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Valais : Herens Valley, Thyon, Bagnes Valley and Otemma Glacier
After my two days in the Anniviers Valley, I change valleys and join the Herens Valley.
I sleep in Arolla and decide to go up to Mont Dolin the next morning, which peaks just below 10,000 feet elevation.
1. Break below the Riedmatten Pass, after 2,300 feet of altitude gain.
2. At the Forclette Pass, just below Mont Dolin, with the Bertol Teeth in the background..
3. In the afternoon, I go up to Ferpecle which I haven’t visited for a long time….
4. An impressive waterfall flows from the Mont Miné Glacier, attesting to the heavy melting this summer.
5. This small gravel bar formed by the Ferpecle dam is truly photogenic!
6. On the way back down to La Sage where I left VivaLaVida, the hamlet of Seppec.
7. La Sage in late afternoon.
8. Its chapel.
9. I sleep on the banks of the Borgne River, in peace and quiet…
10. … and enjoy a picnic spot to make a campfire.
11. The next morning, I climb to Thyon 2000 with VLV, then to Grepon Blanc by mountain bike. The last few yards are done on foot..
12. Summit of Grepon Blanc with a view of the surrounding 13,000 ft peaks.
13. At the end of the day, I break camp and head up to the Bagnes Valley. The next day, I set off by bike from Bonatchiesse to reach the Chanrion refuge. I follow the shores of Lake Mauvoisin.
14. Under the refuge, an unnamed pond…
15. The Chanrion refuge with, in the background on the right, the summit of the Grand Combin.
16. As I go back down, I notice a small road leading south. I decide to go and explore it.
17. It leads to a water intake on the Dranse de Bagnes. I leave my bike there and continue on foot to discover the splendid Otemma Valley and the glacier of the same name.
18. After 3 miles on foot, it’s time to turn back regretfully because I would have liked to continue to the glacier tongue. This valley is really wild, I didn’t see anyone there.
19. Going back down…
20. Shortly before returning to VivaLaVida, the bridge on the old Mauvoisin road.
And that’s it for this Valais outing. I did nearly 200 miles of mountain biking in 5 days and totaled almost 23,000 feet of elevation gain, enough to get some fresh air! 🙂
The next article will show you our little autumn vacation.
Thank you for your loyalty to this little blog! 😉
Valais : Anniviers Valley
While Emile continues his vacation with his mom, I go enjoying the summer in the Swiss Alps by doing a few days of mountain biking in Valais.
1. Arriving at the end of the day in the valley, I walk up the valley towards the Petit Mountet refuge.
2. The Navizence River at sunset, downstream from the Zinal glacier.
3. The next day, long 44 miles loop with a 5.5 hour ride. Views of central Valais from the heights of Chandolin..
4. The upper Anniviers Valley from the heights of St-Luc.
5. Mountain lake above Plan Torgnon.
6. …
7. I make a detour to discover the famous Hotel Weisshorn.
8. Going up towards Zinal, above Ayer.
9. View of Zinal and the final downhill.
10. I go sleeping above the Moiry lake.
11. Châteaupré Lake in early morning.
12. Second mountain bike outing to Lake Autanne.
13. Alpine summer view…
14. Launa lake.
15. Pass of Launa, a mecca of the Grand Raid VTT event.
16. From the Pass of Launa looking East.
That’s it for my first two days of mountain biking. More to come soon!
Valley of Glaciers
As Emile will soon be joining his mother for the rest of his holidays, we stop at the foot of the Val des Glaciers, near Les Chapieux. We spend a day there without moving VivaLaVida as Cormet of Roselend road is closed one day for the “Etape du Tour”. It’s the largest amateur cycling event with no fewer than 19,000 entrants who set off on one of the stages of the Tour de France: 85 miles and 12,500 feet of elevation gain!
1. We find a nice bivouac spot near the river.
2. The next morning, we take the bikes to explore the Valley of Glaciers.
3. Panoramic view of the valley with the Aiguille des Glaciers towering above. The Tour du Mont-Blanc trail passes through this valley and the Pass of la Seigne, to the right of the needle.
4. As we look back, the small road that leads us to the Refuge des Mottets.
5. Despite the long climb, Emile once again makes it on his mountain bike !
6. Last look at the valley as we leave the next day.
7. And the last image of this holiday: a small chapel in Les Saisies, with the Aravis Mountains in the background.
The year of VivaLaVida continues with a mountain bike getaway in Valais, a few weekend outings followed by the fall break.
Find out more here soon! 🙂
Jafferau fortress and Ecot Gorge
1. Fredda Valley in the morning.
2. Barracks of Pass Jafferau.
3. From the summit, the panorama towards South with the track that brought us here. It’s definitely steeper than it seems.
4. Jafferau fortress ruins.
5. After a boondocking at Mont-Cenis, we go discover the Gorges of l’Ecot, above the village of Bonneval-sur-Arc.
6. One part – just about an hour’s walk from Bonneval – is spectacular.
7. When water carves rock.
8. There are some beautiful pots.
9. Wide shot of the lower entrance to the gorge.
10. We go sleeping further down in the Arc Valley, after having crossed it by ford to reach a quiet spot.
11. Emile takes the opportunity to practice his cycling! 🙂
12. …
There is one last post to publish soon which will conclude the story of these short summer holidays. 😉
Monviso – Bardonecchia area
1. Here we are again on the Alta Via del Sale but on its western part.
2. …
3. The Marguerie fortress where we spend the next night.
4. I go exploring part of it but don’t stay long because it’s really falling into ruin..
5. An early morning visitor to our camp.
6. As we begin our journey toward North, we go discover Monviso, the main Italian peak in the Southern Alps. A view from Pian de Rey. The afternoon convection partially hides the summit.
7. Further down, a small waterfall not far from our camp.
8. View on the valley.
9. Then we head back up towards Bardonecchia to explore the Passo de la Mulatiera region. A narrow trail takes us to an altitude of 6,000 feet. Then we continue on foot to the pass.
10. The large scree slope that lies beneath the Mulatiera fortress ruins. We look at a fearless marmot less than 15 feet away.
11. The next day, we park at the Col de l’Echelle and set off on a hike towards the Col des Thures. After a quite steep climb, we discover the Vallon des Thures and the small mountain pasture of the same name.
12. Arrival at the superb Chavillon lake with Mount Thabor in the background.
13. I vary the compositions.
14. …
15. Return path through the screes.
16. Last look at the valley.
17. Above the Col de l’Echelle.
18. Our camp under Mount Jafferau, a spot where we already spent the night three years ago.
The rest of our journey will take us through Mont Cenis, Isère, and the Savoie region. We’ll show you that soon! 😉
Turini and Miniere Valley
1. Just a few miles above our camp, we discover the old Turini barracks.
2. Views of the Mercantour Park are magnificent.
3. Another ruin, the Trois Communes barracks.
4. Going down to Sospel, the Chapel of Notre Dame de la Menour.
5. The next day, we take a long hike to discover the Valley of la Minière and its lakes.
6. After more than 5 miles, we approach the first lake, the Lac Long Supérieur.
7. It is the largest since the construction of a small dam at its end.
8. After discovering Lake Fourca, above the Merveilles refuge, here is Lake Soargine, at the start of our descent.
9. From another angle.
10. The marshes below the lake are gorgeous.
11. …
12. The river Miniere, carving the valley.
13. Almost back tout VivaLaVida after more than 15 miles of hiking.
14. Tired, we enjoy VLV’s shower and head straight to a boondocking spot I spotted in 2017, at the start of the western part of the Alta Via del Sale.
15. Nice surprise while preparing the aperitif: a local resident comes to eat nearby..
16. We watched him for a good 15 minutes when he was only about thirty feet away until a car coming onto the track made him go up the slope.
17. …
18. … before disappearing into the bushes.
