21st of August - France - Via Ferrata de l'Aiguillette du Lauzet

This day was our final day in the Villar d'Arene area before moving on northward. Although just over the ridge passed Valloir, but still a couple of hours drive.

Anyhow, today started with a fabulously cloud free sky. We decided to finally hit Le Lauzet, a ferrata mentioned in a previous post, which we had to skip earlier due to bad weather.

We had breakfast (which by the way is being upped every other day as we get bored with what we're eating) and packed all our stuff, checked out of our hostel and drove to the start of the trail.

The sun was still shining. The weather report promised rain around 16:oo o'clock, so we dared go with shorts. Our goal was the peak to the right in the picture. We started walking up the first part of the trail at 12-ish. Even though the ascent was easier than the first time, sweat was dripping off my chin when we were half way. It was a 200m ascent to the beginning of the via ferrata trail. It took us around 40 minutes to get there. 

 

Harnesses on and up we went beginning at an altitude of 2050 m. The first part of the via ferrata was a lot of trail walking up a steep path. It took some time before the actual climbing began.. and then it was really steep. The ferrata is measured to be around 500 m long, but dear jeebus, it was very steep and they have not been very generous with handholds.At some places there were just tiny edges in the rock to hold on to.

Before we reached half way we noted droplets of rain making spots on the rocks, which in turn made us a little bit concerned about the risk of slippery stones and slipping on metal hand and footholds.

We decided to push on (as going back was out of the question -> we had reached the point of no return) ( and we are stubborn .... ) (but at least there was no thunder today) (....) ( rain does not kill) (... in most cases)... (?)...
At one point the ferrata started to go downward again. We were almost a bit disappointed as we had been looking forward to hitting the top of the mountain. Then, heading down, the wires suddenly led us into a crevasse in the rock. 

The crevasse went through the rock and on the other side the trail continued upward. The rock inside was worn smooth by hands and boots over the years and was indeed a bit slippery as well as steep.

As we made it out on the other side, the rain intensified. I was lead and was in a bad spot for stopping for rummaging around in my backpack. It was steep and I needed both hands and feet to hold on. Thus, my sweater got a bit wet before reaching the next ledge where I finally could get my rain coat out. Ben, who was behind me had time to stop and get his on before continuing. When he reached my ledge he got his rain pants out too. I had, in an enormous bout of optimism, left mine in the car. I mean... how bad could it get?....

Climbing just about a vertical cliff wall, with wet boots, wet gloves, wet stones, wet hand and foot holds... is a bit... interesting... Ben, who enjoys using the rocks for climbing, actually slipped with his fingers once, but caught himself with the other hand. I myself use the metal aid, but I felt my boots slip a few times, as well as my gloves slid along the wire.

The climb was long and strenuous and we were starting to get really hungry. We had finished off our super-fast-sugar-boost-dried-pineapple pieces and were looking forward to having lunch.

When we got closer to the top we were welcomed by the local population. A few mountain goats passed us by and watched us dubiously. "What are those dummies doing here NOW?"

As we ascended to the "above place" (peak of the mountain) the weather calmed. The stone turned whiter and the clouds dissipated over our heads. There was sunshine although we still could see the rain clouds on the other mountains. Where we were though, only peace (and the angel choir)...

We enjoyed our moment in the "above place", took the mandatory pictures beside the standard mountain peak cross and had our late lunch. Yummie....

The descent went around the mountain on the other side. On the way down we passed two herds of mountain goats. We walked past fascinating rocks that could've made for real fun climbing. Further down we passed big boulders and Ben of course had to climb one. It took us more than two hours to return to the car, but that's mainly because we stopped several times, and I myself took about a thousand pictures of all the flowers and rocks I could find.

At 1830 we were back at the car and headed off towards La Toussiere and were positively surprised by the next lodging. A tiny studio apartment with all the necessities. Even a washing machine!!!

17th August - France - Villar-d'Arêne

Today it was time to move on to the next little alp village. We packed our gear and checked out of the hotel (in French of course) and I had the opportunity to have a little dialogue with the owners about our origin. They were surprised that we were Swedish.

We drove back towards Briançon and Le Monêtier-les-Bains. At the latter we stopped for a while and took a walk.

I had seen a post office which was open and decided to get some stamps. Walking down the main road we saw several adventure guide offices with wet-suits hanging outside. Apparently river rafting and canyoning is quite popular here.  

We walked down to a river and saw three rafts pass and a large spa area with swimming pools. Indeed this town is known for its two hot water springs and has had a thermal spa since Roman times. The springs are 34 and 38 degrees warm.

After walking around for a while we arrived at the post office - which was lunch closed! Damn siesta region! Well... no rush with the post cards. 
We strolled back to the car and drove on towards Villar-d'Arêne. On the way we saw a huge glacier area looking like old yogurt running down from the peak of La Meije.

 






We arrived in Villar d'arene in sunshine a few hours before check-in time at the hostel, Auberge de Villar d'Arene, but that seemed to be no problem. Our room is on the second store above a restaurant. There are no bed sheets here, but we bought sleeping bag liners before the trip so that is no problem. Little did we know what torture it is to sleep in a 85 cm wide cotton bag. These liners actually became a point of repeated jokes during the trip.


There is an old church on the plaza outside the hostel and we can hear the bell toll every hour. Will make for an interesting night. One luxurious aspect of the room is the little balcony we have facing the plaza and the mountain. 

After having dinner we drove to the nearest via ferrata to check it out. We didn't have time to do the climb today, but decided to walk to its beginning - meaning a 200 m ascent over 2 km. On the way we passed a really tame donkey that cried out to passers by for attention. 

The ferrata is called L'Aiguillette du Lauzet and begins at an altitude of around 1940 m  and ends at 2611 m. Hopefully the weather will allow us to try it out tomorrow. We asked a couple of climbers about it on their way down and they looked a bit worn. They had been active for 7h30m at that time. ;) 

It started to rain as we were walking, but no worries. The view is still magnificent.

Afterwords we headed back to Villar-d'Arêne to continue our chill evening.