by Hallu » Tue 15 Nov, 2016 1:14 am
Then I wanted to see the Vanoise glaciers, which form an ice cap over a large area. This was right behind the previous hike. So it meant going to the other valley of Vanoise, Maurienne. It's not a pretty valley by any means. It's scarred by ski tourism, and all its pretty villages but one (Bonneval sur Arc) have been destroyed by the Germans during WW2 (thanks guys...). There are a few forts dating from Vauban and modernized in the 19th century, but that's it. Luckily the walks are beautiful. The first one I did was my first real 3000+m peak, Pointe de l'Observatoire. Quite weird to do it in November could you tell me. And yes you'd be right, but the book said it was one of the easiest. The walk starts easily by climbing onto a grassy plateau, before climbing more seriously. The cold made the track very icy, which is a lot more dangerous than snow. Luckily it wasn't too steep or exposed. Once at the mountain pass, I was walking in 10-20 cm snow. I saw a guy in front of me scaling the peak like it was nothing so I followed in his steps. The views were already amazing. Unfortunately this guy was obviously more experienced that I am, following the hardest path, right on the crest. So I veered off from his footsteps, put my crampons on as it was very slippery and ascended via a safer route. It was still too slippery for my comfort. Not enough snow to cover the boulders, too much to have good footing on them. The summit had a very nice view, but I'm not a climber, and that was a bit too much for me. Climbing down to the pass took me even longer. A bit too scary to really enjoy those views. One side is boulders and slippery snow, some boulders tumbling down, the other is a sheer 500 m cliff.
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Last edited by
Hallu on Tue 15 Nov, 2016 1:29 am, edited 1 time in total.