Tag: Nature

Goodbye Mont Blanc

It’s not really a secret that I set my heart on claiming Mont Blanc. Although I never felt the goal was near, I’ve always had it in my mind and every time I saw the mountain it reminded me of my dream. Today I already know it’s not going to happen during our current stay in France, as we are soon leaving.  It doesn’t mean that I let go but it for sure complicates a lot. So I feel lots of regret when I see climbers like in the photo above. I have to say – my last trip to Chamonix was very nostalgic.

We took Radek’s mum to Chamonix and we did all the musts there:
– we took the cable car to Aiguille du Midi (at staggering 3842m)  to get as close to Mont Blanc as possible for tourists,
– then we took Montenvers train to Glace de Mer glacier where we entered the ice cave.
Ok, what’s missing is step into the void (the glass cage on top of the steeple) but that was closed at the moment and Radek’s mum didn’t really feel like hanging over a chasm. We made a rather fast tour over Aiguille du Midi because lack of oxygen was taking its toll. So last final look at the climbers and off we go to the lower land where Radek and Wojtek were waiting for us.

In Chamonix we walked to the train station, stopping by at Pattisserie’s to stock up on some gooddies. Montenvers train is very nice itself, meandring slowly through forests and mountains. A 20-minute ride took us to the glacier departing station where we had an unexpected mandatory break because the baby got rocked on the train and fell asleep in daddy’s arms.

Once nap time was over we all headed to the ice cave. Because the level of the glacier decreases every year, we first needed to take a cable car down and then walk some good amount of stairs to reach the cave. This really makes you understand what global warming is… Call me an eco-freek but it was very depressing to me. Nevertheless, the amount of ice in Mer de Glace glacier is still overwhelming. It’s not seen at the first glance as it’s mostly covered by rocks and dust but the gray surface down there in the photo above it’s all ice underneath. Should you not believe, have a look at our photos from the ice cave carved at the heart of it.

 And so we finished the day. It’s hard to be parting with places I love but I’m looking forward to what future brings. Some new areas to discover – that’s for sure.
 

Refuge du Plan Glacier (2680 m)

Another place from our „to do list”. Last year we didn’t have weather good enough to realize all our hiking plans so we must make it up this year. Refuge du Plan Glacier is not exactly a mountain, but it’s situated in the heart of Alps, with such beautiful views on the valleys and glaciers around. We started close to Chamonix, so the area well known to us. At first the path was pretty mild, going mainly flat or with mild elevation gains.

Then we continued on a very steep, physical passage (but nothing technical) up to Col de Tricot. That was quite a work out! Up there – lots of amicable sheep craving for our lunch, lovely views and many tourists having a break.

From there on we continued in the direction to Plan Glacier refuge. Not many hikers followed our footpath as the whole tour from Gruvaz would be rather long and require a lot of stamina. That didn’t put us off though! The landscape soon changed as vegetation left place to bare rocks and we approached the glacier. Did I mention I love glaciers? 🙂

At times it got technical but nothing scary in good conditions like that day.

And finally, the refuge. I was pretty happy we finally reached it, I was a bit worn down by this long ascent. We sat down under the shelter, ordered some local goodies, studied the map and ate some chocolate (thanks Arnaud!). The glacier was at my fingertips, really and every time I find myself in such a situation I just want to put on the gear and continue… I guess some day I’ll grow to this and we’ll start mountaineering. I think Arnaud had the same feelings because two weeks later he went on a trip with his friend and the route they covered was from Plan Glacier, to the next refuge (crossing the glacier) and up to the neighbouring mountain. But that required the gear and skills that we currently don’t have. I’ll put it on my „dreams wish list”.



Stats: Length: ~20km, duration: 7h 45min, elevation gain: 1650m.

VF Morez

We’re not done yet with via ferratas. It teaches me a lot to go out of my comfort zone and conquer all the fears. And after the second time on the wall I can already tell – it gets easier and easier. Today’s route technically was actually not complicated. The only passage that gave us a thrill were the two bridges stretched between smooth, vertical walls. I had quite a pickle finding the right way to place my feet and not to fall. But I’m starting to like this sensation of rushing heartbeat out there!

 As I said, the rest of the route was rather easy and we had lots of fun in our little group. The views were nice so every now and then we stopped by to have a look at the valley. I’m still not decided if it’s going to be my hobby or not. I guess we need another try 🙂

And a short movie from the day:

VF Fort l’Ecluse

We’re trying to tuck in as many activities as possible before our departure home. In the end, it’s our last chance to try via ferrata (we have no such attraction in Poland). It’s actually surprising that we haven’t tried it earlier – there are so many around, it’s in mountains, it requires a lot of interaction with forces of nature, it’s challanging… But somehow we hesitated until now.
We chose a route that is 15 minutes away from our place, at the rock of Fort l’Ecluse. We really didn’t know what to expect except from nice views that we know well by now. So we set off full of excitement.

