tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17680005584637824962024-03-13T12:28:19.161+01:00Jura Mountain RamblingAfter much champagne, laughter, good friendship and fireworks on New Year's Eve 2011, I made the following New Year's Resolution: "In 2012, I'm going to climb the seven highest peaks ... in the Jura Mountains.
This blog is all about those ramblings ... and having fun in the magnificent Jura landscape. By the time we left Switzerland (in January 2015), we had hiked to the top of the 58 highest named peaks, and to 70 named peaks in total. Feel free to follow our footsteps. Enjoy.Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-78660201204736953162014-10-30T16:42:00.000+01:002014-10-31T14:58:22.583+01:00Crêt de Grison (No 129)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Crêt de Grison is a not much more than a small hill - at 1323 metres in altitude - hidden among the folds of the Jura Mountains about five kilometres northwest of the town of Bassins, in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. We've hiked, run and mountain-biked past it many times, but finally decided to make it the destination point for one of our Jura hikes. We added Crêt de Grison (as a side destination) to another designated trail in the vicinity - a NatuRando hike called "Le Sentier des Alpages", which we decided to start from a parking area on the side of the road between two homesteads (La Dunanche and Le Pessette) - but called La Pessette in the guidebooks.<br />
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We drove up there via Bassins, taking the Route des Montagnes road northwest out of town past Les Platets and through the forests of La Channelaz and Bois au Ministre - to a point marked 1128m on the topographic map. There, we left the car, checked-out all of the interpretation panels and, at about 13:00, set off on the well-signposted "Sentier des Alpages" trail.<br />
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<i>Checking-out the information board.</i></div>
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<i>The Sentier des Alpages (in green). </i></div>
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<i>We parked at the red "I" spot at the bottom of the map.</i></div>
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<i>The trail was well-marked with regular trail signs like this one.</i></div>
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We left the parking area by a side road that headed north along a track marked by a "Foret de l'Essert Chevalier" sign. The first part of the track was indeed through the forest, but then moved onto open alpine pasturage as we approached the first of the trail's featured alpages - La Pessette. We stopped just long enough at the old alpage homestead to take a couple of photos, and to read the interpretation panel, before rejoining the trail.<br />
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<i>La Pessette alpage homestead.</i></div>
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<i>Sketch of La Pessette .</i></div>
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<i>La Pessette dates back to 1778.</i></div>
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The trail followed a farm track a little further up the hill, before re-entering the forest. The trees were a mixture of solid green conifers and all-shades-of-autumn deciduous trees - mostly beech. It was a glorious sunny afternoon, and the colours of the forest and lush brown layer of leaf litter on the trail made for a splendid ambiance.<br />
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<i>Heading into the forest north of La Pessette.</i></div>
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The next alpage on the sentier was Le Crot, and we soon found ourselves approaching it - once again along a two-wheeled farm access road that cut across wide open pasturage. Once again we stopped to check-out the old house, to take a couple of photos, and to read the interpretation panel, before moving on.<br />
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<i>Approaching Le Crot.</i></div>
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<i>Le Crot homestead.</i></div>
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<i>Sketch of Le Crot.</i></div>
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<i>Old stone stock-yard at Le Crot.</i></div>
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<i>An old mountain conifer at the northern end of the pasturage near Le Crot.</i></div>
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Once again the trail re-entered the forest. As it had been from the outset, it was well marked with "Sentier des Alpages" signs, as well as the regular diamond-shaped Swiss hiking trail signs, and regular splashes of yellow paint on suitable rocks and trees at strategic intervals and turning points along the way.<br />
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<i>Swiss hiking trail sign.</i></div>
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About 300 metres into the forest north of Le Crot, we encountered the Transjurassien hiking trail - le Chemin de la Crêtes de Jura - at which point we turned right and headed up the steep slope to the east.<br />
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<i>Trail sign where the Sentier des Alpages intersects La Grande Traversée trail </i></div>
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<i>between Col du Marchairuz and Col de la Givrine.</i></div>
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<i>Uphill track heading east along the GR5.</i></div>
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Approximately 150 metres along the track we stopped on a rocky outcrop to look back over the countryside below us - and Lac Leman and the arc of the Alps in the far distance. It sure was a magnificent sight, with a "Mer de Nuage" neatly blanketing much of the great lake. The Alps were in all of their glory - with their heads high above the clouds, especially Mont Blanc - the queen of them all.<br />
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<i>Alps panorama - with the green Vaud landscape in the foreground.</i></div>
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<i>Mont Blanc sits prominently above all of the surrounding Alp peaks.</i></div>
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<i>Closer view of Mont Blanc. </i></div>
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<i>(It's impossible to take too many photographs of this beautiful mountain.)</i></div>
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Although we could have stayed there for hours (it would have made a perfect picnic spot), we were soon back on the trail - which swung around to the north and left the forest as it approached the next alpage - Le Planet.<br />
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<i>Heading up the trail just south of Le Planet.</i></div>
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Interestingly (or perhaps "strangely"), this next alpage was spelled one way in the "Sentier des Alpages" guidebook and the 1:25,000 topographic map (in which it is spelled "Planet") and another way on the trail interpretation sign at the homestead (on which it is spelled "Planey"). One suspects the latter is merely a miss-spelling by the sign-writer. No matter, there were plenty of other trail signs in the vicinity with Le Planet spelled correctly, including one telling us we were now at 1364 metres in altitude.<br />
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<i>Le Planet alpine homestead.</i></div>
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<i>Sketch of Le Planet.</i></div>
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<i>Interpretation board at Le Planet.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at Le Planet.</i></div>
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<i>Last glance at Le Planet before leaving the alpage.</i></div>
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At Le Planet, the Sentier des Alpages parted ways with the Chemin de la Crêtes du Jura (the GR5), and swung westward - down a well-formed forest road. The route was very easy-going, and most enjoyable. The road ran west for a couple of hundred metres, and then turned north - deeper into a forest called Bois de Peney. <br />
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<i>Hiking along the forest road west of Le Planet.</i></div>
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At a point marked 1304 on the map - where four forest roads intersected - the Sentier des Alpages turned west, and then southwest, taking us back towards the Route des Montagnes - the road that we started on that connects Bassins with the Col du Marchairuz.<br />
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<i>Trail intersection (at 1304) in the Bois de Peney.</i></div>
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Although we were still in the Bois de Peney forest we could see occasional reminders - such as the crumbling and now disused, ancient stone walls - that the livestock pasturage up here was once far more extensive than it is now, with a lot of the former cleared meadows and pastures having subsequently been reclaimed by the dense (yet regularly harvested) Jura forest. The region's modern, well-managed, sustainable and certified forest operations ensure that the landscape stays productive and permanent, meaning that sometimes it's hard to see at first whether some patches of forest have been harvested or not. This whole part of the Jura is designated the Parc Jura Vaudois - so the local foresters have to "get it right", so to speak.<br />
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<i>Old crumbling stone wall in the Bois de Peney.</i></div>
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Our next way-point was an information panel and picnic area where the trail intersected the sealed Route des Montagnes. We stopped for awhile to read the signs, and then temporarily departed from the Sentier des Alpages trail to head a kilometre or so northwest towards the Crêt de Grison.<br />
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<i>Picnic table and benches - at a point marked 1259 on the topographic map.</i></div>
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<i>Information board detailing the zones of Parc Jura Vaudois - including the heavily-restricted District Franc Fédéral Le Noirmont (marked in green on the map) - a priority zone within the protected area.</i></div>
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Our way forward was now little much more than a stroll down a country road - but we didn't mind at all. We were having fun. We stayed with the road for about a kilometre-and-a-half - until we approached the lower slopes of Crêt de Grison - at which point we prepared to go cross-country to the summit. Up ahead of us we could see Crêt de Grison (on our right), and the peaks of Mont Pele and Mont Sâla in the middle distance - which we'd hiked to back in January 2013 (you can read about that hike <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2013/01/mont-pele-no-33-and-mont-sala-no-42.html">here</a>. That hike report also has more information about the access conditions for the Franc Fédéral Le Noirmont reserve. Important for hikers to know - especially with regards the restricted winter access conditions.)<br />
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<i>Heading northwest along the Route des Montagnes near Crêt de Grison.</i></div>
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<i>The summits of Mont Pele (1532) and Mont Sâla (1510).</i></div>
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A sign by the side of the road advised us that we'd arrived at a place called La Combe aux Corbeaux. This is significant, and good to know, because it more or less coincides with the start of a special protected area - an IUCN Category IV reserve called Crêt de Grison - which doesn't actually extend onto the slopes of Crêt de Grison, but encompasses a surrounding arc of dry grasslands of national significance. We quickly skipped over the grasslands, harming nary a leaf in the process, and began making our way up the side of Crêt de Grison.<br />
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<i>Road sign at La Combe aux Corbeaux.</i></div>
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<i>Heading up the lower slopes of Crêt de Grison.</i></div>
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After crossing a short section of alpine meadow, we entered the forest that covers the entire cap of the crêt. There was no regular trail to the top (this peak is not on anyone's list - except ours), so we had to make our way through the undergrowth and fallen branches, and up and over rocky outcrops and other small obstacles to the top. It didn't take us long to find the summit - 1323 metres - where we dropped our packs and wandered around to take in the scene and surrounding views - such as those that were afforded through gaps in the dense forest. Fortunately the summit was on the southeastern side of the hill - so once again we had great views of Mont Blanc and sections of the Alps.<br />
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<i>The forest atop Crêt de Grison.</i></div>
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<i>Standing at the summit of Crêt de Grison.</i></div>
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<i>View of Mont Blanc from Crêt de Grison.</i></div>
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Crêt de Grison is interesting for a number of reasons, one being that it is a small island of Barrémien Cretacéous rock surrounded by a landscape of predominantly older Jurassic limestones. The Barrémien Oolitic limestone is derived from the youngest deposits in the Parc Jura Vaudois (laid-down some 113 to 117 million years ago), and are distinguished by their orangey-yellow colour and abundance of oolitic fossils embedded in the calcium-carbonate rock. We didn't see any fossils, and didn't stay at the summit for very long ... and were soon retracing our steps back down the hillside and onto the Route des Montagnes road. The view ahead of us - back towards Mont Blanc and the Alps - was absolutely fabulous.<br />
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<i>Leaving the forest at the top of Crêt de Grison.</i></div>
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<i>The view down the Route des Montagnes towards the distant Alps.</i></div>
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We retraced our steps back down the road to the picnic area (at the 1259 map reference - at which point we resumed our Sentier des Alpages trail), and then carried-on further south down the road towards our next waypoint. Along the way we passed turn-offs to the Fontaine des Rochers (on our left) and the Sapin Président des Rochers (on our right), however we didn't take either detour, being intent on pressing-on until we met the point where the Transjurassien walk trail intersected with the Route des Montagnes. Here, we turned right (to the southwest) and followed the Transjurassien route for as long as it coincided with the Sentier des Alpages route.<br />
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<i>Signpost at Chemin de la Crêtes du Jura intersection.</i></div>
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<i>Heading southwest into the forest from the Route des Montagnes.</i></div>
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The trail went first through forest, and then out into a narrow stretch of alpine pasture northeast of the Les Frasses homestead. Once again, it was easy-going, making for a most enjoyable hike.<br />
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<i>The forest and pasture landscape near Les Frasses.</i></div>
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About three-quarters of a kilometre from the road we reached Les Frasses alpine homestead, which we quickly passed-by - as we did the main access road, which was completed flooded in sloppy black mud. Not totally unscathed, we reached the turn-off just southwest of the homestead - at which point we turned southeast and began heading back to where we'd parked the car at La Pessette.<br />
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<i>Les Frasses homestead.</i></div>
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<i>Sketch of Les Frasses.</i></div>
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<i>Interpretation panel near Les Frasses.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at an intersection just southwest of Les Frasses.</i></div>
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The last part of the Sentier des Alpages route was once again along a gentle, well-formed farm and forest access road, often with old dry stone walls providing a border on one or both sides. It was a lovely way to finish this hike, and we soaked-up the warm sunshine, and gorgeous views filled with golden autumn colours, and the distant backdrop of the blue, white and grey jagged Alps peaks.<br />
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<i>Gentle stroll down the last section of the road near La Dunache alpage.</i></div>
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<i>Autumn colours.</i></div>
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<i>View towards the Alps over La Dunanche homestead.</i></div>
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<i>Sketch of La Dunanche.</i></div>
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<i>Informational board at La Dunanche. The building dates back to 1774.</i></div>
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At about 16:30, we arrived back at the parking area at La Pessette, where we dropped our packs in the car, took one last, long look at Mont Blanc and the Alps, and then headed (by car) back to our home in St George. The Sentier des Alpages is a great little hike, and Crêt de Grison a worthy diversion. It's a beautiful part of the Jura.<br />
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<i>Back at La Pessette parking area.</i></div>
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<i>Mont Blanc from La Pessette.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Crêt de Grison (No 129) 1323m</li>
</ul>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The Sentier des Alpages is one of 34 hikes detailed in a handy guidebook that you can purchase from local bookstores, or you can find more details at <a href="http://www.naturando.ch/">www.naturando.ch</a> or <a href="http://www.parcjuravaudois.ch/">www.parcjuravaudois.ch</a></li>
<li>The Crêt de Grison was our 70th Jura peak.</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-73187579213388903102014-10-22T00:22:00.000+02:002014-10-31T14:52:59.190+01:00Cirque de Baume les Messieurs (No 614)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Baume les Messieurs - one of the most beautiful villages in France - is nestled in the depths of the Cirque de Baume - at the confluence of three exceptionally scenic valleys.</i></div>
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When it comes to altitude, the amazing cirque that surrounds Baume les Messieurs ain't Mount Everest ... but it's surely just as worthy for a place in hiking history as one of the best places to "take a hike" anywhere in the world. Happily acclaimed "one of the most beautiful villages in France" (and indeed the entire planet), Baume les Messieurs has been on our "to do" list ever since we spotted it in a Jura magazine a couple of years ago, so it was great to finally set aside a weekend to drive the 100 or so kilometres over to the western edge of the Jura from St George .... and go hiking around this magical valley. Baume les Messieurs is situated in eastern France - in the French department of Jura, in the region called Franche-Comté.<br />
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The Reculée de Baume les Messieurs, or Reculée de Baume as it is also called, is considered to be one of the best examples of a reculée - a glacial-era cirque - anywhere in the world. The steep-sided valley (the cirque) has been carved into shape over millions of years - as ice and water have gradually eaten-into, and eroded away, the 200 million-year-old limestone sediments of this ancient Jura landscape.<br />
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The walk around the perimeter of the cirque is only about nine or ten kilometres in length, and takes about three-and-a-half hours (or four - if you take as many stops along the way as we do). So we got started at about 10:45, after parking the car in the car-park behind the old (11th century) abbey, and set out from the old fountain at the main intersection in the middle of the village. The altitude in the town centre is approximately 300 metres asl.<br />
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<i>The perfect starting point - the fountain in the centre of Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>Getting ready to head out of Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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The first hundred metres of the walk was up the road just north of the Abbaye - along the Rue de Crancot - up the D70 towards the town of Crancot. At the first hairpin bend on the road there's a trail sign marked "Les laves" and "Abbaye" - at which point we left the road and followed a narrow dirt track that ran adjacent to a stone wall along that section of the village's northern boundary.<br />
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<i>Leaving the road just above Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign above l'Abbaye, at Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>The first section of the dirt track on the outskirts of Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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An occasional gap in the wall provided great views back over the village, up the valley, and across at the 200 metre high limestone cliffs all around the cirque. Needless to say, as we gradually gained altitude up the hillside above the town, we stopped whenever we could - to check-out the views, and take photos. There was no way that we were going to rush this walk. The place was already well and truly living up to its reputation for being "THE most beautiful".<br />
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<i>Looking back over the town towards the top end of the cirque.</i></div>
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<i>The stone wall on the outskirts of the village.</i></div>
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Eventually the stone walls gave way to cliffs and forest, and we were soon surrounded by steep rock-faces and drop-offs, and dense deciduous forests - including lots of lovely old oak trees. With autumn in full swing all around, the trail was frequently covered with lovely layers of leaf litter that had built-up on the forest floor - and which called on us to shuffle our boots along the ground and through the leaves like a couple of <i>petites enfants</i>. It was fun, and we were having the best time.<br />
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<i>A gorgeous section of the shady trail up through the forest above the village.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back down the hillside trail.</i></div>
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After a relatively steep hike up through the forest - which pretty much went from the floor of the valley to the top of the ridge that runs around the entire perimeter of the cirque - we emerged from the trees and found ourselves on the road between Baume les Messieurs and Crancot. The trail and the road coincided for about 100 metres - until a point marked "Vieux Mont" (at 495m) - from where it plunged back into the forest and swung westwards towards the Croix de Suchot.<br />
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<i>Intersecting the "main" road just east of Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>The trail sign at Vieux Mont (495m).</i></div>
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<i>Turn-off from the road at Vieux Mont.</i></div>
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Once again the forest track was just magical, with a beautiful shady canopy above us (perfect for the relatively warm weather conditions that we'd jagged), and a soft and crunchy layer of leaves on the forest floor beneath our feet. It was just perfect.<br />
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<i>The lovely leaf-littered trail west of Vieux Mont.</i></div>
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<i>Heading back into the forest between Vieux Mont and Croix du Suchot.</i></div>
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Now walking right alongside the eastern cliffs of the cirque, we got some wonderful views out over the valley - especially in the direction back towards Baume les Messieurs. Needless to say, whenever we could, we stopped to peer through the trees at the gorgeous views below us ... or to take a photo or two of the superb scenery: tall, stark, white limestone cliffs rimming the cirque; old stone-walled cottages in the village below; and fifty shades of autumn in the forests that spilled into the valley from the surrounding plateau. Typical of the latter, and the spectrum of autumn colours, was the section of the forest that we were passing through - the Bois de Suchot.<br />
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<i>The view to the west - towards Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at Bois de Suchot (515m).</i></div>
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A few hundred metres after the Vieux Mont turn-off, we reached a trail sign marking the Bois de Suchot, and a corresponding fork in the road - with Belvédère des Roches off to the left, and Croix de Suchot to the right. We went to the right of course - as the Croix de Suchot is one of the highlights of this hike - and also marks the highest point of the trail that we were planning to cover - albeit a mere 510 metres. Apparently the highest point of the cirque is 538 metres, but we didn't have a topographic map, and weren't that fussed about finding the "summit". We were more interested on this occasion with having a great hike, and sticking to the regular route for the tour de la Cirque de Baume les Messieurs.<br />
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<i>Taking the right fork in the forest - towards Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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<i>The beautiful forest track leading to the Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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It didn't long to reach our next way-point - the Croix de Suchot - which (in our humble opinion) is the highlight of the entire walk. We stayed there for quite a while - walking around, and scrambling over the rocky outcrop under the imposing wooden cross to take-in the beautiful views that stretched-out before us. Down below in the valley we could see the entire brown-roofed village of Baume les Messieurs, while all around us, cliffs and forests and farmland stretched-out in all directions towards the horizon. We stayed there for quite a while ... and took lots of photos.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Croix de Suchot (510m).</i></div>
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<i>The view towards Baume les Messieurs from Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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<i>Baume les Messieurs nestled in the Dard Valley below Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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<i>Panorama view of the cirque de Baume.</i></div>
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<i>Checking-out the cirque from Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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<i>One of the most fabulous views of one of the most fabulous places </i><br />
<i>in the entire world.</i></div>
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It was hard to tear ourselves away from the scenery at Croix de Suchot, but we eventually did, and then resumed our hike through the forest - initially back (east) to the turn-off at the Bois de Suchot, and then south towards Belvédère des Roches.<br />
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<i>On the trail southeast of Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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<i>Section of the well marked trail southeast of Croix de Suchot.</i></div>
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The next milestone along the route, just over a kilometre from Croix de Suchot, was a place in the forest called St-Alderin - apparently named after a legendary old hermit who once inhabited these woods. With the trail passing over relatively even ground, being shaded, and mostly easy-going, we were soon there ... and gone again ... and looking to find a scenic spot where we could drop our packs and have lunch. By now, we'd taken a departure from the main track which heads towards Belvédère des Roches, and were instead following a lesser-used track that skirted the cliff-tops around towards the northwest.<br />
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<i>The trail sign at St-Alderin (509m).</i></div>
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<i>Following the red trail signs - old and new.</i></div>
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<i>A view back up one of the valleys towards Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i> On the trail through the leafy forest.</i></div>
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The perfect place for our lunch presented itself right at the point of the most central (and most imposing) "headland" that juts-out into the incised valley. We found a shady spot right at the top of the cliffs, at the very point of the "promontory", where we sat down and enjoyed our trail lunch. It was a magical spot - and just perfect for our mid-day meal. Quite amazingly, we had the place, and its views, all to ourselves.<br />
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<i>The view of Baume les Messieurs from our picnic site.</i></div>
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<i>Taking-in the view from our amazing lunch-time picnic site.</i></div>
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<i>Baume les Messieurs from our luncheon eerie.</i></div>
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After about half an hour, we once again shouldered our packs, and headed south towards the Belvédère des Roches ... once again on the same lovely, leaf-littered trail. It really was the most gorgeous track.<br />
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<i>The trail through the forest heading towards Belvédère des Roches.</i></div>
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<i>Lovely leaf litter on the forest floor.</i></div>
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Once again the trail broke-out of the forest - and onto a country road - at a place called Quartier sur Roches on the outskirts of the village of Crancot. From there it was just a short stroll down the road to the Belvédère des Roches - where there are a couple of cliff-top viewing platforms, and information panels, and a very strategically placed hotel (the Belvédère).<br />
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<i>Turning onto the road at Quartier sur Roches.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at Belvédère des Roches (507m).</i></div>
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We checked-out the vistas from the viewing platforms, and once again took lots (and lots) of photos. It was impossible to take just one photo, as there was something to see and capture in every direction. The view down the gorge from the head of the cirque is just beautiful.<br />
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<i>View down the cirque from Belvédère des Roches (507m).</i></div>
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<i>An old photo of the valley from one of the interpretation panels at Belvédère des Roches - showing a landscape almost completely denuded of trees many decades ago. This must have been at the height of the charcoal and wood fire era a century or so ago.</i></div>
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<i>The panorama view down the cirque from Belvédère des Roches.</i></div>
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Once again, we tore ourselves away from the vista vantage-point and found the trail-head where the route wound its way from the top of the cirque to the valley floor - directly down the cliffs below. Fortunately it wasn't hard to find, with a sign saying "Grottes et cascades de Baume - par les échelles de Crancot 0.7km" marking the way.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at the top of the cirque near Belvedere des Roches.</i></div>
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The track down from the top was steep and hugged the cliff-face. But it was also relatively easy-going - with concrete steps and steel hand rails making the passage relatively easy to negotiate in some of the steeper and more difficult sections. By all accounts, this part of the route - the "Echelles de Crancot" - can be very slippery if the rocks are wet. And, even dry, we had to take care whilst making our way down some of the steeper sections of the slope.<br />
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<i>Heading down the steps and trail into the gorge below Belvédère des Roches.</i></div>
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<i>Trail skirting the cliffs below Belvédère des Roches.</i></div>
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<i>Under the cliffs at the top of the gorge.</i></div>
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At the top end of the gorge, down in the valley floor, there is a hotel/restaurant called "Le Belvédère des Roches", and a shop where day-trippers can buy tickets to visit the Baume caves - the Grottes de Baume. Being a lovely sunny Sunday, there were quite a few people in the valley, all obviously enjoying their day out in the country. We passed on the opportunity to visit and tour the caves - although I understand that they are quite spectacular, and well worth a visit. (Maybe the next time we're in this neck of the Jura). The cave is also the source of the Dard River - which emerges from the subterranean karst fissures and pours out onto the valley floor above a series of waterfalls - the largest of which is called la Cascade de Tufs. Apparently during peak flow - during the spring melt - the water surges out of the side of the mountain in a horizontal torrent, before crashing its way down over the waterfalls to the valley floor below. It is, by all accounts, quite a spectacle.<br />
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<i>The cave entrance at the Grotte de Baume.</i></div>
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<i>A section of la Cascade de Tufs.</i></div>
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We walked down past the upper waterfalls, across a small bridge over the river, and then down a series of steps towards Le Belvédère des Roches - passing, along the way, a sign marking the Grottes de Baume (375m) near a small cave at the foot of the heavily weathered, pock-marked cliffs.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Grottes de Baume (375m).</i></div>
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<i>Looking down from La Cascade du Dard at Le Belvédère des Roches hotel.</i></div>
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<i>The view down the gorge from La Cascade du Dard.</i></div>
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<i>Le Belvédère des Roches hotel - nestled under the Cirque de Baume cliffs.</i></div>
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Rather than crossing the bridge over the Rivière du Dard to the hotel, we followed a track that ran alongside the western (left-hand) side of the river - and headed down the valley towards Baume les Messieurs. As had been the case all day, it was another lovely trail: shady, and soft underfoot, with the added bonus of a bubbling brook running right alongside.<br />
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<i>The view down the Dard valley towards Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>The gorgeous track down the western side of the Dard River.</i></div>
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As one would expect, we stopped often to admire the views, to take photos and to ponder whether or not it was warm enough to take a plunge into the icy-green waters. There were some very inviting-looking pools.<br />
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<i>One of the many magical waterfalls down the course of the Dard.</i></div>
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<i>Checking-out the Dard's waterfalls.</i></div>
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<i>The tranquil trail heading towards Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>Approaching a scree slope on the trail just south of Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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At about 15:30 we reached the outskirts of the village - at a place called Chapelle St-Roch - where the trail reached the edge of the forest and joined the road - the Rue des Moulins - that runs between Baume les Messieurs and the grotte at the top of the valley.<br />
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<i>Trail sign on outskirts of Baume les Messieurs - at Chapelle St-Roch (310m).</i></div>
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The last part of the walk took us down through the streets towards the centre of the town, across an old bridge over the Seille River (into which the Dard had merged), and up to the car-park behind the Abbaye where we had parked the car about four hours earlier. Needless to say, we were in no rush to finish off this beautiful hike, so stopped for awhile at the bridge, listened to the water flowing past below us, and soaked-up the surrounding scenery and sunshine on that gorgeous sunny afternoon. This hike had been perfect - from start to finish.<br />
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<i>Arriving on the outskirts of Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>At the bridge over the Seille River - in Baume les Messieurs.</i></div>
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<i>The beautiful view down the Seille River.</i></div>
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<i>At the end of the trail - at the Abbaye de Baume (305m).</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Cirque de Baume (No 614) 510m</li>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
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<b>Jura wines: </b>Not only is it one of "the most beautiful villages in France", but Baume les Messieurs is also a Jura wine jewel - being located in the heart of the Jura wine-growing region. The Jura vineyards - which produce some of France's most unique wines is divided-up into four sub-districts: Arbois, L'Etoile, Château Chalon, and Côtes du Jura - in which Baume les Messieurs is located. <br />
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<i>Jura vineyards near Chateau Chalon.</i></div>
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The stony marl and limestone Jurassic terrain is ideal grape-growing country, and many of the hillsides throughout the region are blanketed with gold and green vineyards that produce a range of unique wines. Three red varieties are grown - Trousseau, Poulsard and Pinot Noir; but the region is better known for its whites - Chardonnay and Savagnin; and even more so for its "Vin Jaune", and other characteristic Jura wines Vin de Paille, Macvin du Jura, and the bubbly Crémant du Jura sparkling wine.<br />
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<i> Vineyards of the Jura region.</i></div>
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<i>Late afternoon colours over the Jura vineyards.</i></div>
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<b>The Abbaye:</b> In terms of architecture and heritage, the centre-piece of Baume les Messieurs is the ancient (11th century) benedictine abbey of Saint-Peter (which apparently occupies the site of an even older abbey that has its origins closer to when the town was first officially established - in 869). The original abbey was established by Saint Columbanus sometime in the late sixth century - taking advantage of a strategic location close to the old Roman road that connected Lyon and Besancon.</div>
Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-21058418229884813322014-10-13T19:01:00.003+02:002014-10-31T14:50:18.602+01:00Mont d'Orzeires (No 282)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This hike is about so much more than the highest point achieved - Mont d'Orzeires (No. 282 at 1155 metres) - as its real highlights are the amazing caves of Grotte de l'Orbe ... and a gorgeous forest trail of course. But what else would one expect? It's the magnificent Jura!<br />
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This hike started at Vallorbe - sandwiched below Mont d'Or and Dent de Vaulion on the diagram below - and headed southwest up the Orbe valley to the Source de l'Orbe, before cutting over the mountain pass to Mont d'Orzeires, and then down the western side of Lac Brenet to Les Charbonnières and finally around the southern end of the lake to Le Pont. It promised to be a fabulous ramble ... and that was exactly what it was.<br />
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<i>Interpretation panel at Le Pont - from where we started the hike.</i></div>
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We drove over the first couple of ridges of the Jura to the Vallée du Joux town of Le Pont - where we parked the car just near the railway station, and checked-out all of the signage and interpretation panels whilst waiting for our train. We had planned our walk to start in Vallorbe and finish in Le Pont, so the "little red train" option proved to be just perfect. A train runs from Le Pont to Vallorbe every hour - at half past the hour - so we made sure we were there ready for the 10:30 "express".<br />
