Today's outing was to the Col de l"Arpettaz where it was hoped that we would find a landscape covered in crocuses. We headed south west from St Gervais, and passed through Megève heading in the direction of Albertville before turning off the main road to begin the climb up to the Col.
We climbed steadily and passed the hamlet of Hauteville (High Town) thinking that the Col could not be much further. This was soon revealed as foolishness as we continued to climb. The scenery as we climbed was splendid (see above) and became more spectacular, with snow-capped mountains in the background as we got nearer the Col.
This was our view as we made the final approach.
We parked at the Col - 1681m above sea level - where we were pleased to find that there was a cafe for lunch and headed along a stony track. It was quite cool, but not cold.
On the right a small pool reflected the sky and the top of Mont Blanc, which we were surprised to see in the distance.
A little further along the path, the view of Mont Blanc was more clearly defined.
Sadly, there were no crocuses in sight on the hillside we were walking beside - the whole area seemed to have been scoured of any life. Happily, however, a little further on, some lovely wild flowers at least could be spotted.
Just beyond this point we came upon an interesting sight. It was an area where there was still frozen snow over a small stream. John pointed out the hazard that this presented: the snow was not solid, but rather a shallow archway with a void underneath. During the climbing season, an unwary climber could easily place a foot on the insubstantial snow and have a nasty fall.
At around this point we decided to head back for lunch. It couldn't resist one last snap of the valley which stretched away from us. Lunch was excellent.
Conditions: cool, becoming warmer. Pretty clear skies.
Distance: only a couple of miles.
Rating: four stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment