Best and last of the season.......

Finally, the high pressure arrived giving us the best weather of the whole season. Blue skies and perfect snow conditions at last! This has to have been one of the poorest winters for getting out and about since we started coming out here for the season in 2001.

The good weather coincided with me using my new cross country skis for the first time. The skis are a bit shorter and wider than the old ones so they took a bit of getting used to - but I've persevered. The problem with this kind of skiing is that I find the skis are less stable and harder to control than downhill skis. Consequently I find myself feeling anxious and having the wobbles far more often than is necessary. At the end of the day I feel as though I've 'got away with it' again - until the next time! Great exercise though especially for my feet and arms which usually do quite a lot of the work.

{First time on the snow}

{Approaching the first corner....}

As the weather improved so did the snow pack so that the avalanche warnings lessened and I felt I could safely go out on the snow shoes. This involves a whole different set of muscles than skiing. By the end of a session my calves ache a little and I'm glad to finally stop the 'stomping'. I stick to well used routes as I'm usually on my own for this.

{Peaceful lunchtime resting my legs}

{Didn't risk this slope - I could see how unstable it was}

{Warning signs to help...}

The downhill skiing in the past ten days has been particularly good. Longer days mean brighter sunshine and the views are magnificent. We have had to start earlier so that when the snow softens we can come home. Old legs don't really like soft snow conditions! Much too much like hard work.

{At the top of a tow at Ceillac}

{Blue sky and snowy mountain tops.....perfect!}

Packing up to come home to Scotland now. I'm going south first though for a bit of a recce of the area around Greoux les Bains in Provence. There's an HF lead coming up for me there in April and I'm going to have a look at some of the walks I'll be doing. If I can, I'll post some of the routes here.

All good training for the Challenge in May!

At last, a blue sky day.......

Downhill skiing on my own isn't something I normally aim to do but, up to this morning, it had been two weeks since the weather has been good enough and more importantly, the roads had been clear enough, for me to set out for any of the ski resorts in the Queyras.

After the last three days which have been particularly miserable with snow and sleet almost all the time I could hardly believe the blue sky which greeted me this morning.

{The view from the windows this morning}

As the van hadn't been moved since Sunday morning I knew the first job (after breakfast, of course) was to dig it out from about 50 cms of snow plus the stuff the snowplough had pushed up beside the wheels. This took me about 45 minutes of work. Fortunately the snow was quite light and hadn't frozen into heavy lumps this time.

Then I sorted my rucksack, made some lunch, packed my ski boots and for good measure, threw in my snowshoes too. I gingerly drove down the hill; the road was still mostly white and a bit crusty in places. As I made my way along the main road into the Queyras I was extremely grateful for 4 wheel drive and the winter tyres!

I decided to go to Arvieux - it's the nearest resort without too much climbing on dodgy roads. Arriving without any problems, I set off to ski the runs at the top of the hill. There was loads of fresh snow - it had all been pisted but was still quite soft and loose in places. This makes for skiing which is slow but can be hard work and a bit 'catchy' on the edges. I managed about six runs in all before my legs began to protest - they haven't done much work lately after all!

{Heading downhill}

{The main tows - not exactly busy!}

The whole resort was very quiet. It won't be like this next week - the school holidays begin this weekend coming! I had parked in the small car park near the bottom of the pistes. The sun was still shining and I decided to take off the skis and drive further on to the car park at the bottom of the road to the col d'Izoard. The road is shut this time of the year and should be pisted for cross country and snowshoes.

I had my lunch in this other car park, sitting on a camping chair in the sun. A rash decision was made to put on the snowshoes and attempt to walk up the road towards the place they call 'La Casse Deserte' on the way to the col.

{Borrowed this photo of la Casse Deserte}

As you can see from the photo above this is quite an amazing place and I fancied seeing it in its winter garb. The sign told me it was 5 kms of snowshoeing to reach it. I set off but it wasn't long before I had to stop and take off my jacket. The climbing wasn't too bad but after an hour and a half I still had not reached the end of the walk. The sun was threatening to drop behind the mountains so I turned round and went back down - just reaching the van as the light changed.

