29 May to 5 July 2016
18 walks in 38 days
12km vertical, 185km horizontal
27-28 August 2016
Click on any image to see a larger version
Well, it's in Haut Savoie, but it was a nice warm-up, after a few hours' driving after landing in Zürich
This was the third visit to a favourite area, after 2011 and 2013. We'd intended to go up the wall and into the lakes area, but turned across the river too early, and were swung SE instead of SW. So we did a 3.5km / 450km sweeping rise up a long valley called the Rav d'Astu, a few hundred metres inside the Spanish border. |
Setting out, the Pic looming above |
Marvelling at Flower Valley |
Halfway along the soggy floor |
The first Fritillaria ... |
... and Linda taking it |
Behind us, the Pic still looms |
A Fritillaria beside the path |
But it's merely the edge of Linda's Fritillaria Heaven |
Looking beyond Heaven, back down the valley |
Rising now, but still glancing back ... |
... and again |
Well off the intended track now, looking back to the lakes |
Above the stream |
Rising rapidly on a steep transverse slope |
And getting to the upper levels |
Lunch close up to the ridge |
Returning from a summit foray confirming there's a steep, snow-covered 2km cirque in the wrong place |
On the way home |
Near the place we (I) went wrong |
The bubbling stream |
Linda and I made good for some of the previous day's error, by going directly up to the lakes, and returning.
Leaving the Valley of the Flowers |
Through the wood |
To the meadows |
Roger, unwell, resting |
Looking down on The Valley of the Flowers |
Rock, daffs, mountains |
Pic du Midi d'Ossau |
Lunch at Lake Roumassot |
Back to Walk 1, right, left, then right behind the ridge |
A Picturesque water feature |
The upper-level Lac Gentau |
The refuge, and the pass above |
Back along Lac Gentau |
At the ledge with the waterfall |
Linda denying a foreground feature by walking too quickly |
Back down to the Valley's end |
This started with a contour walk from our gites Le Chaoutet (North of the pond), via Arcizans-Dessus and Gaillagos. It then went steeply up northwards, then north-west and up to Col de Couret, and finally east along the knife-ridge. The ridge offered brilliant views south into the Pyrenees, and north into the last valley before the foothills. Then back home eastwards and southwards via a rather nasty path that spoilt an otherwise very good walk. |
Looking SW from the contour between the two villages |
Beside the road |
After rising 550m steeply, we start along the ridge ... |
... which turns out to need some hands-work |
A little put out by visitors, ... |
... a vulture departs ... |
... and joins the others, circling |
On and up, closer to the peak |
Finally a view over the beech-forest on the southern slopes |
Pauses for flower-shots |
But mainly still climbing |
As storms build in the West |
Nearing the top, still with flowers ... |
... some artistically arranged |
The storms held off |
Off the eastern end, going home |
We drove as far as the car-park (at 2050m), then wandered further up to the remnant glacial lakes. The rim is 10km long, and the opening at the northern edge is 2km wide |
Lunch |
Summer Visitors |
Lake |
Reflections |
Denizen 1 |
Denizen 2 |
Tarn |
Locals |
We climbed the eastern wall to get the mileage, the exhilaration (400 vertical metres in an hour, because it's an unrelenting 1 in 4), but mainly because it provides access to the diagonal walk beneath the rockwalls and a far better appreciation of the cirque that is the world's prettiest (Roger) and/or grandest (Linda). |
Setting out |
After the 400m climb |
Entering the overhang run (A metaphor for the whole trip?) |
The cirque appears |
The cirque from above the hotel |
The eastern mountains |
The line of falls on the SE |
Europe's longest cascade |
437m, and striking from near ... |
... wide ... |
... and far |
Drinks on the way back |
This year we picked out the Val di Fiemme, SE of Bolzano and S of Moena, staying in a hotel up the slopes East of Predazzo. That gave us access to the San Martino massif and the Rollo, Valles and San Pellegrino passes in the East, and to the Latemar massif in the NW. |
E of Predazzo, with 300m of forest, 300m through mixed forest and alpine meadows to a lake, and 300m of rock – the perfect mix! (Okay, there was a bit too much cloud for perfect photos, but it was still pretty decent). At the recommendation of Hotel Zaluna, we started at 1640m, along path 626 up the Rio Boce to Lago de Boce, then on up the ridge to the junction with path 629 at 2550m. The views are mostly to the South at the range that includes the Cima di Cece at 2700m, but partly to the East and SE at the very striking Pale di San Martino, which includes a number of thrusting peaks either side of 3000m. |
The forest segment |
Into the meadows, looking SE to San Martino |
San Martino's main peak, telephoto'd |
Malga Boce (= alpine dairy) |
Bridge in the second forest segment |
Transition from meadows to rocks and trenches |
Lago di Boce |
Rio Boce, back down our track |
Up the ridge right (E) of the lake, looking back to Malga Boce |
Around the 2300m mark |
1915 trenches in remarkable repair ... |
... with views SW towards Predazzo |
Atop, cold, windy and threatening |
View eastwards to Russell and Karen's walk ... |
... and detail |
Back down through the trenches |
Dull light on Lago di Boce ... |
... but still photogenic |
Back down the Rio |
Still patchy, still threatening |
A brief warm-down, fitted in between driving up a cloudy Passo Rollo in the morning and catching up with Bob and Lucia in Penia and watching England v. Wales in the afternoon. The 260m up a ski-field access path took 33 minutes - much better than the 300m per hr we've been averaging. It was the first 40% of a walk we did some years ago.