More coming soon… Thanks again for your loyalty to this little blog! 😀
Alta Via del Sale
It’s Wednesday. We arrive at the entrance to the High Salt Road, unsure if we’ll be allowed to enter. Officially, the road is restricted to vehicles less than 18 feet long, 5 feet high and weighing less than 3.5 tons..
At the ticket booth where you pay your way, I don’t hide the fact that VivaLaVida is breaking the three previous criteria and I’m glad I did. The attendant tells me that my honesty does me credit and that he’s happy to let me through. He tells me that in an overhanging section, I’ll have to drive close the edge to avoid hitting the rock but that he thinks it should be fine.
We are very happy to be able to discover this legendary trail!
1. In the wellknown hairpin just before the Pass of Boaria, where we turned back on our bikes the day before.
2. The trail winds between 6,000 and 7,200 feet above sea level for around thirty-five miles.
3. Landscape is superb.
4. After the Don Barbera refuge and the overhanging passage passed without any problem.
5. Part closer to the tree line.
6. Mount Saccarel, at 6,600 feet elevation.
7. High altitude landscape.
8. Former cannon battery of Mount Saccarel.
9. From Mount Saccarel, the trail we will take to descend. It is in poor condition and it will take us more than two hours to reach La Brigue where we will spend the night in a small campground.
10. Chapel of Our Lady of the Fountains, just before La Brigue.
11. After a good night’s sleep preceded by a dinner in a small restaurant, we go shopping food in Breil-sur-Roya and then take a trail leading to the Mercantour Park. Here, the pretty hilltop village of Soargue.
12. Breil-sur-Roya.
13. From a little higher up, where we stopped for lunch.
We meet a Mercantour park ranger who informs us that the heart of the park has been extended and that the planned trail now crosses it and it’s thus closed to all traffic.
He points us to an alternative route that’s a bit of a detour but allows us to avoid the heart of the park. So we retrace our steps to a junction and take the indicated trail. The loop is significantly longer but allows us to discover the hills of the hinterland with the Mediterranean sea in the background.
14. We find a gorgeous bivouac spot a few miles before the Turini barracks which we will discover the next day.
15. Walk at the end of the day.
To be followed soon… 😉
Argentera Valley & Pass of Tende
As previously mentioned, we’re delaying our descent to Tende as the weather isn’t favorable. Emile wanted to return, so we head up to the Argentera Valley. Access is now subject to a toll, with a toll booth on the bridge at the entrance to the valley.
We are a little disappointed to discover that major protection works have been undertaken, no doubt following recent heavy storms. Several areas of earthworks aimed at channeling lateral streams disfigure the lower part of the valley and greatly reduce its charm. Fortunately, higher up, nothing has yet been undertaken.
1. We find a nice spot down by the river.
2. View from our camp.
3. End of day tones.
4. The next morning, we take a walk upstream to discover a beautiful torrent.
5. Back at our camp, Emile takes the opportunity to cool off in the river.
6. Brrrr… it’s cold!
7. …
8. But it feels good!
9. The upper part of the valley remains quite wild.
With the weather improving in the South, we head down to Tende where we hope to discover the Alta Via del Sale (High Salt Road), an approximately 55 miles long trail that follows the ridgeline border between Italy and France. We did the Western section in 2017 but not the Eastern loop.
10. The hairpins of the Col de Tende on the French side (South). This trail is closed to traffic for several years.
11. Meet upon arrival at Fortress Central.
12. First night in the barracks, alone that evening.
13. Since it’s Tuesday and the regulated section of the Ruta del Sale is reserved for pedestrians and bicycles on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we set off to discover the beginning by bike. Here, on the climb to Campanino Pass, with Fortress Central in the background.
14. Emile is comfortable on his new mountain bike, even on climbs.
15. In the end, we rided 12 miles and 13,600 feet of elevation gain. Well done to him!
16. Second night in one of the old quarries used to build the barracks, for sheltering as a strong north wind is blowing.
