Springtime in the Drome

Trekking in the Alps is branching out and will be offering hiking in northern Provence next spring.

What a beautiful area: rocky valleys and rounded summits, beautiful old Provençal villages and clear fast flowing rivers. Already people are bronzing on the rocks and bathing in the water.

Spring burst upon us in April and each week sees new flowers blooming.

The vines are green and leafy and the cherries almost ripe.

And the very best thing about hiking in this region? The vultures!

In certain areas you only have to look up and there will be at least a couple of beautiful huge graceful Griffin vultures circling overhead.

Then of course there's also the biking - Mont Ventoux, the "Giant of Provence" is visible everytime you climb a hill so it's hard to ignore it. But here's more to biking here than that huge climb, good though it is. Small roads anbd passes abound and along the way you're sure to find a nice village café for a cold beer and a cake.

So watch this space for the dates for next spring, and of course for the 2012 Snowshoeing schedule.

Who says there's no snow in the Alps?

Admittedly I was quite worried when temperatures hit 27°C in Chamonix a week before my last Snowshoe trip! But with a little imagination, a willingness to travel and a certain amount of luck we managed to have a fantastic Easter week, largely on snowshoes with some flowery spring walking thrown in for good measure.



We had sunshine every day except one and so we enjoyed fabulous alpine views. Early starts were necessary to take advantage of hard frozen snow, and this gave wonderful alpine sunrises.

As is often the case at the end of the winter, we needed to have finished our walks by early afternoon, so hot siestas were enjoyed, sipping cold beer and watching the world go by.



We climbed 5 summits and one high pass in our 6 days, had several golden eagle and lammageier vulture sightings and were always joined by playful alpine choughs for lunch.
For me this week confirmed my view that snowshoeing is an extremely versatile way to explore the mountains in winter, regardless of the snow conditions.
Now it's time to hang up the raquettes for this year and to prepare for the summer season.

It's hot, snowy, very beautiful but just a little bit dodgy

We've just had more or less 2 weeks of sun, interpersed with the very odd snowflake here and there. The snowshoeing is still excellent, we've had some fabulous days as the photos show, but there's no doubt that the end of the season is shaping up to be one where you need to choose your slopes carefully and be ready to change plans if you have the slightest doubt.

There's plenty of safe snowshoe walks but you need to know what you're looking for. 3 days in Italy a week ago we saw slopes that were ready to slide all around us. We ourselves were perfectly safe but venturing off the track was certainly not an option.

The snowpack has been shallow all season and the long very cold period early in the year led to the formation of a deep layer of depth hoar. On top of this we have numerous wind slabs, and now that it's very hot the whole lot is ready to go in some places.

However, all that said, it's wonderful to be walking in bright sun with uninterrupted views, warm enough to picnic on summits and cols without wearing 2 coats and 3 hats.

Snowshoeing remains a joy but as with all mountain activities, the deal is - if in doubt turn back. The mountain will be there another day - we must make sure we are.

Fantastic snow, great conditions and brilliant company!

I sometimes think I have the Best Job Ever, and that was certainly the case these last two weeks. Obviously good weather and safe snow conditions make for great snowshoeing, but in my job there is an extra requirement - more than anything else the people I am with make or break the day for me.

I have just spent two weeks in fantastic company and I feel very lucky!! Of course that means I have lots to say and want to show lots of photos so this is a big post.

The first week saw the Alps finally have lots of fresh snow and although this meant I had to revise my decisions on where to go every day, the scenery and the descents were that much better for having had a fresh coat of the white stuff. My group of regulars certainly knew how to make the most of it, leaping and bounding down every slope they could find.

We had a memorable night in an unwardened hut when the group were treated to my cooking (well, just the custard actually, but it was a big hit). We also spent two nights at Simplon Pass - whilst the rest of the Alps were bathed in hot sun, Simplon was subjected to fog and high winds accompanied at times by blizzard conditions! But when it cleared......it was amazing. This new (to me) area is one I will certainly be returning to, there is so much to do on snowshoes and the pass itself is steeped in history.

Then last week I headed south to the Dauphiné Alps and spent 6 days in perfect weather exploring the Val Clarée, home to some of the best snowshoe walks I know. We did everything we set out to do in glorious sunshine, with generally great powder under-raquette. Again I can't think of anything to complain about - everyone kept me laughing for the whole time.

All change now - it's already snowing on the south side of the Alps.......winter hasn't said its last word just yet. For this 20th year of Trekking in the Alps it's certainly a memorable season so far. Hope it continues like this.

Fresh snow - if you're in the right place!

This last week I was with a group in the Valle d'Aoste in Italy - thank goodness as this is where the powder is!
Okay, so to get good snow you have to have some bad weather, but our week started and finished in sunshine and in between we had a few days in snowy forests with some fabulous wildlife spottings.




25cms of light cold snowfall on a hard base makes for perfect snowshoeing conditions and we certainly made the most of it.



Not everyone wants to take the descents at speed and this week you could enjoy the soft snow under raquette whether bounding or strolling.

There are advantages to this relatively lean snow winter - the avalanche risk right now is minimal and in good weather we can go almost anywhere - the only downside being icy slopes in places. Hence the snowshoes are kept on at all times as the traction has proved to be essential on slippery forest trails.
As the days get longer and the sun gets higher in the sky the valleys will heat up and we'll move into spring like conditions but for the moment the shots tell it all - it's still winter and if you're lucky enough to be in the right place, it's a very good one.

Winter sunshine makes for very happy snowshoers!

It's been a few years since we've had what we regard as "normal" winter conditions - weeks and weeks of sunshine as a result of high pressure sitting over the Alps. Recent winters have been far more unstable with some sunny days but always broken by snowfall.
This winter we're back to the old days - snow hasn't been seen falling for at least 6 weeks and I've just had 2 weeks non-stop snowshoeing under clear blue skies.



So everybody's happy, even though the lean snow condiitons mean sometimes our snowshoes serve more as crampons than real "raquettes". Who cares, so long as we do fab walks, with great views and the odd slopes of deep snow which has remained protected from the sun and the skiers.

It's probably worse for the skiers who do set rather higher standards for their snow, but we snowshoers are easily pleased so long as there is minimum snow cover and the Alps and summits are quiet and beautiful, as they have been.

No sign of a change yet so let's hope it holds for the next week, over in the Aosta Valley where they have had more snow than France or Switzerland anyway.
Of course, we're going to pay for all this eventually......but for the moment it's just fantastic!

Sunshine and snow to start the New Year

It's been a while since my snowshoes have seen the light of day - not much call for them in Provence! But I was back out in the white stuff this week, over in the Val Clarée near Briançon in very cold but clear conditions.

What a fabulous place this is for snowshoeing - every time I go there I am overwhelmed by the beauty of this region. This time it was so quiet - the New Year holidays are over and there were very few people around so I had the whole mountain and slopes to myself!

A brisk romp up to the Col de Buffère finally warmed me up enough to take some photos - if only I could operate my camera in mittens! As I got back down to Névache the sun had just hit the village - wouldn't much want to live there in the winter but once the sun comes out the place comes to life - and of course the sundials come into their own too.

This is definitely one of my very favourite venues for snowshoeing and I intend to be over there a lot more in future. Meanwhile I'm looking forward to taking a group there in March - it's going to be good.

Until then, lots of other great weeks coming up, based in Vallorcine, my village, and also in Italy's Aosta valley home of great peaks, fantastic wine and food to die for.

And get this - all weeks are full except Easter!!