Chateau de Nardent, 1217m

Hello there.

Snow is coming slowly to the summits, not enough to skis or snowshoes, but enough to make us prefer the forest paths. We'll have time to go up! :) Therefore, our last excursion was not high, but quite beautiful. We climb up the chateau de Nardent (1217 m), in the Chartreuse mountain range, not far from St. Ismier (15 Km from Grenoble), in the slopes of the Gresivaudan valley.

The excursion starts at about 400 m, therefore it is more than 700 meters high difference. The beginning of the path goes along a river in a gentle slope. Then it reaches a forest hut and starts to climb quite steep in a dense forest. At this time of the year all the leaves were yellow and brown, and at some places they covered the ground forming a thick layer.

The path leads to the mountain pas col de Baure, with lovely vues over the Gresivaudan valley and the great Dent de Crolles, an impressive mountain with the shape or a tooth. The summit is reached after a nice 2 1/2 hours climb. Once there the view over the Belledonne moutain range is breathtaking. At this point we had lunch with great views and a bit of sun for a nice siesta. There are rocks in the summit, some trees and a vertical drop to the valley, but no castle... whatever it was, the name chateau didn't come from it...

As usual, you'll find more pictures in our Picasa site.

Cheers,
-Manu & Nina-

Cascade de l'Oursière et Lacs Roberts, 1998 m.

Hello,

We've been also in the mountains! Our last excursion was in September. We climbed up to the lakes (Lacs) Roberts, 1998 m, in the chain of Belledonne, by the waterfall (cascade) de l'Oursière.

The path leads, through a dark forest, fast to the waterfall, which is quite spectacular. It is very high and with a considerable flux of water. Then the path follows the river of the waterfall, up to a flat land, before it climbs very steep towards the lakes. Here the landscape is already of high mountain, and there are no trees. Finally, after a huge rock, the lakes were in front of our eyes, at almost 2000 m high.

This group of lakes is situated in a bowl surrounded by summits some 500-800 m higher. The ski station of Chamrousse have here a piste and a lift. In winter, when the lakes are frozen, they do here ice-diving.

The path brought us back by a narrow corridor from the lakes. Here we were again in the forest and we followed a forestal road untill the car.

Of course, more pictures are available here.

Cheers,
-Manu & Nina-

Paella!!

Hello again,

Yes, as we promised, we cooked a paella for the friends. After a lovely Via Ferrata in the morning, we gathered in the parc Île d'Amour, by the river Isère. This parc has especial
places for cooking and barbequing, so we cook actually two paellas for 20 people.

We took some bricks and coal for the fire and we borrowed two big paella-pans. We shared the transport of the meat, sea-food and vegetables and we also had sangria :) An explosive combination.

We had a great time, and the paella was very well cooked... yes, Nina and I, we have a lot of experience in paellas ;) It was the first time we cooked for so many in exterior... not an easy business, but the experience was unforgettable!

More pics here.

Cheers,
-Manu & Nina-

Via Ferrata: La prise de la Bastille

Hello,

Here we are again with a new post. We have been doing few things these months but didn't have time to include the reports in our Blog. Well, that is over now: we are back on-line ;)

In August we accomplish a long-time wish: we did our first Via Ferrata. This is a modality of climbing (literally "ironed way"), aided by metal hooks, ladders and wires installed on the rock wall. Is is very secure, since we have to wear a especial harness, with two fixation ropes, and a helmet. The sense of danger is quite real, though, and the climbing sometimes can be a bit physical.

We went with a large group of friends and we enjoyed it very much! This Ferrata is the closest to Grenoble... actually it is in Grenoble. It climbs from the gardens of the Porte de France, by the river Isère, and up to the Bastille.

Here you can find some pictures of this great adventure.

Right after, we joined our friends to eat a huge paella... Manu was cooking! But this is for our next post. Until then, take care.

Cheers,
-Manu & Nina-

Hauts Plateaux du Vercors and Grand Veymont, 2341 m.

Hello again,

This was indeed a nice hike. We walked over 26 Km on a long boucle in two days and we spent the night in the wild, in our new tent. Then we climbed the Grand Veymont, 2341 m, the highest summit in the massif du Vercors. We climb up, and walked down, a total of 2260 m of height difference.

We started from a spot near the nice village of Gresse-en-Vercors, 1245 m, located at about 45-min-drive south from Grenoble. It was already quite late: Saturday at 14h. We were not in a hurry, since we were planning to set-up our tent somewhere by the end of the day. We decided to climb first to the plateaux following a less common way. The path we chose climbed first to the forest-hut du Veymont, at about 1450 m, where we ate lunch. We had a nice desert of wild strawberries, picked-up from the sides of the path. And they were so sweet! :) Then the path continued to climb to about 1700 m, where it crossed over a narrow ridge... actually it went along the ridge for a while. We were in the cloud by then, and there was little to be seen. We followed the path down, back to 1300 m, into a very nice valley, covered by trees.