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<i>One of the Vallorbe- Vallée du Joux trains pulling in to Le Pont.</i></div>
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The train took us up the eastern side of Lac Brenet, into a tunnel under the mountain below Les Agouilles, and then down the eastern side of the Orbe valley under the steep slopes of the Côte de la Dent - with the jagged, tooth-like peak of Dent de Vaulion towering high above to the south. Not that we could see it. The day was completely overcast, and, with the cloud layer down to about 1,000 metres, there was hardly a Jura peak in sight. Luckily we'd hiked to the top of Dent de Vaulion a couple of times before, and had already enjoyed great views of all over this part of the Jura from its summit, so weren't too disappointed. (You can read about the Dent de Vaulion hikes <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/06/dent-de-vaulion-no-54.html">here</a>.)<br />
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Despite the limited views, the train ride was still a real treat (worth doing just for the fun of it), and after taking a wide loop around the eastern end of the town, soon pulled into Vallorbe. It was about 10:45.<br />
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We stepped-out of our carriage and headed out to the front of the station - from where we started our walk, and where we took advantage of the first (of many) excellent trail signs. This would have to be one of the best sign-posted walks we'd encountered anywhere in the Jura. It would be hard to get lost.<br />
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<i>At the grand entrance to the railway station at Vallorbe (807 metres).</i></div>
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Up behind the station - hidden somewhere beyond the high cliffs and tall forests of the Côte de Pralioux - was Mont d'Or - another favourite Jura landmark, which we hiked to in October 2013. (You can read about that hike <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/10/mont-dor-56.html">here</a>). Looking southwest down the road towards where we were heading today, the town's other major landmark - Dent de Vaulion was completely shrouded in cloud. But, no matter, we could still see our first destination of the day - the reculée de l'Orbe - the end of the valley from where the Orbe river emerges from the base of the mountains. In the photo below one can just make-out the summit of Crêt des Alouettes (1052m - at the top left) and, down to the right, the limestone cliffs above the Source de l'Orbe. Our route would take us up to these cliffs, then up the slopes in the far right of the photo - and over the Col du Mont d'Orzeires to Mont d'Orzeires (hidden in the clouds in this photo), and then down through the forests and farmland back to Le Pont. The sign said it was a 2 hour 35 minute walk, but we planned to make lots of stops and take lots of photos, so were planning on being on the trail for more like four hours. This countryside is too beautiful to rush through.<br />
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<i>Heading southwest from the Vallorbe railway station </i><br />
<i>towards the Source de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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The first section of the trail was along the edge of the roads that lead southwest out of the town, but - at the Sentier et Etang du Grand Morcel - the trail dropped down to the river and a gorgeous riverside walking track.<br />
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<i>Heading down to L'Orbe River.</i></div>
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Grand Morcel is a nature reserve set aside to protect wetlands adjacent to the Orbe River - which have formed in an ancient bend in the river over thousands of years. The walk trail skirts the river, marshlands and the (pond) that is being protected and maintained just below the town. The reserve dates back to 2006 - when a group of local foresters initiated a project to provide better access and protection for the wetlands. This was further enhanced in 2008 - by members of the Vallorbe community. We crossed a small footbridge over the Orbe to reach the Grand Morcel, and then turned right (southwest) to follow the walk trail that ran alongside the river. It truly is one of the best things to do in life - to hike alongside a running river, bubbling brook or singing stream. It's nature's music for trail travelers and trekkers.<br />
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<i>Hiking alongside the Orbe River towards the Source de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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<i>Cutting through a patch of forest near Le Montagnat.</i></div>
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After cutting through a patch of forest at Le Montagnat, and a a section of wetlands at La Pousserde, we reached a small hydro-electricity station - where the trail left the river and joined the adjacent road. Once again there was a generously adorned signpost with bright yellow signs pointing in all directions - including towards the Grottes de l'Orbe - our first milestone for the day.<br />
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<i>All roads lead to Le Pont.</i></div>
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By now we were approaching the steep gorge at the upper end of the Orbe valley - and from which the Orbe River emerges from under the mountains towering above. Off to our left we could see a pipeline and power lines that transfer the water and electricity up and down this section of the Jura. As anyone who has ever visited the Grotte de l'Orbe can testify - there's a mountain of power in that water as it explodes out of the cave from its deep subterranean sources. It's an incredible sight to see, and well worth the trip to the Grotte.<br />
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<i>Power lines and water pipes coming down the mountainside </i><br />
<i>from Crêt des Alouettes (1052m).</i></div>
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A little further up the valley we reached Vallorbe La Dernier (759m), where the river really starts to froth and bubble, and where there is a large car-park for day-trippers coming to visit the famous cave and Source de l'Orbe. We'd parked here just the previous day - when we'd come up to Grotte de l'Orbe to check-out the cave and see the Source of the Orbe for ourselves. We'd driven past here on many, many occasions, and finally had got around to taking the time to come back for a specific visit. It really was an amazing experience - which we'd thoroughly recommend to everyone. Perhaps we'll write a blog entry about it sometime soon and post it in a special section on Jura Mountain Rambling.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Vallorbe La Dernier.</i></div>
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We turned left - up the blue-signposted Chemin de la Résurgence - and made our way alongside the last (first?) section of the Orbe. It may be the last part of this riverside trail, but it's also the very best - as the river is quite a torrent here - tumbling over rocks and rapids, and (at this time of the year), beautifully framed by the yellow, brown and green colours of autumn. Needless to say, we stopped quite often to enjoy the views, and to take lots of photos.<br />
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<i>The headwaters of the Orbe River near Grotte de L'Orbe.</i></div>
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<i>Weathered, eroded and dissolved: a limestone boulder on the banks of the Orbe </i></div>
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<i>with intricate markings like a giant ancient rune.</i></div>
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<i>Gorgeous setting for a cabin on the banks of the Orbe - just below la Grotte.</i></div>
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Eventually we reached the end of this section of the trail - where one had to make a choice of either heading just another 100 metres further ahead - to the entrance of the cave (the Grotte) - or taking the trail that crossed the river and headed west up towards the Grotte aux Fées (Cave of Fairies).<br />
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<i>Signpost near the Grottes de l'Orbe at the turn-off to Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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<i>(In the distance) the bridge over the Orbe River just below Grotte de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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As I mentioned earlier, we had been up this way just the previous day, and had already had a great experience exploring the Grottes de Vallorbe. It's easily one of the best caves we've ever been in to - with amazing features, and fantastic access and interpretation. Formed millions of years ago, it is a labyrinth of passages and caverns, with magnificent examples of just about every known kind of subterranean cave formation: stalactites, stalagmites, columns, piles, domes, drapes, flowstones; with all sorts of shapes from soda straws or needles, to bunches of grapes or popcorn. I can't do justice to it in this blog, so it's best that, if you're interested, you visit the cave for yourself.<br />
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Although it's been forming for millions of year, and probably been known about for centuries, it was first properly explored in 1893 - when early speleologists, in primitive diving suits, first ventured into its dark depths and frigid waters. Taking advantage of much more modern equipment, the cave was further substantially explored and mapped in 1961. Finally, after much (and excellent) preparatory work, it was opened to the public in 1974, and has since been viewed by thousands of visitors. It really is quite a spectacle.<br />
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<i>Inside the cavernous Grotte de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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<i>An underground pool in the Grotte de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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Although the cave contained many amazing features, the real highlight (for us at least), was seeing the headwaters of the Orbe River bursting out of the floor of the cave deep inside the mountain. The water surges-up - frothing and bubbling like boiling water in a giant witches cauldron - from the floor of the cave, and then rushes down the Grotte, in and out of tunnels and cavities, before spilling-out into the river at the top of the Orbe Valley. There just aren't enough superlatives to do justice to the spectacle.<br />
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<i>The Orbe River emerging from the Grotte de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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<i>An interpretation panel inside the Grotte de l'Orbe showing the valley and surrounding countryside. Number 1 marks the Grotte; and number 2 the Grotte aux Fées. Our Jura summit destination - Mont d'Orzeires - is at top right, and our hike's end point - the Lac de Joux - is in the far distance.</i></div>
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<i>Another interpretation panel outside the Grotte, showing</i><i><i> the main features of the cirque de la source de l'Orbe</i>: including the Source and Grotte de l'Orbe (2); and the Grotte aux Fées (5) - our next destination.</i></div>
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Of course, we bypassed the cave today, and instead headed across the bridge towards the Grotte aux Fées - the cave of the fairies , which we were keen to explore by ourselves. Not surprisingly, we stopped at the bridge for quite awhile, mesmerized by the rushing water and struck by the beauty of the place. The trees that surrounded us carried every possible shade of green.<br />
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<i>The bridge over the Orbe River just below the Grotte de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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<i>The Orbe emerging from the cave and cliffs at the head of the Orbe valley.</i></div>
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The trail immediately swung west - up the steep western slopes of the Orbe Valley. The trail was littered with millions of brown autumn leaves that had tumbled out of the surrounding deciduous forest (mainly beech), and was thus an absolute delight to shuffle and drag our boots through the deeper accumulations.<br />
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<i>Heading up the slopes towards Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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The trail zigged and zagged its way up the slope through a series of switchbacks<i>; </i>and up and over rocky outcrops and other obstacles before momentarily flattening-out near the entrance to the Grotte aux Fées.<br />
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<i>A section of the trail just below the entrance to the Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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<i>Approaching the entrance to the Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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There are two sections (and openings) to the Fairies' Cave - appropriately called the Large and the Small - and, from what I know about them, the Small is probably best left only to experienced cavers carrying all of the right gear. So we decided to limit our visit just to exploring the Large cave - la Grand Grotte au Fées. From the information panel just inside the cave entrance, we learned that it wound its way into the mountain for about 180 metres - with a chimney-type feature at its very end. Unlike the Grotte de l'Orbe, this cave is not set-up for visitors. There are no lights, no paths, no "watch your head" warning signs. Nothing. Just pitch darkness (the "can't see your hand in front of your face" type), and lots of wet, slippery rocks to fall over. This was going to be fun.<br />
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<i>Sign at the entrance to Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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We planned to see if we could make it all the way through to the end - to the chimney, so we pulled on our head-torches and set-off into the cave. It was relatively easy-going through the first section, then it required a bit of scrambling up rock-strewn slopes, and around and through some boulder fields that were strewn with blocks of rock that had fallen from the cave roof above. In some sections the roof was many, many metres above us, while in others we had to stoop-down to be able to continue further and deeper into the cave. Eventually we reached the chimney, where we stayed just a few minutes before making the return trip back to the entrance. Although it had some nice iridescent and silvery features among the rocks around us, or shining off the roof of the cave in some places, it had very few of the amazing cave features that filled the Grotte de l'Orbe.<br />
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<i>Checking-out some "ancient rock art" graffiti in the cave.</i></div>
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<i>Approaching one of the narrower sections of the cave.</i></div>
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Getting out was easier than getting in (isn't that always the way?), and we were soon back at the cave entrance and packing our head-torches away. The trip into the cave was a great addition to this hike, so I'd recommend anyone doing this walk - from Vallorbe to Le Pont (or vice versa) - to make sure they pack their headlamps or some other kind of torch.<br />
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<i>Looking out from the entrance of the Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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Leaving the Grotte aux Fées, we headed north up the steep slope that took us to the road that heads over the Col du Mont d'Orzeires between Vallorbe and Le Pont. Although rimmed with exposed limestone cliffs and rockfaces, the trail was once again filled with fallen leaves from the leaf-thinning forest canopy above us.<br />
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<i>The leaf-littered trail on the north side of the Cirque de l'Orbe.</i></div>
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Once we reached the road, we followed the direction of the yellow trail signs and turned left (in a westerly direction). For a hundred metres or so, we had to walk along the road - as there was a drop-off cliff on our left and a vertical rockface on our right and there was nowhere else to go. This road had been literally carved through the mountain here.<br />
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<i>Signpost at the point where the trail leaves the forest and joins the road above Grotte aux Fées with details about the area's protected status.</i></div>
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Fortunately the trail didn't stay on the road for too long, and we were soon re-entering the forest and gaining the altitude we needed to pass over the col - a kilometre or so ahead of us. At first, the trail followed the contour, and so was relatively easy going, but then it began cutting across the contours as we gained the necessary height to reach the col. At this point in time, the weather also took a turn for the worse - as it began to drizzle with rain - so we stopped to pull-on our rain jackets and pack-covers before continuing higher up the mountainside.<br />
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<i>Heading into the forest after leaving the road above Grotte aux Fées.</i></div>
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Despite the deteriorating weather conditions, we were having fun. This was a lovely section of the trail, even though it intersected with the Vallorbe - Le Pont road one more time, and (because it was relatively close to the road in some sections), meant that the tranquility of the forest was disturbed from time to time by the sounds of passing cars. The section of trail after the second road crossing was again a delight - and relatively easy going along a long gentle traverse. <br />
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<i>The (well-marked) section of trail near a place on the topographic map </i></div>
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<i>called Gouille à l'Ours (Puddle of the Bears).</i></div>
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<i>The magnificent trail on the northern side of the Col du Mont d'Orzeires.</i></div>
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At about 13:00 we intersected the col road for the third time - just north of the Chalet du Mont d'Orzeires - which was enveloped in cloudy mist, but filled with diners enjoying a wintery lunch of fondue or other such Swiss mountain delights. We took a long, lingering look at the warm diners through the chalet windows, and then continued on our way - back across the road again to the west, and then the southwest towards the highest point of Mont d'Orzeires.<br />
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<i>Not surprisingly, no-one was choosing to dine al fresco </i></div>
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<i>under the umbrellas at the Chalet du Mont d'Orzeires.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at Chalet du Mont d'Orzeires (1029m).</i></div>
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The Chalet du Mont d'Orzeires is not only a popular Jura restaurant, but it's also the entrance to Jura Parc - or Parc Jurassien (or Jurassic Park) - another great place to visit up here in the Jura Mountains.<br />
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<i>Park sign near the entrance to Juraparc.</i></div>
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It was shrouded in cloud today, so visitors probably wouldn't have seen much, but on previous visits we've loved watching the park's resident wolf pack running all around the rocks and forest, or lazing on rocky outcrops in the warmth of the sun. The wolves were introduced to the park in 2002. The park also has bison (introduced in 1987), bears (in 2002), Prjevalski horses, and lynx - however we've never see the latter whenever we'd been there.<br />
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<i>A wolf which I photographed in Juraparc a couple of years previously. </i></div>
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<i>One of the Juraparc bears.</i></div>
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Of course, we bypassed the park on this occasion and headed along the trail west of the road and away from the Col du Mont d'Orzeires. Now approaching the highest point on our planned route, the clouds were really closing-in and visibility was restricted to less than 50 metres. Luckily this didn't matter, as there were few views to be had - due to the dense forest - and the white-out certainly added to the atmosphere of the walk. The forest was strangely silent, except for the sound of water dripping from the trees above, but it was filled with the colours of autumn and visual delights of mosses and fungi and other fabulous forest life half-hidden in the deep leaf litter all around us.<br />
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<i>The delightful colours of autumn on the trail near Mont d'Orzeires.</i></div>
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<i>A giant bracket fungi on a fallen log alongside the trail.</i></div>
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About half a kilometre southwest of the chalet and road we approached the highest point of Mont d'Orzeires. With dense forest obscuring any views from the summit (and cloud adding to that while we were there), it's not surprising that this is not a popular destination for regular hikers in this neck of the Jura woods. There was no track to the summit, so we had the "bush-bash" our way through the scrub, and scramble our way over rocks and fallen logs to reach the top of the mountain. Like many other of the lesser-known or visited Jura peaks, the summit of Mont d'Orzeires is quite unspectacular, but nonetheless, it is one, and worth celebrating. We reached the top (1155 metres) at about 13:30, and immediately dropped our packs and broke-out our trail lunch, and thermoses of hot tea. The latter were a real comfort as we stood on the mountain-top amidst the surrounding cloud and drizzling rain.<br />
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<i>Enjoying a cup of hot tea at the top of Mont d'Orzeires.</i></div>
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We left the hilltop at about 14:00, and crashed our way back down the western slope from the summit to re-find the trail that would take us through to Les Charbonnières and Le Pont. Fortunately it was relatively easy to re-locate, and we were soon on our way - heading further southwest away from the Col du Mont d'Orzeires and hill-top of the same name. Although now "on our way home", there were still a few kilometres ahead of us, and much to see.<br />
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We came across an ancient dry-stone wall, which was now derelict, tumbled-down and covered with moss. It told a story of an alpine pasturage that was now long gone and reclaimed by the forest, and so we hung around for awhile soaking-up the atmosphere and taking photographs. It really was a lovely place.<br />
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<i>The remnants of an old dry-stone wall deep in the forest.</i></div>
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<i>Chilling in the forest near Mont d'Orzeires.</i></div>
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Once again, this section of the trail was easy-going, and gorgeous, and we reveled in the moody atmosphere created by the cloudy conditions.<br />
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<i>On the trail southwest of Mont d'Orzeires.</i></div>
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Refueled and refreshed from our lunch stop, we made good time over the remaining part of the walk - which also happened to be virtually all downhill back to Le Pont. Before we knew it, we reached the edge of the forest and, after passing through one of those (always unexpected) trail turnstiles, we entered an alpine pasturage that skirted the western side of the forest marked Pât de l'Epine on the topographic map.<br />
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<i>Leaving the forest via the trail turnstile.</i></div>
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<i>Taking the last steps in the forest before hitting the road </i><br />
<i>through the alpine pasturage.</i></div>
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Now walking on a sealed farm road, we soon reached and passed-by the turn-off to the alpine homestead Le Grandes Cernies (1125m), and soon after that, walked up to and past the Petites Cernies homestead.<br />
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<i>Le Petites Cernies homestead.</i></div>
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A little further down the road we reached another dwelling - L'Epine - where we passed through the farmyard in front of the house and continued on our way down the valley. Off to our left we were beginning to see - through breaks in the cloud - glimpses of the next (more easterly) Jura ridgeline across the Vallée du Joux - with the Haut du Mollendruz the highest immediate landmark across the valley.<br />
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<i>Glimpses of the Haut du Mollendruz ridgeline across the Vallée du Joux.</i></div>
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We stopped for awhile to check-out, and photograph a mob of cows that were in an adjacent field, but by now we could see Les Charbonnières and Le Pont through the clouds below us, and were keen to finish-off this hike.<br />
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<i>Capturing cows on camera near L'Epine.</i></div>
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<i>Lis' close-up of one of the cows at L'Epine.</i></div>
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Our next way-point was at an intersection near a place called Les Frênes ("the Ash trees" - although there were certainly none left in the landscapes around here now). Roads headed off in different directions - to various homesteads called La Palestine, Haut Des Prés, and La Corne. But we weren't headed for any of these, and instead turned south towards the main road between Les Charbonnières and Mouthe - at a place called Les Replats (1051m). Just nearby was an old moss and lichen encrusted cement milestone marking the 42nd kilometre on the road from Lausanne to Mouthe. It was obviously a more important route between Switzerland and France in days gone by.<br />
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<i>Trail sign alongside the road at Les Replats.</i></div>
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<i>Old Lausanne - Mouthe road milestone near Les Replats.</i></div>
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Across the road was a lonely-looking cemetery, on the wall of which was a yellow trail direction sign beckoning us to skirt around the landmark, before cutting through the fields towards the two towns below. A hundred metres or so further to the southwest, we reached another pair of yellow trail signs signalling yet another change in direction - which we duly followed down the hil. There, on the outskirts of the town was another trail-sign - marked Les Charbonnières 1024m - at which point we enetered the outskirts of the town and began the final part of our hike through its streets.<br />
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<i>Trail sign on the outskirts of Les Charbonnières.</i></div>
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<i>Walking down the Route de Mouthe through Les Charbonnières.</i></div>
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Eventually we reached the centre of the town - near the local church - where the Mouthe road intersected with the road that runs around the northern side of Lac de Joux southwest of Le Pont. We stopped just long enough to read all of the signs, and take a couple of photographs, and then turned east along the last part of the trail along the southern side of Lac Brenet. We stopped a couple of times to read the interpretation panels that have been placed along the route (actually for a round-the-lake walk called the "Tour du Lac"), and to take a few last photographs.<br />
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<i>The centre of Les Charbonnières.</i></div>
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<i>Detail from one of the information panels </i><br />
<i>- of Lac Brenet and Dent de Vaulion.</i></div>
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<i>Looking across Lac Brenet towards Les Agouillons </i><br />
<i>and the distant tip of Dent de Vaulion.</i></div>
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<i>Les Agouillons and adjacent hills above Le Pont </i><br />
<i>- from the southern shores of Lac Brenet.</i></div>
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The last part of the trail cut across the flats south of Lac Brenet, and then crossed the Le Pont - Les Charbonnières road before passing under the railway line to the very edge of Lac de Joux. After a short walk alongside the northwest shore of the lake, we found ourselves back at the car-park in Le Pont. It was 15:00 - about four hours from when we'd left the railway station in Vallorbe. It had been a great walk ... and thoroughly recommended.<br />
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<i>Passing under the railway near Le Pont.</i></div>
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<i>Lac de Joux and Le Pont.</i></div>
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<i>The trail sign in Le Pont says 2 hours and 30 minutes to Vallorbe - but we'd managed to make it last for four fantastic hours - with caves and peaks and many other nooks and crannies to explore along the way.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mont d'Orzeires (No 282) 1155m</li>
</ul>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Lac de Joux and Le Pont combine to provide one of the most scenic and tranquil landscapes in the entire Jura. As you'll see if you go there, or if you read some of the useful interpretation panels around the town and lake, it's romantic, therapeutic, picturesque ... and so much more.</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-8484320510836876822014-09-17T00:55:00.000+02:002014-09-17T07:56:07.729+02:00Le Soliat (No 53) & Creux du Van (No 57)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Creux du Van - a breath-taking, gigantic gorge gouged into the Jura landscape in the Val-de-Travers southwest of Neuchâtel - is probably the best-known, and most visited landmark in the entire length of the Jura. Lesser-well-known is its adjacent named peak - Le Soliat - which at 1465 metres comes in at number 53 on our list of highest named Jura peaks. Creux du Van isn't really a peak, but is named as such in quite a number of references, so we've added its highest point (1457 metres) to our list - coming-in at number 57. We'd hiked up here - to the top of the Jura's "Grand Canyon" - before (on a tough, post-winter, snowy ramble-scramble) in April 2009, but this was our first hike here since we'd started the <i>Jura Mountain Rambling</i> project. The last time it was just Lis and I, but this time we were accompanied by fellow hikers Denis, Gill and Kathy, who were visiting from Canada.<br />
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Our starting point this time around was Champ-du-Moulin - a small hamlet on the Areuse River - about an hour's drive north of St George. There are a number of possible starting points, with the village of Noirague probably being the most popular. Other options include Ferme Robert and the Le Soliat farmhouse restaurants, but all three of these miss-out on the beautiful hike up the Areuse River through the spectacular Gorges de l'Areuse.<br />
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We arrived at Champ-du-Moulin at about 10am and, after checking-out the very informative visitors' centre and surrounds, we set-off on our hike at about 10:15. It was a cloudy morning, which meant good conditions for hiking, but not-so-good for getting great views or photographs. But we were feeling optimistic, and the day was young.<br />
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<i>"La Morelle" - the Maison de la Nature Neuchâtelois </i></div>
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<i>Centre d'Information at Champ-du-Moulin.</i></div>
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<i>The restaurant and auberge at Champ-du-Moulin (617m).</i></div>
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<i>Creux du Van information panel at Champ-du-Moulin.</i></div>
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<i>Lots of walk trail options (red lines) in this neck of the woods.</i></div>
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<i>Lots of interpretation panels too - at Champ-du-Moulin.</i></div>
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After checking-out all of the (extremely useful) information boards around the centre, we started making our way up the trail on the north side of the Areuse. We'd hardly walked a hundred metres before we came across another interpretation panel - this one telling us all about the famous writer, philosopher, musician, botanist, explorer and walker Jean-Jacques Rousseau who was a figure around these parts in the 1760s. He actually stayed at Champ-du-Moulin from 4-11 of September 1764 - coincidentally, exactly 250 years before we were tromping around in his footsteps. His book "Reveries of the Solitary Walker" is considered to be one of the most informative guides of the nature and landscapes of this part of the Jura, and a great source of inspiration and motivation for many hikers and tourists who have visited the Jura in the centuries since.<br />
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<i>The Jean-Jacques Rousseau information panel at Champ-du-Moulin.</i></div>
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Fully informed, and filled with historical facts and figures, we now sought the simplicity and tranquility of the trail - which was duly delivered by the magnificent riverside track that wound its way up the valley alongside the bubbling river. The Areuse can get quite wild during the spring melt, but now, mid-autumn it was far more tranquil, gently tumbling over the occasional small waterfall or set of rapids. We walked past a gentleman casting his fishing line into the middle of the stream, but didn't stay long enough to see if he caught anything.<br />
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<i>The Areuse River near Les Moyats.</i></div>
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The river sits deep in the Areuse Valley, flanked by the steep Côtes des Raisses and Combe Revers hillside on one side (the northern side) and the Côtes du Champ-du-Moulin on the other (south). Hundreds of metres above the latter we could see the rocky white cliffs of Rochers des Miroirs, and mused about the altitude we were going to have to gain to reach our destination for the day. Around Les Moyats, the walls of the canyon began to close-in on the trail, and we soon entered the Gorges de l'Areuse. This is a truly spectacular part of the trail, with the path cut into the bottom of the cliff-face, and an ancient stone bridge taking the trail from the north to the south side of the river.<br />
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<i>Looking back along the trail as it enters the Gorges de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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Just as we were approaching the bridge, we met a big hiking party coming down the trail, so we stopped to let them pass, and then stayed awhile to take a few photos of the spectacular scenery. The river cascaded down the waterfalls at the top the gorge, and bubbled and gurgled its way down under the bridge below us, and then off down the valley towards Lac Neuchâtel. It was a far cry from the torrent and noise and spray that we'd encountered the last time we'd hiked through the gorge - as the spring snow-melt filled the narrow channel with glacial-green and white wild-water.<br />
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<i>Crossing the Areuse River on the "Saut-de-Brot" bridge in the Gorges de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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<i>The same scene in April 2009.</i></div>
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Having crossed the bridge, we followed the trail up through the gorge on the south side of the grotto. The track is literally carved-into the rock-face, with a safety rail along its entire route to prevent folks from falling into the stream. Probably not a bad idea here, as the rocks and steps can be quite slippery.<br />
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<i>Heading up the trail out of the Gorge de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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<i>The last section of the trail through the gorge - </i></div>
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<i>up a series of steps to a viewing platform.</i></div>
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<i>The Areuse River entering the Gorge de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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We stopped again at the viewing platform at the top of the gorge to have another long look down its length, and to take a few more photos, then headed on our way.<br />
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<i>The view down from the viewing platform.</i></div>
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<i>Quite a difference: Watching the Areuse torrent in April 2009.</i></div>
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The trail gradually inched away from the river to where it intersected with a forest road at a place called Saut de Brot (651m) - about three-quarters of a kilometre south of the Brot-Dessous village. Like all Swiss trails (although in fact, due to its popularity, probably one of the best in the entire country), the track to Creux du Van was brilliantly sign-posted. It would have been nigh impossible to ever get lost up here. At Saut de Brot we took a hard turn left towards Ferme Robert - our next destination - which was about another hour further along the track.<br />
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<i>Trail sign above the Gorge de l'Areuse at Saut de Brot.</i></div>
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<i>It's impossible to get lost up here - just follow the direction of the yellow signs </i></div>
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<i>and the diamond-shaped trail markers (on trees, rocks, etc.)</i></div>
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The track now entered the (mostly fir and beech) forest, and began zig-zagging its way via a series of switchbacks up towards Creux Dessous and beyond - to a section of the mountainside called Les Cirnées. It was a well-trodden and maintained trail, and an absolute pleasure to hike. One of the sections was maintained with a series of steps -which made the steady ascent quite a breeze. We were all in great spirits.<br />
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<i>On the trail through the forest below Creux Dessous.</i></div>
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<i>Stepping-out near Creux Dessous.</i></div>
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Three or four times the trail intersected with the sealed road that leads up to Ferme Robert from Champ-du-Moulin and Noirague, and from time to time we could hear a car grinding its way up the hill filled with day-trippers heading to the Ferme for a sleepy Sunday luncheon at the restaurant. Whenever we encountered a change in the trail's direction, an intersection, or a prominent road leading somewhere else, there was always another cluster of bright yellow road-signs there to guide us.<br />
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<i>Heading in the direction "Creux du Van".</i></div>
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<i>Another distinctive road sign at a "cross-road" on the track up to Ferme Robert.</i></div>
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Right on time, at about 11:45 (an hour and a half after we'd set-out), we arrived at Ferme Robert - and got our first good glimpses of the huge cliff-face of the Creux du Van. The hike was getting exciting. We stopped just long enough to wander around outside the farmhouse-restaurant (called a métairie in the Jura), to have a drink and snack-bar, and take a few photos; and then we hit the trail again. We were all eager to get to the top of the mountain.<br />
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<i>A glimpse of the Creux du Van cliff-face beyond the Ferme Robert hostel.</i></div>
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<i>Signpost at Ferme Robert: We came from Gorges de l'Areuse; we're heading for </i></div>
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<i>Creux du Van; and we'll be coming back this way via Les Oeillons.</i></div>
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<i>The restaurant at Ferme Robert.</i></div>
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Ferme Robert, which dates back to 1750, is famous (or infamous) for being the location of where the last wild bear was shot dead in Switzerland - by a woodman named David Robert, way back in 1757. Today, there's a beautiful hand-carved wooden bear out the front of the spruce-shingle-roofed restaurant, so it was fitting to get a photo taken alongside him - as a reminder of his once-living, wild cousin who used to roam the forests around here until that fateful day.<br />
