Waking up to brilliant sunshine - again - Su and a few friends took advantage of yesterday's scorching Spring weather and took the day off to go walking. The route chosen was the
Pas de Sales, an ascent through an increasingly narrow pass that bursts open into a valley at the top, where the tiny village of Sales is found. The village is remote and inaccessible enough to be completely abandoned in winter; the farmers and their cows return each summer to graze the rich alpine grass.
Su has committed (well, not 100% quite yet, she says) to climbing Mt Blanc with friends this summer, and this hike is the first in what will be a series of 'training' hikes. With that in mind, she unwrapped her walking poles - purchased several years ago with good intentions - and got serious. While walking, we tried to decide what being a 'serious' walker involves. Poles are imperative, obviously. Packing an appropriate bag seems to be the other key, we've decided. Dried fruit, nuts, hearty sandwiches and no-nonsense chocolate seem to all be 'proper' walkers' fare. A plastic bag lining your backpack in case of rain is a sure sign you know what you're doing. Trousers than unzip into shorts go beyond 'walking expert' and veer dangerously towards 'walking nerd', however...
The beauty of walking to Sales is the variety of landscapes that you encounter on the way. Forests, rivers, waterfalls and cliffs line the route, making every turn of the path exciting and new. This route is also renowned for reliable sightings of mountain animals, and we certainly got a treat yesterday. Just before arriving in Sales, we spotted four young
bouquetins - sturdy mountain goats with impressive curved horns when they mature. At the same time, a fat marmotte ambled across the rockface below the goats. Brilliant.
The village of Sales itself would usually be full of snow at this time of year, but due to the lack of snow this winter, its almost totally snow-free already. Herds of rather intimidating bouquetins have moved in and were totally unperturbed as we sneaked closer and closer to photograph them. They don't seem to be upset by walkers at all - or perhaps, just maybe - they just recognised us as 'proper' walkers...
Su has committed (well, not 100% quite yet, she says) to climbing Mt Blanc with friends this summer, and this hike is the first in what will be a series of 'training' hikes. With that in mind, she unwrapped her walking poles - purchased several years ago with good intentions - and got serious. While walking, we tried to decide what being a 'serious' walker involves. Poles are imperative, obviously. Packing an appropriate bag seems to be the other key, we've decided. Dried fruit, nuts, hearty sandwiches and no-nonsense chocolate seem to all be 'proper' walkers' fare. A plastic bag lining your backpack in case of rain is a sure sign you know what you're doing. Trousers than unzip into shorts go beyond 'walking expert' and veer dangerously towards 'walking nerd', however...
The beauty of walking to Sales is the variety of landscapes that you encounter on the way. Forests, rivers, waterfalls and cliffs line the route, making every turn of the path exciting and new. This route is also renowned for reliable sightings of mountain animals, and we certainly got a treat yesterday. Just before arriving in Sales, we spotted four young bouquetins - sturdy mountain goats with impressive curved horns when they mature. At the same time, a fat marmotte ambled across the rockface below the goats. Brilliant.
The village of Sales itself would usually be full of snow at this time of year, but due to the lack of snow this winter, its almost totally snow-free already. Herds of rather intimidating bouquetins have moved in and were totally unperturbed as we sneaked closer and closer to photograph them. They don't seem to be upset by walkers at all - or perhaps, just maybe - they just recognised us as 'proper' walkers...
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