Farms of the Jura in winter: Joux de Bière

Dwight Peck's farm photos

Farms of the Jura in winter

The Jura mountains run in a southwest-northeast direction along the border between France and Switzerland, from Geneva (Genève) to Basel (Bâle), holding at about 1300-1400 meters altitude (4350-4500 feet), and peaking in the range of 1650 meters (5450 feet). These photos of high alpage farms in winter are mainly from the southwestern end of that range, between the cities of Geneva and Vallorbe.

Joux de Bière

The farm of Joux de Bière lies along the cross-country ski trail down the Combe des Amburnex on the far side of the Col du Marchairuz, and a spur of that trail passes up by the farm to carry on down a parallel combe for a ways. 27 December 2011

Kristin

December 2011

Sneaking up on the Joux de Bière from the forest, 13 March 2004

There it is, spied from amongst the trees on a little ridge to the north.

"Joux", according to Henri Suter, comes from a medieval Latin word for a high forest in the mountains, and presumably the pastures here belong to the commune of Bière down the hill.

The farm of Pré de Bière, the 'meadows of Bière', is over on the northern side of the Marchairuz road.

One of the main cross-country ski tracks runs along that combe in the background, and a spur or loop of it comes up right on the far side of the farm building.

Fuji-zoom

Now we'll clamber down off this little ridge and investigate a little more closely.

Still from the northeast side

And now from the southwestern side

From the northwest

From due west. The Col du Marchairuz is completely invisible up the hill behind it.

13 March 2004

from SwitzerlandMobility (http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en)

5 March 2005

Joux de Bière farm, March 2010

The farm of Joux de Bière and the ski du fond piste passing nearby on the right, 22 December 2013

The family that cross-country skis together . . . (Mom pulls the kids, Dad watches for stragglers)

Farms of the Jura in winter

More farms of the Jura