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<i>Rambling with the bear at Ferme Robert.</i></div>
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<i>The centre of the universe - trail sign at Ferme Robert (972m).</i></div>
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<i>A glimpse of the cliffs of Creux du Van from Ferme Robert.</i></div>
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<i>Checking out the information panels at Ferme Robert.</i></div>
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<i>Nature reserve sign at Ferme Robert. </i><br />
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The Creux du Van Nature Reserve, which covers some 15.5 square kilometres, is the largest in the Canton of Neuchâtel. It's also the oldest nature reserve in Switzerland, having been established in 1870 by a founding member of the Club Jurassien, Louis William, who purchased the land at the foot of the Creux du Van to turn it into a nature reserve. It was further extended by another land purchase by the club in 1876, and again in 1972 - when it was placed under formal protection and encompassed all of the land from the Gorges de l'Areuse down in the valley, to hilltops around the Montagne de Boudry on the southeastern ridgeline. Key wildlife since recorded here include lynx, ibex, chamois, badgers, deer, wild boars and the beautiful and rare capercaillie. (The lynx were reintroduced here in 1975-75, when a breeding pair from the Slovak Capathians were set free in the forest. Ibex - the only ones in the Jura - were reintroduced in 1965 and are still doing very well.)</div>
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From Ferme Robert, we followed the trail southwest deeper into the hollow of the great Creux. Off (and up) to our right, the huge cliffs of the northern spur of the formation - the Dos d'Ane - loomed over the valley. Although we were in the shade of the valley, and the forest, we could occasionally see the the white limestone cliffs lit-up by the bright mid-day sun. The spectacle would subsequently fade away under a shroud of cloud, or disappear behind the canopy of fir trees. As a reminder of this being as much a working forest as a nature reserve, we passed a couple of piles of recently-cut logs on the side of the road. Fortunately the local foresters seem to have alpine silviculture down to a fine art - balancing the rate of timber extraction with the rate of regrowth. The forests are certified sustainable by both FSC and PEFC, and always appear to be in good shape. They certainly look as though they are well managed.<br />
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<i>Lumber-jack and jills on the trail below Dos d'Ane.</i></div>
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<i>An intriguing forest feature - a tree-on-a-rock - near Fontaine Froide.</i></div>
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About half an hour after we'd left Ferme Robert, we arrived at our next way-point - Fontaine Froide (1126m). This is a legendary location - with its constantly 4 degree, pure mountain water considered to be the very purest to complement absinthe - the spirit of the fairies - from this part of the Jura. The constant temperature is thought to be the result of constantly-frozen, permafrost sub-soil that persists underground from the last glacial period.<br />
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Fontaine Froide is often used as the kick-off point of what is called "the Absinthe Trail" - the trail of the Green Fairy - which stretches from here, under the shadow of the Creux du Van, westward to the French Jura town of Pontarlier. (We'll have to make that trip some other day and write it up in another <i>Jura Mountain Rambling</i> blog.) While at the fountain, a couple of hardy-looking local hikers pulled-in, whipped-out a hip flask, and promptly added some of the pure, cold water to a couple of shot-glasses of absinthe - a tradition of the Fontaine called "Clouding your Blue". Its cloudy appearance looked inviting, but maybe not the ideal trail refresher to drink as one is about to scale the walls of Creux du Van.<br />
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<i>The pure waters of Fontaine Froide bubbling into a wooden trough </i></div>
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<i>in the heart of the Creux du Van forest.</i></div>
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<i>The green absinthe fairies have very considerately left a few small spirit glasses </i></div>
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<i>in this hollowed-out log at Fontaine Froide.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at Fontaine Froid.</i></div>
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After soaking-up the mystic atmosphere of the absinthe source, we turned east along the Chemin de la Fontaine Froide and started the long steady climb up the southern "wall" of the Creux du Van. The narrow, steep, stony (and slippery when wet) trail - the Sentier du Single - zig-zagged its way up a series of switchbacks, and we quickly gained about 300 metres in altitude - from 1126 metres (at Fontaine Froide) to about 1426 metres on the top-edge of the rim - in less than 500 metres horizontal.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the switchbacks southeast of Fontaine Froid.</i></div>
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The last time we were here, the slope was covered with residual snow and, being without either snow-shoes or ski-poles, it proved to be quite hard going. Fortunately, it was a much easier hike to the top on this occasion, but I'd still recommend ski poles if you have them. They've certainly saved our aching knees on many a hike.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the south side of Creux du Van in April 2009.</i></div>
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We crested the rim about 300 metres east of the southeast extension of the high, exposed cliffs of the creux - about midway between Grand Vy (to the east) and Le Soliat (to the west). We stopped to regroup, and then turned westwards - towards the cliffs. Grand Vy is another alpine farmhouse and métairie, providing food and lodging for alpine travellers. It appeared to be a popular destination on the day that we were there, as we passed many day-trippers heading in "La Grand Vy" direction. Vy comes from the Latin word <i>via</i> - meaning way, as in <i>the route</i> or <i>way</i> to somewhere. For some reason or another, the trail didn't look quite as "grand" as the name implied.<br />
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<i>Trail sign on the top of the Creux du Van ridgeline just west of Grand Vy.</i></div>
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After the "slog" up the side of the gorge, it was a nice relief to stroll along the grassy alpine meadow towards the cliffs. It was probably the easiest part of the entire trail, and we were soon approaching the edge of the abyss where the highland world stops ... and drops vertically down into the floor of the creux.<br />
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<i>From April 2009: the last section of trail between where the track reaches the top of the </i></div>
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<i>Creux du Van ridgeline and first major cliffs of the gorge.</i></div>
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Drawn like moths to a flame, we immediately made a bee-line for the rim of the crater and found ourselves a clear patch of ground to sit-down for our picnic lunch. It was now about 12:45. The skies above were filled with puffy cumulus clouds that built-up from the southern side of the Jura, and dissipated as they rose above Le Soliat. It was beautiful to watch, but meant that it was impossible to get a photo of the entire, horseshoe-shaped arc of cliffs with every feature in bright sunshine. Never to mind, it just meant that we'll have to hike back up there again on another sunny day.<br />
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<i>First views of the Creux du Van from the southeast (looking northwest). The unique geological formation was formed when the folded, 200 million-year-old Jura limestone beds of the fractured Soliat anticline were eroded away, first before the Quaternary glacial period, and subsequently by the grinding of an in situ glacier during that last ice age.</i></div>
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<i>The breath-taking panorama of the magnificent one-kilometre-wide and </i><br />
<i>400 metre deep Creux du Van crescent. </i><br />
<i>It's the biggest (and most spectacular) gorge in the entire Jura.</i></div>
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We took our time over lunch. It was such a beautiful day, and such a magnificent location, that we were in no hurry to go anywhere. Every time there was a gap in the clouds, I leapt to my feet and waited for the ring of limestone cliffs - which reach heights between 200 and 300 metres - to light-up and fill us with wonder. Unfortunately, it never happened, although we were still filled with wonder. What an amazing place, and what a spectacular rock formation. No wonder that the Creux du Van is on the front cover of just about every Jura tourist brochure, and that there were so many people hiking up here today on such a lovely day.<br />
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Not surprisingly, the cliffs are also a popular destination for rock-climbers, and one can make-out a thin walk trail that skirted around the top of the scree slopes at the foot of the vertical cliff-faces - providing access to the base of the cliffs.<br />
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<i>Picnic lunch spot at the top of the cliffs of Creux du Van.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back at our lunchtime picnic spot.</i></div>
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<i>Another view of the beautiful limestone cliffs where we had our picnic lunch.</i></div>
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Eventually we dragged ourselves away from our vantage point and began walking clockwise around the edge of the rim. There was an impressive dry stone wall along much of the trail there - but it appeared to mainly be there to prevent the local farmer's cows from straying over the edge of the cliffs. Apparently the two-kilometre-long stone wall was built as a gesture of friendship (it's called "the Wall of Friendship") by a charitable group of foreigners. For the humans up there, it was case of be responsible for yourself, and don't get too close to the edge (not that there were any signs saying as much). We followed the trail to where there was a gap in the stone wall - through which we passed, before heading south up a short slope to the summit of Le Soliat. Along the way we passed an ancient, weather-beaten boundary stone - that marks the border between the cantons of Neuchâtel (on the eastern side) and Vaud (on the west). One could see the two shields of the two cantons on opposite sides of the stone, but the years of weathering had rendered them virtually indistinguishable.<br />
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<i>The well-weathered old canton boundary marker near Le Soliat.</i></div>
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Within minutes, we were standing under the wooden cross that marks the summit of Le Soliat (1465m). The cross had been put up there by members of the Club Jurassien in 2003. To my mind it was one of the nicest crosses we've seen on all of the "crossed" peaks - subtle, simple, and not too ostentatious. In contrast, the summit also boasted one of the best - in terms of its complexity, amount of information and artistic standards - panorama tables that we'd come across anywhere in the Jura. A small plaque informed us that it had been erected in 2001 by members of the Soliat section of the Club Jurassien. We spent some time there pouring over its details and trying to pick up distant landmarks - most of which were unfortunately obscured by cloud. On a clear day, one can see Lac Neuchâtel, the peaks and valleys of the Jura and Franche-Comté and the highest peaks of the Bernese and Savoy Alps - including such noteworthy peaks as Jungfrau (4178m), Aletchhorn (4195), Weisshorn (4505), Dent Blanche (4357), Matterhorn (4478) and Mont Blanc (4810).<br />
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Immediately before us were four other Jura peaks that are on our list - La Chaille (number 61 - 1450 metres), Crêt aux Moines (64 - 1445), Crêt Teni (73 - 1422) and Montagne de Boudry (88 - 1387), but we'd already decided to leave them for another day, on another hike, on snow-shoes, in winter. <br />
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The name "Le Soliat" is derived from <i>solarium</i>, and refers to a place that gets plenty of sunshine. Too bad it wasn't living up to its name on this occasion.<br />
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<i>The cross and panorama table at the summit of Le Soliat.</i></div>
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<i>The hiking team checking-out the panorama table.</i></div>
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<i>The wooden cross at Le Soliat (1465 metres).</i></div>
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With our main peak-of-the-day duly ticked-off, we headed back down to the edge of Creux du Van, and continued on our walk around the western perimeter of the gigantic gorge. We were headed northwest now, following the track in the direction of Noirague and Les Oeuillons. Once again, there could be no reason why anyone would never know where they were on this trail, or where they were heading. The signage was incredibly efficient and informative.<br />
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<i>Passing the trail sign for Le Soliat - down on the edge of the Creux du Van cliffs.</i></div>
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<i>Same sign, same place - but in April 2009.</i></div>
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As the trail began to swing north along the western wall of the creux, we stopped at the highest point of the Creux du Van (1457 metres) - to ensure it got recorded in the <i>Rambling</i> blog. As mentioned earlier, the Creux du Van (a bit like the Creux du Croue near Le Noirmont) gets a mention on some registers as a recognized Jura peak, but not on others. Whatever. We think it warrants the recognition, and a place in our "Jura peaks" log-book.<br />
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This giant cirque of cliffs gets its name "Creux" from an old Celtic word that means a deep valley, hollow depression, or concave-shaped landmark - a hole or pit. The word "Van" is also of Celtic origins, and Gaulish - <i>vanno</i> - which refers to a rocky valley, rocky slopes, or steep rocky cliffs/edges. At one time it was called Le Cul du Van ("the bottom of the rock edge") but this was later changed to its current name.<br />
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We soaked-up the incredible views from the end of the gorge, took a few photos, and then continued on around the rim. Somewhere hidden in the forest far below us was the Fontaine Froide and, no doubt, hundreds of little green absinthe fairies.<br />
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<i>The view (looking northeast) from about half-way around the Creux du Van.</i></div>
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<i>Looking down the northern side of Creux du Van at the middle-distant cliffs of Dos d'Ane.</i></div>
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<i>Making the most a a rare patch of sunlight.</i></div>
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<i>Denis in his element.</i></div>
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Our next destination was an amazing rocky ledge that juts out over the cliff-top on the west side of the "wall", and which features on just about every tourist brochure I've ever seen for Creux du Van. We stood out there too, and gazed down the precipice, and took lots of photos of the huge rocky amphitheatre, while we once again, soaked-up the incredible atmosphere. It really is an awesome place. But talk about "into the void". One wouldn't want to make false step up here.<br />
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<i>Looking south along the "back wall" of the Creux du Van.</i></div>
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<i>More or less the same view in April 2009.</i></div>
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<i>Standing atop the most-photographed-rock of the Creux du Van.</i></div>
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<i> One of the many gorgeous views from the top of Creux du Van.</i></div>
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Sadly, a little further around the cliffs there is a memorial to someone who did take a false step up here - a 23-year-old Swiss soldier named Jean Pilloud - who fell to his death from the top of the cliffs in July 1940. A simple, and well-weather plaque stated: <br />
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<i>"Here fell a servant of his Fatherland on July 7, 1940 in his 23rd year, </i></div>
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<i>the sapper Jean Pilloud of Châtel-St-Denis Frieburg R.I.P. His
afflicted family"</i></div>
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It was a sobering reminder to take utmost care on this kind of trail. We were certainly watching where we were putting our feet, as by a number of accounts, Jean Pilloud hasn't been the only person to have lost their lives over the Creux's precipitous cliffs.<br />
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<i>The memorial plaque to Jean Pilloud.</i></div>
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We stopped again soon after, and took a group shot of the five of us - to record such a grand occasion. It's not often that you get to hike in such a beautiful place, on such a beautiful day, with such a lovely bunch of people. Day hikes don't get much better than this.<br />
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<i>The hiking party - Rich, Lis, Denis, Gill and Kathy.</i></div>
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But now it was time for us to be heading back, so we started to make our way back down the mountain towards Les Oeuillons. Once again we encountered a stone boundary marker between the Vaud and Neuchâtel cantons (this one in better condition, with 1830 engraved on its western side, and the shields of the cantons still very recognizable).<br />
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<i>Canton boundary marker near the top of Creux du Van.</i></div>
Just afterwards, off to our left (to the west) we passed a steady stream of day-trippers walking to and fro between the cliffs of the Creux du Van and the "Le Soliat" farmhouse - which was doing a roaring trade as a summer restaurant. The free-flowing food and drink, and the fact that you can drive all the way up here in your car, helped to explain the great number of people we saw on the day ... and, for some, their inappropriate attire for hiking around the mountain-tops.<br />
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<i>Le Soliat farmhouse/restaurant.</i></div>
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At a point on the trail called Pertuis de Bise (at the western end of Dos d'Ane, and northern end of the Creux du Van cliffs) we entered the "Sentier de 14 Contours" - which zig-zagged its way (apparently past 14 hairpin bends) down through the Bois des Oeuillons - from the top of the rim (1360m), to the Les Oeuillons homestead (1014m) far below. It was a lovely trail down through the leafy, green, shady forest and we clipped down the mountainside at a good pace.<br />
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<i>Heading down the switchbacks towards Les Oeuillons.</i></div>
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Mostly we were hidden in the forest, but on a couple of occasions the trail broke out into the open - which afforded us great views out over Noirague ("Black Water") and the valleys and Jura ridges that filled the horizon in the northern distance. It sure is a lovely landscape.<br />
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<i>The view north towards Noirague ... and Les Ponts-de-Martel far beyond.</i></div>
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<i>Taking-in the same view in April 2009.</i></div>
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<i>Trekking down the Sentier des Contours. </i></div>
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In no time at all we were standing under the trail sign at Les Oeuillons (1014m) - from where we turned right towards Ferme Robert (instead of heading straight-on - which would have taken us through to Noirague). The signpost reminded us that this section of the trail was on the Chemin des Crêtes de la Jura - the Jura Crest Trail - one of the world's classic walk-trails. It's always a buzz to be on this famous trans-jurassien route.</div>
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<i>Signpost at Les Oeuillons (1014m). </i></div>
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Once again we plunged back into the forest, but this time walked almost entirely along a well-worn country road. Occasionally we diverged onto the deeper forest on the walk trail, but just kept following the yellow signs ... and soon found ourselves back at Ferme Robert, meaning that we'd completed a clockwise loop around the entire Creux du Van.<br />
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From here it was all downhill as we retraced our foot-steps from our hike up the mountain earlier in the day. It wasn't long before we could hear the sounds of the rushing, tumbling waters of the Areuse River, and were soon back in the Gorges de l'Areuse. Once again, we slowed our pace and stopped frequently to soak-up the mood of the gorge, and watch the river tumbling over the rocks and rapids in the valley below. It really is a magic place, and well worth the extra effort of starting the hike from Champ-du-Moulin.<br />
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<i>Back at the Gorge de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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<i>Lis heading across the bridge at Gorge de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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<i>Heading back to Champ-du-Moulin through the "romantic ravine" </i><br />
<i>of the Gorge de l'Areuse.</i></div>
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The last kilometre or two just skipped-by after we left the gorge, and we were soon back in the car-park at <i>"La Morelle".</i> It was about 17:15 - approximately seven hours from when we'd set out earlier in the day. It had been a memorable hike, and all the better for having done it with such great company as Den and Gill and Kathy. And, the best part, is that we'll be back this way again soon to hike to those other three peaks. Yee-haa!<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Le Soliat (No 53) 1465m</li>
<li>Creux du Van (No 57) 1457m</li>
</ul>
<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Absinthe, which is made from wormwood, was first invented in the Val-de-Travers, in the Jura, in 1797. It rose to immense popularity until it was suddenly banned, in 1905, following a tragedy in which an intoxicated Swiss labourer killed his wife and children. Not surprisingly, the elixir didn't completely disappear from the face of the Earth, but instead went "underground" - until the century-old ban was finally lifted again - in March 2005.</li>
<li>A community gathering is held at Ferme Robert on the last Sunday of August every year in remembrance of the death of the Jura's last bear (in 1757). Its paws are still at the ferme - nailed to a plaque. A nearby rock has the date engraved into it .</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-78729080349871730102014-09-14T20:58:00.000+02:002014-09-18T17:24:46.941+02:00Crêt au Bovairon (No 66)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Crêt au Bovairon was another of those Jura anomalies - a named peak that, once you were standing on its highest point, you had to wonder why it was a named peak, while so many other summits across the range - many of which are far more spectacular - are not. Not that it really matters, it still provided a great destination for a great hike. It's actually number 66 on the list of the highest named peaks in the Jura and, although there were higher points in its immediate vicinity, it's registered with 1440 metres as its highest point.<br />
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<i>La Givrine - our starting point.</i></div>
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We (Lis and I, and fellow-hikers-for-the-day Mandy and Klaske) set-out from the car-park at La Givrine at about 10am, passing-by the La Givrine restaurant and heading-up the road towards the La Genolière and Le Vermeilley homesteads - both of which do great fondue service in winter, but were now focused on their summer business - managing their herds of cows and producing lots of Jura milk. It wasn't surprising therefore that our day turned-out to be something of a a "Day of the Cows", with regular reminders that, at this time of the year, much of the Jura is focussed on getting the most out of the alpine pastures before the coming of the colder months and the "Désalpes" - the "Descente de l'alpage". This is an annual event - on the eve of the first snows of winter - when the mountain communities bring their cows down from the summer pastures. This is usually a grand occasion, with flugelhorns blowing, much pomp and circumstance, and all of the cows bedecked with their very best bells and ornate head-dresses of flowers. If we get along to one of them this year (just about every village along the Jura has a ceremony), I'll post a couple of photos.<br />
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We passed a small herd of cows more or less as soon as we'd left La Givrine - a bunch of very content-looking Montbéliards (the characteristic Jura breed). Montbéliards were developed as prolificly-productive dairy cows over the centuries by Swiss Mennonite farmers, and officially accepted as a new breed in 1889. The red-and-white pied cows weigh between 600 and 700 kilograms and produce copious amounts of milk that is perfect for cheese-making. They are ubiquitous in the high alpine meadows in summer - making it very important to watch where you're putting your feet as you cross their pastures. There's lots of "cow bombs" for the unwary to step in. Yuk!<br />
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<i>Day of the Cows: Our first sighting - just metres out of La Givrine.</i></div>
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The road (which we've previously snow-shoed along many times in winter), gradually swung around to the east, and took us deeper into the Parc Jurassien Vaudois protected area. This part of the Jura is a multi-use regional park - with a mix of uses including strict nature protection, grazing, silviculture (forestry), and recreation. In summer it's predominantly a mix of farming, forestry and hiking. In winter, the white landscape is popular with skiers, snow-shoers and day-trippers heading for one of the farm homesteads that convert to buvettes - serving cheese fondues - when all of the cattle have been taken down to the low-country.<br />
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<i>Entering the Parc Jurassien Vaudois.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back down the road coming up from La Givrine.</i></div>
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We soon passed-by the first of these homesteads - La Genolière (1348m) - which is tucked slightly away from the trail, a couple of kilometres northeast of La Givrine. In winter there would have been a steady trail of day-trippers heading up here now to get a table for a winter-perfect pot of hot cheese fondue. But today there were just a couple of hikers, and a handful of mountain-bikers who rushed past us downhill, heading in the opposite direction. We stopped at La Genolière only long enough to take a couple of photos, then headed further east along the trail towards our next way-point - Haut Mont - which was 15 minutes further along the trail.<br />
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<i> Signpost at La Genolière (1348m).</i></div>
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<i> On the road east of La Genolière.</i></div>
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As we were passing the farm, we witnessed more reminders that the Jura is as much a productive pastoral and silvicultural landscape as it is a walking paradise. We stood-aside at one point as the La Genolière farmer passed-by on his tractor and, soon after, walked past a huge pile of logs that had been cut from the adjacent forest and stacked-up awaiting their transport to a local timber mill. It all seems to work in quite some harmony up here.</div>
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<i>Turning-point at Haut Mont (1343m).</i></div>
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Before we knew it, we were standing under the trail sign at Haut Mont, at which point we turned left - off the road that led to the Haut Mont homestead - and headed north towards Le Vermeilley. </div>
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<i> Heading into the forest north of Haut Mont.</i></div>
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We cut through a patch of forest - marked "Entre Deux Vyes" on one side (our left), and "Rochefort" on the other (the right). It was nice to be back in the forest again. However, unfortunately, it didn't last long, and we were soon back out in the open and approaching Le Vermeilley - the second prominent farmhouse along this stretch of the trail. </div>
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<i> Le Vermeilley homestead.</i></div>
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Once again, we stopped just long enough to photograph the trail sign, and to double-check the map, before heading north towards a landmark ahead of us marked "Plaine a Gallay" on the topographic map.</div>
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<i> Trail sign at Le Vermeilley (1320m).</i></div>
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Far ahead and high above us we could see the summits of Mont Pelé and Mont Sala - which we'd climbed in January 2013. (You can read the blog about that trip <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2013/01/mont-pele-no-33-and-mont-sala-no-42.html">here</a>.) However we weren't going anywhere near that far today, and would soon be changing direction towards our (shorter) destination - Crêt au Bovairon.</div>
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<i> On the trail north of Le Vermeilley.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign at the T-junction north of Le Vermeilley (at 1319m). </i></div>
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At the T-junction we turned left (towards the west) and began climbing-up the trail towards Crêt au Bovairon. The track was once again a sealed access road - heading in to a couple of the farm homesteads that are tucked away in the Jura folds in this neck of the woods.</div>
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<i>Heading west towards Crêt au Bovairon. </i></div>
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We passed a turn-off to one of these homesteads - Pré du Four - to the west - a little further along the track. At the turn-off there was another reminder that we were in cattle country, with an ancient stone-walled watering point a feature in the pasture below us. It was an immaculate construction - no doubt the results of many hours of painstaking work during construction.</div>
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<i>Road to Pre du Four via Combe aux Cerfs. </i></div>
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<i> The stone-walled cattle watering point and well.</i></div>
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Three or four hundred metres further along the track we came to a fork in the road (marked 1382 on the topo map) - at which point we turned north (the "main" track swung around to the southwest - towards L'Arxière farmhouse. Up ahead we could see the forested ridge of Crêt au Bovairon, which we intended to approach from its most northeastern end, and then follow the entire ridgeline to its southwestern end point.</div>
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<i> Turning north (to the right) at 1382 - towards Crêt au Bovairon.</i></div>
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Right at the apex of a big bend in the road, we stepped off the trail and headed cross-country up the Crêt au Bovairon ridgeline. It was a lovely patch of thick (mainly fir) forest showing all the signs of summer being past and winter on its way. Dead gentians, active giant ant nests, and browning vegetation all signaled a change in the seasons. Although in thick forest, once again we saw plenty of reminders of being in alpine pasturage: old dry-stone-walls, hoof prints in the mud, and lots of cow dung. If anyone ever follows this track, at this time of the year, be careful where you put your feet.</div>
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<i> An old dry stone wall on the Crêt au Bovairon ridgeline.</i></div>
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<i>Heading up the Crêt au Bovairon ridgeline. </i></div>
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We hiked the entire Crêt au Bovairon ridgeline - for about a kilometre - and reached, and passed, the 1440 "summit". Somewhat underwhelmed, we then headed to the top of a visably-higher crest (at 1498 metres) where we pulled-out the Swiss flag and took our customary couple of ceremonial pix. Klaske and Mandy joined-in the fun of flying the now-well-travelled <i>Jura Mountain Rambling</i> flag. </div>
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Bovairon is derived from "bouvier" - which means a cattle guard or herder - someone who takes care of the cattle. Sometimes it refers to a guard-dog, but more commonly applies to the human-kind: a young guarder of cattle, or cattle herder. Its origins come from the Latin word <i>bovarius</i>, and old French word <i>buvier</i> - which becomes <i>bouvier</i> in more modern French - and means cattle guard. It's quite an appropriate name given the bovine prominence that this hike has had. This neck of the woods has obviously had a long heritage as highland cattle country.</div>
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<i> The celebratory "summit" shot on Crêt au Bovairon.</i></div>
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Objective achieved, we scouted around for a bit to find a nice place out of the wind to sit-down for lunch. We checked-out an interesting looking place where someone long ago had formed a square of rocks (and someone more recently tied-up some Nepalese or Tibetan prayer flags), but settled on a sheltered rocky edge that looked-out over L'Arxières farmhouse and the southwestern ridgeline leading up to Le Noirmont.</div>
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<i>Looking down towards L'Arxières farmstead, </i></div>
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<i>with Le Noirmont rising on the right. </i></div>
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We had a fab trail lunch of bread and cheese (local Gruyère of course ... but maybe not from these particular La Givrine Montbéliards), washed-down with some hot tea ... and a piece of dark chocolate. (Gotta do our bit to support the local industries.)</div>
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With no particularly brilliant views to keep us enthralled, we packed-up more or less as soon as we'd finished the last square of chocolate, and started heading back down towards La Givrine. Walking southwest, we dropped down to the valley, and roadway, just east of L'Arxières, and then up the slope on the opposite side of the valley - where we picked-up a trail leading to the Club Alpine Suisse (CAS) cabane at Carroz</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40WJQMq4q41bGic36BuyibDbJPSmwCOiEM03uTFfZwO34sp2DBbRQbbwm2dI2gW7VNreBUAC5Q7Q1oYc1jF0LpGBAG6gTQbLa8tCrzNCRrEYkImI46-RTdGGBj8H1ZdGNXDtumSukfw/s1600/DSCN8170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40WJQMq4q41bGic36BuyibDbJPSmwCOiEM03uTFfZwO34sp2DBbRQbbwm2dI2gW7VNreBUAC5Q7Q1oYc1jF0LpGBAG6gTQbLa8tCrzNCRrEYkImI46-RTdGGBj8H1ZdGNXDtumSukfw/s1600/DSCN8170.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> On the trail east of L'Arxières.</i></div>
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The cabane is only four or five hundred metres in from the "main" road, so it wasn't long before we found ourselves standing at the gate, and admiring its strong stone structure, and striking red shutters.</div>
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<i> The Cabane du Carroz of Club Alpine Suisse (1508m).</i></div>
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We skirted around the western side of the cabane and picked-up the hiking trail that connected the cabane with the next dwelling to the southwest - Pré du Four. Fortunately the trail was well marked - with red-and-white striped signs on trees and rocks all along the way - so we were able to spend lots of time admiring the beautiful countryside that was all around us.</div>
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<i>Following the red-and-white Carroz trail markers. </i></div>
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<i> Cutting through a stone wall on the trail below Carroz.</i></div>
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We had great views down the valley to the west and southwest, and at different times could see La Cure on the Swiss-France border (and the distant Jura hills of France further beyond), and La Dole way across the Col de la Givrine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDxaUn3mDUz38kkE6plXsHLo8ct4a5U7jjprOKdTmf9MCEryOjTi2aXb-HqXCy_1ki7aWgeWHPRjNGuY9QiKItYfFr4rRydNnDWMmgAsqR_JhzT9IbyphswNEKLvVkHknL6i477EEKA/s1600/DSCN8192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDxaUn3mDUz38kkE6plXsHLo8ct4a5U7jjprOKdTmf9MCEryOjTi2aXb-HqXCy_1ki7aWgeWHPRjNGuY9QiKItYfFr4rRydNnDWMmgAsqR_JhzT9IbyphswNEKLvVkHknL6i477EEKA/s1600/DSCN8192.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The trail between Carroz and Pré du Four. </i></div>
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Off to our right (the west) we also got some good views of the rocky ridgeline leading up towards the summit of Le Noirmont, which we'd climbed in December 2012. (You can read about that hike <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/12/le-noirmont-no-23.html">here</a>.) It was kind-of fun looking around at all of the peaks in this part of the Jura, knowing that at some time or another we'd been to the top of all of them. For example, we could see peak after peak diminishing in size right down the valley, with Crêt de Chalam (<a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2013/10/cret-de-chalam-no-28.html">October 2013</a>) in the far distance. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGasPQucb6-pIGS5W8dB9QaO3EVfsObUUXvXdj2Jj-I8qhJrb-ziXx9EPcytYrkXG5KERKrGoK6A8Q2_memq9qNfkzaGZA5ss4dJStc0mdDY3ViC6t29WnqxQoIGA0olSpcAnHWdIBbQ/s1600/DSCN8193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGasPQucb6-pIGS5W8dB9QaO3EVfsObUUXvXdj2Jj-I8qhJrb-ziXx9EPcytYrkXG5KERKrGoK6A8Q2_memq9qNfkzaGZA5ss4dJStc0mdDY3ViC6t29WnqxQoIGA0olSpcAnHWdIBbQ/s1600/DSCN8193.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> Looking west towards Le Noirmont ridgeline.</i></div>
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It didn't take us long to cover the single kilometre from Cabane du Carroz to Pré du Four, which we passed-by before following the marked trail further south until it hit the La-Givrine-to-La-Genolière road (which we'd hiked-up at the start of the day). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2otku0t0vnDSEvWESTN6cNJLN-5cE4R32IdhkCPIUZWHhZ5Wj1nq07MneVTzWeeiqalpSLaHYrB4M3_NU6Y0i5zV-zsonkB5lNFr-2Ye9f-xLR6r6MxqtWln65uvORvylLjyn9iwKw/s1600/DSCN8196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ2otku0t0vnDSEvWESTN6cNJLN-5cE4R32IdhkCPIUZWHhZ5Wj1nq07MneVTzWeeiqalpSLaHYrB4M3_NU6Y0i5zV-zsonkB5lNFr-2Ye9f-xLR6r6MxqtWln65uvORvylLjyn9iwKw/s1600/DSCN8196.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> On the track south of Pré du Four.</i></div>
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This time we turned west and started on the last stretch back into La Givrine. Right on cue, a herd of Montbéliards decided to join us - making a bee-line for their watering point that had been temporarily set-up right alongside the road. Thirty cows on the march, with their cow-bells clanging (in anything but unison), was quite a spectacle. We followed them for about half a kilometre, then skirted around them when they stopped at the water troughs. It was good to leave the din (and odour) behind.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_0qugQ1O5Nk5hwY6lKik2RjXSQI89ctAVu4o7GTVgluwEADc_CE6X9ECo6iPTqI7d24oF8sX8uYSMjcwfD2qAi8z4rxfXsq1GEjwhTq_YT4HkPCgJl1QF2Wcl4jD3p7ATLRAuox-mQ/s1600/DSCN8206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_0qugQ1O5Nk5hwY6lKik2RjXSQI89ctAVu4o7GTVgluwEADc_CE6X9ECo6iPTqI7d24oF8sX8uYSMjcwfD2qAi8z4rxfXsq1GEjwhTq_YT4HkPCgJl1QF2Wcl4jD3p7ATLRAuox-mQ/s1600/DSCN8206.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Beaucoup de vaches.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4u623ToC468Rw4YJL59bCoIWJEIalcmVVUOXZ-C5eR_lqe4hXRKNsGCXTv6NyDhyphenhyphenrS0OrTjZIAmJuB-gjkirxU9KnpfJo5S2yJi6D3pfcZ_weWZ8sOFfNw0zbIVDvLYUQsoA1nfRGw/s1600/DSCN8207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4u623ToC468Rw4YJL59bCoIWJEIalcmVVUOXZ-C5eR_lqe4hXRKNsGCXTv6NyDhyphenhyphenrS0OrTjZIAmJuB-gjkirxU9KnpfJo5S2yJi6D3pfcZ_weWZ8sOFfNw0zbIVDvLYUQsoA1nfRGw/s1600/DSCN8207.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Waiting at the traffic jam on the road near La Givrine.</i></div>