{The start of the col d'Izoard road}

{Brilliant conditions, fresh snow, blue sky and no wind}

It's quite a popular route. I saw several skiers who passed me on their way down, a whole group of snowshoers, and a couple of walkers. When I got home I checked the map and there was probably only about a kilometre left to climb when I turned back.

{Looking back down to the village and the downhill skiing}

 The walk had taken me about two and a half hours. It was possibly another half an hour to get to where the piste stops and you can look down at la Casse Deserte. If I hadn't been downhill skiing first I would have had more time and more energy. But it was most enjoyable. Perhaps when my new cross country skis arrive I'll try them out on this route.

Next time I'll run the Viewranger to keep track of where I've got to - the signs weren't much help - they all said 5 kms!

{Signpost - repeated all the way up the piste}

A good day to practice.......

The weather forecast for today was for rain or even snow, so I was surprised to see only clouds when I finally got up this morning. These clouds were sitting quite low on the mountain tops but this side of the valley, above the house, there was a hint of some blue sky.

I've been waiting for the opportunity to get my snowshoes on and go out for a little stomp. With the sore shoulder/arm last winter I didn't do very much - using the sticks was rather painful. There are a couple of interesting looking 'intineraires' in the Queyras that I fancy exploring so a couple of hours practice was called for - this could be the day for it.

It didn't take long to get organised once I'd made up my mind and I was soon marching purposefully up the road behind the house. My plan was to work my way up through the forest until I reached the church at Reotier. The snow pack was quite hard but not icy and there were patches where the sun had melted most of it away but not too many. It never really became a sunny day but it didn't rain and there was no wind.

{Just enough snow on the path}

{Ooops! Turning round and following my own prints.}

Following my usual pattern I turned too early and then had to retrace my footprints to arrive high enough up the hillside to reach the church above the village of Reotier. There are about thirteen small hamlets that make up the village - we live in one of them slightly round the side of the hill away from the main settlements.

In summertime it's possible to climb a steep zig-zag path through the trees but I find it easier in the snow to take a longer route. There are several paths which look surprisingly similar until you round the bend and discover a dead end - which I did today but fortunately only once.

{Finally the right way}

I had also forgotten how narrow the path is in places and with the thick snow I had a few wobbly moments thinking about possible snow slides or avalanches. However, I discovered I can climb quite quickly in snowshoes when the adrenaline kicks in and I was soon out of 'danger' and onto the wider path.

{The end of the snow - looking towards the lunch spot}

I reached the junction and descended towards the church. Along this path the snow finally ran out and I carried the snowshoes to the bench above the valley where I planned to eat my lunch. The sun was quite warm when it did shine on me for brief moments, so I arrived carrying my gloves, hat, buff and jacket in my rucksack.

{Brilliant view over the Durance valley for lunch time stop}

{A new board beside the bench}

The original plan was to retrace my route back home but I decided to continue on through the village, mostly walking on the roads and make a circular day of it. There was still no rain.

The small village roads wind down the hillside - passing old and new houses and eventually deposited me on the 'main' road. It's been a while since I walked this way. Some of the roads are too narrow for today's traffic but easily wandered down on foot.

{View over Reotier from the high road}

{Fascinating example of the old architecture}

I arrived back at the house after being out for nearly four hours. This was much longer than I had originally planned but very enjoyable.

It was the first time I'd used the Keen winter boots in my snowshoes and  I was very impressed. They're comfortable to walk in and I know they're waterproof as well as warm in the snow.

Last week of the Season....

Today is the last day of skiing in the resorts of the Queyras. The weather this week has been mixed, several days of snow, sleet then rain, along with a few of the best day's skiing this season....

{View from St Veran}

We tried a picnic with some skiing......

{Favourite picnic bench}

Then some skiing with a picnic......

{As high as you can get skiing in the Queyras}

The skis are packed away now and the ferry is booked........

{Over St Veran}

I'm bringing the snowshoes home - I believe I might be needing them......

Whatever the weather..............

