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Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silene_vulgaris
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We woke at quarter to six in Swindon.
Outside it was warm and cloudy. But with the promise of sunshine later.
We had a shower, dressed and was down fr breakfast for half six, with all bar the cooked food ready.
So, we filled our boots with fruit and coffee before the fry up was brought. Aroud us, young red-eyed familes ate in a daze, and men in work clothes got ready for their last working day of the week.
We had a 90 minute drive, so we turned out of the car park at seven, across the huge roundabout ond onto the M4 heading due west for Bath, Bristol and Wales.
We put the radio on, and as the cruised through the Wiltshire countryside, the clouds above thinned and the sun broke through.
It was going to be a perfect day for orchiding.
We crossed over the new bridge ito Wales, traffic was heavier, but it flowed well, and all around the weather improved.
Past Newport and Cardiff beofre trning off to the coast, lead by the sat nav into which I had programmed the postcode. Although that wasn't enough, as the post coast was a gated farm track.
We tried to drive into the nearest town, and there was no reserve, but on the way out I saw a brown sign with a waterfowl, the symbol for a reserve.
Getting close now.
We arrived, and already the car park was half full, because sadly most people use reserves as dog exercise areas, and we were to be harassed and harried all our visit but aggressive small and larger dog and owners who don't give a toss.
I was here to see a rarer colour variation of the Early Marsh, but Kenfig is also home to the only western colony of Fen Orchids. I had seen these in Norfolk a few years back, but as were here, and someone on Twitter supplied me with a grid reference and good directions, as the orchids are tiny.
So, we went via a maze of tracks, heading mostly west, through coppices and dunes, until there was a large open area of grass.
And orchids.
And there were the magenta coloured EMO.
I filled my boots.
Then, to find the Fens.
Beside one dune that looked just like any other, some work had been done last year to disturb the soil, and here, if we looked hard enough, would be the orchids.
What I saw were hundreds of Marsh Helleborine rosettes putting up spikes, more than I have seen since I was on the Snook.
But then I saw the familiar spike, with two rounded leaves wrapped round the spike.
But not in flower.
We looked more, and found three more spikes, but none in flower.
Then Jools called, and by a short piece of bamboo, there were two flowering spikes, barely 4cm tall.
I got my pictures and we turned for the car, meeting folks on the way who showed us a good spot for dragonflies. We saw damsels, though they were flighty, and then a couple of dragons, but neither settled. Sure one was either a Norfolk of Brown Hawker, but can't be sure.
We reached the car and programmed the hotel in: 117 miles and nearly four hours away.
We drove back to the motorway, past a music festival with people arriving carrying tents and coolers.
We drove on.
Back onto the M4, before turning up through Neath and up and up to Brecon.
At the highest point of the pass, miles of cars parked on the verge, and a line of folks in bright rainware heading further up.
It was packed. So we drove on.
Down the otherside, we came to a greasy spoon, where we stopped and had coffee with "posh" sausage rolls and cakes, whole sitting in deckchairs provided, so we could look on the traffic as we ate.
We drove on, looking for a pub in which to whet our whistle. But there were none. For over an hour we passed through towns and villages, but no pubs were seen, The one we did find, was closed and locked.
We had over an hour to kill, so
We drove on.
Within twenty miles of the hotel we came upon a Red Lion, they were not doing food, but they had beer.
We supped our ales sitting in the beer garden, while around birds sang in joy.
Not a bad spot.
We had an hour to kill, so needed to stop. I saw signs for Welshpool, so thought we would call in. And I knew there was a narrow gauge railway here, maybe it would be working?
Being the second bank holiday of the Jubilee, and just after three, there wasn't much happening in town. Jools went to Boots to get supplies for her cold, and I wandered around taking shots.
We went into a coffee shop for a brew. I made the mistake of having a flavoured latte, but turned down the sugar when offered. Good job, as I had forgotten how sweet coffee with syrup could be, even with an extra shot of espresso in.
But we had killed an hour, so could go to the pub and our home for the next week.
We reached the hotel at four, Bob the landlord was expecting us, and poured me a pint in welcome, as was a fellow armourer in a previous life.
Our toom is up two steep flights of stairs, but we have three rooms, two beds, two TVs and a bathroom. Which will do.
We went down for dinner, I feasted on steak and ale pie. Homemade, while Jools has chicken Kyiv.