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Needless to say, it wasn't long before we were back down the hill at La Givrine - arriving there at about 2pm. Unlike the cloudy conditions that we'd experienced when we'd set out earlier in the day, it was not basking in glorious sunshine. We debated extending our walk - perhaps along the trail across the col - for about ten seconds, and then decided it would be more fun to drive down to St Cergue and have a cup of coffee or glass of beer at the local auberge. And that was what we did.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8zyKU3sQI6sZhOILgczLUg3JksKPVgn0xXZB6rZOiA2Awol8VvrdaBW3tpT3v1dkXXLQ7IdAg2F0QjXE4UMqvspBKAjdDD0WoNaMT7WBtbGJ_zFmtUJ9VeO0RmhRgWSLNR7EjGiiew/s1600/DSCN8208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8zyKU3sQI6sZhOILgczLUg3JksKPVgn0xXZB6rZOiA2Awol8VvrdaBW3tpT3v1dkXXLQ7IdAg2F0QjXE4UMqvspBKAjdDD0WoNaMT7WBtbGJ_zFmtUJ9VeO0RmhRgWSLNR7EjGiiew/s1600/DSCN8208.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Arriving back at La Givrine. </i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Crêt au Bovairon (No 66) 1440</li>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
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<li>Like all of Switzerland, the Jura is famous for its cheeses. There are hundreds of varieties of cheese all across the country, with a huge proportion of these (including some of the most famous) made in the Jura - many only made and consumed locally, and thus unknown to the rest of the world. </li>
<li>When hiking through the Jura countryside one often sees "fromageries" or "fruitières" marked on the maps - in town and country. These are the diaries where local milk is crafted into tasty cheese. Hiking to Crêt au Bovairon, we passed not far from an area marked on the map as "Fruitières de Nyon" - referring no doubt to all of the alpine farms tucked away in the Jura folds above St Cergue and La Givrine.</li>
<li>Some of the better-known Swiss Jura cheeses include: Tête de Moine, Vacherin Mont-d'Or, Montagne du Jura, and Gruyère du Jura Suisse (Jura Gruyère). </li>
<li>Others (from both the French and Swiss Jura) include: Appenzeller, Bleu de Gex, Cancoittotte, Chaux-d'Abel, Comté, Crémeux du Jura, Douceur du Jura, Gruyère alpage, Jura Erguel, Jura Mont Soleil, Jura Rebell, Morbier, Mousseron Jurassien, Raclette, Tomme de Montagne, Tomme Vaudois, Vacherin Fribourgeois, and Vallgrotte. </li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-74012994621228619822014-08-10T12:00:00.000+02:002014-10-31T14:44:56.268+01:00Dent du Chat (No 88), Molard Noir (No 58) & Le Roc Blanc (No 417)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Le Dent du Chat and Molard Noir summits.</i></div>
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Molard Noir and Dent du Chat are the two highest named peaks on the imposing Mont du Chat massif - an anticlinal which forms the southern-most tip of the entire Jura Mountain range. (It's also a part of the Rhône Alps region of the French Savoie). The highest point on the range is actually higher than both of these peaks - but this (at 1504 metres), is ignominiously merely called "le signal du Mont du Chat" ... and has a road constructed right over the very top of the hill which, not surprisingly, is "adorned" with a monstrous communications tower - "le signal".<br />
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Le Dent du Chat and, to a lesser extent, Molard Noir, are much harder to get to, require more climbing and are far more beautiful, so I've chosen to make them the real destination, representative summits of the Mont. Certainly, le Dent du Chat, with its distinctive jagged rocky pinnacle - composed of ancient Kimmeridgian (Jurassic) limestone reef - must be one of the most spectacular (and popular) hiking destinations in the entire French Jura. It was definitely a busy mountain-top the day we were there (on Saturday 2 August 2014).<br />
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The Mont du Chat is about two hours drive south of Geneva - dominating the landscape on the western shores of the beautiful Lac de Bourget. We drove south to Chambéry, then around the southern arc of the lake to a small village called Bordeau, from where we snaked our way (about four kilometres further on) up the mountainside to the Col du Chat (638m). The col is the most popular starting point for hikers heading for either Dent du Chat or Molard Noir. It requires about 800 metres altitude gain, compared to other potential starting points: Bourdeau (approx +1000m), the Relais du Mont du Chat (+100m) or la Fontaine des Côtes (+400m).<br />
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<i> The winding road - zig-zagging its way up to le col du Chat from Bordeau.</i></div>
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<i> Looking back across le Hameau du Col du Chat and Lac de Bourget </i><br />
<i>towards Aix les Bains and the foothills of the Alps.</i></div>
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We parked the car in the big car-park at the col, and wandered around for awhile to read all of the interpretation signs and get our bearings - before shouldering our packs and heading south onto the trail. The "Tour de la Dent du Chat" must be one of the best signposted walks in the Jura, as there were plenty of signs and markers - all the way along the trail. It would have been near impossible for anyone to get lost!<br />
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<i>The starting point at the col du Chat (638m) - a</i><i> popular destination for cylists. </i></div>
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<i>Interpretation panel at the col du Chat car-park.</i></div>
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The trail to the Dent du Chat is mostly through beautiful alpine forest, but it does have some sections that require scrambling over rocks, skirting cliffs and ravines, and making use of ladders and fixed cables. It is also very exposed at the summit itself. As a result, there are plenty of warning signs - particularly addressed to the unfit or unprepared, or those who might suffer from vertigo. The signs recommend that hikers are well-kitted and well-prepared, stick to the marked trails, and avoid bad weather.<br />
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<i>Safety warning sign near the start of the walk.</i></div>
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The entire mountain range - the Massif de l'Epine-Mont de Chat - is heavily forested, with many crags, caves and grottos. Not surprisingly, it is also a great refuge for local alpine fauna. Chamois have recolonized the massif (since 1986), but wild boar and deer also inhabit the range. We didn't see any of these during our walk, although we did come across chamois tracks and dung among the rocks near the summit of Dent du Chat.<br />
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<i>Fauna interpretation panel - on the trail just after leaving the col du Chat.</i></div>
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Sufficiently informed, we started our walk at about 10:30am, and, being in no rush (as it's not a very long hike), sauntered-off along the well-formed path that headed south into the (predominantly) beech forest - le forêt de Cornillon. It was a lovely sunny summer morning, and we were in high spirits - "in the mood" if you like - for a great hike. The trail is officially called "le Sentier de la Dent du Chat", and forms part of a longer walk called "le Tour de la Dent du Chat".<br />
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<i>The first section of the trail leading south away from the col du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>The route is well marked - with yellow; yellow-and-white; green-and-white, </i><br />
<i>and red-and-white markers on different sections along the way.</i></div>
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After about 15 minutes we reached - and passed - a popular via ferrata site , and we could hear the excited squeals of some people negotiating the exposed cliffs of Roc de Cornillon above us. We stopped for a moment to watch a couple of climbers inching their way across a cliff-face (and wished that we'd brought our own via ferrata gear with us), and then headed on our way - the trail now swinging around to the southwest. <br />
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<i>Sign at Forêt Cornillon - or Bois du Cornillon (822m).</i></div>
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We slowly worked our way up the massif on a gorgeous leaf-litter-covered trail and, although the sun was shining happily above us, we were cool and comfortable in the shade of the forest canopy just about all of the way. There are a couple of steep slopes and switchbacks to negotiate, but these are easily managed - thanks to the well established zig-zag path up the slopes. It sure was a lovely trail. (Somewhere way underground - deep below where we were walking - is a road tunnel that cuts through the heart of the massif - the Tunnel du Chat - which was opened in 1932).<br />
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<i>Heading-up one of the zig-zag sections.</i></div>
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About an hour into the walk, we arrived at Le Roc Blanc (which was easily reached with a slight (100 metre), detour to the east. It was well worth the extra effort - as it wasn't far, and gave us our first views of summit of le Dent du Chat up ahead, as well as views out over Lac de Bourget and far beyond. There are meant to be superb panoramic views of the lake and Alps, but the latter were obscured by clouds, so there were no such sights for us on this walk.<br />
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<i>Trail sign near le Roc Blanc (1012m).</i></div>
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<i>A glimpse </i><i><i>through the trees </i>of the rocky summit of le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>The steep western side of le Mont du Chat, with the rocky crag </i><br />
<i>of le Dent du Chat at the top of the massif.</i></div>
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<i>If you look hard, you can see two figures standing on the top of le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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The views were beautiful from Le Roc Blanc ... although a little bit disturbing - because we could see thin wispy clouds starting to gather around the top of the mountain - occasionally "whiting-out" the rocky Dent. This spurred us into action and back onto the trail, and we were soon skipping along the leafy, relatively flat section immediately south of le Roc Blanc.<br />
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Our next landmark was the Col de la Vacherie (1068m) - which we reached at about mid-day (the trail sign said 1 hour 25 minutes back to Le Col du Chat). The col is the intersection of two trails - the Sentier de la Dent du Chat (which runs north-south along the ridgeline), and the Sentier des 4 Chemins (which, at this point, heads west - down the escarpment to the village of Vernatel). Down there somewhere in the forest are "la Grande Vacherin Ruines" (whatever they were), while off to the eastern side the most significant landmark was the Grotte Parin ... and lots of vertical cliffs which showed-up as dark black gouges across our map.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Col de la Vacherie (1068m).</i></div>
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The next section of the trail, still going steadily uphill, was an absolute delight - with lots of switchbacks, narrow ledges, rocky ridges and other obstacles (fallen trees and branches; roots and rocks). It certainly wasn't a "cake-walk" and one had to keep an eye on where your were putting your feet. One slip in a few places could have spoiled a damn fine hike. Fortunately, we made no false moves, and instead enjoyed one of the best sections of any hike we've ever done anywhere in the entire Jura.<br />
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<i>Lis on a lovely easy traverse section of the trail just southwest of le Roc Blanc.</i></div>
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<i>Heading up a slope south of le Col de la Vacherie.</i></div>
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<i>A beautiful ridgetop section of the trail.</i></div>
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The northern approach to le Dent du Chat was closed - due to the dangerous conditions in the steep, rocky chute that leads up to the summit - so we followed the trail that skirted around the western side of the peak, leading to a second route to the top - which approached the peak from the south.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at the (closed) northern route to the summit of Le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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The "bypass" trail around the western side of the peak was also not for the faint-hearted, nor anyone who suffers from vertigo. It required negotiating one particular section where the ground fell away sharply into a deep ravine below ... and one had to hang-on to the fixed steel cables and use steel footholds drilled into the cliff-face to make progress. It sure was fun going. And there's nothing like a bit of adventure to spice-up the day!<br />
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<i>Heading onto the tricky section of trail below the summit of le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>The trail cutting under the Dent du Chat rockface.</i></div>
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<i>Cliffs, rockfall scree, slippery slopes ... and a coming white-out. Oh great!</i></div>
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Perhaps of most concern to us as we passed through this section of the trail was that, in emerging from the forest and scrambling across this rocky, exposed side of the mountain, we realized that the clouds that we'd seen forming when we were at Le Roc Blanc were now all around us, and the visibility was diminishing with every step-up in altitude.<br />
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The sun had completely disappeared from the skies above us by the time we plunged back into the forest south of the peak, where we reached another junction in the Sentier des 4 Chemins trail (this one heading southeast down the mountainside towards le Fontaine des Côtes - and eventually by a circuitous route, back to le Col du Chat by a lower road heading back to the north). We turned back to the north, and scrambled up the rocky approach to le Dent. It was just 10 minutes away, but easily the most treacherous section that hikers have to face anywhere on the route.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at the southern junction of Sentier des 4 Chemins (1320m).</i></div>
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Once again there were "Danger" warning signs recommending a safe and cautious approach for this final section, as well as when you are on the top of the mountain - as the summit area is small, with no barriers to stop one from falling off the mountain. There is also a risk of falling rocks, possibly dislodged by climbers above you. Needless to say, we took it easy, especially as we were now becoming completely enveloped in one of those typical, misty Jura Mountain white-outs. Fortunately, there were fixed ladders and steel cables wherever the going got really tricky, so we were soon scrambling up to the summit.<br />
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<i>Warning sign near the southern approach to the summit of le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>A memorial plaque fixed to the cliffs just below le Dent du Chat summit.</i></div>
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<i>A series of three fixed ladders heading-up the southern chute.</i></div>
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<i>Lis approaching the top of le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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Shrouded in a thickening layer of surrounding cloud, we finally emerged at the top of the mountain - a narrow flattened terrace adorned with a rough-and-tumble cairn and steep drop-offs all around. Due to the white-out, we couldn't really see how precariously we were perched on the top of the mountain, surrounded by "the great void", but it sure felt eerie. It was about 12.30, and we were both feeling famished. Lis took off her red scarf and dared me to make a bull charge ... but I passed on that fantastic opportunity, and instead, we settled down on the rocks to eat our lunch, hoping the clouds would lift and give us some of those famous Dent du Chat views.<br />
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The Dent du Chat gets its name from its toothy profile ... and some rather interesting folklore. Obviously the "Dent" part refers to the tooth-shaped, rocky summit (originating from the Latin word <i>dens, dentis</i> meaning "tooth"), but the "Chat" part is far more intriguing.<br />
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Local legend has it that many, many years ago a local fisherman (called Antoine) was plagued by bad luck, and hadn't caught anything for days on end. In desperation, he appealed to the devil for help, vowing to release the first fish if he could catch one. The devil appeared and said that he'd help Antoine to catch some fish - on that condition: that he threw the first one he caught back into the water. Unfortunately the first fish was one of the best he'd ever caught, so Antoine (in breaking his promise) decided that the devil wouldn't mind if he threw-back the second one instead. More unfortunately, the second fish was even bigger than the first, which prompted the devil to make an appearance to remind Antoine of their agreement ... but he kept that one too. The same story applied to the third fish that he managed to catch. The fourth catch that Antoine hauled out of the water turned-out not to be a fish, but a kitten. Surprised and confounded, Antoine decided to pack-up his gear and head home, taking the three big fish, and (in his pocket) the kitten, which he though would be handy around the house for catching mice and rats. Back home, the kitten grew quickly into a sizable cat, and then continued to grow into a veritable giant, and began devouring everything living being around - including Antoine and many unwary travellers who tried to pass over, or near, the Mont du Chat - an excellent advantage point where the cat had taken-up residence. King Arthur, and two of his companions (Bérius and Mélianus), who happened to be travelling by the way of the Mont one day, then make an appearance in the legend. They were told about the giant cat, and were probably in with a chance of becoming the cat's next prey. So instead they set-up a trap, using a lamb as a bait, and slew (with their bows-and-arrows) the giant cat when it came in to kill the lamb. The cat was then thrown into the lake - except for one of its teeth which was set in to the rocks at the top of the mountain to remind everyone of the bad luck that would come their way from doing deals with the devil. It is said that the curse of the devil, and the giant cat, still remains, and that violent storms will spring-up over the lake, and upturn fishing boats, if anyone who's not keeping their promises ventures onto the water .<br />
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Other accounts say that the "chat" has nothing to do with cats, but comes from an ancient Gallic word which had the same root as chat, but means "passage" as in passing through the "eye of the needle". Hmm, who knows for sure? The true original may well be lost in time. What we do know for sure is that it was first called Mont du Chat (in a charter, made in Chambéry) in 1232. Prior to that, the mont had been called <i>mons mons Muniti Munni.</i> <br />
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<i>El toreador atop le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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Alas, we had no such luck with the clouds and the views, so instead I had to jump-up whenever there was a rare break in the clouds, that either filled our eyrie with sunshine, or gave us a glimpse of the views that should have been on show all around us. Normally one can see a fabulous panorama that takes in Lac du Bourget, the Alps (including Mont Blanc), the Bauges and Chartreuse mountain ranges, and the peaks of the Savoyard foothills (l'Avant Pays Savoyard). Unfortunately the views on this occasion were nonexistent, and more like rushed glimpses, but we did get some idea of the majestic loftiness of our location.<br />
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<i>A brief glimpse of Molard Noir - our next peak </i><br />
<i>- through the clouds from Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>Looking down at the southern end of Lac de Bourget.</i></div>
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As usual, we took a celebratory, "ceremonial" flag-waving photo near the rough-and-ready cairn, and soaked-up the atmosphere of standing on top of one of the Jura's most distinctive, characteristic and popular peaks. And then we packed-up our kit, and headed down the crag towards our next destination - the nearby summit of Molard Noir.<br />
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<i>Waving the flag atop le Dent du Chat (1390m)</i></div>
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<i>Heading back down from the summit of Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>The exit trail heading south from the top of Le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>Lis on the ridgetop trail at le Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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We retraced our steps along the trail back to the Sentier des 4 Chemins, and followed the trail heading southwest towards Molard Noir (20 mins) or the Relais du Mont Chat (50 mins). The latter is a popular starting point for many who walk to Molard Noir and Dent du Chat, but it's a relatively easy walk, mostly along the ridgetop. It's possible to drive all the way to the top of the Mont du Chat, and to park under the huge (ugly) TV relay tower - an option that didn't appear interesting to us. What is interesting (I guess only to some though) is that there's also a memorial stone up there - in honour of a number of service-men who were killed when a military aircraft crashed into the mountain-top in October 1946.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at the Sentier des 4 Chemins (1320m)</i> pointing towards Molard Noir.</div>
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The track from the Sentier des 4 Chemins junction to Molard Noir was quite steep, with a few slippery and rocky sections that kept our attention. Fortunately there were once again fixed steel cables on some of the more precarious sections, so it was relatively safe and easy going.</div>
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<i>The fixed steel cables made the rock scrambling a bit easier.</i></div>
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Twenty minutes later we were standing on top of Molard Noir - 1452 metres, and number 58 on our list of the Jura's highest named peaks. Unfortunately, we were also standing in a complete white-out - which meant that we could see virtually nothing beyond about 30 metres around us.<br />
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"Molard" simply means a big hill, or small rounded mountain - and is derived from the Latin word <i>moles </i>which means "mass" or "heap", and the old French word mole - which means "mass" or "molar tooth". "Noir", of course, means black, and probably relates to the dark and shady spruce forests that blanket the Mont and much of the ridgeline.<br />
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<i>Signpost near the summit of Molard Noir (1452m)</i></div>
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Molard Noir is well set-up for visitors, with a picnic bench and two viewing platforms, each with very informative and artistic orientation tables. We checked both of them out, and anguished over the wonderful sights that we were missing - hidden beyond the cloudy cloak that had wrapped-up the mountain-top. <br />
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<i>There are magnificent views out there ... somewhere. </i></div>
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<i>Looking out from the west-facing viewing platform.</i></div>
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The west-facing viewing platform is precariously perched above a very high, and very vertical cliff-face, so one wouldn't want to step off the platform in that direction. It normally provides fantastic views for miles and miles - out over the rugged, hilly landscape that takes in the Savoy towns of Yenne and St Jean de Chevelu, and the Monts du Lyonnais and the distant mountains of Beaujolais, as well as Lac Paladru and the Rhône valley. We could only see what was on the orientation table ... and wish for the clouds to lift. But alas again. No such luck.<br />
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The orientation table was very ornate, with a mountain of information about the surrounding countryside and distant views. The table was erected in 1964 - by le Touring Club de France and le Comité National des Sentiers de Grande Randonée - in collaboration with the Consul General of Switzerland. (The latter gave us better reason to be flying the Swiss flag up here ... which is what we did of course, as usual.) We also took our customary, celebratory (and heart-warming) swig from our hip-flask of French marc.<br />
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<i>The west-facing orientation table atop Molard Noir. </i></div>
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From the east-facing viewing platform, we should have had an amazing view of the jagged peak and precarious cliffs of the south face of le Dent du Chat, with Lac du Bourget and the Bauges Mountains behind, but unfortunately everything was completely obliterated behind the clouds. Somewhere, hidden, on the horizon were the Alps - crowned by Mont Blanc and its majestic neighbours.</div>
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<i>The east-facing orientation table.</i></div>
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<i>Orientation table detail for the Massif du Mont Blanc section.</i></div>
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<i>Saluting the Swiss Consul General atop Molard Noir (1452m).</i></div>
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Given the cloudy (and quite chilly) conditions, we didn't stay too long at the summit, and were soon on our way back down the mountainside - retracing our route northeast towards the Col du Chat. It's less than a two hour walk back to the col, but we were in no rush - as it's such a gorgeous trail along the Mont du Chat ridgeline. Each of the landmarks along the trail came along surprisingly quickly, and we were soon skipping over the rocks and ridges, ravines and switchbacks that had slowed us down on the way out earlier in the day.<br />
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<i>Negotiating the precarious section of trail </i><br />
<i>just under the western cliffs of Dent du Chat.</i></div>
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<i>The fixed cables certainly made life easier on some of the trickier sections.</i></div>
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<i>Zig-zagging our way down through a section of switchbacks.</i></div>
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<i>Another section with fixed cables.</i></div>
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<i>It's a gorgeous trail, and mostly relatively safe and easy.</i></div>
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<i>Heading back down through the beech forest approaching the Col du Chat.</i></div>
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We arrived back at the Col at about 4pm - approximately five and a half hours from when we'd set-out. (The total distance is about 9 or 10 kilometres, and mostly relatively easy walking.)<br />
It had been a great walk, on a great trail, through a beautiful forest, to three fabulous peaks. It was a shame we didn't get to see any of the amazing views that the summits are famous for ... but it just means we'll have to come back again another day, and do it all again. It's such a beautiful place. <br />
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<i>The view from the road west from the Col du Chat - looking back at the west side of the Mont du Chat massif. Dent du Chat and Molard Noir are almost obscured in the clouds on the far right.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Molard Noir (No 58) 1452m</li>
<li>Dent du Chat (No 88) 1390m</li>
<li>Le Roc Blanc (No 417) 1012m </li>
</ul>
<br /></div>
Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-42377532044277526052014-08-03T22:19:00.002+02:002014-08-09T10:10:50.094+02:00Le Grand Colombier (No. 35)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Le Grand Colombier is number 35 on our list of highest named Jura peaks, and was the last of the highest 50 that we'd yet to climb, so a sunny day in mid-summer (2 August 2014) provided the perfect opportunity. It's located at the very southern tip of the Jura - in the Pays de Bugey - where the Rhone River cuts its way between the Alps (on the east) and the Jura (to the west). The Colombier massif is quite an imposing landmark - dominating the skyline from every angle for miles around.<br />
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<i>Le Grand Colombier from the French village of Artemare.</i></div>
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Before the walk, we stayed overnight in a nearby village (in France) called Artemare - staying at a lovely B&B - from where we had great views of the mountain from our bedroom window. On the morning of our hike we awoke to a lovely fine day - with nothing but a few puffy cumulus clouds high above us, and a thin band of early morning cloud wrapped like a piece of string around the base of the mountain. Sunshine filled the valley, and glinted off the white limestone rocks at the top of the range. It looked perfect.<br />
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<i>The view from our bedroom window on the morning of our hike.</i></div>
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From Artemare, we drove northeast to a little village called Virieu-le-Petit - which we drove straight through - and headed-up the road (the D120C) that leads to the Col du Grand Colombier. About half way up to the col, we pulled-over onto a flat area (at about 1175m) that has previously been used for storing logs during forestry operations - where we parked the car and set-out on our trek. The site is marked "La Selle" on some maps, and "Fromentel" on others, and is just 20 or 30 metres further along the road from where the D120C meets the Lochieu-to-col-du-Grand-Colombier road (the D120). Some hikers start from La Selle, while others use Virieu-le-Petit, Sur Lyand, Culoz, Lochieu, Anglefort and Munet as starting points. All have their pro's and con's. (I'd recommend walkers get themselves a topographic map (ING) of the entire Colombier massif, or the "Randonées pédestres en Bugey" guidebook.)<br />
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<i> Road sign at the junction of the Lochieu - Virieu le Petit roads.</i></div>
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<i>The site at La Selle where we parked the car and started our walk.</i></div>
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<i> Road sign at La Selle -pointing up the D120 to Le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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We took a few photos around La Selle, looking first up the road to the southeast (towards Le Grand Colombier), and then scanning the ridgeline in front of us around to the northeast - where we were heading - towards the distinctive Roc Passin outcrop on the horizon high above us.<br />
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<i>The cliffs of Roc Passin on the horizon - high in the forest above La Selle.</i></div>
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<i>Roc Passin.</i></div>
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At about 11am, we set-out on our hike - initially in a southeasterly direction - up the road towards the col du Grand Colombier - for about 350 metres, until just after we'd passed a small barn and reached an old stone fountain on the side of the road. There, between these two landmarks, we turned-off the road onto a small forest track on our left - and headed northeast.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the road towards the col du Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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<i>The barn a few hundred metres above La Selle. </i></div>
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<i>The road graffiti from past cycle races. (It was most recently used for the 2012 Tour de France)</i></div>
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<i>Turning off the col road onto the small forest track towards Roc Passin.</i></div>
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The turn-off was easy to find, and marked with a wooden sign pointing towards "Le Trou de la Roche".<br />
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We headed northeast along what was probably an old forestry logging road - for about about 200 metres, then "zigged" right, back to the southeast. After about another 200 metres, we turned left again, and started a long, steep climb along a traverse up the mountainside towards Roc Passin. There were no sign-posts to mark these two twists and turns, so we just stuck to the "road most traveled" and that kept us on the right track.<br />
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<i>Approaching the left-turn about 500 metres into the walk.</i></div>
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About another 250 metres, we came to the end of the forest road, beyond which the trail plunged into the forest and became more like the typical mountain/forest single-file walking track. An old tree stump, adorned with an artistic arrangement of stones marked the start of this section.<br />
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<i>The rock-adorned tree stump at the start of the single-file walking track near Roc Passin.</i></div>
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Occasionally we caught glimpses of the white limestone cliffs of Roc Passin through the tree above us (to our right), while off to our left the steep slope plunged far down to the valley below, where we could see villages and pastures far beyond the edge of the forest.<br />
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<i>The trail through the forest below Roc Passin.</i></div>
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The track took us over a mixture of (at different times) lovely leaf-litter, slippery wet rocks, and through dense forest, and open sunny clearings - the latter filled with waist-high wildflowers in full bloom.<br />
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<i>Lis heading through a patch of mountain wild-flowers.</i></div>
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After one last scramble up a stony chute - over a stretch of wet, slippery rocks - we suddenly broke out of the forest and found ourselves standing on a small ridge facing-up towards the main ridgeline of Le Grand Colombier. Directly in front of us was the huge steel cross that dominates the skyline at the top of the ridge, while off to the right we could see the summit of Le Grand Colmbier and the line of peaks and troughs beyond. Off to the left we could see the rooftop of the Granges du Colombier - our next landmark, so we turned north in that direction. <br />
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<i>Looking-up at the cross that dominates the ridgeline of Le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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<i>The view southeast along Le Grand Colombier ridgeline (the summit is on the left).</i></div>
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<i>Heading north towards the Granges du Colombier guesthouse.</i></div>
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<i>Le Granges du Colombier.</i></div>
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We walked over to just short of the Granges du Colombier (1390 metres), where we stopped for a few moments to take a photo or two, and then to get our bearings for the next leg of our trek. One option here was to pick-up the walking trail that more-or-less headed straight-up to the big steel cross on top of the ridgeline, but we opted to continue north towards the Col de Charbemène. This option would add about another 40 minutes (or thereabouts) to the hike, but provided what we considered to be the best section of the entire trail - an ascent up the Colombier ridgeline on a spectacular section of the GTJ cross-France walk-trail.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Granges du Colombier (1390m).</i></div>
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We walked past the front of le Granges de Colombier, then up-and-over a steel style, and followed the track north-northeast - past the trail signs which pointed towards Charbemène (and Sur Lyand - Le Virieux-Martin)<br />
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<i>On the trail leading away from le Granges de Colombier.</i></div>
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The trail was very well marked on this section (in total contrast to the completely unmarked section that we'd followed to get up to here from La Selle). It hugged the edge of the forest for a few hundred metres, and then turned gently right into the predominantly fir and beech forest. It made for very easy walking, and we were able to "sit back" and enjoy the countryside.<br />
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<i>Heading into the forest near the col de Charbemène.</i></div>
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Not surprisingly, given the mostly flat traverse along the mountainside, it didn't take us very long to reach the col, where we stopped - once again just for long enough to take a few photos and to enjoy the surrounding views. By now there was quite a bit of cloud gathering around us, so the views of the Alps that we had expected - to the east, in front of us - didn't really exist. We could see down into the Rhone valley far below, and the foothills of the Alps, but none of the peaks were on show - on what should have been a ragged Alpine skyline.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at the Col de Charbemène (1317m).</i></div>
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At the col, we swung right back around to the south, and followed the red-and-white-stripe marked trail that headed-up towards the Croix du Colombier and Le Grand Colombier. The trail cut a trench through the thicket of alpine wildflowers that filled the col - for about 50 metres - and then disappeared into a black hole on the edge of the forest.<br />
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<i>Heading into the forest from the col de Chambemène.</i></div>
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This section of the trail turned-out to be our best part of the walk. Lis called it "Lord of the Rings" country, with lots of tall trees, gnarly roots, nooks and crannies, rocks and ridges, and quite a few sections that required careful attention to avoid slipping and falling off the trail. We fully expected to see elves and trolls!<br />
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<i>On the ridgeline trail up towards le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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This part of our hike was along a section of the the GR9 walking trail, and from time to time we came across the red-and-white markings and the GTJ trail signs. It really was quite an enchanting forest track.<br />
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<i>GTJ trail signs in the forest just north of Le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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<i>Negotiating one of the steep rocky sections along the GTJ.</i></div>
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Eventually we broke back out of the forest and onto the alpine meadows, which were once again filled with a colourful explosion of wildflowers in full bloom.<br />
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<i>Heading up to the first small Le Grand Colombier crest - at about 1450m.</i></div>
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<i>Walking through a colourful alpine meadow in full bloom.</i></div>
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Our first glimpses of the mountain top, and surrounding panorama, didn't fill us with much hope of getting any of the famous views that one is meant to get from le Montagne du Grand Colombier. Out to the east, over the Rhone valley, the Alps were almost completely clouded-out; while off to the south, we could see fresh tufts of wispy clouds scudding up from the valleys southwest of the ridgeline, coming and going, surging over the mountain-top, and occasionally obliterating the landmarks at the top of the ridge. We had a distinct feeling that our lovely sunny day was about to be extinguished.<br />
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<i>Looking south towards the top of Le Grand Colombier, </i><br />
<i>with the true summit in the far distance.</i></div>
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Hoping to at least have some clear views from the summit before it all disappeared, we headed straight up towards the cross - le Croix du Colombier - across the wildflower-strewn, gently-rounded grassy hilltop<br />
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<i>Approaching the last steep ascent to le Croix du Colombier.</i></div>
