Some wintry New Year's views

Dwight Peck's personal website

Winter 2008-2009

The best snow we've had in the Jura in a decade, and we're in danger of missing it.

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

Some wintry New Year's views

We're spending most of the winter months debilitated in a pulmonary manner, but at least we're getting out to see what we're missing. This is the farm track above the villages, just below the start of the forests, as we're trudging along from Le Vaud towards Longirod. 31 December 2008.

Just past the village of Marchissy, direction Longirod, a beautiful snowfall starts up just for us.

A silent woodsy scene

It's been a snowy December, with January still to go, and a protracted very cold spell throughout.

Les Salles, at 881m altitude, just before Longirod, the village of Marchissy in the background

Returning late in the day to the little carpark above Le Vaud.

We're celebrating New Year's Day this year, 1 January 2009, by walking down the "Sentier des Toblerones". This is the little sawmill below La Cézille.

The "toblerones" are the 1930s Swiss military anti-tank barriers that are still found blocking the mountain passes and strategic meadows -- so called because they look like the famous Swiss chocolates, sort of.

Here the path threads directly through two ranks of barriers along the little river called La Serine. The hiking path called the Sentier des Toblerones begins near Bassins and descends 15 kilometres past Gland to Nyon on Lake Geneva.

The serene Serine, looking cold

We're down to 470m here, and still the snow is not insignificant.

A tributary

Near Vich village, the tank barriers bump up against the hedges and manicured lawns. Now, late in the day, we have to walk back up to La Cézille and we'd better get cracking.

Now some wintry January views

11 January 2009: Somewhat frustrated pulmonarily by this time, we've tentatively set out into the forest of Rolat, but we didn't get very far. Lovely views, though.

It's late January 2009, a couple of misdiagnoses later, and we're cusping on pulmonary immobility. But with a last gasp (ha!) of determination, we're out in the forests above lovely Bassins to take advantage of this fantastic snow year.

La Chaumette farm

We're reluctant to leave Dieter the VW (5th from the left) to his own devices amongst all these fancy new cars whom he doesn't know, but we're walking up from the top of Le Vaud, past the town dump, and up into the forest for just a few hours. 25 January 2009.

We've cleared the déchetterie, or dump, and we're making appallingly slow progress up through the forest.

We're at the top of the meadow of La Pouilleuse, and it's unlikely that we'll get much farther today, so we'll turn down in a gentle, scenic arc.

Out of the forest and across the meadow, straight into the afternoon sun

A well-trod snowshoe and ski track across the Pouilleuse meadow, about 1015m altitude

La Pouilleuse farm, 1007m, 25 January 2009

And back into the forest for half an hour's clomping back down to Le Vaud, and the town dump

Mont Blanc just across the way

Throw the camera up in the air around here, and most of the time when it comes down you've got a picture of Mont Blanc. We're soaking in the view gratefully; this was our last hopeful venture out of doors for some time.

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