On the recommendation of Bob and Lucia in Penia, we drove to Pampeago (1750m ), and walked up 200m of forest, 350m of alpine meadows / ski-field and Passo Feudo, and 370m of rock, to a viewing-point high in the Latemar group at 2675m, with 360-degree views. And the cloud cleared for us when we needed it! The first 450m we did in an hour, the remaining 470m in 1h40m, i.e. little better than half the rate. The return involved only 1h40m. It's a very popular walk, with lifts from two valleys up to the 2200m level, and the path was well-made almost throughout. But it was very steep – 925m in 4.5km is an average of 1 in 5 (some 1 in 1, much 1 in 2 to 1 in 4). |
The Start-Point at Pampeago |
Preferring forest to chairlift |
Up to meadows ... |
... and a ski-field |
A first view back to the start ... |
... and again |
The path above Fuedo, at top-centre |
And back to the start |
The upper path begins |
A first glimpse of the Rifugio |
The path and the crags ... |
... and an alternative view |
The beginning of ... |
... the serious walk |
The wall |
Wallflowers |
An illustration of the verticality |
Another check that the car's still there |
What we came for: the Torre di Pisa |
Immediately to the left, looking WSW |
To the East, Boe/Pordoi left, Marmolade right |
Marmolade, highest point of the Dolomites |
The rest of Latemar, to the North ... |
... with visitors |
With better visibility, the view back up ... |
... and the crags |
Predazzo left, our half-way point right |
The path down |
A stroll E of the Passo Rollo and beneath the San Martino group, at 2000-2250m, specifically to check out a flower area recommended in one of Linda's books. It began sunny, but gradually clouded over, and we were entertained by snow-showers around lunch-time.
Driving towards the pass |
Boots on a short distance above it |
Southern end of the San Martino group |
Cima della Vezzana |
The northern end |
Further left, with the alp |
Happy strollers |
Summer snow-shower on funnelled limestone |
A pleasant hill-walk with Russell and Karen NW of Brno, complemented by walks in Brno itself, and in the surprising city of Znojmo, near the Austrian border. |
Starting out |
Through open forest |
Very windy at the top |
The lunch-spot |
We walked from our Pension at Madseit (1450m), SW via the AlmBichl (1700m), the Schleier waterfall (2000m), the Weitental, and the Tuxerjochhütte (2300m) to the Frauenwand peak (2540m). It was a far better walk than we anticipated (because we're always suspicious about valleys that have glacier-skiiing at the end of them). The sparkling light helped of course, but the fact is that it's both beautiful and highly varied, as you rise from valley-floor, via alp, into a hidden valley with waterfalls, and up onto the rocky mountain-tops. The 1000m cleft between the Frauenwand peak and the glacier-ridden 3300m ridge to the East adds to the drama. |
Soon after the start, looking back to Madseit |
Farmers were making much hay ... |
... too much hay, as it turned out |
Looking down on the valley-end, and up to glaciers, and our target above Roger's hat |
The Schleier waterfall ... |
... and the twisted strata at its head |
The view from the top back over the alp |
The rapids above the falls |
The hidden valley, the Weitental ... |
... and its brooding peak |
Now above the Tuxerjochhütte |
Flowers with valley views ... |
... and with mountain views |
The German-Austrian border, with glider |
The length of the Tuxertal |
The peak to the north |
From the Frauenwand the cleft is evident |
Undeterred, Linda captures Primulas ... |
... and Gentians |
And again on the crumbling peak itself |
And another on the very edge |
Yes, that edge just there |
The tarn edge, looking northwards |
Marmot, on sentry duty |
Marmot, on PR duty |
The upper Weitental again |
The upper falls, the lower Weitental |
And at the top, in afternoon light |
Looking back to them |
The slopes above |
Afternoon light, cows, a beer at AlmBichl |
Finally, a short, steep cut back home |
6 straight days' walking, SW from Grindelwald to the Gemmi Pass above Leukerbad.
This was the only time we've ever attempted to string such big mountain-walks together.