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Before long, we were standing under the huge lattice steel cross (1525m), with clouds now scudding all around us and the wind screaming-out as it seared past the four steel cables that anchored the cross to the ground. Metres before we reached the cross, we stopped at the beautiful orientation table and checked out the information about the million peaks that we should have been able to see on the horizon - had it been a beautiful clear, sunny day. Unfortunately, for us, our only views were down - into the Rhone valley to the east, or back towards the Grange Du Colombier.<br />
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<i>Ah, so that's what's out there ... somewhere.</i></div>
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Erected in 1984, the orientation table is truly a work of art - one of the best we've ever come across: It is colourful, artistic, informative and smart. Too bad we couldn't see any of what it was pointing at, but we enjoyed being there anyway. We should have been able to see Mont Blanc and the Alps, the Monts du Chat and its distinctive Dent du Chat, the Chartreuse and Jura Mountains, and the region's three big alpine lakes: Lac du Bourget, Lac Annecy and Lac Leman. Down below us somewhere was the town of Culoz. But, unfortunately, none of the lakes and landmarks were in view while we were standing there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJYblBM_eUNV7Ks2ZE2WgFNdE8gnCkomiDcHxJ4Go4K2ARrt8NPAFVUFkL9AVZCB2Hv86wijkRLFn1i5LuL6ykSCUonA-VUCsc0te7Cxc6a0FdY_fuK0abMWRS8u0DfWLkdnqvzTeDQ/s1600/DSCN7845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJYblBM_eUNV7Ks2ZE2WgFNdE8gnCkomiDcHxJ4Go4K2ARrt8NPAFVUFkL9AVZCB2Hv86wijkRLFn1i5LuL6ykSCUonA-VUCsc0te7Cxc6a0FdY_fuK0abMWRS8u0DfWLkdnqvzTeDQ/s1600/DSCN7845.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The orientation table at le Croix du Colombier.</i></div>
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Almost the only thing we could see were the last landmarks further south along the ridge - the cross itself, the jagged summit of Le Grand Colombier and the huge, adjacent power pylon - all of which featured prominently on both the table and the skyline.<br />
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<i>A view over the orientation table towards le Croix du Colombier.</i></div>
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<i>The view down towards the Granges du Colombier.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoYLec1lzsjvPh2p1KHUTSqwmEu8xZpYebF-1UGWGetsFI2mzz3NiOtWuU08xjFd7t_zvpFoswmSoXdJBORtOsc-todCQq1hdDFQ5h20d2LSzn3kvC14xkl5n_gaq2gNmS8UuGFd31A/s1600/DSCN7933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoYLec1lzsjvPh2p1KHUTSqwmEu8xZpYebF-1UGWGetsFI2mzz3NiOtWuU08xjFd7t_zvpFoswmSoXdJBORtOsc-todCQq1hdDFQ5h20d2LSzn3kvC14xkl5n_gaq2gNmS8UuGFd31A/s1600/DSCN7933.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The Granges du Colombier again (in better light, on another occasion).</i></div>
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At about 1pm, un-captivated by the view, we headed downhill to the nearby col du Grand Colombier (at 1501m, it is the second highest road pass in the entire Jura - being just one metre below the highest - Col du Chasseral, 1502m). Luckily for us, the only picnic table was free (surprise, surprise ... given the quickly-changing, now wintery conditions), so we sat down and munched through our trail lunch of baguettes, cheese, chocolate and hot tea, and gazed at the fabulous views in the Rhone valley far below. By now we had pulled-on our wind-cheaters and sat with our backs to the wind gazing in the general direction of the view of the Alps that would have been there if ... (if only if).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKYIXHgE_ErLc75r2XdSZrVeTt0yDxHxPQbZFwiE3uMeUPZheQWfDp0EztH4-urHMce8VO6fpdP0xbQvpwzog1GeDh8HxIte0OK6hAXOOwOH_BODNpIKnCsuVWTq0y9x42aDlWi0cbQ/s1600/DSCN7865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKYIXHgE_ErLc75r2XdSZrVeTt0yDxHxPQbZFwiE3uMeUPZheQWfDp0EztH4-urHMce8VO6fpdP0xbQvpwzog1GeDh8HxIte0OK6hAXOOwOH_BODNpIKnCsuVWTq0y9x42aDlWi0cbQ/s1600/DSCN7865.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The sign at the col du Grand Colombier - a famous Tour de France landmark </i></div>
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<i>and mecca for amateur cyclists.</i></div>
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After our picnic lunch, we wandered around the col for awhile, checking out the interpretation panels, gazing down into the sun-filled Rhone valley between Anglefort and Culoz far below, and (looking ahead, up the ridge), to where we were headed next.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk4Uv2bReTb3jqJjC45pVeRdr-XQwo2GcyvNFrrAHpwf5chlt1DjVW0aUmiaUP7DFx7-wYrnWBOiiCKhK9VxJgDCIMv9F-1sRwIS1keXC558G5XADBL6UOVtHzpsCM1SrzipbrqKpYA/s1600/DSCN7861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk4Uv2bReTb3jqJjC45pVeRdr-XQwo2GcyvNFrrAHpwf5chlt1DjVW0aUmiaUP7DFx7-wYrnWBOiiCKhK9VxJgDCIMv9F-1sRwIS1keXC558G5XADBL6UOVtHzpsCM1SrzipbrqKpYA/s1600/DSCN7861.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Cycling graffiti on the col du Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqt_s2p_dHKRkTA80SGvzqEaJrYYGoOUn7jP0bSWysqMDGXaywvqXbxzErp9-we7VJQiW1hspKSrZ4Ayl3Qyb2IhDVdTg7Hhg6BQ4eVjZKBSaBIo7GD63LXzsxD41cRbSBFu0-O70-rg/s1600/DSCN7860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqt_s2p_dHKRkTA80SGvzqEaJrYYGoOUn7jP0bSWysqMDGXaywvqXbxzErp9-we7VJQiW1hspKSrZ4Ayl3Qyb2IhDVdTg7Hhg6BQ4eVjZKBSaBIo7GD63LXzsxD41cRbSBFu0-O70-rg/s1600/DSCN7860.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Interpretation panel about the mountain flora at le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxqLkxajbM9vgapaT1AQoU3gRYzUI7ODeAanNBn5fuDyxEe9-3-raY1BcZ20U5RzZFoNAkDcQ1vGQGmozGl_nGD_hiMzqxAPIFC7xmO9G3Ra9ioOh-_l4R4FdqLI_2nMoslVZI-Ph3w/s1600/DSCN7867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxqLkxajbM9vgapaT1AQoU3gRYzUI7ODeAanNBn5fuDyxEe9-3-raY1BcZ20U5RzZFoNAkDcQ1vGQGmozGl_nGD_hiMzqxAPIFC7xmO9G3Ra9ioOh-_l4R4FdqLI_2nMoslVZI-Ph3w/s1600/DSCN7867.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Trail sign at col du Grand Colombier (1498m).</i></div>
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Our next destination was our summit-of-the-day - Le Grand Colombier - which was just another 10 minutes or so across the col road and further along the ridgeline. We followed the trail, which was not always that distinctive - given the thousands of people who must come up here every summer, until we reached the summit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1fRQUvAV26UKTW84cWbvzUwbGKJXpGLzSZ6NmUakxZAa3UaFdkf-BCEJnmLc9FeAj2QRy4Uz6UqYr4Lz8msUQWSd9LSkfNT0aD12_9YPtAiVrNYIDAoCsmw6Lb5uzepuSqHQmHlhxw/s1600/DSCN7871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1fRQUvAV26UKTW84cWbvzUwbGKJXpGLzSZ6NmUakxZAa3UaFdkf-BCEJnmLc9FeAj2QRy4Uz6UqYr4Lz8msUQWSd9LSkfNT0aD12_9YPtAiVrNYIDAoCsmw6Lb5uzepuSqHQmHlhxw/s1600/DSCN7871.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The ridgeline south of the col du Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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The summit (1531 metres) is marked by a geodesic pyramid, so we stopped there (at about 2pm) to take our customary ceremonial photographs, to fly our Swiss flag, and take a nip of some heart-warming French marc - from the hip-flask that I keep stuffed-away in my back-pack for such occasions.<br />
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<i>Lis under the geodesic pyramid at Le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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Le Grand Colombier gets its name from the Latin word <i>colombus, columba</i> which means a "dove", and is thought to have been applied to the place where doves and pigeons are common. An alternative meaning is that the name refers to rocks in which caves are common - in which doves and pigeons might seek shelter.</div>
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<i>Trail sign atop Le Grand Colombier (1531m).</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU3hzw95Q9E8m4L-1uYrPc1uB7UnPXCUh8na4JgYS8SWIrdQm_uveVWaVpcdBN-nm3sG24G98o8UlmozUUyHcp8Rea-LqPFVTAQNL6qf9DdYuaeA00i9SuwmGkVzNPk9-jnIbHJZIRg/s1600/DSCN7874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU3hzw95Q9E8m4L-1uYrPc1uB7UnPXCUh8na4JgYS8SWIrdQm_uveVWaVpcdBN-nm3sG24G98o8UlmozUUyHcp8Rea-LqPFVTAQNL6qf9DdYuaeA00i9SuwmGkVzNPk9-jnIbHJZIRg/s1600/DSCN7874.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Celebrating standing at the top of the Jura Mountains' 35th highest named peak.</i></div>
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Getting to the top of Le Grand Colombier was a special occasion for Lis and I - as it meant we had now been to the top of all 50 of the 50 highest named peaks of the Jura Mountains. Fortunately, there was another couple of hikers there at the time, so we asked them to take our photo to record the occasion. We were feeling pretty chuffed.<br />
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<i>Lis and I at the summit of Le Grand Colombier (1531m).</i></div>
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Unfortunately, the weather conditions were continuing to deteriorate, so we didn't stay long at the summit. Instead we continued further south along the ridgeline, heading first for, and then right under, a huge steel pylon which carried a string of power cables over the mountaintop.<br />
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<i>Looking back towards the summit of Le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL07pnIyUMj4dL8JBG5dGRsrTI2odd5rk8Q7af4cmXZhNTZk-duZ4Gviprj4C197y1QmvT26lfxpBLHu-i0tKhLMni8RvZwOLcvygdt4iU6_f53jJFOgorKHm8IO_TpI79mTfH3hSbmw/s1600/DSCN7885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL07pnIyUMj4dL8JBG5dGRsrTI2odd5rk8Q7af4cmXZhNTZk-duZ4Gviprj4C197y1QmvT26lfxpBLHu-i0tKhLMni8RvZwOLcvygdt4iU6_f53jJFOgorKHm8IO_TpI79mTfH3hSbmw/s1600/DSCN7885.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The steel power pylon near the top of Le Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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After the pylon, the trail quickly dropped away from the summit, across a rocky patch of polished ancient Jurassic limestone, across a grassy patch, and then into a thicket of alpine forest. It took us first past the Pierre Fillola, and about 500 metres further south, the imposing and distinctive white cliffs of Pierre Amion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNF4cncZX9gEONp4y_Lsb6oZqJUekP38Dak-8bcb8A9gHj_EOID6WCFXsmGGneDqvE4B6B_2zBMeNq0htXnJCQDfhV3W4ySZIUFGMcrHkcTCPmIrv9oiVGbq82Btpz_brLvJYhipWPHQ/s1600/DSCN7887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNF4cncZX9gEONp4y_Lsb6oZqJUekP38Dak-8bcb8A9gHj_EOID6WCFXsmGGneDqvE4B6B_2zBMeNq0htXnJCQDfhV3W4ySZIUFGMcrHkcTCPmIrv9oiVGbq82Btpz_brLvJYhipWPHQ/s1600/DSCN7887.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Heading south along the ridgeline towards Pierre Amion.</i></div>
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By the time we arrive under Pierre Amion - Sous Pierre Amion (1370m) - the white-out conditions had completely enveloped us, such that we only caught brief glimpses of the imposing Pierre Amion rockface whenever there was a break in the scudding clouds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdbk_5AEe_9tPacsaLHNgEVggbWQYIow4Y7T-4qIeKm8eNiWeOTwxrxJFCitTOIYrt92js0NXe6V6o-obdYYDBVO1SyXkK3DJR9yE49fh6TET5aPJJt3I8zJasMawYn9OQMzJApTFXQ/s1600/DSCN7894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdbk_5AEe_9tPacsaLHNgEVggbWQYIow4Y7T-4qIeKm8eNiWeOTwxrxJFCitTOIYrt92js0NXe6V6o-obdYYDBVO1SyXkK3DJR9yE49fh6TET5aPJJt3I8zJasMawYn9OQMzJApTFXQ/s1600/DSCN7894.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Trail sign at Sous Pierre Amion (1370m).</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSb2FyQWXXleE0MdJYecDXW4pSANlKAHuQLBkLVzYgsnGsu4NsaDfNy5tkRDSCshRPuYxxX0kRZssMh9xPgOkzNbo34ZgAXFxHyzs8noB_xhQUqoZdPGBgU0CcCJ7zthKf2bmbh8qPoQ/s1600/DSCN7893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSb2FyQWXXleE0MdJYecDXW4pSANlKAHuQLBkLVzYgsnGsu4NsaDfNy5tkRDSCshRPuYxxX0kRZssMh9xPgOkzNbo34ZgAXFxHyzs8noB_xhQUqoZdPGBgU0CcCJ7zthKf2bmbh8qPoQ/s1600/DSCN7893.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Landmark in the mist - Pierre Amion - from the col du Grand Colombier Road.</i></div>
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At about this point, just where there is a steel cattle-grid on the col du Grand Colombier road, the trail met the road - which we then followed for about four-or five hundred metres further down the hill. With the weather going from bad to worse, it now began to drizzle with rain, so we dragged-out our pack covers, and resigned ourselves to getting wet for the foreseeable future.<br />
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<i>Heading into the rain and mist on the road down from the col du Grand Colombier.</i></div>
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After about half a kilometre on the road, we turned off - towards the west - into the entrance road to the Auberge du Colombier - which took us on a u-shaped arc back around to the north.<br />
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<i>The entrance to the Auberge du Colombier.</i></div>
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By now, it was a total white-out and we could hardly see the auberge as we approached it, let alone the almost indistinguishable trail that we were intending to follow.<br />
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<i>The inn in the mist - the Auberge du Colombier.</i></div>
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Just before we reached the inn - virtually right before the entrance gates - there is a trail sign on the left-hand-side of the road - pointing uphill along the fence-line towards Chavornay (which was not our destination today). Instead we were making our way first to a locality called Pryse - from where we weren't entirely sure of our route, but were relying on taking some sightings from the landscape and landmarks. Unfortunately, with the white-out, none of these were going to help us today, so we were going to have to follow our instincts and "mental maps" of the topography as much as anything else.<br />
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After a short, steep and slippery climb up the ridge behind the auberge (to about 1430 metres), we reached the rocky ridgeline again, where, near a jagged limestone outcrop, we luckily spotted the weather-beaten wooden "En Pryse" trail sign.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgXuqEGHO-pJrjpcoGJezP0y4bLOJfBhBO5_zE1SzZJnc-wXRfiydR8GROTgMXV0XSLiJwhF4c-ZivyZGmjyWAthr0Zwu5dHTPyCuBG6cOcSDikECtPK1l22Q0PDLGs7WA0OSuNaioQ/s1600/DSCN7899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgXuqEGHO-pJrjpcoGJezP0y4bLOJfBhBO5_zE1SzZJnc-wXRfiydR8GROTgMXV0XSLiJwhF4c-ZivyZGmjyWAthr0Zwu5dHTPyCuBG6cOcSDikECtPK1l22Q0PDLGs7WA0OSuNaioQ/s1600/DSCN7899.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>En Pryse - wherever that is, hidden in the mist - at 1430 metres.</i></div>
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With no landmarks to guide us, and a foot trail that disappeared at times into a maze of mud, and rocks, and cow-prints, we forged our way slowly southwest and downslope, heading for a small un-named col now in the "middle of nowhere". Capping things off, a thunderstorm suddenly erupted above us - with a colossal clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning letting us know we were probably in the wrong place at the wrong time. Needless to say, we kept our heads low, didn't stop for any more photos, and headed downhill as fast as we could through the mud and slush - as heavy rain now tumbled down all around us. The thunderstorm didn't come as a complete surprise, as we'd been awoken by another last night - as huge cracks of thunder and lightning lit the mid-night skies above Artemare, and reverberated off the surrounding Cliffs of the Jura and Alps across the Rhone. The tumult reminded me of the writings of Lord Byron and Percy and Mary Shelley who wrote about the thunderstorms echoing back and forth between the Saleve and the Alps and the Jura on the other side of Geneva. Byron described one such thunderstorm as thus:<br />
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<i>"From peak to peak, the rattling crags among Leaps the live thunder! Not from one lone cloud, But every mountain now hath found a tongue, And Jura answers, through her misty shroud, Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud!"</i><br />
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Mary Shelley, inspired by both Lord Byron and the Jura, weaved a Jura storm into her epic story "Frankenstein":<i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"... we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of the Jura; and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained, while the storm lasted, watching its progress with curiosity and delight."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Percy Shelley also wrote of the torment of the famous Jura storms in his poem "On the dark height of Jura":<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Ghosts
of the dead! I not heard your yelling</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rise
on the night-rolling breath of the blast,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
o'er the dark aether the tempest is swelling,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
on eddying whirlwind the thunder-peal passed?</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
oft have I stood on the dark height of Jura,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which
frowns on the valley that opens beneath;</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oft
have I braved the chill night-tempest's fury,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whilst
around me, I thought, echoed murmurs of death.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
now, whilst the winds of the mountain are howling,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">O
father! Thy voice seems to strike on mine ear;</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
air whilst the tide of the night-storm is rolling,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
breaks on the pause of the elements' jar.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
the wing of the whirlwind which roars o'er the mountain</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Perhaps
rides the ghost of my sire who is dead:</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
the mist of the tempest which hangs o'er the fountain,</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whilst
a wreath of dark vapour encircles his head."</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i>Heading downslope through the mist (and into a thunderstorm) </i></div>
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<i>"somewhere" southwest of Pryse.</i></div>
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Through a mixture of good planning, good navigation, and good luck, we found our way to the col, from where we turned right, north, downhill into the mist and into a long valley that ran parallel to the Grand Colombier ridgeline far above us to our right. (We should have found a yellow trail sign somewhere on the col pointing towards "Le Colombier", but it was lost somewhere in the white-out.) Similarly, downhill, ahead of us, we should have been able to see a dam and cattle trough as a landmark to head for, but both were completely hidden in the clouds. But then, quite incredibly and suddenly (and luckily), we walked right out of the clouds just above the dam and, soon found, behind it and the tough, the start of the forest trail that we'd been planning to find and follow.<br />
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Not long after, we came upon a wooden trail sign with yellow and black markings that point to la Source (in one direction), and Fivole (in the other). We headed downhill - towards Fivole - and followed the yellow trail signs down through the forest. Just to the left of us we could hear a mountain stream bubbling its way down the mountainside.<br />
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<i>Trail sign in the forest near "la Source".</i></div>
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The trail soon turned into a forest logging road - which we continued to follow downhill - whilst sticking to the yellow trail signs and heeding the "do not enter" off-roads (of which there were many, and marked with yellow crosses painted on tree trunks). Occasionally one of these "off-roads" led somewhere useful - such as a more direct route north back towards the col du Grand Colombier road - which we could have taken, but would have resulted in a long, boring walk down the sealed road to our starting point. So, we stuck with the forest trails - which were more uncertain, but more adventurous and scenic.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Montoux (1155m) en route to Fivole.</i></div>
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<i>On the track down through the forest west of Pierre Amion.</i></div>
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Eventually, we reached Fivole (975m), from where we carried-on in more or less a northwesterly direction - along the forest road. From here on, our route back to La Selle was mostly un-sign-posted, so we had to follow our instincts and the topographic map - to make sure we got back without too many false turns.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Fivole (975m).</i></div>
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Our "rule of thumb" was to keep heading northwest, to keep to the more used roads and tracks, and to skirt around the eastern side of a steep hilltop that we could see on the topographic map. Even though we were now below the cloud layer, nothing was very visible through the dense forest.</div>
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<i>The forest logging road heading northwest from Fivole.</i></div>
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Further downhill along the road we came to another trail junction - with trails heading off to Munet in one direction (west) and Virieu le Petit and Lochieu in the other (northwest). Nailed to a tree nearby was another distinctive white sign with red paint marking "Vierge de la Combe 20m". We headed down along the track towards Lochieu for a short while, then sensing we were headed in the wrong direction, doubled back. It seemed to be going downhill (while we needed to regaining altitude), and it seemed to be taking us to the left of the small peak that we needed to pass on its northern side (not to its south).<br />
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<i>The crossroads where we should have done a sharp turn uphill, to the right.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back towards Pierre Amion (on the horizon) and the last trail-sign, </i></div>
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<i>and the track off to the north that we should have followed at this point.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back at Pierre Amion on the Grand Colombier ridgeline.</i></div>
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We were now on a relatively steep, uphill trail, that alternated between being a two-wheeled forest logging road and a rough-and-tumble track. But mostly it was good-going, and easy walking. Once again, our key principle was to keep heading northwest, keep heading uphill, and keep to the more-used roads.<br />
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<i>The forest road north of the "Vierge de la Combe" intersection. </i></div>
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At one stage the road took us past a barn, and then a half-hidden homestead, before plunging back into the forest. We just kept moving - northwest, then north, then west, then northwest, then north, then ...<br />
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<i>The barn alongside the side of the road northwest of Fivole.</i></div>
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On one occasion, the trail split into three tracks, so we took the more worn option - on the left. On another occasion, we faced another bifurcation - and once again we took the road more traveled - this time on the right.<br />
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<i>Decisions, decisions: our trail splitting into three in the forest northwest of Fivole.</i></div>
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<i>Heading-up through the trees - just southeast below La Selle.</i></div>
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At around 5pm - six hours from whence we'd started - we finally broke-out of the forest just a few hundred metres southeast of La Selle - within direct eyesight of our parked car. After the uncertainty of the storm and white-out, and the ambiguous forest tracks, we were happy to be back at our destination. The storm had reminded us of the particular uncertainty of the Jura. We've often started our hikes in glorious sunshine, wearing t-shirts, sunglasses and sunburn cream ... only to find ourselves all wrapped-up in windcheaters and beanies and gloves sometime later in the day. We've frequently encountered all four seasons in one day hiking in the Jura. As the famous outdoorsman John Muir once said:<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"Climb
the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as
<b>sunshine</b> flows into trees. The <b>winds</b> will blow their own freshness into you,
and the <b>storms</b> their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the
leaves of <b>Autumn</b>". </span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span>We were also happy to have ticked-off the Jura's 35th highest peak - meaning we had now hiked to the top of the 50 highest named peaks in the Jura Mountains. I imagine we are probably the first people to ever have accomplished this feat - which I thought, at the time, was well and truly worth celebrating with a bottle of local pinot noir. And that's what we did.<br />
<br />
<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Le Grand Colombier (No. 35) 1531m</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-52769325997309600802014-07-30T21:55:00.002+02:002014-07-30T22:38:01.159+02:00Pierre de la Lune (No. 43) and les Avalanches (No. 44)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Flying the flag atop Pierre de la Lune.</i></div>
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<i>"The mountains are calling and I must go"</i> - John Muir.</div>
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We'd been saving the two southern<i> (</i>French) Jura peaks of Pierre de la Lune and les Avalanches for some time, as I'd figured they'd needed a nice, long, fine, mid-summer, sunny day ... and Sunday 27 July 2014 seemed like just the day. (Well at least it looked like that when we set-out from our home in St George.) <br />
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The sun was certainly shining brightly as we drove down towards the small French village of Feigères, which is nestled into the forest at the foot of the Jura escarpment just west of Geneva. With the sun shining, and the blue skies promising a perfect day, it seemed like ideal conditions for a hike, for views of the Alps, and maybe even a classic "Mer de Nuage" over Lac Leman. As it turned-out, we didn't get any of the above once we'd reached our destination at the top of the Jura's highest ridgeline.<br />
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We shouldered our day-packs, and left Feigères (667m) at about 9.30am, heading northwest out of town along the Chemin des Bocagnes. There are a couple of marked hiking routes leading out of the village, and we opted for the most northerly. It started-out as a two-wheel dirt track, which soon gave way to a leafy trail marked "Sentier des Chezerans" on the topographic map. The "Sentier" was once a major trans-Jura route between Feigères and Chezery-Forens, crossing over the ridgetop at the "Passage de Gralet".<br />
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<i>Heading out of Feigères along Chemin des Bocagnes.</i></div>
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The trail was marked with the usual red, and red-and-white striped trail markers - painted occasionally on trees or rocks alongside the trail. Even so, we managed to lose the trail a couple of times, but stayed pretty much on course thanks to our trusty GPS. After a bit of "bush-bashing" we got onto the trail proper, and began the steady ascent up the escarpment - heading first northwest, and then west towards the ridgeline.<br />
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<i>Alpine trail marker emblazoned on a beech tree.</i></div>
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<i>The trail through the forest just above Feigères.</i></div>
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The trail, which snaked through the predominantly beech forest, made for fabulous walking, being covered with leaf litter, and shaded from the hot mid-summer sun that shone in the blue skies above. However, it was by no means a "walk in the park" - as it more or less headed straight-up the steep slope - gaining 800 metres (vertical) in altitude in about 2.5 kilometres of horizontal distance - a gradient of about one-in-three. Needless to say, it had us puffing and perspiring, but still enjoying every step of the way. Along the way, we crossed over two forest roads - the most pronounced of which was just northeast of la Grand Combe (1055m).<br />
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<i>The forest road at 1055m.</i></div>
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At this point, we entered the Reserve Naturelle de la Haute Chaine du Jura - marked, as usual, by its familiar information panel outlining how best to protect this beautiful natural jewel. We stopped for awhile at the sign to catch our breath, and take a couple of photos, and then pressed-on for the second half of the ascent.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at the entrance to the Haute Chaine du Jura natrure reserve.</i></div>
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At around 1300 metres, the trail steepened (the contours on our topographic map almost fused into a solid brown line), and the one-step-along, one-step-up, mountain track had us appreciating our hiking poles like never before. Fortunately it was a gorgeous trail, so we hardly gave a thought to the steepness as we forged our way up the last kilometre or so of the mountainside. For some reason, both on our topo map and in the real world, the trail more or less petered-out - about two-or-three hundreds metres from the ridgeline, so we had to follow our noses - staying on the westerly compass-bearing - and keeping uphill towards the horizon.<br />
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Just short of the "Passage du Gralet", the terrain flattened-out and we emerged from the forest into a bushy patch of alpine pasture. It was thick with shrubs, grasses and all manner of herbaceous growth, that shed its collected rain and dew onto our boots and ankles.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the Passage du Gralet.</i></div>
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We soon reached the top of the ridge - the Balcon de Lac Leman - and found the familiar walking trail that runs along the top of this main Jura ridgeline - the Chemin de la Crêtes du Jura. At that point, we turned right, to the north-northeast and headed towards our first destination - the summit of Pierre de la Lune. Behind us was le Gralet mountain refuge (1430m), and the two un-named peaks (1461m and 1474m) just above. Le Gralet has been a landmark in this part of the Jura since the Middle Ages, renown as a mountain alpage with a reputation for quality on-site cheese-making.<br />
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<i>The le Gralet refuge just above the Passage du Gralet, </i><br />
<i>and its adjacent un-named peaks.</i></div>
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The weather at the top was a world away from the sunny conditions we'd enjoyed as we left Feigères. Now, the skies were clouded over, with just the occasional gap allowing the mountaintop to be lit-up by a burst of sunlight. As it so often does, the Jura was making its own weather, with a bank of cloud streaming-up from the escarpment and enveloping the mountain-top, even though we could see the surrounding valleys and the Geneva plain below us bathed in sunlight.<br />
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We headed north along the crest trail and - at about 11:30am - reached the first of the two twin-summits of Pierre de la Lune, at 1505 metres. We had great views to the south - towards the Grand Crêt d'Eau; to the west - into the Vallée de Valserine and across to the second Jura ridgeline; and to the north - towards the Jura's highest peaks, with Le Grotte de la Marie du Jura (<i>aka</i> la Marie du Jura and Crêt de la Grotte), Roche Franche and le Reculet standing-out on the horizon before us. With ominous clouds screaming-up the mountainside and "whiting-out" the landscape near le Reculet, we hastily took a few photos of the gorgeous views all around us.<br />
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<i>Looking south towards Grand Crêt d'Eau from Pierre de la Lune.</i></div>
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<i>The view down the Vallée de Valserine over Mentières and far beyond.</i></div>
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We dropped our packs, changed into dry shirts, and pulled-on windbreakers against the chilling wind that cut through the wintery air on top of the ridge. With a wall of cloud continuously surging up the slope, dissipating, and re-forming on the eastern side of the ridgeline, we sat down and faced to the west - soaking-up the beautiful views over the Valserine around the village of Chézery-Forens, and the mountain-tops around Crêt de Chalam - which we'd climbed on a memorable hike (in near-Arctic conditions) last winter.<br />
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<i>Our amazing picnic site on the Jura crest - with Le Grotte de la Marie du Jura, </i></div>
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<i>Roche Franche and le Reculet emerging from the wall-of-cloud in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Lunch-time view towards the Crêt de Chalam.</i></div>
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<i>Looking north at the Grotte de la Marie du Jura, </i></div>
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<i>and (in shadows in the mid-ground) the summit of les Avalanches.</i></div>
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<i>Sunshine fills the huge, rocky gouged hollow of Roche Franche.</i></div>
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We had a fabulous lunch, soaking-up the views and the occasional ray of sunshine that broke through the scudding clouds above and around us.<br />
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At around 12:30 we packed-up and headed a little further north along the ridge to the second summit of Pierre de la Lune (1506 metres) - where (as has become our custom), we had a nip from our hip-flask of French marc, and took a ceremonial "flying-the-flag" photo to commemorate the occasion. Pierre de la Lune, in the Rhône-Alpes gets its name from the distinctive white calcareous limestone rock of the Jura. Its name literally means "the stone of the moon", or "moonstone".<br />
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<i>At the top of Pierre de la Lune (1506m).</i></div>
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Sufficiently wind-chilled, we headed further north along the ridge towards our second summit of the day - les Avalanches. It was just a few hundred metres ahead of us, although it frequently disappeared from our view as we were sequentially shrouded in cloud, then bathed in sunshine, then plunged back into cloud again.<br />
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<i>Walking into a white-out upon leaving la Pierre de la Lune.</i></div>
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<i>Approaching les Avalanches, with Roche Franche in the far distance.</i></div>
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With a beautiful, easy trail before us, it didn't take long to reach the top of les Avalanches (1497m) with its imposing, towering cliff faces and rubble-strewn scree slope far below. Once again, we dropped our packs to wander around the summit and enjoy the views, before taking more celebratory photos to record being on the 60th Jura peak that we'd stood atop since beginning this little <i>Jura Mountain Rambling </i>project two years ago. (Pierre de la Lune and les Avalanches are actually ranked numbers 43 and 44 respectively on our list of highest named Jura peaks).<br />
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<i>The summit of les Avalanches (at right) with Roche Franche in the distance.</i></div>
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<i>Enjoying the views north from les Avalanches.</i></div>
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<i>Roche Franche and La Grotte from les Avalanches.</i></div>
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<i>Standing atop les Avalanches (1497m).</i></div>
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After soaking-up the amazing views to our heart's content, we dropped-down the north side of the peak to begin our return journey back to Feigères. The trail hugged the cliff-tops, so we stopped from time-to-time to turn around and check-out the rugged landscape one last time before we had to leave the crest and head downhill.<br />
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<i>Looking back at the western cliffs of les Avalanches.</i></div>
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Standing on top of this highest Jura ridgeline - that disappeared into the distance to the southwest in one direction, and to the northeast in the other - and then seeing the same, near-impenetrable barrier replicated by the second ridgeline to our west, it wasn't hard to see why the long Valserine Vallée that stretched-out between the two ridgelines had been of such strategic importance to commerce and trade, and transit and defence in centuries past. Once called "the Spanish Road" - as it had actually been under the control of the King of Spain in the 16th century, linking lands he controlled in Franche-Comté to others in Italy - it was frequently filled with columns of Spanish soldiers marching up and down the valley. At different times it has been of great strategic importance to the Kings of France, the French resistance (during WW2), columns of Roman legionnaires (following Caesar into Gaul), and, more recently, tradesmen, farmers and foresters with their fare of cheese, grapes and wine, clocks and timber.<br />
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<i>A last glimpse into the Vallée de Valserine below Crêt de Chalam (far right).</i></div>
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Only a couple of hundred metres beyond les Avalanches, we left the ridge trail and (turning right, cross-country) headed east down the mountainside - towards an alpine farmhouse called "la Capitaine". A trail didn't really exist until we'd reached the farmhouse, beyond which we (at first) followed a two-wheeled forest track that led down towards Tiocan (the start-off point for hiking to the top of le Reculet and Crêt de la Neige).<br />
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<i>Heading down the forest trail from la Capitaine.</i></div>
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After a couple of zigs and zags, we left the road and picked-up a walking trail (marked "les Bas Monts" on the topo map) that headed southest down through the forest towards the village of St-Jean-de-Gonville (the nearest village to the north of Feigères). Like the trail we'd taken up the mountain earlier in the day, this was a gorgeous, leaf-littered, shady trail through the forest, past fallen logs, rocky outcrops, mossy groves and all manner of enchanted nooks and crannies.<br />
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<i>A moss-covered fallen log on les Bas Monts walking trail.</i></div>
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We followed this trail until it intersected the highest of the two forest roads that we'd cut across on our way up the mountainside earlier in the day. We turned right (southwest) onto the road, and followed it until we reached our morning walking trail - the Sentier des Chèzerans at a waypoint marked 1055m on the map.<br />
There, we turned left onto the track and headed east, then southeast, down through the leafy beech forest. Once again, the trail was just lovely, and a hell of a lot easier than what it had been on the way up in the morning.<br />
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<i>The Sentier des Chezerans through the forest above Feigères.</i></div>
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Less than two hours after we'd left the summit (at about 3pm), we arrived back in Feigères - about five and a half hours from when we'd set-out that morning. Although we'd got none of the weather we'd been expecting, or none of the views we'd been hoping for (over Geneva towards Mont Blanc and the Alps), it had been a magnificent hike. As mentioned earlier, les Avalanches was our 60th Jura peak - a milestone which we though would be worth celebrating as we climbed into our car and began thinking about getting in to a hot bath, with glass of red wine, once we were back at our home in St George. Life doesn't get much better than that.<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Pierre de la Lune (No. 43) 1506m</li>
<li>Les Avalanches (No. 44) 1497m</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-31112903804154283922014-07-06T15:34:00.000+02:002014-07-06T18:13:59.474+02:00Roches Blanches (No 52) and Crêt de la Neige (No 51)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i> Checking-out Roches Blanches (at left) and Crêt de la Neige (right) from the summit of Mont de la Maya in October 2012.</i></div>
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It's been a long time between summits this year, but we finally got around to hiking to the top of a couple of new Jura peaks this weekend - Roches Blanches (No. 52) and Crêt de la Neige (No 51).<br />