17. Barracks at sunset.
To be followed in a few days…
Technical inspection and start of summer holidays…
This year began with VivaLaVida’s periodic technical inspection, which was once again refused. Almost every time I presented her, the experts found “something else”: this time, they asked for proof that some non-original equipment – there’s a lot on VLV – was already there when imported in 2016. Another point was the non-compliant rear lighting, even though I had modified it following the DTC guidelines when I imported it and haven’t touched anything since. VLV was also rejected for “insufficient parking brake efficiency,” a classic.
Offroad Accessoires in Geneva – where Andrew, with whom I had done part of the Baja California journey, works and who had carried out the first VLV inspection in Switzerland – kindly issued a certificate indicating that the relevant components were indeed present at the time of importation. On my side, I decided to enlarge the diameter of the parking brake disc to increase its efficiency. The parts were custom machined.
1. Technical drawing of the disc.
2. Caliper flange.
3. Mounted system.
4. …
VivaLaVida presented for a counter-expertise, it was still necessary to go through various administrative procedures before the technical service finally agreed to keep the rear lighting as it was. It was only at the end of June that I was finally able to re-register VLV. Just in time for holidays!
This spring, with Emile staying with me for 4 weeks this summer, I planned to go to Montenegro. But having lost my job at the end of May, unemployment insurance obligations require me to remain available within 48 hours. So I had to change plans and decided to go discover new places in the Italian and French Alps, at a distance that would allow me to return in 2 days if requested.
5. First bivouac in the downpour, above the Toules dam, on the climb to the Grand St-Bernard Pass.
6. The next day, we go to Val Cervinia, which I only know from skiing. The Matterhorn is in the clouds…
7. Boondocking on the southern slope, below Alpe Champleve.
The next morning, we set off to explore a trail leading to the Pian Fum pass and the Sualera mountain pasture, which I had spotted several months ago through my map research. A barrier had recently been installed, which now blocks access to the pass. But we find a lovely spot to camp below, on Alpe Folere.
8. We are not far from Turin, in the Alpine foothills.
9. Trail…
10. Pretty pond near our camp. Top right, the Pian Fum pass.
11. It’s aperitif time!
12. After the shower, first campfire of the holidays…
13. With a grill of course!
14. Time to go to bed…
15. The next day, we climb the Colle del Colombardo, which we had first discovered in 2017. But at altitude, the weather was not very favorable…
16. It is only when going down the other side that the fog dissipates a little.
With the weather forecast predicts rain in the South, we go spending two days in Valle Argentera, near Sestriere, where Emile wanted to return. We’ll tell you the rest very soon. 😉
Pass of Valbelle
Still on our way back home, we pass by chance near the “Demoiselles coiffees”, some hoodoos on south shore of the Serre-Poncon lake.
1. A short hike takes us near these always impressive concretions.
2. The site is evolving fast. Its configuration has changed a lot over the last 50 years.
3. Site Overview.
4. Always favoring the back roads, we take a trail passing through Coche and Valbelle passes to reach Guillestre.
5. Summer stable.
6. VivaLaVida on the trail.
7. View towards the West, shortly before the Pass of Valbelle.
8. From the pass towards North.
9. Some showers are coming.
10. It’s gotten colder, the snow is not far away.
11. We find a boondocking spot above the Risoul 1850 station.
12. Last campfire of the trip.
13. Stop at an abandoned gas station in Maurienne.
And that’s it for our Fall holidays. Shortly after, summoned to the VivaLaVida expertise, I had to remove the licence plates while waiting for the manufacture of parts to increase the power of the parking brake because the efficiency of the current assembly was deemed insufficient by the expert. We were therefore unable to enjoy VLV this late autumn. She returned to her shelter for the winter.
As you read this, I received the ordered parts. I’ll be installing them in the coming weeks before getting the licence plates for the new season.
Thank you for your loyalty in following this little blog and see you soon for the rest of the journey aboard VivaLaVida! 😀
D5 Creation