pictures and the video 😉

After this crazy tricks I deserved some yummy food.

This day was lots of fun even with mediocre weather and me feeling a bit sick. But what I am really waiting for is skiing together with Ania. Another 3 weeks and we will be able to do that.

Weekend skiing: Les Contamines and Espace Diamant

CERN ski course has come to an end so now we enjoy more freedom when it comes to skiing. On Saturday I went with a couple of colleagues to Les Contamines. It was my favourite resort of the ones I had seen but unluckily, I had really bad conditions that day. No visibility, strong wind, rather cold temperature – it was a real challenge to me to ski there. But that’s not all! I had to scale the heights of my skills as my companions were way more experienced and imposed a very fast pace on the pistes. I barely managed to keep up but it all gave me lots of satisfaction and fun (combined with a bit of terror too). To make the day brimful, I went down a black slope. How cool is that? Who would have thought that 2 months ago I even didn’t know how to put the skis on 🙂

Radek had more luck this week. He went to a new place – Espace Diamant. Beautiful weather, endless pistes, no people whatsoever, breathtaking views and a relaxing lunch break on a patio with a mountain landscape – what to want more? The resort was so big that within a day they managed to see only a small part of it. Without any doubts, we will return there.

Skiing in Avoriaz

Our last outing with CERN Ski Club took place in Avoriaz. We skied to a beautiful, blue sky with almost no clouds, in abundance of snow and in good moods. It’s amazing how much progress we did thanks to these five days with instructors. I mean, I put my skis for the first time this year and now I am able to go down a red piste without problems.

We both got into skiing but I have to admit I miss hiking. I feel like going snowshoeing soon, to have a bit more contact with mountains. With the skis everything is fast, there’s not that much time to take in the vastness of mountains. I guess ski touring would be sport for us but that’s maybe for the future 🙂

(That’s Dents du Midi on the left – our biggest trophy so far):

Skiing in Les Contamines

This week’s outing was in Les Contamines in French Alps. This is by no means the prettiest ski resort I have seen so far, it’s a pity I had visibility only for a very short period in the morning. Still, it’s better luck than Radek had as he skied in blizzard and mist and haven’t seen anything. I hope to go there one more time to show him the beauty of mountains around.

Within half an hour the weather turned from what you see in the upper photos into this:

In any case, we had lots of fun both on the pistes and in the lifts 🙂