The walks totalled +5500m and-5000m vertical, and 83km in distance.
(For comparison, the
Tasmanian Overland track is +1340m / -1460m, and 65km).
An area map |
A contour map |
The walk profiles |
We walked from Grindelwald Grund (940m), up to Kleine Scheidegg (2060m) in 3-1/2 hrs, lunch, then around the shoulder of the Lauberhorn (2160m), and down via Wengen and Lauterbrunnen (740m) in 3 hrs. We then caught the cable-car and train to Mürren. We consider this walk to offer the best all-round views available anywhere in the Alps (maybe the world?). The day was less than perfect, but the cloud was sporadic and never closed us in, it often enhanced rather than spoilt the view, and the late-afternoon storm was short.
We've had the pleasure of being at Kleine Scheidegg multiple times, incl. 2010, 2004 and 1999.
Walk 34 up to Kleine Scheidegg |
The start at Grund, showing expected times |
The view of Grindelwald and the Wetterhorm above |
The well-made path soon afterwards |
After coffee at Brandegg ... |
... and above, the Eiger |
Grindelwald and the Wetterhorn from Kleine Scheoidegg |
After lunch, K.S. and the Eiger |
Walks 40, 43 and 48 down to Lauterbrunnen |
A brooding Jungfrau occasionally looked down |
Wengeneralp, beneath the Jungfrau |
Map of the Lauberhorn Downhill that we were on |
First view of Mürren, with our two-night stay on the very edge |
Wilderswil and Interlaken down on the plain |
View down to Wengen |
Männlichen hanging above us and Wengen ... |
... and the path to the village |
No-waste policy at work in Wengen. Mist courtesy of the quick storm |
The steep drop to Lauterbrunnen, beneath wall and fall |
And a better view of the classic glacial valley |
As a loosener, we walked from Mürren (1640m) up to Suppenalp, along to Sonnenberg (1835m)
and Maulerhubel (1960m), and back. (We'd been told that the walk up to the Schilthorn (2970m) was closed
due to avalanche danger, and that even Birg (2680m) was awkward and inadvisable due to remaining snow).
That was fortunate, because the light day was to prove a blessing during the following four,
successive hard walks.
We've had the pleasure of being at Mürren before, in 2010. This map shows all of the day's walk, plus the path taken the following morning: |
Alpine Meadows at 1650m |
Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, with the deep cleft beneath |
Blumenthal, as cirque ... |
... and in more bucolic mode |
Early Marsh Orchids competing for attention |
Walking couple competing for attention |
A small figure in a large landscape |
The precipituous view from our hotel-room balcony down to Stechelberg |
From Mürren (1640m) gently up to Spielboden (1790m), then steeply up a ridge-line to 2050m (40 minutes = 390m per hr), then along contours to the Rotstockhütte in the Boganggen valley (2050m), then up and along, and steeply up the last 150m over the Sefinenfurke (2610m). The last section was very slow because of the deep snow (1 hour!). Then down to the path-junction below Bürgli (1490m), and finally up to Bundalp (1840m) – the last part slowly on account of tired legs. Until we were over the pass, we had interchanging good visibility and frequent heavy cloud. That was then replaced by moderate rain and mist, so we arrived as wet outside as we had earlier been inside. Thank heavens for wet-weather gear.
We've previously walked on the Mürren side of the Sefinenfurke, in 2010, 2004 and 1999.
We've previously walked up the Kiental side of the Sefinenfurke, in 2004.
The pleasant, Yorkshire Dales stroll to Spielboden ... |
... with the ridge looming above |
Linda approaching the top ... |
... giving her a view down to Gimmelwald hanging above the valley |
View along the contour towards Rotstockhütte with the pass centre-top |
Linda getting the low- down from the locals |
Walking the contour |
Rotstockhütte in the Boganggen |
After Birnenmost, the path to the pass |
Looking back up to the Schilthorn |
Practising snow-crossings |
For now, a clear view up to the pass |
From bottom-right, to the post centre-half-left, up the muddy scree, then up the snow to centre-top |
Glancing back to the start: Wetterhorn, Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau |
They knew amateurs would be coming |
'Swiss Lunch' at the top (i.e. chocolate) |
The other side, improved since last time! |
"I thought this was the easy bit" |
"Ah, better this way" |
Kiental in deepening cloud |
While there's visibility. back up to the pass ... |
... and across to tomorrow's walk (The ridge centre-right, with the pass being the low point on the horizon) |
Thank heavens we didn't have this up on the pass ... |
Streams fed by melt and rain |
From Bundalp (1840m), we went up a spur to Hohtürli and the Blümlisalphütte
(2840m). It was the most tiring and the most
direct approach to any pass that we've tackled (1000m in 3km, i.e. 1 in 3).