The local weather forecast has been promising snowfall for a few days now. There's been a sprinkle overnight from time to time but nothing serious. The last couple of days were not entirely sunny but we downhill skied anyway - until the light failed in the afternoon and we went home early.

On our self-imposed 'healthy' diet sandwiches are forbidden, so I have been racking my brains to come up with alternative lunches. As the temperature is still low the food we choose has to be hot - hence the new toys! So far I've invented spicy rice, mexican bean stew and various curried vegetable dishes.

{New toy - the food flask}

Two flasks were dispatched quickly courtesy of an ebay seller and they work very well. The little spoon lives in the top of the lid. Very neat.

However, even a hot flask of food couldn't tempt us to ski in a thick, cold mist yesterday so we had our first walk out on the snowshoes instead.  I think we went further than we meant to - but it was good exercise. There was quite a lot of snow in the valley at Ceillac and it took us a long time to find a tree to huddle under to eat our lunch. Our food was still hot enough to enjoy though.

{Bit gloomy but still magical...}

Lunches in mountain restaurants are restricted to Saturday only - partly on health grounds and also because of the cost. Eating out every day on a ski holiday for a week is part of the fun but as we're expecting to be here for most of the season it could get very expensive.

{Our lunch venue last Saturday - Abries - double click to read the menu}

After the meal we had at Abries last Saturday it might be my chosen restaurant for the rest of the season. A courgette, goat's cheese and mint tart with side salad and chips was delicious and there were other choices for vegetarians too - most unusual in France.....

Unfortunately the predicted poor weather has really arrived today. A small amount of snow has fallen here and probably much more at the ski resorts. The snowshoeing yesterday was quite strenuous for my shoulder and I could feel it this morning so a day at home catching up with the washing and hoovering was a good option.

{Resting snowshoes...}

Introducing....my new rucksack!

Until this year I have always used a small Vango rucksack for my winter activities. I've probably had it since about 2001 - and it's been well-used (and abused!). Sadly it's reaching the end of its life - the material is rather sun damaged and the tags on the zips have ripped off. It has no pocket for carrying a water bladder - which I now would rather do than take a bottle. This season I've been using it for leaving our packed lunch at the bottom of the pistes instead of carrying it all morning.

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed in the photo (previous post) I was using a yellow Deuter sack for x-country skiing - but it's not ideal. It's really my summer walking sack as it has a mesh back and is marked as carrying 15L.  While skiing I found it wasn't comfortable - the back is away from me so the bag tends to swing unless I tighten it up hard. Then I found my arms felt rather constrained and occasionally snagged on the bag. It also doesn't have quite enough room for all the extras I need in colder weather.

So I did a lot of research and found the Deuter Speedlite 20.  Wiggle.co.uk were prepared to send it here for no extra charge (FREE delivery!). I sent for the black version.

I've used it now a few times and I'm impressed. All my other rucksacks have mesh backs with one notable exception - I'll come to that later...... This has a padded back and therefore carries closer to me. It also has no pocket/top lid covering the body of the bag. There is a small zipped pocket though - useful for my purse, tissues, keys, etc. The zippers all have big loops on them for opening with gloves on. It should take 20L of stuff and has a large bladder pocket inside. It weighs about 530g, so it's lighter than my walking rucksack.

{Small top pocket has a useful key tab inside it}

One of its best features are the double compression straps on the sides. They are arranged so they can also be clipped together across the body of the bag. This means you can carry skis or snowshoes easily.

{Carrying snowshoes easily and safely on the outside of the pack.}

I'm also impressed with two other features - the hydration tube outlet which is not on the top of the bag but further round so minimising the length of the tube exposed to the elements. I do use a neoprene cover, put the tube under, not over, my arm if it's freezing temperatures and blow back the water into the bag every time, all help to stop the tube icing up. There's a velcro tab on the front shoulder strap to secure the tube for drinking.

{Low exit for the hydration tube}

The other feature I particularly like is the tapered shape so there is no chance of catching the bag with my arms. There are also four tabs on the front where you could attach a extra carrier (e.g. for a helmet) so it might make a good cycling or downhill skiing sack too.

