Winter Mountains

2/08/2012

Roads turned into snowshoe/ ski tracks for winter

In February as the temperatures are plummeting everywhere in France and some of the lowest temperatures are recorded across the country, Paris just wasn't cold enough for us. We needed to get somewhere where winter means lots of snow and outdoor activities! The weather turned out pretty nice, as always in the southern Alps, and we woke up to bright sunshine and fresh snow on our first day.

We headed for the Col du Granon in Serre Chevalier and got started with snow shoes. The road had probably one meter of snow on it and the street signs were almost buried underneath the snow banks. The enjoyable thing about going with snowshoes is that you don't run into too many people during your day, and you can actually have the feeling of solitude. During the whole day we ran into few people who were doing ski touring (which by the way is a fantastic way to go off path), and other than that we were pretty much by ourselves. After some more climbing we came across a wintry little forest with beautiful snowy trees and frozen river - little things like these are what makes winter so pretty! About 15 min before the summit (2413m) the wind was picking up so much that we started to feel really cold (felt like -15C) and we called it a day. Even at that altitude the views over the Serre Chevalier valley and its ski slopes, as well as the high peaks of Les Ecrins national park were outstanding.

The second day we got to a place called Cervieres, located at the bottom of the mighty pic de Rochebrune (peak of 3320m). The path we followed was partly on the ski tracks and at times it followed a narrow snowshoe path through forest. After few hours into the walk, we started having nice views down to the village and it was also time to start thinking about a lunch break. We found a nice little spot on a fallen tree and cleared the snow - hello winter picnic! Afterwards we pushed a bit higher up to a beautiful frozen waterfall, and then turned back down.

After a long day outdoors we sure appreciated the hefty Tartiflette (traditional mountain food) on our plates that night...yum.

The next day it was time to get on the nordic skis. The mountain pass of Col d'Izoard is a famous road summer time (home for Tour de France in multiple years), and over the winter months it transforms into this magnificent ski track. We took about two good hours to reach the refuge Napoléon at 2300m, and few minutes later we got to the top of the pass (2361m). The views to each side of the mountain are spectacular and well worth the push! After taking in the beautiful landscapes, we got back down to the refuge, where we got greeted by sledge dogs. A cup of hot wine later, we were all warmed up and ready to enjoy what we'd probably call the best part of the day- the 10km downhill!

The second skiing day was to one of our favourite valleys - Vallee de la Claree. The sky was blue but the wind made it difficult at times to get forward. We had a nice lunch indoors in this little tavern, and were fueled up to continue all the way till the last village (Laval). It was a good hour to go, but the conditions were somewhat better now. The refuge of Laval is recently renewed and offers an excellent place to stay overnight or just for a shorter rest. We got to sit by the fireplace and admire the views outside from their big windows and enjoy some hot beverages they prepared for us. Such a relaxing atmosphere! What took us hours to go, took us exact 35 minutes on return...