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| Mont Blanc |
It's been a hot and sweaty week on the Tour of Mont Blanc trail. The media warned us the "canicule" was coming and we should keep old people and pets hydrated. Last weekend saw the temps soar to well over 35°C in the valleys, obviously considerably less in the mountains, but nevertheless my fellow hikers were seeking out the shade.
But what luck to have such amazing weather! We were never cold and could sit out in the evenings watching then sun go down. Our sacs were light as we had no need to carry lots of extra layers.
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| Herens cow at the Col des Posettes |
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| Getting close to the Grand Col Ferret and the Swiss Italian frontier |
Clearly we had to carry more water but not a ridiculous amount. My group coped really well and were rather spoilt by great views from the start.
Storms were forecast from mid week but somehow we managed to always miss them and only had real rain overnight a couple of times. However we did hurry along a few times when black clouds cloaked and thunder rumbled down the hillsides!
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| Storms clouds over the Mont Blanc massif |
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| Admiring the view from the Val Veny |
Conditions were probably better where we were than in the high mountains. With a freezing level at 4600m the glaciers have become very open and icy, and there have been reports of considerable rockfall on certain slopes and gullies. Also the threat of storms will have stopped play these last few days.
All that is about to change with snow forecast this weekend at 2000m - I had to scrape ice off the car windscreen this morning!
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| Mont Dolent from the Grand Col Ferret |
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| Monte Bianco |
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| Taking it all in above Refuge Bertone |
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| Onwards and downwards! |
This marks the end of my summer trekking season - somewhat earlier than usual but everyone needs a break sometimes. Trekking in the Alps is heading off on holiday for a few weeks - time to hang up the boots and lie on the beach (in my dreams anyway!)
However, don't panic, the
winter and spring programme 2013 is already up and bookings are coming in. Go to this link:
http://www.trekkinginthealps.com/calendar.htm
1 comment:
Its good to see you back after mont blanc trekking. Thank God your luck was with you and you managed all stuff well. 2-3 years back one of my friend was facedwith an incident while he was in this trekking program.
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