Both peaks are located on the second ridgeline behind Le Chasseron, near Ste-Croix - which is about 75 minutes drive north of our home in St George. We headed-up there via Lausanne and Ste-Croix on Saturday, 5 July 2014, and parked the car at the base of the ski lift in Buttes (770m). The drive up and over the main (eastern) Jura ridgeline was as lovely as ever, and it got even better once we'd passed through Ste-Croix and entered the Vallon de Noirvaux and some beautiful precipitous gorge country at the headwaters of Le Butte river. We slowed-down to enjoy the views, and to watch a couple of chamoix that sauntered along near the side of the road at one point.<br />
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Buttes is a very picturesque, old village in the District of Val-de-Travers, in the Canton of Neuchâtel. The word "Buttes" comes from the French word "butte" meaning "a small elevation". The first records of the village had it down as "Boutes" (1342), which, if derived from "bout", referred to its location on "the extremity of a territory" - perhaps alluding to it being so close to the Swiss-French border, as well as the border between the cantons of Vaud and Neuchâtel.<br />
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<i>The village of Buttes basking in the sun </i><br />
<i>below the Montagne de Buttes ridgeline.</i></div>
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We parked right alongside the "Auberge des Fées" (Hotel of the fairies), and shouldered our packs before heading-up the Jura ridgeline that loomed-up on the southern side of the valley.<br />
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We stayed around for a few minutes to check-out the impressive-looking information board, which showed all of the winter ski-lifts and pistes, as well as the summer hiking routes, and mountain-biking and VTT "mountain-scooter" trails. We hadn't been completely sure of what route we'd take up the mountain until now, but, after checking-out the map, decided to follow the well-marked "green" trail that led all the way to Le Chasseron (1607m, No. 14 on the list of highest named peaks in the Jura). <br />
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<i>Information board in Buttes. The cutting through the forest in the ridgeline above marks the location of the ski-lift to La Robella. It runs all-year-round.</i></div>
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At around 10:30am, in beautiful sunshine, we headed-up the road south of town, found the start of the off-road trail (just west of the La Plata homestead), and began zig-zagging our way up the mountainside.<br />
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<i>Heading out of Buttes.</i></div>
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The trail wound its way through a beautiful tall mixed forest (mainly beech and fir) called the Bois de Ban. Mostly it was easy going, with thick, spongy masses of soft, cushioning leaf-litter underfoot. In some places, especially as we skirted around the western side of Crêt Rond (989m), it got quite steep and rocky, but still a gorgeous trail.<br />
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<i>A section of the trail through the Bois de Ban.</i></div>
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From time to time, the trail intersected with the VTT "mountain scooter" trail - a specially made course for kamikaze trail riders who like the idea of charging down the mountainside on one of those fat-wheeled scooters. There were jumps and all sorts of obstacles and features built into the course (as well as lots of netting and giant cushions strapped to trees to keep life and limb together).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwszf0HYW_ObkJJXLaWLJDFdrLE4yGv4fhIuYfzRQ0ORK-DojMaGfSf_33Qj2pmmz5lvBc3zMuYlYPY2AWvROaC-JIdF7Dh4lFVka0vt3m4_NQG219zcBy9-pOU7zBodDLliyDcf18Xg/s1600/DSCN7231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwszf0HYW_ObkJJXLaWLJDFdrLE4yGv4fhIuYfzRQ0ORK-DojMaGfSf_33Qj2pmmz5lvBc3zMuYlYPY2AWvROaC-JIdF7Dh4lFVka0vt3m4_NQG219zcBy9-pOU7zBodDLliyDcf18Xg/s1600/DSCN7231.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Sign post warning trekkers about possibly meeting downhill-racing mountain elves (on scooters) at Plan des Auges (1040m).</i></div>
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For a few sections of the trail above Plan des Augues (1040m), the pedestrian and mountain-bike trails ran side-by-side, or sometimes even shared the same stretch of forest track. It paid to keep your eyes open, and wits about you. However, although the ski-lift at Buttes was operating - to take scooter dare-devils to the top of the run - at La Robella - we didn't meet anyone else on the trail. We had the entire mountain-side to ourselves, and that was an absolute treat. It was glorious. Appropriately, for such an enchanted forest, we came across a "Fontaine des Fées" (fairies' fountain), from which we took a drink, but at which we saw no fairies. However, the forest and trail was just gorgeous, so it wouldn't have surprised us if there were lots of fairies and elves in there.<br />
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<i>Lis getting a drink from the Fontaine des Fées.</i></div>
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We finally emerged out of the forest, just after the trail had rejoined the road between Buttes and La Robella ... which in fact continued up and over the mountain - to Bullet on the southeast side of the ridgeline. Coinciding with us leaving the Bois de Ban it began to drizzle with light rain, so we sheltered for awhile under a tree and ate a snack bar. Once it became obvious that the rain wasn't going to let-up, we headed back out onto the trail and continued our journey.<br />
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Before long we approached La Robella (marked Petite Robella on the topo map) - which is both a farmhouse and a restaurant, and the staging-post for the top of the Buttes ski-lift. Despite the (now) gloomy weather and grey skies, La Robella was a burst of bright colour - thanks to hundreds of all-shades-of-red geraniums that were growing in pot-plant boxes that adorned the building.<br />
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<i>Passing by La Robella farmhouse-restaurant.</i></div>
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We stopped just long enough to admire the hanging gardens, and to take a few photos, and to check-out an information panel about the famous writer, philosopher, musician and botanist Jean-Jacques Rousseau - who visited La Robella in 1765. (I previously wrote a bit more about Rousseau in the blog that I posted after climbing Le Chasseron in October 2012. You can read it <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/10/le-chasseron-no-14.html">here</a> if you're interested.)</div>
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Upon leaving La Robella we decided to leave the marked trail and instead headed straight up the hillside due south of the homestead. This proved to be a (very steep) short-cut, and, in about half-a-kilometre we rejoined the walking trail - which ran alongside an old dry-stone wall that ran up and along the ridgeline. The wall also marks the boundary between the cantons of Vaud and Neuchâtel.</div>
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<i>Heading up the steep slope just south of La Robella. The famous Swiss watch-making town of Fleurier lies far in the distance in the valley below.</i></div>
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We followed the trail along the spur until it reached a gap in the wall - at the point on the topographic map marked 1438.2 (there are a couple of small huts there) - at which point we crossed over the ridgeline and headed down into the small valley immediately to the south. There we came across a trail sign-post marking "Crêt de la Neige 1425". <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9rLYpeBLmTF3vpDGtZobRmoL3t2jl6UrvZe_ROZGfRs3n4P72gFaKt5qbxbV5zPOICwRjDE2tkRhZ5LW9vwIj00GABLLbVDqCNiVnigiSpBksJdrkmRyGBodYXYngHHVImdaeaATZA/s1600/DSCN7247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9rLYpeBLmTF3vpDGtZobRmoL3t2jl6UrvZe_ROZGfRs3n4P72gFaKt5qbxbV5zPOICwRjDE2tkRhZ5LW9vwIj00GABLLbVDqCNiVnigiSpBksJdrkmRyGBodYXYngHHVImdaeaATZA/s1600/DSCN7247.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Signpost at "Cret de la Neige 1425".</i></div>
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It obviously wasn't the crêt (being in a valley floor), but we could see
the real crêt rising-up before us - just a little further to the south. We headed off
more-or-less along the hard-to-distinguish trail towards Le Chasseron,
which became a bit more apparent once we reached the ridgeline - at
which point we turned southwest (off the trail) and made our way up the
spur. About 300 metres further up the ridge we reached the highest point of Crêt de la Neige - 1472 metres - our first summit and destination for the day. It was now about 12.30pm (about two hours from when we'd left Buttes).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbOtkQjKZBJEqx-CZCtR-q3xGYcHPfEdhLYsgXFftTVsKeYsIk6Vff1S-Vw7rGIMQ_UC8Av1XWxMGvI0dqEVyNd7y6j6P0zE8IAH29RnNWludf0Uyod9GTJOHGRFI04Ay0pPGpbW1Cg/s1600/DSCN7256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbOtkQjKZBJEqx-CZCtR-q3xGYcHPfEdhLYsgXFftTVsKeYsIk6Vff1S-Vw7rGIMQ_UC8Av1XWxMGvI0dqEVyNd7y6j6P0zE8IAH29RnNWludf0Uyod9GTJOHGRFI04Ay0pPGpbW1Cg/s1600/DSCN7256.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Lis at the top of Crêt de la Neige.</i></div>
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There was nothing of any note to distinguish the summit, and no signs of anyone ever having been up there. It's obviously an "off the beaten track" Jura summit, and probably relatively little known and climbed. I'm not sure why it's called Crêt de la Neige, but guess it's much the same as the other Crêt de la Neige - the highest peak in the Jura (1720m), way down south in the French Jura, overlooking Geneva: That is, because snow hangs around on the sheltered slopes long after it has disappeared from all of the neighbouring peaks and surrounding landscapes in spring. Needless to say, there was no snow anywhere in sight today. Just some scudding clouds and drizzling rain. So we stayed just long enough to take a celebratory photograph, and peer through the clouds to catch glimpses of Le Chasseron, then we searched around for a dry spot under a tree to have our lunch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc7WBedmySQhfwlg1eO_uHI9STSutiebXc33uPGOxD5EEcGheVjoG7WIu0I9bcuMMqrXq6_TwG93LU5_DFVYIoRI20W8-StUGz6xucX1QDWHCBuXWbrynLQKenstSJcINkct0pouwFw/s1600/DSCN7250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc7WBedmySQhfwlg1eO_uHI9STSutiebXc33uPGOxD5EEcGheVjoG7WIu0I9bcuMMqrXq6_TwG93LU5_DFVYIoRI20W8-StUGz6xucX1QDWHCBuXWbrynLQKenstSJcINkct0pouwFw/s1600/DSCN7250.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Atop Crêt de la Neige (1472 metres).</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowgpRbIuFrvQVgaitwW85ziqnBgbXnwNSs4lwFstGY7ysKlAYTWhRCzx_Yh1J5kY3HczAt-pqVQ6jXbe8_fkkyLhmlSxyVx-JlV8hBgOTEJt0pL0wQlBMGAzMZ09gyFDWpcYzS6Bljg/s1600/DSCN7258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowgpRbIuFrvQVgaitwW85ziqnBgbXnwNSs4lwFstGY7ysKlAYTWhRCzx_Yh1J5kY3HczAt-pqVQ6jXbe8_fkkyLhmlSxyVx-JlV8hBgOTEJt0pL0wQlBMGAzMZ09gyFDWpcYzS6Bljg/s1600/DSCN7258.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Le Chasseron (1607m) and Petites Roches (1583)m) from Crêt de la Neige.</i></div>
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After lunch (which we enjoyed out of the rain - under the shelter of a huge old fir tree), we shouldered our packs (at about 1pm) and retraced our steps back down the ridgeline, and into the swale where the 1425m signpost stood. We stopped there just long enough to get our bearings for our next destination - the summit of Roches Blanches - which we could see about one and half kilometres off to our southwest. Down the valley, not only could we see Roches Blanches, but also the peaks of about six other Jura peaks that we've climbed on previous Jura Mountain rambles: Le Chasseron, Petites Roches, Aiguilles de Baulmes, Dent de Vaulion, Mont de la Maya and Mont d'Or.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXlkcN7myowTpcVigb8EcZHwRHzubM7Zq0Orkdek3PK-h0MRREO0XIVjhbrGpylTjdfzZhYZdhLejt-_TFZOSXWLlVGurp4_bJclLjbBle3dmkjxU2cLg8Ocn3VhfwVZAPqPvvULR7w/s1600/DSCN7261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXlkcN7myowTpcVigb8EcZHwRHzubM7Zq0Orkdek3PK-h0MRREO0XIVjhbrGpylTjdfzZhYZdhLejt-_TFZOSXWLlVGurp4_bJclLjbBle3dmkjxU2cLg8Ocn3VhfwVZAPqPvvULR7w/s1600/DSCN7261.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Looking southwest from Crêt de la Neige, with Le Chasseron, Petites Roches, Aiguilles de Baulmes, Dent de Vaulion, Mont de la Maya, Mont d'Or and Roches Blanches on the horizon.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCAlRRNUry7HJyJL__RfsKWDEJX1ALMoZRNpMVE6mj9eqhrcvB23vXW7WsWR5ebACsUHb8uUo17AWsQ8qv7sWSZSiKojx15H9zkH49DUGB3Z49De-H1Yt3jDGy4LJdLYgJTXzFZ0YEA/s1600/DSCN7262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCAlRRNUry7HJyJL__RfsKWDEJX1ALMoZRNpMVE6mj9eqhrcvB23vXW7WsWR5ebACsUHb8uUo17AWsQ8qv7sWSZSiKojx15H9zkH49DUGB3Z49De-H1Yt3jDGy4LJdLYgJTXzFZ0YEA/s1600/DSCN7262.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Mont de la Maya and Roches Blanches from the Crêt de la Neige signpost at 1425m.</i></div>
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We headed back up to the canton boundary ridgeline (that we'd passed over an hour or so before), and picked-up a small trail that headed uphill - southwest along the top of the ridge. We soon came across an old stone marker - dated 1719 - with the emblems of Vaud on one side and Neuchâtel on the other. In all we saw about three or four of these along the trail.<br />
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<i>Lis at one of the old stone canton boundary markers, with the Crêt de la Neige ridgeline in the background.</i></div>
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We stopped at the first of these and took some photos, and soaked-up the beautiful views down the valley towards Le Chasseron and the other diminishing peaks of the southern Jura.<br />
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<i>The view towards Le Chasseron - with the Chalet des Roches Eboulées (middle-ground at left) and La Deneraix Dessus (right) farmhouses in the valley of La Dénériaz below.</i></div>
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<i>Mont de la Maya and the cliffs of Roches Blanches.</i></div>
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The trail wound its way through a beautiful forest - with steep cliffs and drop-offs on both sides. Despite the weather, and the dense forest, from time to time we got some great views of the surrounding peaks. The trail was pure wilderness, with plenty of obstacles in the form of fallen logs and rocky ridges to negotiate. We came across a trail sign advising us that we were now in the Roches Blanches nature reserve, with a suite of conditions to help protect the place.<br />
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<i>The Roches Blanches nature reserve sign.</i></div>
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Although less than two kilometres in distance, this ridgetop walk still took some time - partly because it was uneven ground, and partly because it was such a beautiful place to be hiking, which meant we stopped a lot, to take lots of photos.<br />
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<i>An old 1719 canton border stone.</i></div>
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<i>Moss-covered rocks near the top of Roches Blanches.</i></div>
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<i>Mid-summer meant there were lots of beautiful flowers along the trail.</i></div>
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Eventually we arrived at the highest point of Roches Blanches - 1470 metres - which was marked by another, more substantial, canton boundary marker stone. We dropped our backpacks, and pulled out a hip-flask of marc for a celebratory drink. It was now about 2pm.<br />
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<i>The highest point of Roches Blanches - 1470m.</i></div>
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As always, and has become our custom for these rambles, we took a few celebratory, commemorative photos flying the Swiss flag, and then wandered around for awhile to soak-up the atmosphere and enjoy the views.<br />
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<i>Enjoying a nip of marc at Roches Blanches.</i></div>
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<i>Flying the flag at Roches Blanches - number 52 on the list of highest named Jura peaks.</i></div>
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<i>Checking-out the views from Roches Blanches towards the southeast.</i></div>
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<i>The cliffs and summit of Le Chasseron across the valley.</i></div>
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Roches Blanches is a popular destination for rock climbers ... but we didn't encounter anyone at all today. All we heard were the sounds of songbirds. And the only other beings we came across were huge snails and slugs. No chamois, no lynx, in fact nothing much of any note except some beautiful butterflies.<br />
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<i> That's where we were - atop the cliffs of Roches Blanches </i><br />
<i>(taken from Petites Roches in October 2012).</i></div>
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After about half an hour, we re-hoisted our backpacks, and headed back down the trail - retracing the same route that we'd followed on the way up. It wound its way along the ridgetop, and through the leafy green forest back towards La Robella.<br />
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<i>Heading back down through the forest.</i></div>
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<i>Snowshoe trail sign on a tree near Roches Blanches </i><br />
<i>pointing towards Crêt de la Neige.</i></div>
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We stopped from time to time to admire the views, and to take a few more photos. It really is a beautiful part of the Jura and well worth the trek up here.<br />
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<i>One last look down the valley to the southwest </i><br />
<i>before leaving the Roches Blanches ridgetop.</i></div>
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With the weather improving, and bursts of sunlight even brightening up the day, we headed back down the mountain towards La Robella and Buttes. It was an easy walk, through the same beautiful forests and flower-filled alpine pastures, and we soon dropped back down the 700 metres of altitude that we'd gained on the way up earlier in the day.<br />
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<i>Wildflowers near the trail at Brama-Fam near La Robella.</i></div>
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The return trip was just as enjoyable as it had been on the way up, and we were soon back in the car-park at Buttes - arriving there at about 4pm - five and a half hours after we'd set-out this morning. The two peaks bagged today were our 57th and 58th of the Jura's highest peaks - leaving just 10 peaks unclimbed on our Jura Mountain Rambling list. Stay tuned.<br />
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<b>Jura Peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Crêt de la Neige (No 51) 1472m</li>
<li>Roches Blanches (No 52) 1470m</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-57313367268355781992014-03-13T22:20:00.002+01:002014-07-27T19:59:15.453+02:00La Cornette (No 47) & L'Egasse (No 56)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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La Cornette and L'Egasse are two relatively little known peaks in the Jura Mountains, frequently bypassed by hikers looking to climb their higher, more prominent and more popular neighbour - Chasseral (ranked number 13 in the Jura - at 1607 metres). Despite being overshadowed by Chasseral, they're still legitimately on the list of the highest named Jura peaks - at number 47 and 56 respectively, so were there to be climbed one sunny day. And a sunny day it was on Sunday 9 March, 2014, when we set out to "bag" these two peaks.<br />
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Quite surprisingly, this is the first Jura summit hike that we've logged for 2014, mainly because we've been hiking elsewhere these past three months, have been traveling further afield, or have been restricted by the many weekends of less-than-favourable weather that typified the winter of 2013-14. If I'm going out to bag a Jura Mountain peak these days, the weather has got to be as ideal as possible. (Enough of the grey weather photos, I say).<br />
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And such was the case (i.e., sunny weather) last Sunday, when we drove about an hour and a half north of our home in St George, past Neuchâtel and Lac Neuchâtel, and back up into the Jura foothills to a small village called Nods (885m) from where we intended to start our hike. We drove straight through the town and found the road that headed-up to the Col du Chasseral, but stopped just on the outskirts of the village - in a car-park - from where we commenced our hike. We left the car-park at about 10:30am and, in glorious sunshine, began making our way up the forested slopes just north of the village.<br />
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<i>Trail interpretation panel on outskirts of Nods.</i></div>
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With our snowshoes strapped to our backpacks, we "skipped" our way along the paved road that leads towards the Col - which is about five or six kilometres further up the mountain. But after just 500 metres along the road we came across a boom-gate that blocked further vehicular access - a regular winter seasonal closure due to the heavy mantle of snow that blanketed the upper slopes of the range at that time of the year. <br />
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<i>The barrier gate on the road to the Col du Chasseral.</i></div>
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We negotiated our way around the gate, and then continued along the road atop the well-trampled-down snow. We were still in just our hiking boots. About a further 500 metres along the road, we crossed-over the main ski piste that comes down the mountainside from Hotel Chasseral to Nods, and soon after that turned right - onto a well-marked snowshoe trail (that followed the same route as the main summer walking trail up the mountain). It was a great trail, which led us through a beautiful patch of (predominantly spruce) forest. As one would expect, we were in high spirits as we began gaining altitude up towards the top of the main Jura ridgeline. We had about 600 metres of vertical altitude to gain to reach the crest, and about three kilometres of horizontal trail.<br />
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<i>On the gorgeous snowshoe trail through the forest.</i></div>
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<i>Sunlight filtering through the forest near Le Brulé.</i></div>
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For the most part, it was a relatively easy, gentle gradient, and well packed-down by previous walkers and snow-shoers. But after about a kilometre, we began to sink deeper into the snow and each step became progressively more difficult, so we stopped and pulled-on our snow shoes, after which we continued with much greater ease and assurance.<br />
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<i>Heading-up through the forest near Les Cordonniers.</i></div>
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The snow shoes really became beneficial once we emerged from the forest again - at the upper tree line (at about 1400 metres) - where the snow was fresher, and deeper, and the gradient quite steep. Off to our right we got our first glimpses of the huge (120 metre high), red-and-white striped, communications tower that stands at the top of Chasseral (or Gestler - as the mountain used to be called under its German name) - which is the highest peak in the Bernese Jura. We'd first summited Chasseral back in September 2012 and, if you're interested, you can read the account of that hike <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/09/chasseral-13.html">here</a>. Ahead of us, on the horizon, we could see our first destination for today - the semi-snow-covered Hotel Chasseral. I have a fondness for Chasseral for a number of reasons, one of which is that it was the setting for Hermann Hesse's famous 1907 short story "The Wolf". It's a sad tale, but well worth reading.<br />
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<i>Lis standing above a half-buried trail marker just below Chasseral.</i></div>
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<i> The distinctive "barber's pole" communications tower atop Chasseral. </i></div>
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<i>It was erected in 2010, on a site that has had a telecommunications station </i></div>
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<i>since June 1945.</i></div>
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The only landmark across the open ground (the "Paturage de Chasseral) below the Chasseral ridgeline was the half-buried (and completely closed) Métairie Neuf Chalet - which is marked Mét. de Nods on the topographic map. (A métairie is an alpine farmhouse / tavern, where the owners provide seasonal meals to travelers - including home-made cheese - usually served in a traditional fondue.) <br />
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<i>Sign outside the Métairie Neuf Chalet (or Nods?)</i>.</div>
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We stopped just long enough to take a photo, then pushed-on up the last stage of the ascent to the Hotel Chasseral. Once this landscape thaws-out (in spring), it's possible to drive (or catch a bus) all the way up to the hotel, so it's a popular day-trip destination throughout the summer months. But now, with a healthy blanket of snow over the whole mountain-top, the only visitors are those who are prepared to walk, snowshoe or ski all the way to the top of the ridge.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the last ascent towards the Hotel Chasseral.</i></div>
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We got there at about mid-day, about an hour-and-a-half after we'd left Nods, and immediately flopped-down on one of the huge rocks that lined the southern edge of the ridge. At 1548 metres, it marked an altitude gain of about 600 metres from where we'd left the car in Nods. It looked like an ideal spot to enjoy our lunch, so we dropped our packs, took out our food, and munched away while we gazed-out over the plateau towards the distant, hazy Alps.<br />
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<i>Lunch-stop on the rocks near Hotel Chasseral. It was first built in 1880, although rebuilt in 1925 when the original was destroyed by fire.</i></div>
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Although blessed with beautiful sunny, and intensely blue, skies above us, the views back down the mountainside and across the plateau to the Alps was somewhat less-than-perfect - being mostly obscured by a cloudy haze that filled the wide chasm between the two mountain chains. Through the haze, we could only just see the near side of the Lac de Biene below us, and we couldn't make-out the city of Biel/Bienne at the northeastern end of the lake at all. Similarly, we couldn't see much of the Alps - other than a thin profile of just the tops of the very highest peaks. No matter, the views around us - of the Jura - were magnificent. We had a great 360 degree panorama - that included Chasseral (to the northeast) and Chasseral Ouest (to the southwest). As mentioned previously, we'd been up this way back in 2012 - when we "ticked-off" five peaks - Chasseral, Petit Chasseral, Chasseral Ouest, Les Roches and La Corne - all in a single day's hike.<br />
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<i>Trail signage at Hotel Chasseral.</i></div>
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After lunch (standard trail fare of cheese and home-made chutney sandwiches, hot tea, and fruit ... we had to ignore the alluring smells emanating from the Hotel's kitchen and dining room), we wandered around the ridge to check-out the signage, the views, and our next destination way-point.<br />
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<i>We are there (at the red dot) - Hotel Chasseral.</i></div>
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Off to our northeast was the summit of Chasseral (1607m) and, to the north, Petit Chasseral (1571m) and the main Jura ridgeline.<br />
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<i>Checking-out the views from the top of the Chasseral ridgeline.</i></div>
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To the southwest, the ridge was dominated by Chasseral Ouest (1552m) and further afield, the peaks of the southern Jura.<br />
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<i>Looking southwest with Chasseral Ouest at left, and our trail down in the foreground.</i></div>
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To the north, less than a kilometre away, lay the second Jura ridgeline, on which were the two peaks that we were intending to climb today - La Cornette and L'Egasse. Just to their right (to the east) was the valley and gorge of Combe Grède - which we fondly remember as being the scene of one of best walks we'd ever had in the Jura (en route to the top of Chasseral in September 2012).<br />
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<i>Looking northwest - with our destination peaks - La Cornette and L'Egasse </i></div>
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<i>across the valley above the half-buried Métairie de St-Jean.</i></div>
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We stood there for quite awhile - watching paragliders fill their kites and leap-off the mountain-top before gliding their way over the range and down through the Combe Grède gorge towards St-Imier on the far side of the main ridgeline.<br />
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<i>A paraglider passes L'Egasse on their way down through the Combe Grède.</i></div>
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Sometime around 1pm, we left the ridge-top in the vicinity of the hotel and headed down the steep slope on the northern side of the ridge - clinging precariously to the thin trail that snowshoers and skiers had carved into the heavily compacted snow. At times it was quite icy, and thus very slippery, so required a bit more attention than what we'd had to apply thus far on our walk. Of course, that also made it all the more exciting.<br />
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<i>Heading down the north slope below Chasseral Ouest.</i></div>
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Once down in the valley floor (the lowest point of which is about 1389m), we cut a new trail due west across the snow, passing by the (winter-abandoned) Métairie de St-Jean and some signage reminding us that we were now deep in the Réserve Naturelle de la Combe Boisse (established in December 1976).<br />
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<i>Trail sign reminding us that we were in the Réserve Naturelle de la Combe Boisse.</i></div>
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From there we headed up the next ridgeline - on a route that more or less followed the border-line between the Canton of Biel/Bienne (to the north) and Canton of Neuchâtel (to the south). Occasionally we were passed by skiers - mostly hardy-looking athletes geared-up for hard-core back-country adventuring. We were tortoises by comparison to their downhill plummets, but kept a similar pace going uphill.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the slope towards the La Cornette ridgeline.</i></div>
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Once at the top of the ridge, in a small col, we stopped just long enough to catch our breath, and take a few photos of lichen-encrusted, weather-beaten reserve signs, then turned northeast along the ridge - towards the summit of La Cornette.<br />
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<i>Ancient sign in the Reserve de la Combe Boisse. Hunting prohibited.</i></div>
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<i>Looking northeast up the ridgeline of La Cornette.</i></div>
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Along the way we passed another protected area marker - this time for the Combe Grède Nature Reserve (1,202 hectares, established in May, 1932). This bright, new, blue sign stood atop a couple of very old, weather-beaten stone markers whose purpose I wasn't exactly sure. However they looked like they were marking a boundary of some sort, perhaps between the St Imier (or Villeret) and Nods communes, or something like that.<br />
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<i>Reserve sign atop old stone markers - perhaps the border between</i></div>
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<i> the cantons of Bern (ahead) and Neuchatel (behind), or the communes of St Imier (or Villeret) and Nods.</i></div>
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It didn't take us long to reach the very top of the ridge - the summit of La Cornette (1494 metres) - which is actually a twin-peak mountain-top, with a mountain refuge hut nestled between them.<br />
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<i>The mountain refuge at La Cornette.</i></div>
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Cornette means "rocky point, or peak", and comes from the Latin word <i>cornua</i> - which means a horn, or summit, or high point of land. La Cornette is in the commune of Villeret, in the district of Courtelary, canton of Bern/Bielle.<br />
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<i>Sign above the door of the La Cornette hut: 1492m.</i></div>
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We dropped our backpacks and wandered around for awhile, before snapping-off the customary, ceremonial, flag-waving shot, and savouring the views from yet another Jura peak. It provided excellent views back over towards Chasseral and other smaller peaks of the main ridgeline.<br />
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<i>Customary ceremonial flag waving shot at the summit of La Cornette.</i></div>
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Just to be sure, we took photos on both of the peaks, then took a swig of water and munched our way through a tasty fruit-and-nut bar.<br />
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<i>More flag waving at the second La Cornette peak.</i></div>
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Our next destination - the top of L'Egasse - was only a few hundred metres away to the north. But first we had to drop down off La Cornette, cut across a small, barren col, and then follow the ridgeline further northeast to the summit. We carved a path down the steep, forested slope, through the deep powdery snow, and were soon out on the col. And, almost before we knew it, we were standing at the top of L'Egasse (1460 metres). This isn't much of a mountain by most Swiss standards, but it's got one of the best names. It's derived from the local name for the magpie.<br />
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<i>Photo from the Chasseral ridge showing the proximity of L'Egasse (right) to La Cornette (left).</i></div>
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Once again, we snapped off a couple of photos to mark the occasion. Interestingly enough, L'Egasse is number 56 on the list of the highest named Jura peaks ... and was also the 57th Jura peak that we'd summited since we started our Jura Mountain Rambling project at the beginning of 2012. That's very cool.<br />
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<i>Atop L'Egasse (1460 metres).</i></div>
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Being surrounded by trees, there's not much of a view from the summit (and not surprisingly there were no signs of anyone else having been up there), so we didn't stay long. Instead we retraced our steps back down the ridge - from where we got much better views - especially into the valley of St-Imier in the middle distance and the next Jura ridgeline and its army of wind turbines (19) that stood guard along the Franches Mountains ridge. Hidden from us, through the trees not far below, was the Métairie de l'Egasse - which is a popular refreshment point when it's open - between June and October every year (but not on Thursdays).<br />
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<i>Looking northwest from L'Egasse with wind turbines on the horizon on the next Jura ridge and the Jura ridgelines fading away in the distance in France.</i></div>
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From L'Egasse we retraced our steps back to the small col, from where skirted around the eastern slopes of La Cornette on a steep traverse that took us back down into the Mét. de St-Jean valley. It was a slippery slope in places, which kept us "on our toes" so to speak.<br />
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<i>Heading back down the mountain below La Cornette.</i></div>
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Along the way we had some great views down into the surrounding valleys and adjacent hilltops - so we frequently stopped to enjoy the scenery, and take photographs.<br />
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<i>View to the northeast - up the valley west of Petit Chasseral (which is just out-of-sight on the right).</i></div>
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Having dropped right back down to the valley floor, we then headed back-up the opposite, steep slope below Chasseral and the top of the main ridgeline - which we'd left just an hour or two earlier. Once again, it was slippery going at times, but a lot of fun. Fortunately, neither of us took a tumble, however our legs were aching by the time we got back up to the top.<br />
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<i>The last ascent - up the main Chasseral ridgeline again.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back over the Métairie de St-Jean, with the Combe Grède gorge behind.</i></div>
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Once back on the ridge, we made a bee-line for the Hotel Chasseral, where we dropped our snowshoes at the door and headed inside for a drink and snack. We reckoned we'd deserved it.<br />
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<i>Dropping the snowshoes outside Hotel Chasseral.</i></div>
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About half an hour later, we emerged from the hotel, pulled our snowshoes back on, and got ready to head back down the mountainside to Nods. But first we checked-out the big panorama interpretation table (the Panorama de Chasseral) - which identified all of the distant Alps' peaks that we should have been able to better make-out through the haze. The table has been there for quite some time - erected by members of the Chasseral branch of the Club Alpin Suisse (CAS).<br />
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<i>The panorama interpretation table near Hotel Chasseral - </i><br />
<i>and the distant Alps above the cloudy haze.</i></div>
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We could make-out quite a few of the peaks which jutted-out above the haze, whilst below us lay Nods ... and 600 metres of steep, knee-pounding descent. According to other accounts one can usually see (on a good day) "the Vosges, the Alsace Plain, part of Franche-Comte, the Black Forest, the Swiss and French Jura, and the Alps" - especially the majestic Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. We were not so lucky today.<br />
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<i>The Alps in the distance, and our final destination - Nods - at the foot of the mountain.</i></div>
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Once again, we walked past the Métairie de Neuf Chalet (or Mét. de Nods), took one last, over-the-shoulder glance at the Chasseral communications tower, and then plunged back down into the forest in the area marked on the map as Les Cordonniers and Le Brulé.<br />
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<i>Last glance back at le Chasseral near the Métairie de Nods.</i></div>
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We made good time heading downhill and, about an hour after we'd left the hotel, we were back in the car-park near Nods. It was about 4:30pm - six hours after we'd departed from there earlier in the day. Between the main ascent, then the ups-and-downs between the other summits and ridgelines, we figured we'd climbed about a thousand metres over the course of the day. Our legs felt like they'd had at least that (and more), but our souls were soaring. Life doesn't get much better than that.<br />
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<i>The Jura Mountain ramblers.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>La Cornette (No 47) 1494m</li>
<li>L'Egasse (No 56) 1460m</li>
</ul>
<br /></div>
Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-9334862793674693492013-12-24T21:29:00.000+01:002013-12-25T10:55:19.483+01:00Crêt Pela (No 46)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hiking to the top of Crêt Pela is more about enjoying a good walk in the forest than about getting to the top of a Jura mountain with amazing views: It really only has glimpses of Mont Blanc and the Alps from the summit, as the ridgetop is somewhat shrubby, and surrounded by dense coniferous forest. But it does provide a destination for one of the most popular walks in the Franche-Comté - where it's notable for being the highest point in the province, as well as the French Departement du Jura (one of the four departements in Franche-Comté).<br />
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<i>Our starting point at Lac de Lamoura (1155m).</i></div>