We had a cheeseboard, and a wine, before weariness swept over us, and we headed back up them steep stairs to bed.
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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It's my future daughter-in-law's 30th birthday tomorrow so we all as a family went out for a meal the other night. Everyone else in the group had this for dessert whereas I opted for the cheeseboard.
Sugee minicakes in the shape of wine bottles arranged around a sugee cake cheeseboard. The cheese is also sugee cake and the grapes are agar-agar
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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Broken plates etc over an old cheeseboard. Available for purchase in my brand new etsy store. See my profile for the link.
The cheese board at The White Horse, Parsons Green. It includes Stinking Bishop, Keens Cheddar and Colston Bassett, with a big wedge of quince jelly, some ripe grapes, some pickle and some crackers.
The 8' long cheeseboard sign for Fromage that I built and painted finally installed in the roof of Facebook's building 20. Made of 3 milled Alaskan Yellow Cedar boards and painted with 1 Shot enamels.
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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For Christmas this year we made our families personalized cheese boards harvested from a fallen limb in our backyard. The wood was dried, cut, planed, sanded, laser etched, and oiled with our very own spoon butter. Spoon butter adds a layer of food safe protection for the wood and provides a nice gloss.
More at: fadetofuture.com
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets- Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
DSC04864
I left work early on Thursday to go hang out in the woods in Berkeley and on the way back I picked up a pizza from the Cheeseboard Collective. The Cheeseboard is a co-op that sells just one different flavor of pizza each day. The pizza is thin crust, always vegetarian and always delicious. They serve it super hot and fresh continuously to the line of folks that come for it throughout the day.
Thursday's pizza was roasted acorn squash, caramelized onions, mozzarella and gouda cheese. As soon as it came out of the oven they brushed it with garlic olive oil and sprinkled it with fresh chopped herbs. Pizza heaven!
Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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Sunday 15 July 2012: Les Bossons (Chamonix-Mont Blanc) - Les Praz - La Flégère - Réserve Naturelle des Aiguilles Rouges (Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve) - Col des Montets - Les Frasserands
Day 2 of our Tour du Mont Blanc, on Exodus' Mont Blanc Circuit trip - a clockwise circumambulation of the Mont Blanc massif
We woke to rain, and after a damp breakfast and our first tussle with Kili (we had to pack up our "2 Seconds + III" each morning - it's not easy wrangling a c160cm diameter dome tent back into its 81cm diameter flat pack carrying case) we loaded our main packs into the van, said au revoir to Ben and headed off with Simon to catch the bus from Les Bossons school to the nearby village of Les Praz.
The Téléphérique de la Flégère took us up from the Chamonix-Mont Blanc valley floor up to La Flégère at 1,894 m, where we swopped rain for cloud and a good few °C. Togged up in windproofs and waterproofs, we headed off along the footpath following the signs for Col des Montets - Simon had told us that the poor weather conditions meant that we would not be able do the planned high level route via Lac Blanc with its vertical ladders...
Still, the cloud and raindrops made for lovely flower photos in the Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, and Waiora and I got some glimpses of glaciers on the far side of the valley ahead and behind, waterfalls and the bright green lichen on the rich red iron rich gneiss rocks that give the Aiguilles Rouges mountains their name - the Red Needles. There's something quite magical about walking through the quietude of cloud.
As the day wore on, the skies cleared and we got better views of mountains above us and across the valley, including the Glacier du Tour. Waiora and I even had our own close encounter with a pair of Ibex, grazing in between the Alpine Rose (Rhododendrons) that cover the mountainsides in this part of the world. Shortly after, having enjoyed an easy day's walking along undulating path (the cable car having done the hard work of the ascent for us) we started the steep, zig zagging descent back down to the road, where we rendezvoused with Simon at the information centre at Col des Montets (1461m).
A short stroll later we were walking through the bucolic alpine village of Les Frasserands, where we found the rest of the group soaking up the sun at the campsite. After a rather late lunch, Hazel and I wandered into the town with Vicki and Rachel and treated ourselves to a jug of Jupiler beer served by a waitress from Wolverhampton at a bar in the village centre. A bit too cool to loiter for long once the sun went in/down.
Dinner was a feast served up in the dining room at Camping Les Frasserands - complete with a magnificent cheeseboard....
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