As you can see from one of the photos above, it was scary 🙂 It was actually the scariest thing I’ve done so far in mountains. It was so scary that at some point I froze somewhere on the rock unsure how to proceed so that I don’t find myself hanging from a vertical wall. But it was fun! I enjoyed it a lot and once the fright passed, we were left with excitement and smiles on our faces. In the beginning we weren’t sure if we wanted to repeat it or not but after a while we decided to give it another try so stay tuned for more of daredevil via ferrata acrobatics 🙂

An overview of the route:

Pic de Jallouvre (2408m)

Holidays! Our first outing – Jallouvre. Not too difficult but also not too easy – just fine for the start of the season. And the views…

After a mild and longish start where we somehow managed to lose a path, we began the ascent. We were moving quite quickly wanting to leave the heat behind and reach cooler temperatures in hights.

We were fast so we reached the fun part in no time. I knew we would be going on a dramatic ridge but apparently we became too much of daredevils as our heart rates didn’t speed for a second while crossing it. But it’s always fun to go past such a technical passage.

After the ridge there was a short steep passage and the top already. The views were truly amazing.

Stats: Length: 13 km; Elevation gain: 900m; Time: 4h

Roc de Tavaneuse (2156 m)

What can you do when the temperature rises to 40 dg. C? Go to a beach or in the mountains. But the latter is also quite an extreme experience unless until you reach elevation of around 2k. I had a chance to learn it. My today walk with Arnaud wasn’t really challenging but the heat wave made it super difficult in the beginning. Also, I forgot my camera so the quality of photos leaves a lot to be desired. Therefore I show you only a couple – just to give you a taste of the views we had. I regret just one thing – I should have jumped in that lake!

Passerelle de Bionnassay

Today we made a family walk in valley of Bionnassay. Five adults, three babies, 7 kilometres, 500 m elevation gain and one suspension bridge – that was the plan for today. We had lots of fun together, it’s nice to be watching kids discover the beauty of nature.

There is really not that much to say about this trip. We escaped the heat (over 30 dg. in the plains) to a nice mountain breeze, we enjoyed the easy path and had lots of fun crossing the passerelle. We will soon be back in this region with Radek, but we plan to do a more challenging hike that will lead us to the glaciers that we can see in the pictures. So stay tuned!

Discovering France, Switzerland, Poland and Italy in spring

This spring was plentiful of activities for us. the weather is very good this year so we can benefit from that having 1-day trips around, we did an almost 3-week trip to Poland and went for holidays on Sardinia. here are some flashbacks from this time.

Versoix:

Toddler’s Group Bake Sales:

Szczecin:

Annecy:

Meyrin:

Sardinia:

Traversing Mont Billiat (1894 m) to Pointe d’Ireuse (1890 m)

Last time I did 3 tops, today a step back as we are doing only two. But… two way more challenging than the previous ones. Now I know I will leave the area in th end of August so I have only a couple of weeks left to hike all the tops that are on my must-see list. Mont Billiat is one of them as it defeated me last year (see this post). I can never stand being defeated by a mountain and I always come back when I can to take my revenge. Just like this time.

We reached Mont Billiat very quickly, the ascent was relatively easy.

From that point true fun began. To reach Pointe d’Ireuse we needed to traverse an exposed ridge of a neighbouring hill. It was a real amusement this route. It was exposed and difficult at places but nothing too serious and we all enjoyed the walk. Sergey even decided to do some yoga (see title photo) – quite an acrobatics to me.

We were seeing this vertical wall at the end of our route and were wondering how on earth would we go past that. It turned out it was equipped with chains but that didn’t help me much. My two colleagues both were taller than me and had climbing experience. They managed to climb up but I struggled a lot. At certain point I lifted my leg to reach an edging but didn’t manage to raise my body and found myself hanging on the cliff having one hand on the chain and the other in Misha’s hand. That was funny. I happen to have a video of this somewhat dramatic moment but I’ll keep it to myself. I stayed calm and with Misha’s help I managed to find a way out. Maybe it wasn’t in line with climbing rules but at least I didn’t hang anymore 🙂

That was one last adrenaline spike of the day. From this point we easily reached Pointe d’Ireuse and back to the car. Lovely day.

Col de Crozet (1474 m)

We’re benefiting from nice weather and mountains just across our village… Crozet is like 10 minute drive from our place – the closest we can reach a hike starting point. Jura is nice to be explored with babies as there are no technical difficulties whatosoever and the views are rewarding. It’s a pity I forgot my camera SD card so photos quality is so-so.