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We started today's walk at about 11am - from a parking spot called "Gouffre" at the southwestern end of Lac de Lamoura - which is about a kilometre east of the town of Lamoura. (Lamoura is a small Jura village in eastern France, just over the border from Switzerland near the Col de la Faucille.)<br />
It was a lovely sunny morning, with just a few clouds in the sky, and a forecast for a mixture of more sunshine, and some clouds, throughout the day. Perfect for a Jura walk.<br />
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<i>Blue skies at the start of the walk at Lac de Lamoura.</i></div>
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We skirted around the south side of the lake, treading gingerly across the slippery walk-trail that was being kept hard and icy by the near-zero temperatures, and early-morning shade from the Jura ridge immediately southeast of the lake - the ridge that runs southwest-northeast between the peaks of Crêt Pela and Crêt de la Vigoureuse.<br />
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Just a hundred metres or so around the lake, we turned right, and followed a narrow goat-track uphill that led us to a point called "Sur le Lac" (1200m), and a trail that ran parallel to the lake called "Sentier de Decouverte".<br />
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<i>First trail sign - at Sur le Lac (1200m) - on the Sentier de Decouverte.</i></div>
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From there, we turned northeast ... and followed the "sentier". It mostly followed the contour, on the heavily forested lower slopes of the Bois sur les Champs - which covered the entire hillside and ridgeline above us.<br />
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We'd taken a bit of a gamble with this walk in deciding to do the trip without snowshoes (mainly because it hadn't snowed for a couple of weeks, and because we'd done our last walk to the top of Les Ervuines without snowshoes last weekend - which had been relatively easy). But some of the slippery slopes and deeper patches of snow already had us wondering if we'd made a mistake. Quite often we sank through the soft snow or icy crust, including a couple of times when our boots sank into the semi-frozen muddy slush that was hidden underneath the white carpet.<br />
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<i>Getting warm (and shedding layers) on the Sentier de Decouverte.</i></div>
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It didn't take us long to cover the first kilometre or so from Lac de Lamoura, and we were soon approaching the next landmark on our route - the alpage farmhouse called Les Thoramys. There are a couple of other buildings in the vicinity (now all shuttered-up for winter), so we stopped just long enough to take a few photos, then carried on our way - still heading northeast on the same long traverse that steadily climbed up to about 1300 metres.<br />
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<i>Farm alpage near les Thoramys.</i></div>
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We stopped at Les Thoramys (1243m) just long enough to check the map ... and to collect my hat which had blown off in a ferocious gust of wind that hit us once we'd reached the open ground near the alpage. We'd noticed the wind picking-up speed as we were driving down from St George earlier in the morning, and had hoped it wouldn't be too much of a spoiler for our hike ... but the signs were not promising. Making matters worse, the fierce wind - now coming at us with increasing intensity from the south - was bringing with it an ominous wall of grey-black cloud. Off to the north and west the skies were still mostly clear and blue, so we kept our fingers crossed, turned our backs to the clouds and wind, and forged ahead.<br />
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<i>Trail sign near Les Thoramys.</i></div>
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<i>Les Thoramys alpage (1243m).</i></div>
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About a kilometre from Les Thoramys, our trail then began intersecting a series of teleskis and ski pistes (although most of these were not in action) that ran from the upper slopes near La Serra (1452m) down to the valley floor near the small ski resort village of l'Abbaye. Each time we passed either a teleski chairlift or piste, we got good views down to the valley floor - seeing first La Combe du Lac, and soon after, l'Abbaye.<br />
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<i>The tiny settlement of la Combe du Lac.</i></div>
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The first major ski piste that we came to was the southern-most piste (of a series) that flowed down the mountain-side from the top of the Teleski de la Serra, past the Point de Vue du Lac (1320m). Due possibly to the small amount of snow on the piste, it wasn't in operation today, so we had an easy, casual passage to the other side. At this point we decided to not follow the usual walk trail - which dropped down the side of the hill to follow another traverse at about 1275 metres - and instead stuck to the forest trail that we were on (the Rte Foret des Auvernes), a couple of hundred metres higher-up the slope.<br />
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<i>Trail sign at Point de Vue du Lac (1320m).</i></div>
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<i>Cutting across one of the ski pistes near la Serra. This one wasn't in use.</i></div>
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The Telesiege des Auvernes was in use, and we stopped to watch skiers and snowboarders come racing down the mountain on the main piste just a little further north along the trail - the most northern piste of the series. When the coast was clear, we quickly made our way across the piste, without managing to get in anyone's way in the process.<br />
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<i>The Téléski des Auvernes.</i></div>
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<i>Skiers heading down the piste des Auvernes - above l'Abbaye.</i></div>
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About a hundred metres further along the road we encountered the walking trail again - coming back up the mountainside - so we turned east onto that and started cutting footsteps into the snow up the steep slope. Fortunately someone had been up here fairly recently wearing snowshoes, so the trail was reasonably well compacted, meaning we didn't break through the surface too often and sink into the softer snow below.<br />
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<i>Heading up the slopes immediately west of Crêt Pela.</i></div>
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We were now heading into some rough-and-tumble country - the infamous "Foret du Massacre" - which is a dark coniferous forest (almost entirely composed of fir trees) which had been the scene of a brutal massacre of Italian soldiers in 1535. Apparently, a contingent of 600 Italian mercenaries - commanded by Renzo de Cery and dispatched by Francis 1 at the request of the King of France - had met grisly deaths there after a failed mission to reach (and rescue) Geneva which was under siege by the Savoyard army led by the Duke of Savoy, Charles III. In a rapidly unfolding tragedy, the mercenaries were "headed off at the pass" - quite literally - at the Col de la Faucille within view of Geneva after marching up from Genoa, and chased into the wild Jura forests by the Savoyards. Once reduced to a fleeing, disorganized rabble by the rough-and-tumble Jura rocks, ridges, cliffs, grottes, caves, fallen trees, and more, they were steadily picked-off by their more locally-experienced adversaries. Apparently before the slaughter, the forest had been called Foret Frasse (or simply "la Frasse"), but the locals who witnessed the carnage later decided to rename it - the Foret du Massacre.<br />
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Unfortunately, we too fell victim to the rocks, ridges and rolling landscape, and, soon after having to leave the footsteps of the snow-shoers (they had turned north, soon after they'd passed a point marked "Grotte" on the map), we were forced to cut our own trail across the hilltop. Although obviously still on some kind of trail, we couldn't tell exactly if we were still on the walk-trail or not, as we were focusing our attention on the ground below us - sinking up to our knees in the deep snow with every step at the top of the ridge. It was hard-going, and physically draining. Damn, why hadn't we brought our snow-shoes?<br />
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<i>Rugged-up against the near-Arctic conditions we experienced on Crêt Pela.</i></div>
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With the wind now howling around us, and clouds completely blocking-out any distant views, we reached the top of the ridge, where we plunged into the deepest snow we'd encountered thus far and bush-bashed our way to what looked like the highest point. Although we were quite sure that we were very close to the top of Crêt Pela (it was no doubt nearby, but hidden behind the trees and thicket), we couldn't find the summit-marker wooden post and small "Crêt Pela - 1495m" sign that should have been there. My altimeter was showing we were up at the right altitude. No matter, we were close enough for our liking! So we took a "top of the mountain" celebratory photo anyway, and then made a mad dash to get out of the freezing, wind-blasted conditions. It was about 1pm, yet felt like it was nearly the end of the day.<br />
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<i>Standing on top of one of the peaks of Crêt Pela.</i></div>
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We didn't have to go too far back down the mountain on the lee side, to find a sheltered place out of the wind, and we were soon bunkered down under a big fir tree whose branches provided a teepee-like shelter under which the two of us could enjoy our lunch. We sat there with our tea and sandwiches, and listened to the ferocious wind screaming and howling above us. It made me think of the screams of those tormented mercenaries who were lost in the surrounding forests and hunted down by the Savoyards 500 years ago. <br />
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<i>Our lunch spot - in a hollow, sheltered under a tree.</i></div>
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Our original plan was to have lunch at the summit, and then follow the walk-trail that skirts around the western side of the peak - to the northeast, before turning back on a long southwest traverse on the other (eastern) side of the ridge. But not having snow-shoes, and being acutely aware of the deteriorating weather conditions, we decided to abandon the circular route, and head back down the mountain the same way we came.<br />
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Being a little off the summit due to our rapid search for a lunch stop, we had to again cut a new course back to where we'd last seen the snowshoe tracks - which meant that we found ourselves in some relatively tricky spots on a couple of occasions in the deep snow. Three or four times we plunged into hollows in which we sank down to the top of our thighs. On one occasion I tripped forward when this happened, and thus found myself face-first in the snow, with neither my feet or my hands able to get enough of a grip to haul myself back out. Fortunately of course, we managed to get back to the trail, and were soon heading back down the mountain, shaking snow out of our boots and socks and grinning happily. It was good to be back on a hard trail surface again.<br />
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<i>Hard going: Trail-blazing our way down from the summit.</i></div>
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It didn't take us long to get back onto the Rte Foret des Auvernes, where we turned southwest and began the long traverse back towards Lac de Lamoura. We hardly stopped the entire way back to the car-park, intent now on just getting off the mountain, out of the wind and cold, and home to a hot bath and open fire. Before we knew it, we were back at the lake, although this time we dropped down the mountain by following the unused ski piste at the Point de Vue du Lac - to the Combe du Lac. There, we joined another walking trail that led us to and around the eastern end of the lake, then along its left bank to the Gouffre car-park.<br />
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<i>Back down alongside the Lac de Lamoura.</i></div>
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<i>Most of the lake was frozen ... and we had no intentions of traversing.</i></div>
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Needless to say, it didn't take us long to drop our packs into the back of the car, and to start the 45 minute drive back through the Jura to St George. It had been an adventurous walk, but I suspect we'll be back (in sunnier, more summery weather) to have another ramble through this part of the Jura.<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Crêt Pela (No 46) 1495m</li>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
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<li>"Pela" means a mountain or a land peeled, naked ... which is nothing like the heavily forested and shrubby top of Crêt Pela today. </li>
<li>The Foret du Massacre is in the Parc
Naturel Regional du Haut Jura. In writing up this blog, I also found out that it is also a refuge for Grand Tétras and lynx,
and is declared a Natura 2000 reserve. Winter walkers are encouraged to keep off the marked ski pistes, but probably should avoid the area altogether, and save their hikes there for the spring, summer and autumn. Now that we know about its natural significance and level of protection, we certainly will be doing so from now on. </li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-28616814666721559872013-12-16T23:35:00.000+01:002013-12-17T07:39:04.284+01:00Les Ervuines (No 30)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Les Ervuines is one of those peaks that hundreds of people must walk past every year, yet most of them would know nothing about it, or have ever even heard of its name. If you search for information about Les Ervuines, you won't find much, and you'll even see it referred to as "Les Er<u>o</u>uines" (with an "o" instead of a "v") ... which is because the "v" looks a bit like an "o" on the topographic map (Carte Nationale de la Suisse, 1:25,000, 1202, Orbe). Even so, it does appear on registers of named Swiss peaks and, being on my list of Jura peaks at "Number 30", was ready to be ticked-off this fine Sunday morning (15 December, 2013).<br />
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At least it was "fine" in St George when we left home, and it was "fine" in Baulmes when we arrived there to start our walk. But it was far from "fine" all the way between these two end-points - as the entire Swiss Plateau below about 500 metres was enveloped in a typical winter "Mer de Nuage" (Sea of Clouds) that smothered any sign of there being a fine day in the mountains above. So it was fabulous to emerge again from that fog - as we drove up towards Baulmes, and to see Les Rebans and Mont de Baulmes shining in the morning sun above the town.<br />
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As per our last visit to the town, we parked just near the old church (678m.a.s.l.) and, at about 10.30am, started heading up the hill out of town. (We were last here in July, when we climbed Aiguilles de Baulmes, Les Rebans and Mont de Baulmes. You can read about that trip <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2013/07/les-aiguilles-de-baulmes-no-24.html">here.</a>) Just after we'd crossed over the the Baumine River - that runs through the town - we turned left onto a small side street called the Rue de la Montagne and headed north out of town.<br />
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<i>The turn-off at Rue de la Montagne.</i></div>
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After passing just a few houses along the road we got onto a pleasant, leaf-littered forest trail that meandered uphill, alongside the Baumine. It was immediately a soothing feeling to be walking in the forest with a bubbling brook singing-out alongside us as we walked. Just 15 minutes up the trail, we intersected an icy road, with an equally icy bridge, that marked our first real way-point of the day. Last time we were here, we headed straight-on, up the hill towards Mont de Baulmes. But this time we turned left, across the bridge, heading west-southwest in the direction marked "Le Suchet: 2h 30 min: Sentier de la Crête".<br />
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<i>The trail sign pointing towards Le Suchet.</i></div>
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<i>Crossing the bridge just northwest of Baulmes. The "Sentier de la Crête" can be seen heading up the slope in the snow in the centre of the photograph.</i></div>
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After gingerly slip-sliding and skating our way across the bridge (we'd decided to take a punt on leaving our snow-shoes behind today, and to do all of today's hike in just our walking boots), we equally gingerly negotiated the first icy steps of the slope - that would eventually lead us all the way to Les Ervuines, and Le Suchet further beyond.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the icy "Sentier de la Crêtes" trail towards Le Suchet.</i></div>
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No fresh snow has fallen on the Jura for the past two weeks, and having had an intervening period of sunshine and rain, much of the lovely blanket that we'd walked on to the Haut du Mollendruz was now gone. However there were still patches of snow - either on the highest peaks, or in sheltered and shaded aspects, and in some places this had partially melted before being refrozen as long swaths of ice. Not surprisingly, we nearly took a few tumbles as we negotiated the first, steep rise on the northern side of the ridge that we were ascending, but were soon onto the ridgeline where the sun had pretty much burnt away all of the ice and snow. This ridge defined this walk ... as we were pretty much on it for the entire rest of the ascent - from Baulmes to Les Ervuines.<br />
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<i>Heading up the ridgeline.</i></div>
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All along the ridgeline we passed a series of substantial milestones, and I couldn't help but think we were missing something significant about this ridge. Did it mark a boundary of some description? It didn't look like it from the map, so it left me wondering. We also passed a point on the map marked "Fortification Prehistorique de l'Ermitage" - which apparently marks a site which dates back to the prehistoric cave-dwellers and early hunters and gathers who settled in the hills around here about 12,000 years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV24h6QK9blBwhF8f7e72H9f0xRbT5kqNi6a1yXfL4Hrv9XOhSNXXtf9g18n5mWxRhSYQzGPs8JVOtjohfpGm-1NAR1ju6C2Bb_MZ60KTGCgLVWjD8EzTP-m9DJBi_ZELX8fhpmCZaUA/s1600/DSCN6502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV24h6QK9blBwhF8f7e72H9f0xRbT5kqNi6a1yXfL4Hrv9XOhSNXXtf9g18n5mWxRhSYQzGPs8JVOtjohfpGm-1NAR1ju6C2Bb_MZ60KTGCgLVWjD8EzTP-m9DJBi_ZELX8fhpmCZaUA/s400/DSCN6502.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>One of the impressive trail-markers near the "Fortification Prehistorique de l'Ermitage".</i></div>
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All of this first part of the walk was through dense mixed deciduous and coniferous forest, which made for very pleasant conditions: Lots of shade, lots of leaf-litter underfoot and gorgeous surroundings filled with moss, lichens and vegetation in every stage of growing, dying and decaying. It really was a beautiful way to spend a Sunday morning. In some places millions of fir leaves (tiny thin "needles", about a centimetre or two in length) covered the patches of snow like "hundreds and thousands" candy. About a kilometre into our walk we reached the crest of an un-named hill - at 1079m - from which we then headed downslope<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5l2lueIC0_YSN0h5VcIDtsybo16BUhLmVxnH4wBWTsxHDX1cV9zTX5-GBtNN-0B2_A-6-F5kQwR6JK6Cz88W1ldA0QVb_CUOGWjCwfem95HSNIbh7wmhio8iEFQkyt4yZnKqn_CpS6w/s1600/DSCN6505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5l2lueIC0_YSN0h5VcIDtsybo16BUhLmVxnH4wBWTsxHDX1cV9zTX5-GBtNN-0B2_A-6-F5kQwR6JK6Cz88W1ldA0QVb_CUOGWjCwfem95HSNIbh7wmhio8iEFQkyt4yZnKqn_CpS6w/s400/DSCN6505.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Passing the 1079 highpoint between Baulmes and Les Mouilles.</i></div>
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We quickly dropped down to about 1050 metres - where we encountered a snow-smothered roadway that cut over the mountain ridge just east of the "Les Mouilles" farmhouse. Both the road and the farmhouse were closed for winter. We crossed over the road, and headed on up the ridgeline - further along le Sentier de la Crête.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0U68-jhRpb1NNf_7EIrx4KQVHY2bTQGk-ApRsB0-_O3gZdSyvnKTLketpidgLmEwTT590Nff8zlNM7YCMXfPRvU-PS1_tARL_On9881ZEZvK1w5tHFISeuu4lhBPQGaakWcZXhqLSw/s1600/DSCN6507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0U68-jhRpb1NNf_7EIrx4KQVHY2bTQGk-ApRsB0-_O3gZdSyvnKTLketpidgLmEwTT590Nff8zlNM7YCMXfPRvU-PS1_tARL_On9881ZEZvK1w5tHFISeuu4lhBPQGaakWcZXhqLSw/s400/DSCN6507.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Trail sign near Les Mouilles - 1050m.</i></div>
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This marked the beginning of an amazing uninterrupted climb up the mountain. Not once did it dip back down, but instead continued on ... up, up and up, at a gradient of about one-in-five. Sometimes it felt like we were on a rough-cut staircase. Sometimes we really were, as we climbed about 1,000 metres in vertical altitude in about a four-and-a-half or five kilometres of horizontal distance. The ridgeline became even more pronounced - more like an arête - with steep slopes dropping away on either side of us. At times the top of the ridge was less than a metre wide, so we took particular care with where we placed our feet in those places. The steep slopes to our left (the southern flank) are called La Côte (the hillside), while on our right (the north "face") were the slopes and cliffs of Les Ervuines. It truly was an amazing trail, and we were loving being on it.<u><br /></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-zH7cOUKjkPK471zZkX-9gJwB3vhCbjnG39wsGl60h-aRnGaTWagV-0ZMPpnEoqm3KVdGpcBiFj0Klw0kT6v361vYVhwLYRMyNSJ7aheFtPrqHyzzHrS-lzactAGqzT0TjKCygIOew/s1600/DSCN6515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-zH7cOUKjkPK471zZkX-9gJwB3vhCbjnG39wsGl60h-aRnGaTWagV-0ZMPpnEoqm3KVdGpcBiFj0Klw0kT6v361vYVhwLYRMyNSJ7aheFtPrqHyzzHrS-lzactAGqzT0TjKCygIOew/s400/DSCN6515.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Heading-up the Les Ervuines ridgeline.</i></div>
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In other places, the route became a tangle of fallen trees, decaying logs and "untidy" undergrowth. It sure made for an interesting hike.<br />
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<i>Winding our way through some of the wilder stretches of the trail.</i></div>
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The higher we climbed, the more the forest canopy thinned-out, which occasionally afforded us glimpses of the landscape beyond the surrounds of our immediate forest. Most imposing - to our north - were the cliffs and rocky crags of Aiguilles de Baulmes. Below their cliffs we could see the Les Prax, Les Crébillons and Les Nax farmhouses, now all abandoned for winter of course.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMRHdJBJfYa0P01qo2sKTUec9vwzBG5NCQ6mVs_UBt1Rc_RCqGa9IBSenKTex-2OSTOOc72Gzg85jj_OJc0VdGsCQPJFGrSOn_1UL9q2OGyRmRaGlRS7yiFbJYeIJLAoxARFnExRbaA/s1600/DSCN6508.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMRHdJBJfYa0P01qo2sKTUec9vwzBG5NCQ6mVs_UBt1Rc_RCqGa9IBSenKTex-2OSTOOc72Gzg85jj_OJc0VdGsCQPJFGrSOn_1UL9q2OGyRmRaGlRS7yiFbJYeIJLAoxARFnExRbaA/s400/DSCN6508.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The striking cliffs and crags of Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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At about 1430 metres (in altitude), we broke out of the forest and for the first time got a clear view of the Alps far to the south, and the intervening "Mer de Nuage" that blanketed the Swiss Platueau. It truly was a glorious sight on such a sunny day, and it felt so good to up here above the clouds. Now out of the shade of the forest, we were in glorious sunshine ourselves - for the first time really, so we stopped briefly for an energy bar and sip of lemon water, and to take a few photographs of the scenery around us, including of some of the gnarly old mountain trees - some of which were still standing, while others were fallen, lying like sun-bleached skeletons across or near our trail.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmhhcNENp6B_Byn8SEqPrffSl8cZPQjDtJFuzkLEivX0tFD_mNrZqSP08a8xEUMpHTaf2tB8_PIJEmx50qpjenpKRmQw5oRAlzjqq5DTl0996Vgi08tZlh9jXzQ2cZbyKX_zVyJbaGQ/s1600/DSCN6526.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmhhcNENp6B_Byn8SEqPrffSl8cZPQjDtJFuzkLEivX0tFD_mNrZqSP08a8xEUMpHTaf2tB8_PIJEmx50qpjenpKRmQw5oRAlzjqq5DTl0996Vgi08tZlh9jXzQ2cZbyKX_zVyJbaGQ/s400/DSCN6526.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>A fallen tree lies half-buried in the snow, with the Mer de Nuage and the Alps in the background.</i><br />
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<i>Intriguing shapes and shadows from these two trees that obviously lived (and died) very close to each other.</i></div>
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<i>A typical, weather-beaten Jura Mountain tree.</i></div>
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Approaching 1500 metres, the ridgeline became more pronounced again, and conveniently (in case one ever got stuck up here in a winter white-out or blackened stormy night) was marked by a line of somewhat rickety fence posts. Once again we stopped to take in the views, and to take a few photos of the world around us. It truly was spectacular.<br />
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<i>Looking back - northeast along the ridgeline - towards the northern Jura, with Le Chasseron on the upper left horizon over Mont de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>Looking south over the Mer de Nuage towards the panoramic arc of the Alps.</i></div>
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<i>A closer look at the Alps (with the Dents du Midi on the right - wearing a halo of clouds), and the Mer de Nuage below.</i></div>
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<i>Approaching the highest point of Les Ervuines.</i></div>
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At about 1pm, two-and-a-half-hours after we'd left Baulmes, we reached the highest point of Les Ervuines - 1538 metres. It was marked by a crumbly-looking cairn, which looked hastily built with not a lot of attention to aesthetics, and a steel pole alongside a rock on which someone had scrawled "1540" in red paint. (It's actually registered as 1538m on all of the lists that I've come across, so that's what it's going down as). Not surprisingly (because it's not on everyone's list of burning places to visit, and also being so close to the higher, and more distinguishable, adjacent Le Suchet summit), we had the peak all to ourselves. We found a great vantage point to sit back and gaze at the Alps while we ate our lunch.<br />
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The name "Ervuines" is thought to be derived from an ancient word <i>rouvenes</i> and old French word <i>ruvines</i> - which means "sloping ravine" or "scree". It also means "ruins". In base Latin, it is derived from <i>ruina</i> - which means ruins, but also (appropriately - given where we were standing on the clifftops) "fall, collapse, disaster". We'd be having none of that thank you!<br />
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After lunch, and a lazy half-hour of Alp-gazing, we took a last look around the peak before heading on our way. Being "nullarbor", it was possible to get magnificent, uninterrupted 360 degree panoramas. We snapped-off the usual "we were here" type photographs.<br />
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<i>Standing alongside the unremarkable cairn atop Les Ervuines.</i></div>
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<i>Looking northeast back along the Les Ervuines ridgeline and, in the distance, the rest of the main Jura ridge stretching-out towards the horizon.</i></div>
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<i>Checking-out the Aiguilles de Baulmes from the crest of Les Ervuines.</i></div>
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<i>A closer look at the cliffs of Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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At about 1.30pm, we grabbed our backpacks, and headed on up the mountain. We were already three hours on the trail and were heading "out", rather than "back", so had decided to get a move on. From Les Ervuines we could see the steel geodesic pyramid atop Le Suchet, so hastened in that direction. Well "hastened" may be too strong a word, because we stopped quite a few times to gaze at the view around us, and to take a few more photos, of course.<br />
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<i>A turnstile on the "Sentier de la Crêtes" trail near Le Suchet.</i></div>
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<i>Lis standing on a cliff-top between Les Ervuines and Le Suchet (top left).</i></div>
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<i>Looking north towards the Grange Neuve chalet (with the orange roof) and the Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>Standing on the rocky ridgeline just northeast of Le Suchet.</i></div>
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<i>Near Le Suchet, with the French towns of Entre les Fourgs and Jougne in the background, under Mont Ramey (1087m).</i></div>
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Obviously, it didn't take us too long to cover the last 650 metres between the two peaks, and we were soon standing under the distinctive steel pyramid at Le Suchet (1588m). As I mentioned earlier, we'd been here almost exactly a year ago (on 25 December 2012), so we didn't stay too long this time - just long enough to snap-off a "selfie" to record the moment, and a few pics of the surrounding vistas, before heading on our way.<br />
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<i>The Jura ramblers at Le Suchet.</i></div>
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<i>Looking south from Le Suchet towards the arc of the Alps on the horizon.</i></div>
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We toyed with the idea of doing an out-and-back route that would mean retracing our steps, but the thought of heading down the steep icy ridge we'd encountered at the start of the day - in the last hours of the day, while tired - didn't sound like an appealing option. Fortunately we had two other options in front of us. One option was to drop down the south face of Le Suchet to the bottom of the mountain and then to pick-up a road or track heading north that would take us back to Baulmes. This would at least give us views of the Alps as we descended, and keep us on the sunny side of the ridgeline. The other option was to drop down on the north face of the mountain, and into the sheltered high-valley snowfields and to make our way back to Baulmes on roughly the same route we'd used when returning from Aiguilles de Baulmes in July. We "ummed" and "ahhed" about it for awhile, then chose the second option, and headed over the ridgeline and down into the steep forested slopes towards Grange Neuve.<br />
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<i>As usual, the trail was well marked, so easy to follow. Fortunately, it was also nicely "stomped" down by a party of snow-shoers - who were walking some distance ahead of us.</i></div>
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<i>A section of the trail through the forest just below Le Suchet.</i></div>
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Eventually we broke out of the forest and back out into the glorious sunshine. Below us, to our left, we could see the Noirvaux farmhouse, while up ahead of us Grange Neuve served as a distinctive landmark. We passed the snow-shoers, which meant from time to time we found ourselves in unbroken snow, but never more than about 20 or 30 centimetres deep, so not too hard going. Just good fun.<br />
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<i>The Noirvaux farmhouse.</i></div>
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<i>Heading towards Grange Neuve and the Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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Now down on relatively flat land, we followed a traverse that slowly cut across the contours and down to the farmhouse - at 1356 metres. Once again, we didn't hang around long. Grange Neuve is a popular buvette during spring, summer and autumn, but it was now closed for winter, so we just took a few photos, and continued northeast down the valley.<br />
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<i>The Grange Neuve farmhouse, with an old WW2 machine-gun post on the hilltop.</i></div>
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<i>Trail signpost at Grange Neuve.</i></div>
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The trail from here followed a snow-covered road along a gentle, valley-floor route which had Aiguilles de Baulmes on one side (to our left) and the cliffs of Les Ervuines to our right. With our shadows ever lengthening, and the afternoon light ever-warming, it was a magic way to finish-off the hike.<br />
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<i>A last look at The cliffs of the Aiguilles de Baulmes. </i></div>
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<i>Following our shadows away from the setting sun.</i></div>
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Our next way-point was a trail intersection near the Les Prax farmhouse, about a kilometre east of the Col de l'Aiguillon and the French border. We continued in an easterly direction, further down the valley - with Mont de Baulmes on the horizon ahead of us.<br />
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<i>Trail sign near the La Prax farmhouse.</i></div>
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We passed by Les Crébillons and Les Nax farmhouses (also abandoned for winter), then plunged back into the forest, saying "goodbye" to the last rays of sunshine that we'd feel on our backs, as we did so. Occasionally we got glimpses of the sun shining on the cliffs of Les Rebans and Mont de Baulmes high up to our left, but mostly it was shady and cold ... and increasingly gloomy. It wasn't all gloomy though, as we chanced upon three lovely-looking roe deer, that were content to just stand their ground in the forest and watch us ... watching them. Nice.<br />
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<i>The cliffs of Les Rebans.</i></div>
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At about 1090 metres, we left the snow and ice-covered road that we'd been following since Les Prax, and turned right (south) onto a "rough-and-ready" hiking trail that took us more-or-less directly down through the forest - southeast towards Baulmes. At different times, it was either snowy, muddy, slushy, rocky or leafy underfoot, so we trod carefully as we slipped and slid our way down the last kilometre of the mountainside. Eventually we heard the bubbling sounds of the Baumine River again, and knew we were close to finishing our walk.<br />
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<i>Back alongside the Baumine River just above Baulmes.</i></div>
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At about 4.30pm we arrived back in Baulmes - six hours after we'd departed from there earlier in the day. By now the sun had disappeared below the horizon, and a warm-coloured glow was lighting-up the clouds in the skies above. Unfortunately it wasn't too warm standing alongside the Baulmes church (it was about zero degrees), so we quickly dropped our packs in the car, and headed home to St George.<br />
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It had been a great day in the Jura, and another winning walk to add to our growing list of Jura Mountain rambles.<br />
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<i>The last rays of light over the old church in Baulmes.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Les Ervuines (No 30) 1538m</li>
<li>Le Suchet (No 19) 1588 (previously climbed on 25 December 2012. See report <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/12/le-suchet-no-19.html">here.</a>)</li>
</ul>
<br /></div>
Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-81334621901970391082013-12-07T14:32:00.001+01:002014-09-17T01:01:49.584+02:00Haut du Mollendruz (No 65)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Looking gnarly (the one on the right that is) at the top of Haut du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb"</i> - Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013).<br />
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With the days being so short at this time of the year (winter, December), a snowshoe hike to the top of Haut du Mollendruz (1441 metres) turned-out to be an ideal destination ... and a perfect way to spend a winter weekend day. Mollendruz is a short drive from St George, and we go there regularly on our expeditions into the Jura - as it is where the Col du Mollendruz, one of only a handful of mountain passes that cut over the range, provides access to the Lac de Joux. The road over the Col runs between between L'Isle and Mont-la-Ville (and Lausanne) on the eastern side of the main Jura ridgeline, and Le Pont - in the Vallée de Joux to the west.<br />
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The hike to Haut du Mollendruz was our first snowshoe expedition of the winter ... an event which is always worth celebrating. The Jura is a magic place all year round, but somehow even more extra-special when clad in its winter snowy mantle.<br />
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We parked our car in the car-park just west of the Auberge du
Mollendruz (1174m) and pulled on our snowshoes just in front of the
Centre Nordic Sport. Being a relatively short walk, we had decided to wait until about 10:30 to start the walk. No rush today. This is the most popular starting point for walks to the nearby peaks, although there are good trails up from Montricher and Mont-la-Ville - for those who have a bit more time or want a longer uphill hike. The Auberge dates back to 1882 and still does a roaring trade throughout the year. Apparently its specialties include "baked Vacherin and cakes". Sounds yummy, but not for us today. We were off to burn calories, not find them.<br />
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<i>Pulling-on snowshoes at Centre Nordic Sport, Col du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>The Centre was established in 1971.</i></div>
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As the information panels, maps, signs and
trail-markers showed us, this was the start of the Nordic skiing and
snowshoes trails that head south of the Col towards Le Chatel, and the
Col du Marchairuz further south. We'd previously done the southerly
snowshoe hike to Le Chatel (last winter), but today had our eyes focusing more to
the southwest - towards the summit of Haut Du Mollendruz.<br />
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<i>Start point - Col du Mollendruz (top right) and destination - Haut du Mollendruz (bottom left).</i><br />
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<i>Signage on the Le Chatel snowshoe trail.</i></div>
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<i>Trail sign showing route to Le Chatel (far south) which we had hiked to last winter - in February.</i></div>
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<i>Colourful snowshoe trail marker near Col du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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We followed the trail (and its copious accompanying trail signs) southwest of the Centre Nordic Sport for about 400 metres where we came across a small wooden hut. We stopped there for just a few minutes - mainly to adjust our gear and packs, and to check-out the trail signs. And to take a few photos of course.<br />
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<i>The hut at 1182m, just southeast of the Col du Mollendruz. </i></div>
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<i> Adjusting our backpacks and stuff, before heading to the right - on the trail that leads to Mont Tendre.</i></div>
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The snowshoe trail headed straight on - south from the hut, while the traditional yellow markers showed the summer route heading off to the right, to the southwest - which would lead us to the Chalet du Mollendruz - our next landmark and intermediate destination.<br />
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This was only about another half a kilometre or there-abouts down the trail, so we soon spotted its snow-covered roof peeking over the horizon. The Jura has had some fantastic snowfalls already this winter,including some fresh snow in the last week, so the trail was lovely and deep and soft: pure white in colour, powdery in texture, and just magic underfoot. As at the start of all of our snowshoe hikes, we both crunched our way along the trail wearing a big grin on our face.<br />