We then went very steeply down to the path junction
above Oeschinensee (1970m), then above the wonderful path above the lake to
the top of the gondola (1680m), via the gondola down to Kandersteg (1150m),
then 2.5km along to the end of the valley at Eggenschwand (1190m).
We've been up the Oeschinensee side of Blümlisalp before, in 2010. This map shows most of the second half of the walk: |
Morning light at the Bundalp |
A sign of things to come |
A glance back at Bundalp |
Initially, easy enough |
But 2.5km like this changes your mind |
And as the snow is reached, you start fighting your way up |
Cloud-layers you hope won't consolidate |
And, finally, above all of that |
A ground-ladder over the scree |
Time off for a flower, at 2560m |
Looking back at the group behind us |
And looking back at the Sefinenfurke |
Hohtürli (the pass), and the other side |
From the Blümlisalphütte 50m above, views SW (Thun on the right) ... |
... and again ... |
... and back NE to the Schilthorn and Birg ... |
... and down our track, SSW to Kandersteg |
Setting off down the first section ... |
... awkwardly, due to snow conditions + gradient |
The glacial lake ... |
... the glacial plain ... |
... and them what dunnit |
20 minutes ago, those ants were us |
The path junction before Oeschinensee |
The lake emerges |
The wall towering over it |
Further along the high path |
Over Kandersteg towards tomorrow's walk |
We ignored the cable-car and walked up from Eggenschwand (1170m), up the Klusschlucht into the hidden Gasteretal, then up the 500m forested wall called Gürnigel, to 40m below Sunnbühl (1920m). We then went along and up to the restaurant above the Gemmi Pass (2340m), then turned right along the glacial valley, and up onto the glacial shelf and the Lämmerenhütte (2500m). |
The gorge wall at the start of the walk |
The torrent |
In the Gasteretal, ... |
... three falls come straight out of limestone walls |
The 500m wall up out of the valley |
And the higher and steeper wall beside it |
Looking back down into the valley |
Higher, seeing back to Kandersteg |
Above Spittelmatte, looking back to the top of the wall |
At the dairy, teddying, with goats |
Arriving at the lakes, Gemmipass ahead |
Along Taubensee |
Spring Gentians demanding attention |
At the restaurant above Gemmipass, Monte Rosa top-left |
Westwards along the snowed-in glacial plain, Wildstrübl at the end |
Looking back to Gemmipass |
Starting the steep 180m track to the Lämmerenhütte |
A Steinbock lording it over the cliffs above |
The Lämmerenhütte in late afternoon light |
Looking back to Gemmipass |
We returned from Lämmerenhütte (2500m) back down through the snow, along the glacial shelf, and up to the restaurant above the Gemmi Pass (2340m) , then down, along and finally up to the top of the cable-car at Sunnbüel (1920m), down the cable-car to Eggenschwand (1190m), and along to Kandersteg station on foot (1150m).
We were pleased to do the main part of the walk in 3-1/2 hours (plus a 15-minute coffee at the Schwarenbach Bergrestaurant), as per estimate, at 4kph. The early parts weren't easy, and our legs and bodies really could have done with a day's rest first. We trained back to the car (Kandersteg-Spiez/S-Interlaken Ost/IO-Grindelwald) and were in Grundbach in time for a great dinner with Robert and Jenny Portner.
Back down the wall |
The corner of the Windstrubel glacier |
The lake on the northern side of the glacial plain |
In the Sunnbühl cable-car, looking into the Gasteretal towards the Lötschenpass |
Lee Bygrave hosted me at his hytte in the Rondane National Park, 350km north of Oslo. |
The hytte is at Raphamn (first of the two maps):
The very comfortable hytte |
Sub-alpine vegetation at 930m ... |
... mainly Heath/Erica ... |
... but with rich diversity |
Saturday afternoon, we walked 965m up 2015m Veslesmeden (see the second of the maps):
The start of the 6km flat-track walk, with Veslesmeden top-left, in cloud |
The vegetation and light, the target centre-right |
Lee on the track, lake and huts in view |
Rondvatnet (lake), Rondvassbu (huts) |
Now up 750m, looking back SSE over our track |
Rondslottet (2178m), and its cirque |
Looking up at the last 150m |
And at the last 20m |
From the summit, NW |
And Northwards |
And SSE to our start-point |
The last sunlight on the huts |
Sunday morning, I did the rather easier 200m up the adjacent Holtjønnpiggen (while Lee, walking much faster, searched for late-season cloudberries):
The peak, from the hytte |
From the peak, over the hytte, to NW of Otta |
Same angle, with zoom, hytte low-right |
Looking NNE to yesterday's mountains |
This is a page within the Clarke-Spinaze Photo Gallery, home-page here
Created: 7 June 2016; Last Amended: 5 September 2016