Then the path started to climb to the plateau to a height of over 1900 m in only 2 km: very steep. We climbed-up along a stony gully which led us straight on the plateaux by the Pas de Bachassons, where a small water source helped us to recover our water supplies. In Vercors, water is rare, and we had quite heavy backpacks: basically water, food and the tent.

We arrived on time to see the sunset over the plains of river Rhône, far on the west. By then we were already out of the mist and the sky was blue. We started descending again into the plateau in front of us, leaving the Grand Veymont behind us. We passed-by the arbre taille -carved tree- and we set-up our tent not far from the remains of a roman quarry: la carrière romaine.

The Natural Reserve of the Hauts Plateaux du Vercors covers an big area of the south of the Vercors mountain range. There are no villages there, only some small shepherd huts. The plateaux are at a height of about 1500 m. Camping is not allowed, but setting-up a tent between 19h and 8h it is tolerated if not far from the paths. Which is what we did, of course. We were rather isolated: only one tent was set near us, at about 1 km behind us, and in the morning we found some other people in a hut at 2 km ahead from us. Ah! and we found near our tent a spot where few edelweiss were growing!

The next day we walked south along the plateau, we passed-by the hut of Pré Peyret, and then the path started to turn slowly north. The plateau is covered by a very light pine and fir forest. We walked at fast pace here. By midday we were back to the area of the Pas de Bachassons, where the source was. We decided we had enough water and we started the climb of the Grand Veymont: about 900 m of height difference from the plateau. And *that* was steep! It was already afternoon and we were loaded with less water but we had the very same tent and we were already tired, so the climb was a bit hard. We stopped before the summit for lunch -surrounded by ibex, or mountain goats- , enjoying the view over the plateaux , then we walked to see the view to the other side. And that it is awesome! Especially impressive is the Mont Aiguille, a tall mountain with straight vertical rock walls and a flat green top. We could see also the Tête de l'Obiou, close-by, but also the already known Belledonne moutain range, la Meije, l'Etendard, le Taillefer... and the Mont Blanc.

We descended the Grand Veymont from the other side, the north face, and we reached the village of Gresse by the Pas de la Ville. A tough descent of over 1000 m in 2h. We reached the car 27h after we left it there the day before.

We enjoyed this hike very much, especially because we finally used our tent! but also for the great views and the amazing variety of landscapes. You will find a selection of pictures in our PICASA site. We hope you enjoy them!

Take care,
-Manu & Nina-

Refuge des Evettes, 2629 m.

Hello,

Finally, the last of our three hikes that we did the last weekend on July. The refuge des Evettes, at 2629 meters. This is a short ans relaxing hike, at the end of the Maurienne valley. Very close to the border: behind the summits it was already Italy. We had to pass trough the village of Bonneval, it is said to be one of the most beautiful in France. The road continues to the small village of l'Ecot, situated at the very end of the valley and at 2000 meters.


The path (called le chemin a John) starts from the parking in l'Ecot and crosses a fluvial plane, before it starts to climb a very stony mountain side, with little or no marked path. The glaciers are already visible, as well as the Evettes' waterfall, falling into the canyon of the same name. The rocks in this part of the canyon are very particular, and they hang from the cliff as rock platforms. One of the, called le rocher qui bouge or "the rock that moves" is really spectacular.

To get out of the canyon, is necessary to used some cable attached to the rock walls. Once on top, we could see the glacial plane and the morrenic deposits from old glaciers, crossed by a river. This river is the responsible for the mentioned waterfall. The river passes under a beautiful stone bridge, and right away it dives into the canyon. Awesome view.

After this we reached the refuge on a little hill, which dominates the glacial plane, and it has a breathtaking view over the glaciers and the summits.

The way down was way easier, from the other side of the refuge's hill, into the valley of l'Ecot.

Pictures of these wonderful landscapes are stored here. We hope you enjoy them!

Cheers,
-Manu & Nina-

Pointe de l'Observatoire, 3016 m.

Hello again,

After our first night in Ché Catrine, the chambre d'hôtes in Villarodin, we climbed our second three-thousand in France: la Point de l'Observatoire, 3016 m. A "legal" three-thousand, because, well, "legally" it has more than 3000 metres, but it is de justesse, as the French say :) .

The road starts from the village of Aussois (1473 m) - a 10 minutes drive from Villarodin- but it climbs up to 2078 m, by the dam of one of two artificial lakes, where we left the car. The path starts climbing gently and enters the Parc National de la Vanoise. Then we reached the refuge du Fond de l'Aussois (2329 m), and then the path gets more "wild" and climbs steadily to the col d'Aussois. There the path gets very stony and crossed over many creeks. Then, the last climb to the summit, 3016 m. The view is awesome! All the summits of la Vanoise and the lakes and the glaciers. Great. We just missed the Mont Blanc, because of stormy clouds. It did rain a bit at the end, but nothing serious... and a warm sauna (and a jacuzzi) were waiting for us in the Village.

Ah, yes, more pics in our picasa site.

Cheers,
-Manu & Nina-