After a spell of bad weather in Chamonix, it seemed we would have a small gap and so headed up to Conscrits Hut. The hut was like nothing I'd ever seen before, a modern, 3 storey complex more like a hotel, and staffed ( = beer). The following morning, at 4am we got up and started off to traverse the Domes de Miage (PD). It was a long glacier slog to get there, but eventually we reached the Col de Miage, where we were met by very strong winds and pretty cold conditions.
The paced glacier slog turned into a strong push to traverse along the ridge and get warm and out of the wind ( = back to the hut for beer). However with the combination of the wind abating a little, and some sections being sheltered from it, we both started to thoroughly enjoy the traverse. It's a great feeling to be walking along such a ridge, often quite sharp, with a glaciated valley dropping away on one side and a forested valley on the other. We got back to the hut in shortorder and had a beer each, before descending down to the valley - a big day.
The following day Andrew arrived, Nik's brother (thus also my cousin). He hadn't been mountaineering before, so after hiring some gear the three of us got a train up to the Mer de Glace (sea of ice) glacier and walked up it to Leschaux Hut. Another staffed hut, it was a lot smaller and cosier than Conscrits, with a close up view of the North face of the Jorrasses. We had an excellent hut night, with the warden (who lives up there for several months every summer, and does not really leave) and two Belgians, made more so by plenty of red, and the sharing around of several spirits including Genepi - a local specialty.
Unfortunately the weather still hadn't cleared for much of this time at all, so after walking out we scrapped the idea of climbing something the following day, and instead headed back south to Marseille. And so ended the 'road trip' part of my travels. The weather towards the end stopped us from doing so much, but I really can't complain because in comparison the first few weeks of the trip were packed to the brim with perfection - c'est la vie.
And now after a few days in Marseille with Nik and Andrew, Nik, Michael (a work mate of Nik's who has been putting us up) and I get an overnight ferry to Corsica tonight to walk the GR20 with Kim, my brother, who's coming over from Italy and meeting us there. That is if the ferry's aren't on strike... The GR20 is a long walk that traverses the Island, and we won't be back from it until the 29th (nearly 3 weeks) - just in time for the final of the Euro Cup!
The paced glacier slog turned into a strong push to traverse along the ridge and get warm and out of the wind ( = back to the hut for beer). However with the combination of the wind abating a little, and some sections being sheltered from it, we both started to thoroughly enjoy the traverse. It's a great feeling to be walking along such a ridge, often quite sharp, with a glaciated valley dropping away on one side and a forested valley on the other. We got back to the hut in shortorder and had a beer each, before descending down to the valley - a big day.
The following day Andrew arrived, Nik's brother (thus also my cousin). He hadn't been mountaineering before, so after hiring some gear the three of us got a train up to the Mer de Glace (sea of ice) glacier and walked up it to Leschaux Hut. Another staffed hut, it was a lot smaller and cosier than Conscrits, with a close up view of the North face of the Jorrasses. We had an excellent hut night, with the warden (who lives up there for several months every summer, and does not really leave) and two Belgians, made more so by plenty of red, and the sharing around of several spirits including Genepi - a local specialty.
Unfortunately the weather still hadn't cleared for much of this time at all, so after walking out we scrapped the idea of climbing something the following day, and instead headed back south to Marseille. And so ended the 'road trip' part of my travels. The weather towards the end stopped us from doing so much, but I really can't complain because in comparison the first few weeks of the trip were packed to the brim with perfection - c'est la vie.
And now after a few days in Marseille with Nik and Andrew, Nik, Michael (a work mate of Nik's who has been putting us up) and I get an overnight ferry to Corsica tonight to walk the GR20 with Kim, my brother, who's coming over from Italy and meeting us there. That is if the ferry's aren't on strike... The GR20 is a long walk that traverses the Island, and we won't be back from it until the 29th (nearly 3 weeks) - just in time for the final of the Euro Cup!
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