{One of the four tabs arranged on the front for attaching extras}

Apart from two stretchy pockets at the sides of the bag there is also a 'kangaroo' type pocket on the front through which a jacket would go or could carry a map, gaiters, snacks etc.

{Sun cream bottle in the kangaroo pocket which is behind the front of the bag}

The rucksack seems well made and well designed. As you can tell I'm pleased with the purchase and hope to get a few years of good use out of it.

I mentioned the other rucksack I have which doesn't have a mesh back - that is my new backpacking one from Granite Gear. I hope I can get on with that just as well. It's waiting patiently at home for me to give it its first real outing.

Four x-country days and a couple of snowshoes later............

Our week with John's friend passed very successfully. He and his wife introduced me to alpine skiing many years ago - so I was pleased to be able to return the favour and guide him on his quest to learn how to x-country ski. We visited four different places (Vallouise, Crevoux, Le Laus and Ceillac) and covered a few kilometres at each one getting his ski legs moving. He had a knee replacement a couple of years ago and although he hadn't skied for a quite a long time, was once an excellent downhill skier, working in Switzerland as he did. The stiffness of his knees proved a bit of an obstacle to doing more than the easy green runs but just being out of doors in a mountain environment was enjoyable enough for him to return home planning to try some more skiing days back home in Switzerland. The lunches were good too!

{The Two Amigos - more talking than skiing!}

This was the first time John had had a concentrated effort to finally conquer the ski de fond skating that he wants to be able to do. He found it very hard work but made a little progress. Sadly on the last day he tripped and fell. He staved his big toe as he went down and has spent this week hobbling about taking Ibuprofen and applying the arnica gel. He can't get his downhill ski boot on and even if he could the pressure on the inflamed big toe joint would be unbearable.

{Good snow conditions at Le Laus}

So I've had a chance to get out on my snowshoes a couple of times.

{Just animal tracks ahead}

I discovered that the snow on the tracks in the forest behind the house here is very variable - thin cover in places, icy from time to time and includes deepish drifts of powder sometimes with a breakable crust on the top.  Climbing up higher was hard work, but a good training session for my legs and lungs.  I explored as many of the alternative routes through the trees as I could and eventually returned to the house, following the Yeti prints of my own snowshoes.

{Yeti prints....................}

We are still experiencing extraordinarily cold temperatures (barely above minus 10 during the daytime in the ski areas) but the weather forecasts are promising a warmer period to come. Hopefully some new snow will arrive soon and once the toe has healed we'll be back on our skis.

This photo was taken a couple of weekends ago on our way down from Ceillac.

{OOOps! This one didn't make the corner - the car is perched precariously on a small bush!}

The Italian Job comes to mind.......................

Winter trousers..............

Last year I decided that what my 'walking' wardrobe lacked was a decent pair of winter trousers. I have Paramo Cascadas but they are not very comfortable except in really dire weather. They are the old kind without articulated knees and have heavy insulation.

I wanted the new trousers to be warm, comfortable and usable for winter walking, snowshoeing and maybe cross country skiing. That's a tall order for one pair of trousers and once I started looking around (for bargains of course) I managed to acquire various pairs, all black, which I have worn this winter.

For cross-country skiing I had always worn my Ronhill stretchy tracksters with one or sometimes two pairs of longjohns underneath. This made them warmer but not really windproof and rather tight round the knees. I did try on some Odlo trousers sold especially for x-c skiing but found that my tree-trunk legs didn't fit into them very well. Obviously made for ladies with slender, twig-like legs!

For snowshoeing I only had the Ronhill set up or some skiing trousers. Neither seemed the best option: the ski trousers made annoying swishing noises as I walked and they were a bit too warm, the tracksters not warm enough or snowproof at all.

Here is a review (short and very personal) of the trousers I have been trying this winter.

Craghoppers Winter Pika (Short length)

These are very cosy but not at all stretchy which makes them suitable for shopping trips mainly. They also have quite astonishingly flared legs and are a bit short in the rise for me. I also feel the legs are too short for me and flap around my ankles.

