Lots of great snowshoeing!

It's been a busy couple of months and I have been somewhat remiss and not written here for a while. But don't worry, Trekking in the Alps has been running on full steam snowshoeing over in the Queyras and the Val Clarée, both of which are in the southern French Alps near to the Italian frontier.

The Queyras in particular is not the easiest place to get to, requiring a fairly long transfer from whichever airport you arrive at, but the unanimous feedback from my groups has been that it's more than worth the effort. Like the Val Clarée, the Queyras is not too spoiled by busy ski resorts and attracts holidaymakers who are looking for the authentic mountain experience.

The snow conditions have been excellent throughout the winter, even during the last couple of weeks of hot sunshine. My groups have all been superb (so far) and it's been a blast all round. I am hoping that will continue for my last week - once again in the Queyras.

For next year I will certainly be offering trips in these regions again, both the programmes already established this year and new ones in the Queyras too.



Here's a whole bunch of shots to sum it up.

Photo Louise Shaxson

Photo Sandy Parker

 

 



Good snow in Switzerland

First full week of snowshoeing for this year, a week based at the Gemmi Pass in Switzerland. This place has some of the best snowshoe walks around and is absolutely stunning......so long as the weather is good. In bad weather it can be a nightmare as there are no trees at all (far too high at 2300m) and fog tends to form on the plateau so trying to find your way is HORRIBLE!



Ptarmigan in the fog

Alpine chough

I already experienced the joys of groping around in the fog here last year and had hoped to not repeat the experience. To my horror our first two days were pretty snowy and visbility was minimal. However, we did get to see some ptarmigans in their winter white which was a highlight for me. Then on day 3 we were rewarded with crystal clear views and powder snow to die for. We'd certainly earned it.

Lots of untracked powder

Snow conditions in general seem pretty good. There's certainly enough in the main Alps, although less than some winters. In the southern Alps there have been huge falls these last few days and the avalanche risk is high. This should settle down soon.

Skiers far away

The Valaisan peaks

After this fabulous day the weather once again deteriorated so we escaped to Vallorcine where there are forests to walk in alongside pretty rivers and through nice alpine hamlets.

 

Chamois finding food in the snow





 

That's the news from the snowy Alps for now. I am back in Provence for a few days of climbing before my next foray to raquette land. Watch this space.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We've had a nice few weeks since getting over the trauma of moving house. The weather has generally been very clement both here in Provence and also in the Alps. Hopefully the snow will fall soon as I fear it's getting a bit hard "under-raquette".
Meanwhile I haven't been thinking about snow at all, I've been out and about enjoying this wonderful wild area where we live. Vulture watching and climbing.
I will be off to find some snow this weekend and so then I'll hopefully have some shots of snowshoeing and also of my new very fine snowshoes - watch this space.

We've moved house!

Well it's been a busy time for us, moving house. Friends told us they'd done it once 25 years ago, and never again. Now I know why. Weeks of packing up boxes, loading furniture into our vehicles, taking advantage of non snowy days to get up and down the road in Vallorcine, wondering where on earth to put all our stuff....how do you get so much STUFF anyway?

Now we're nearly there and will be full time residents in our tiny village tucked away in the wilds of northern Provence.

The snow has come early to the Alps and people are out skiing and snowshoeing already. It looks like it will be a great winter.
Here in Provence we had a dusting of the white stuff but this week the days are sunny and warm.

We've had a conference of vultures in a snowy lavender field, beautiful ice crystals on the rosehips, great sunny days climbing on the local crags and wonderful sunsets both in the Alps and here in Provence.

Here are some shots. I'm going to take a breather I hope before the winter season kicks in :)

 

 

Provence for some sunshine

Sunset on the Dentelles de Montmirail

The autumn has been a tad disappointing in the Alps this year. some lovely days to start with but lately we've had a lot of precipitation, falling as snow on the hills of course which is good, but falling as puddles (big ones) in the valley!

Although there were some great views of the snowy mountains

But last week there was more of this than anything else:

I did manage to get some quality bouldering on my very favourite boulder

But a few days in Provence were deemed necessary to keep spirits up. And it hasn't disappointed although today was a touch hot at the Dentelles de Montmirail. The light is amazing at this time of year - you can see why Provence has long attracted painters and artists. I am neither, but I do love the evening light, seen here on the Dentelles cliffs, and on that ever present iconic mountain, Mont Ventoux.