I did wear them for a couple of short walks but the lack of stretch made them uncomfortable stepping uphill.

Montane Terra Thermic (Short length)

When it was very cold before Christmas in Scotland I wore these trousers a lot, even indoors. I like them a lot. They are cosy on the inside and easy to vent with long leg zips. I've been wearing them for snowshoeing although fitting gaiters over them is not very easy (because of the zips).

They are also a tiny bit short in the rise, and I have not worn longjohns with them as they felt too tight then.

They are a good length for my legs though. The material they are made from is very nice to wear even though they are not stretchy.

Berghaus Cascade (Short length)

I immediately liked these trousers when I first put them on. They are very tough and stretchy. I did discover though that without longjohns they are not very warm, even cold to wear. They are also not very wind-proof. I wore them one day to get the bus into Aberdeen and nearly froze to death at the bus stop!

However, they fit me very well, especially round the waist and hips. So with a pair of merino wool longjohns I have been wearing them for cross-country skiing. The knees are very well articulated and length is perfect for me.

Sprayway Warm Challenger (Short length)

These are my latest pair - still hoping to find the perfect trousers. They fit me well and are very stretchy, a bit more windproof, and light to wear. I have to wear a belt with them otherwise they stretch too much round the waist. There is a zip down from the knee to the bottom hem (although I'm not sure what for) and one on the leg for venting.

At the waist there is a velcro tab which seems to be the wrong way round to really tighten the waist at all. However, with the belt on I don't need to use this.

I have been wearing these mainly for walking and without longjohns underneath.

These are the trousers I like the best at the moment.

Conclusion

I think I have not yet found the perfect trousers for all these winter activities. Most of them are fine for cooler weather walking although a bit of stretch helps to make them more comfortable round the knees. None of them are windproof enough for really cold conditions. Maybe it's just me but I find having to wear longjohns means the knees feel tight on me.

I will add that I did not pay full price for any of these trousers, having bought them either in a sale,

or on E-bay.

Col d'Izoard - well, almost..................

We parked the car on the verge at Le Laus, which is a short twisty drive up from Briancon. The road from here up to the Col is closed to vehicles in the winter - but still accessible on skis, snowshoes and on foot. In fact, it is tidily pisted and marked out in two halves so that the x-c skiers do not have to share their track with those on foot. It can be ridiculously difficult to control those skinny skis when the snow is rutted!

I was spending the day with Jeff and Maryann - they had invited me to join them to explore the snowshoe tracks here.

As we walked up the road I kept thinking 'people cycle up here' as the Col d'Izoard is probably world famous as one of the gruelling mountain climbs undertaken during the Tour de France. There were various 'cut throughs' to avoid following the road as it climbed in zig-zags up the mountain side. The French call these zig-zags 'lacets'. This form of road building was 'invented' by Napoleon - so he could get his troops up steep inclines quickly. What he actually invented were carts which had wheels fitted on an axle thus enabling them to make sharper turns. Before that, the mountain tracks climbed in wide loops so you could push a handcart with fixed wheels.

{The last stretch up to the Refuge}

Eventually after much puffing and panting (mostly by me!) we reached the Refuge. This is one of the Inns on the mountain road supposedly visited by Napoleon on his march through France and is therefore called Refuge de Napoleon. We enjoyed a huge cup of hot chocolate each and a well-deserved sit in the sunshine. We watched a few people continuing up the road to the Col - but we didn't feel inclined to join them.

We thought it might be impolite, never mind 'interdit', to eat our packed lunches there, so we put on our snowshoes and started our descent. The track went down along the route of a frozen and snowed over stream. Lunch was eaten sitting on a bridge parapet, swinging our legs like large children.

{One of the easier bits going down}

Following the path down we clambered between rocks and over what must be small waterfalls in the summer. Some bits were quite hairy-scary but do-able, trusting the spikes on the snowshoes to hold in the snow.

{The old village houses in Le Laus}

As we reached the road just before Le Laus, we had completed 10.1 kms and climbed 845 ms (according to Viewranger).

Definitely a day to remember!