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<i>Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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With each passing metre, the Chalet loomed more and more into view, and we were soon cutting our way up the slope just to the east of the buvette, and around its southern side. There were already quite a few people inside enjoying some winter warmth, and a few hardy souls outside, including some children tobogganing down the adjacent slope. We cut fresh steps across the snow to where we could intersect the main trail that heads south of the Col du Mollendruz - towards Le Chatel ... and the Col du Marchairuz further down near St George. We couldn't see the top of Haut du Mollendruz - due to it being enveloped by grey clouds and thus hidden in the white-out layer above us. Hmmm. That sight brought-on a moment of reflection. That's where we're heading.<br />
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<i>The main track heading south of Col du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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We turned around and took one last look at the relatively clear skies around us, then plunged into the forest near the Creux au Cheval. The forest is called the Bois des Croisettes - the same name as a farmhouse that showed-up on the map not far to the west - Les Croisettes. About half a kilometre down the trail from the Chalet du Mollendruz, we left the main trail and turned right onto a forest track that zig-zagged its way up the hillside, deeper into the forest. Not too far along the route we came upon the lovely little Le Praley mountain refuge (1318m) ... where we promptly decided to stop for lunch. It looked just too inviting and comfortable (compared to our other option of sitting down for lunch somewhere in the snow).<br />
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<i>Le Praley mountain refuge hut.</i></div>
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<i>Our trusty snowshoes outside Le Praley.</i></div>
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We took our snowshoes off outside the hut, then went in to enjoy the comfort and convenience of the refuge (it has a table and benches). Le Praley is always open, and well stocked with firewood for its tiny pot-belly stove. It is also well equipped with the usual assortment of glasses, barbecue utensils and the like. It even had a pack of cards (in case we got bored), as well as a stack of visitor journals, matches and candles. Visits to the hut are restricted to a single day, and sleeping (in the cosy-looking loft) is not allowed, except in emergencies. It has the usual rules of restocking the wood heap, taking all of your own litter with you, and leaving the place as clean and tidy as you found it.<br />
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<i>Photos on a wall inside Le Praley show the extremes between summer (July 1962) and winter (February 1983) conditions.</i></div>
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We checked-out the hut from one end to the other (which didn't take long ... as its interior dimensions are only about three metres by four metres), then sat down on the bench seats, and ate our cheese sandwiches and drank our hot tea. We were soon back on the trail, heading first south from the hut, then swinging back around to the north - in a north-northwesterly direction. With regular checks of the map and GPS, we managed to pick-up a tiny side-track that headed-off to the west - that took us up to the southern end of the Haut du Mollendruz ridgeline. Once we encountered that, we swung north again and started a slow climb up to the top of the mountain.<br />
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<i>Checking the map and GPS on the trail inside the Bois des Croisettes.</i></div>
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It was lovely going - across fresh powdery snow about 30 centimetres deep. We were having fun. All around us the forest looked like we had stepped into a Christmas card - with all of the conifers covered with a gorgeous mantle of soft white snow. Just metres above us we could see the clouds racing over the top of the range, while all around us the clouds closed-in - preventing us from seeing any further than a couple of hundred metres. It was a magic place to have all to ourselves.<br />
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<i>Heading-up the southern side of Haut du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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As we expected, and planned, it didn't take us very long to get to the summit (arriving there at about 2pm.) Somewhat ignominiously, the highest point had been chosen by the farmer who has the run of these hills (during the summer months only of course) to build a small corral. No doubt if we were up here in mid summer, there would be cows wandering around the place - enjoying the lush alpine pasture grasses. <br />
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<i>Lis standing at the highest point of Haut du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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We only stayed around for about half an hour: Just long enough to check the place out, take a few photos - of me with the Swiss flag (as is our custom), Lis doing a snow angel in the gorgeous soft snow, and the surrounding landscape. We celebrated with a shot of Marc from my "emergency" hip-flask, and then finished our sight-seeing and started on our way back down the mountain. Just a hundred or so metres above our heads we could see the clouds racing as fast as we'd ever seen clouds move, and we were glad the Haut stopped at 1441, and not 1541. It looked ferocious up there.<br />
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Even if it had been clear, I'm not sure there would have been great views from the summit, as it is mostly surrounded by the coniferous forest. I doubt that we would have been able to see Le Chatel, or any of the other nearby Jura peaks (such as Dent du Vaulion - to the northwest, or Mont Tendre - to the south).<br />
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<i>Flag-waving ceremony at the summit of Haut du Mollendruz. </i></div>
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<i>Snow angel!</i></div>
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<i>Misty mountain top - Haut du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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We frequently glanced over our shoulders as we headed down the trail, to see if the wind was going to drop down onto the mountain, or to see if the clouds would break-up and shed some sunlight on the Jura during the walk home. The sun did manage to break through a couple of times - very fleetingly - but hardly even long enough for me to get my camera out to capture the gorgeous light.<br />
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<i> Heading back down the mountainside.</i></div>
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We more or less retraced our footsteps back down through the Bois des Croisettes, either following the marked forest tracks or short-cutting on our own paths through the forest. It really was a treat to be in this magnificent landscape.<br />
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<i>Ideal snowshoeing conditions on the trail.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back up the mountain as the sun threatens to break through the clouds.</i></div>
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<i>Gorgeous snow-covered trees in the Bois de Croisettes.</i></div>
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Not surprisingly, it didn't take us long to get back down to the Chalet du Mollendruz which was sufficiently below the cloud layer that the afternoon sun was able to cast our long shadows across the landscape. It was only about 3pm, but being winter, the sun was already very low in the sky. We stopped for awhile on the slopes above the chalet and watched kids tobogganing, and took-in the views of the distant Alps - out across the Swiss Plateau.<br />
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<i>Arriving back at the Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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The Alps were mostly obscured by the scudding cloud layer, but from time to time we caught a glimpse of the Dent du Midi or other distinctive peaks on the eastern horizon.<br />
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<i>Occasional glimpses of the Alps through the scudding clouds.</i></div>
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<i>Les Alps.</i></div>
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Enticed by the opportunity to drive home in the warmth of the last of the day's sunshine, we soon made tracks down past the chalet, and then on to the Col du Mollendruz. <br />
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<i>Heading back down to the Col du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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We got back to the car-park at about 3:15pm, where we dropped our snowshoes and tucked into some fruit-and-nuts and the last of our our water - still luke-warm inside our trusty thermoses. It had been a good day, and another great Jura walk.<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Haut du Mollendruz (No. 65) 1441m</li>
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<b>Trivia</b><br />
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<li>According to Peakery.com, the Haut du Mollendruz is ranked as the 6,228th highest mountain in Switzerland. </li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-71807325402846532842013-10-19T14:16:00.000+02:002013-12-10T20:38:47.179+01:00Crêt de Chalam (No 29)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A Sunday "stroll" to the top of Crêt de Chalam turned-out to be anything but ... however it also turned-out to be one of the most adventurous treks we have done in all of the 50 Jura peaks that we've now climbed during our Jura Mountain rambles. As you can see from the photo above, it was a wild, wet and wintery day (not what you'd expect in mid-October, mid-Autumn). It was more like the weather we encountered at the summit of Ben Nevis (Great Britain's highest peak) where we were just a couple of weeks earlier.</div>
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<i>Standing in the Scottish mist atop Ben Nevis - 1343m. (28/9/2013) </i></div>
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But the hike to the top of Crêt de Chalam - which, at 1545m is about 200 metres higher than Ben Nevis (but a "lowly" 29th highest peak in the Jura Mountains and 2,015th highest in France) - wasn't meant to be like that. The forecast for the day was "fine". And it certainly started-out that way when we woke-up at our home in St George - about an hour away (by car) to the north. Although we'd experienced an unseasonal (very early) couple of snowfalls during the week, the skies were clear and the gorgeous, warm, early-morning light over the village sure made the prospect of a day's hike in the mountains all the more enticing. Not to mention the prospect of tromping through a first blanket of snow at the top of the Jura - on one of the last of the peaks in the "top 30" that we hadn't climbed.<br />
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<i>Beautiful, warm autumn colours in the early morning sunlight over St George.</i></div>
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Knowing that these kinds of days often get better as the day warms up, we took our time organizing our packs and gear, and slowly drove south to our kick-off point at Chézery-Forens - a tiny village across the French border in the synclinal Valley of the Valserine. Chézery was founded in about 1140 - when an ancient order of monks settled there and built an abbey. It stayed an "abbey town" until 1793 - when angry locals (who'd been tied as serfs to the Royal Abbey of Chézery for the centuries in the interim - rose up and rebelled against their rulers to win freedom. Over the years it has been known for its sequence of industries which have included farming, forestry, asphalt production, and watch- and cheese-making.</div>
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Thanks to the mid-week snowfalls, there was a good blanket of snow all over the Jura, which was pretty to watch, but tricky to manouvre at times - especially on the occasional patch of black ice that we encountered on some of the more shaded and frozen sections of the road that ran along the west side of the main Jura ridge. Fortunately we arrived in Chézery incident-free, at about 10:30am, when we parked our trusty Subaru in the carpark alongside the main road, just below the church. Although shaded on our side, the main Jura ridgeline was cloud-free, and we had great views to the east and northeast. Dominating the scene were the precipitous snow-capped cliffs of Roche Franche (1692m, No 4), which, along with Crêt de la Grotte (La Marie de la Jura" - 1644m, No 9), we'd climbed in mid-2012. Further south we could make-out Les Avalanches (1497, No 44) and Pierre de la Lune (1510, No 43) which were still on our "yet-to-be-climbed" list of the 50 highest.</div>
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<i>Looking back up the main street of Chézery-Forens (580m), with its great views of the magnificent, craggy Roche Franche amphitheatre </i></div>
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<i> Crossing the Valserine River, and feeling encouraged by the patch of sunlight hitting the eastern side of the second Jura ridgeline - our hiking destination.</i></div>
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We left town at about 10:45, and headed southwest down the road to Forens, the first waypoint on our route - about 15 minutes along the route. There, we crossed over the Ruisseau de Forens (river) and immediately turned right to begin our climb up the mountain. Initially the path followed an old road (which soon turned into a two-wheeled track) that ran alongside the bubbling stream. The Ruisseau de Forens was beautiful to walk alongside, as it frequently cut through steep, narrow gorges and tumbled over waterfalls and cascades - filling the air with that unique sound that only crashing, tumbling mountain streams can make. It was a beautiful tumult to have in our ears at the start of a long uphill hike.</div>
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Adding to the splendour were the millions of autumn leaves that littered the forest floor around us and created a golden-brown carpet on the trail under our feet. We were feeling happy, and optimistic. This day was just getting better and better. Sure, up ahead we got occasional glimpses of the mountain-top shrouded in cloud, but (being ever optimistic) I figured this would all clear perfectly for us by the time we got to the summit in a couple of hours.</div>
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<i>Gorgeous autumn leaves on the track near Forens. </i></div>
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<i>Heading up the trail alongside the Ruisseau de Forens.</i></div>
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<i>Crossing over the bubbling Ruisseau de Forens just near les Cascades des Etrés.</i></div>
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By now the sunshine had well and truly disappeared, and we were in the shaded depths of the deciduous forest - somewhere between the Montagne des Moines ridgeline to our east, and the summit of Haute Crête (1431m, No 69) to the west. We passed by the (already abandoned for winter) Petit Mannet farmhouse and plunged deeper into the forest along a thin and sinuous forest trail that snaked its way up the mountainside.<br />
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We soon reached the ruins of Grand Mannet (970m), where we stopped just long enough for a drink of water, and to take a few photos. I'm not sure how many years ago Grand Mannet was abandoned, but the forest sure has been winning the battle of the wills ever since. There were a multitude of trees growing inside the once extensive building, their roots upsetting the foundations, while others had fallen across the walls, knocking-down many sections. Nature reclaiming its turf.<br />
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<i>The Grand Mannet ruins.</i></div>
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The trail soon became confined to a thin ribbon of ground on the ridgeline of a long spur that would eventually lead all the way up to the top of the mountain. Down below us, off to our right, was the valley of the Combe du Nant Sec, while on the other side the terrain just-as-steeply dropped away to the Combe de Ramas. Somewhere along this section we passed by the Nant Sec Rnes, then the Crête Rnes (as they were marked on our topographic map), but we didn't stop to investigate, being more intent on pushing-on, enjoying the magnificent trail and getting to the summit. The forest was simply beautiful - filled with fallen leaves, intense green mosses and delightful fungi of all shapes and sizes. At around 1100 metres we started to encounter our first patches of snow ... and things began to get more and more interesting and exciting.<br />
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<i>The trail near la Crête Rnes, with the first patches of snow indicating we were certainly in for a healthy layer of snow on the mountain-top ahead.</i></div>
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We soon found ourselves up among the clouds, with visibility diminishing with every metre in altitude. The trail became increasingly harder: Harder to see, harder (steeper) to climb, and more and more slippery. Wet slippery rocks, wet slippery mud, wet slippery leaf-litter and slippery snow. Sometimes you'd put your foot down on a patch of snow, that covered a sodden layer of leaves, that covered a wet and muddy rock. Needless to say, it wasn't easy going and we slipped and slid over the rocks in some of the trickier phases. I took a couple of spectacular tumbles into the snow or sludge, but fortunately came to no real harm. With the trail increasingly confined to the ridgetop - a long arête that just went up and up for about two kilometres - our mood became more and more serious. Our conversations dried-up - and we focussed our attention on staying upright and intact.<br />
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<i>Heading into the white-out approaching the top of Crêt de Chalam.</i></div>
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I think I'll let the following sequence of photos speak for themselves. They were all taken in the final push to the top of the mountain. The visibility dropped with every metre of altitude, along with the temperature, while the wind-speed rapidly increased.</div>
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After successfully negotiating the final steep, slippery staircase of mud-and-snow covered wooden logs, we reached the summit of Crêt de Chalam (1545 metres) at about 2pm. We quickly dropped our packs and pulled-out every item of clothing we had in there: fleece, windbreaker, another windbreaker, scarf, beanie and fresh (dry) pair of gloves ... and pulled all of it on. We were instantly warmed, but it still felt like we'd arrived at the North Pole! The famous views (beautifully interpreted on the panorama panels there) were nowhere to be seen, and a howling blizzard threatened to blow us off the mountain-top. Needless to say, we didn't stay at the summit for very long, the wind tumult and its arsenal of snow pellets led to a rapidly diminishing comfort level, so we stayed just long enough to have a wander around, to take a few photos to capture the occasion ... and then we skedaddled. </div>
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<i>Looking east where we should have got fantastic views of the highest Jura ridgeline (with the Crêt de la Neige and le Reculet peaks somewhere out there), and beyond that Mont Blanc and the Alps </i></div>
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<i>Standing on the edge of the world. It must be out there somewhere.</i></div>
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<i>The second observation table looking west out over the French Jura. Rien!</i></div>
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<i> Flying the flag at the cairn on top of Crêt de Chalam.</i></div>
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"Racing" downhill, it didn't take us long to clear the summit, and drop-out of the alpine blizzard zone, and we were soon back to the Sous le Crêt (1490m) trail marker, which we had passed on the way up, not far from the summit. Here we turned north (instead of south which would have retraced our outward route), and headed towards the Borne au Lion. </div>
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<i>The trail marker at Sous le Crêt. </i></div>
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The trail was steeply downhill for the first bit, at times in snow 30 centimetres deep, then it began to flatten-out and follow a gouged and grubby two-wheeled forest track. This provided us with some tricky sections, not to mention (alternating) wet and muddy boots. These were soon cleaned again whenever we had to cut through a "good" section of fresh snow.</div>
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<i>Negotiating one of the slippery slopes just southwest of Crêt de Chalam. </i></div>
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<i>There was lots of mud and snow and slush and ice on the forest trail between Crêt de Chalam and the Borne au Lion.</i></div>
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Eventually we dropped-down below the cloud layer again, and reached a T-intersection with a forest road that ran east-west. The sign indicated that we were just five minutes or so away from the Borne au Lion. Needless to say, we turned right, and soon found ourselves at the historic landmark (1289m). </div>
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<i>The GR9 trail marker near Borne au Lion.</i></div>
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There is a fabulous shelter there (although not very sheltered on this occasion with the wind and rain blasting through horizontally). But it had great picnic tables ... so we pulled-up a (very wet) seat and broke-out our standard Jura lunch of bread, cheese, fruit-and-nuts, hot tea ... and a shot of Marc from my hip-flask. It was by now about 3pm. Bliss. </div>
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<i> The shelter and interpretation centre at Borne au Lion. Day-trippers can drive all the way up to here from La Presse.</i></div>
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After a short lunch stop, we had a wander around the site - checking out the various interpretation panels, monuments and, of course the famous limestone plinth called the Borne au Lion (although there were a couple of these around). Strategically located on a historic communications axis, the Borne au Lion (which was once called the "Terminal of Three Empires") means the "Terminal of the Lion". It marked an ancient border between the three former kingdoms of France, Savoy and Franche-Comté (the latter being a dependency of the Spanish crown at the time). </div>
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The Borne au Lion dates back to 1613 when it was erected to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Auxonne (in 1612) which established the County of Burgundy. Although now mostly eroded away, the four faces of the stone were engraved with the symbols of the three empires: the cross of the Duchy of Savoy, the lion of Franche-Comté and the three lillies of France. Apparently, other terminals had been set-up here by Henry IV in 1601 to commemorate the defeat of the Savoy and the proclamation of the Treaty of Savoy; and the return of the Spanish lands to France under the Treaty of Lyon. One interesting condition of this treaty was to allow the Spanish to retain an access route through the region (along the Valserine Valley) to allow them free passage from Genoa (in Italy) to the Netherlands. This ancient route was known as "The Way of the Spaniards" </div>
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<i>Checking-out the Borne au lion. You can just make-out one of the faded symbols.</i></div>
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There were also ta number of sombre plaques and installations commemorating the significance of this site to the French resistance during the Second World War. This heavily forested, rugged and dangerous part of the Jura was a hotbed for the Maquis during the period of German occupation in WW2. Apparently about 3,000 resistance fighters, under the command of their legendary leader Romans-Petit, used this area as a base around 1943-44.<br />
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<i> An installation and plaque at Borne au Lion honouring the Maquis de l'Ain et du Haut Jura freedom fighters of the mid-1940s.</i></div>
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We had one last look around, looked-up towards where the summit of Crêt de Chalam should have been towering above us, and then started our return journey back down the mountain.</div>
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<i>This is what the view should have looked like - the imposing cretaceous Crêt de Chalam.</i></div>
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<i> This is what we could see.</i></div>
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At first the "Tour de la Crêt de Chalam" route followed a road to the nearby les Magras farmhouse, where we passed the ancient, disused Moulin de Magas flourmill and entered the deep forest again. From there, we followed a narrow, leafy trail all the way downhill, alongside a creek that started somewhere uphill beyond the mill and tumbled down the valley before eventually emptying into the Valserine River about two kilometres to the east. Gradually the snow disappeared from the trail, the leaves got thicker and the terrain less-steep. It was all down-hill from here.</div>
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<i>The lovely trail back down the mountain, near the old Moulin de Magras. </i></div>
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<i>Gotta love those autumn leaves.</i></div>
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With the craggy top of Creux Manant (1035m) on our left and the (hidden) summit of Mont Plat (1335m) on our right, we revelled in the long, easy traverse that headed first southeast, then south along the Valserine valley. We exited the forest and, one-by-one, passed the Chateau des Bois, Combet and Noire Combe landmarks. Once again the main Jura ridgeline came into view, although much of it was also now obscured by clouds. Occasionally the sun would break through and light-up a magnificent section of the mountain-top. We'd stop every time and take photos.</div>
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<i>Looking back at the snow-covered cliffs and peaks of Roche Franche.</i></div>
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<i> Roche Franche in all its glory - a deeply-incised mountainside gouged-out by Quaternary glaciers and thousands of years of subsequent erosion.</i></div>
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Despite missing a turn just after Noire Combe (which meant we inadvertently followed a parallel track), we eventually arrived back at Chézery-Forens. It was about 5pm - just over six hours since we'd left earlier in the day. </div>
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It had been another great walk (about 14 kilometres), made all the more memorable by the wild conditions we experienced at the summit. Shame about missing the magnificent views. It just means that we'll just have to go back there again - on a fine, sunny day sometime in the future.</div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Crêt de Chalam (No 29) 1545m</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-23757217574160949002013-08-01T21:49:00.000+02:002013-12-10T20:39:29.711+01:00Crêt des Gouilles (No 41)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>The top of Crêt des Gouilles (with Mont Blanc in the background).</i></div>
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"Gouilles" means a puddle, water hole, or pond.</div>
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Blink, and you might just miss it. Although 1524 metres in altitude, Crêt des Gouilles is more a bump on the Jura landscape than a real mountain, and, being "dwarfed" by its far more impressive nearest neighbours - the Balcon de Jura peaks of Le Chasseron and Petites Roches - it gets overlooked in just about every map and guidebook, and of course by almost every Jura trekker. The peak sits somewhat forgotten and forlorn amid alpine pastures about 200 metres east of the main Jura Crest trail - between Le Chasseron and Petites Roches.<br />
Unless you know it's there (and know what the tiny pile of stones mean .. and really want to tick-off another named Jura peak), you're unlikely to ever find yourself standing atop the "cairn" (like some Jura "twitchers" we know).<br />
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<i>Standing atop the "cairn" at the "summit" of Crêt des Gouilles.</i></div>
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Despite its lack of reputation, and recognition, the Crêt des Gouilles does provide a wonderful destination for an easy hike, especially since one can go from there to Le Chasseron, and enjoy one of the best places in the entire Jura to walk, picnic, or simply enjoy life in the wonderful Jura Mountain air. It's easy to get to from Ste-Croix, or one of its satellite villages - Les Replans, Les Rasses or Bullet. We chose to set-out from Les Rasses, which is right at the base of the ski lifts that haul thousands of skiers to the top of the mountain every winter.<br />
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<i>Checking-out the (winter) information panel in Les Rousses.</i></div>
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<i>Not quite a straight line, but one can make out the route from Les Rasses to the top of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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<i>(Strangely enough, the Crêt des Gouilles doesn't feature on this map.)</i></div>
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Of course, being mid-summer, there were no lifts operating, so (at about 9.45am) we left the car in the spacious car park on Route de Chasseron (1200m), crossed the road to pick-up the walk trail, and then started on our way up the hill. The first kilometre or so of the walk was through luscious, shady forest which helped keep us cool as we sweated our way up the slope. The trail was well marked with the characteristic yellow diamond markers, and we soon found ourselves at the Club Alpine Suisse (CAS) mountain refuge at Le Rocher (1370)<br />
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<i>The CAS refuge near Le Rocher.</i></div>
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<i>Passing-through a trail turnstile near Le Rocher.</i></div>
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Another about another half-a-kilometre up through the forest, we suddenly reached the Chasseron alpine pasturage, with the Hotel du Chasseron prominent on the horizon about 800 metres ahead of us. True to a sign that we encountered there, the landscape was lush with thick grass and wildflowers, and was putting-on its very best face on this glorious, sunny, summer's day.<br />
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<i>Flora sign on the trail to Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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We followed a few other day-trippers on the well-trodden walk-trail that led up the hill towards the hotel for a few hundred metres, before we veered-off to the west towards the "summit" of the Crêt des Gouilles. Needless to say, no-one else was going in our direction, and there were no footsteps, or well-trodden paths, to follow. Once at the Crêt (quite an unspectacular place), we stayed just long enough to take a few photographs - including the obligatory flying-the-Swiss-flag celebratory shot (and appropriately so, with the day being August 1 - the Swiss National Day).<br />
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<i>Sitting on top of the cairn at Crêt des Gouilles.</i></div>
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<i>The view towards Petites Roches.</i></div>
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<i>The summits of Le Suchet, Mont de Baulmes and Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>Flying the flag on Swiss National Day at the top of Crêt des Gouilles.</i></div>
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Duly ticked-off, we left the Crêt and wandered over the pasturage to pick-up the Jura Crest Trail between Petites Roches and Le Chasseron. Conveniently, there was one of those particular walk-trail turnstiles directly in our path, so we soon found ourselves back on the main trail.<br />
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<i>Arriving at the Jura Crest Trail - Chemin des Crêtes du Jura.</i></div>
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Now standing on the edge of the Chasseron cliffs, we stood for awhile to take-in the magnificent views - of the Petites Roches to our left (towards the southwest), the Mont de la Maya (west), the Roches Blanches (northwest) and Le Chasseron (northeast). Behind us (to the southeast), lay the Crêt des Gouilles and far, far, far away - on the horizon - Mont Blanc and the arc of the Alps.<br />
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<i>The northwest-facing cliffs of Petites Roches.</i></div>
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<i>Looking down on Mont de la Maya (1465 metres).</i></div>
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<i> The grey-white cliffs of Roches Blanches (No. 50 on the list of Jura peaks).</i></div>
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<i>Looking up towards the summit of Le Chasseron from the Stone of Peace.</i></div>
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Our first destination in this neck-of-the-woods was the "Pierre de la Pax" (the Stone of Peace) - which we'd visited (and written about) when we last trekked up here - in October 2012. (You can read all about it by clicking-on "Le Chasseron" in the list of Jura peaks on the left ... so I won't write about it again now.) Suffice to say the Stone of Peace is reputed to have a special, positive energy field that adds to the well-being of anyone who touches it. On this occasion a small giant of a man was sitting on it, like a leprechaun on a toadstool - apparently absorbing its energy through his rather ample derriere, and showing no interest in moving away so I could get a clear photo of the stone. Not a problem, but I had to strategically position my "model" some metres in front of the rock to get a "clear" photo. </div>
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<i>Feeling relaxed at the Stone of Peace.</i></div>
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The Pierre de la Paix was apparently deposited in the down-slope village of Bullet after the last ice age, to where it was transported by glaciers thousands of years ago, and left there until 2002, when it was chosen for a new mission up here, near the Chasseron ridge. Having had the infinity sign carved into its gneiss surface, along with the symbols of five major religions (by artist Jacqueline Jeanneret), it was brought up here to inspire and invigorate travellers on the Jura Crest Trail. It's got a good view.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GxmI1dSw0si4plVcrmJmmKhsqnYOJBB44EJywAAaOMkPh75jauHYVPPu2CeGceBmMT5jBwMlRpTEEb-73v3KBmZVm1pPT8KMLhkdb5kaASx0q8mdTqTMT-_PuDlCZM0RsMuB4mlt4g/s1600/DSCN3704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GxmI1dSw0si4plVcrmJmmKhsqnYOJBB44EJywAAaOMkPh75jauHYVPPu2CeGceBmMT5jBwMlRpTEEb-73v3KBmZVm1pPT8KMLhkdb5kaASx0q8mdTqTMT-_PuDlCZM0RsMuB4mlt4g/s400/DSCN3704.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>A shot of the Stone of Peace from our October 2012 visit.</i></div>
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Re-energized, we headed up the trail towards the Hotel du Chasseron. Its terrace was buzzing with lunch-time guests, who were sitting-out under the bright red umbrellas and enjoying their mid-day meals and the wonderful views out over Lac Neuchâtel, the Swiss plain, Lac Léman and the arc of the Alps. It really was a very special place to have a hotel. We stopped just long enough to take a few photos - first from one side, and then the other - before walking the last 100 metres up the hill to the summit of Le Chasseron.</div>
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<i>Approaching the Hotel du Chasseron. </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxdF24_t3cmeNJupbSiCiUieWq9rcN9MuhLvwTyoA7mrH9jIHyWF_eSrgTu2hGLK0wLH5RrQL2lQpWRoQoO1utkBH3EL6jBhu0vhJBsTUYJiX28MTWGd7UX2LFzxGcSwk_8c94hiVwg/s1600/DSCN5146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxdF24_t3cmeNJupbSiCiUieWq9rcN9MuhLvwTyoA7mrH9jIHyWF_eSrgTu2hGLK0wLH5RrQL2lQpWRoQoO1utkBH3EL6jBhu0vhJBsTUYJiX28MTWGd7UX2LFzxGcSwk_8c94hiVwg/s400/DSCN5146.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<i> The view over the Hotel du Chasseron towards Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtP0_i6zlLzX27Rmlyzzo5_gugoefMoLHJ00uVcIqmU2-gw7SOWjBZ7odEWqXnE0JstuuEZCVA0dW8S71kdCbYjm87YaIhtfZmOmN7z4sklkRNeutLpfznOcTV1EF-LHkW_DqQm-O2w/s1600/DSCN5141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtP0_i6zlLzX27Rmlyzzo5_gugoefMoLHJ00uVcIqmU2-gw7SOWjBZ7odEWqXnE0JstuuEZCVA0dW8S71kdCbYjm87YaIhtfZmOmN7z4sklkRNeutLpfznOcTV1EF-LHkW_DqQm-O2w/s400/DSCN5141.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>A closer view of Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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By the time we reached the top, there were already quite a few people wandering around near the geodesic pyramid that marks the summit, and the nearby panorama interpretation panel. As it was approaching mid-day, the place was buzzing with trekkers, tourists, strollers, runners and mountain-bikers. We wandered around for awhile, taking-in the amazing views ... and taking lots of photos - in every direction.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLarDLnO-C1M65x4zrLMVWIQIM853f4B3OC51CcKn0Ols58OA4h56p7gIzqAkuhBkEz2G2LSWBuU7OnN1G7cyJ6TgnM-BAF23K2r6Pzjhh2iw5Gw7DI6IMNbvMkjsOW1C9GZdHRJ8bhQ/s1600/DSCN5149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLarDLnO-C1M65x4zrLMVWIQIM853f4B3OC51CcKn0Ols58OA4h56p7gIzqAkuhBkEz2G2LSWBuU7OnN1G7cyJ6TgnM-BAF23K2r6Pzjhh2iw5Gw7DI6IMNbvMkjsOW1C9GZdHRJ8bhQ/s400/DSCN5149.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The panorama table and geodesic pyramid at the top of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7UIgj1HkjPizqfwsCd1WGgqMmYwsOizgsNP6J-9NEdnYRhWmuQaHjVwnSQJZG23ST0zKDDGp-BT84W78oHkmrnvxF0Znvu3qc_Pai3hSC2i78eLqyY6PMLk-_tgsuiI3_fKJFC2Eqg/s1600/DSCN5162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7UIgj1HkjPizqfwsCd1WGgqMmYwsOizgsNP6J-9NEdnYRhWmuQaHjVwnSQJZG23ST0zKDDGp-BT84W78oHkmrnvxF0Znvu3qc_Pai3hSC2i78eLqyY6PMLk-_tgsuiI3_fKJFC2Eqg/s400/DSCN5162.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Looking south over the panorama table towards Mont Blanc. </i></div>
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<i>The Hotel du Chasseron in the middle distance.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHYX_S9ao0jCgE312Jakcm8q0UL3euZIghVs3pf3mzbLIvXNkq9lQ9zZ5iT7u0en-doQA9gEnBdSVMSQDzHJBmQs2JUbupM7p4cl8c0RO9ocOnuvhk2LwuWy_NP64MxYtHVVlPrubhA/s1600/DSCN5161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHYX_S9ao0jCgE312Jakcm8q0UL3euZIghVs3pf3mzbLIvXNkq9lQ9zZ5iT7u0en-doQA9gEnBdSVMSQDzHJBmQs2JUbupM7p4cl8c0RO9ocOnuvhk2LwuWy_NP64MxYtHVVlPrubhA/s400/DSCN5161.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<i> The view southwest - with Le Suchet, les Aiguilles de Baulmes </i></div>
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<i>and Petites Roches in the centre.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXG-BnsvbrHd64smpImXnaBnVUPk-Lr5MPzKO57KMT9SzWkXu8nQ3e5insZAkeK3rTQ1zRoJxJ1mU6TZ_hja8nJ9D0Hhyphenhyphenf2vsPCkm1Y3poL-62s7QR89qkoTO8Usx-5Nz5fjfsinMLQ/s1600/DSCN5159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXG-BnsvbrHd64smpImXnaBnVUPk-Lr5MPzKO57KMT9SzWkXu8nQ3e5insZAkeK3rTQ1zRoJxJ1mU6TZ_hja8nJ9D0Hhyphenhyphenf2vsPCkm1Y3poL-62s7QR89qkoTO8Usx-5Nz5fjfsinMLQ/s400/DSCN5159.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The peaks of Le Suchet, les Aiguilles de Baulmes and Petites Roches</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesaQ7gz6GW4bH72fgnAOr6WSYm4jRWVS122O15e6qRimEbR4ddJ9Fvj7r37UscdTq6s6vrZLfGQifp9D36YQkbMz2X_nrDKWT11_bEJJD1M5K-I82UcUGKlYuzqnTGt4zWV2fPkFGyQ/s1600/DSCN5167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesaQ7gz6GW4bH72fgnAOr6WSYm4jRWVS122O15e6qRimEbR4ddJ9Fvj7r37UscdTq6s6vrZLfGQifp9D36YQkbMz2X_nrDKWT11_bEJJD1M5K-I82UcUGKlYuzqnTGt4zWV2fPkFGyQ/s400/DSCN5167.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>Looking southwest along the cliffs - with Mont d'Or and the Piquemiette cliffs in the far central distance.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVnd6KaD4DUL9J0Ol2r2ydIvZG11BkbR2YHImTc7tKI4hPPhybuK2sX3ZmbnM3ufK9j8cSGX0IsWgHfu22OtBZRQoxGB1thjlnVFNQxCRJTQBI9DZ2hCsztiHLC1BGYNJZGU96qfCGQ/s1600/DSCN5166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVnd6KaD4DUL9J0Ol2r2ydIvZG11BkbR2YHImTc7tKI4hPPhybuK2sX3ZmbnM3ufK9j8cSGX0IsWgHfu22OtBZRQoxGB1thjlnVFNQxCRJTQBI9DZ2hCsztiHLC1BGYNJZGU96qfCGQ/s400/DSCN5166.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Checking-out the yet-to-be-climbed Roches Blanche - number 50 on our list of Jura peaks, and still ahead of us.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmED_uoaJE64g2xv8kUQn8JSZCU5q27K71F64nfTKH7xCYhBS9O4HkU9QOcnEuQqWXRfAoaXp_AZsgazBJHDt6ghFP-mFISnxmMeQLE41vzcij8EVSRBi9rEcM0LBbeMGtt8Lo_K6Ug/s1600/DSCN5154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmED_uoaJE64g2xv8kUQn8JSZCU5q27K71F64nfTKH7xCYhBS9O4HkU9QOcnEuQqWXRfAoaXp_AZsgazBJHDt6ghFP-mFISnxmMeQLE41vzcij8EVSRBi9rEcM0LBbeMGtt8Lo_K6Ug/s400/DSCN5154.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> Looking northeast - with the giant aerial at the summit of Le Chasseral in the far distance.</i></div>
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We wandered a short distance away from the summit and found a small rocky outcrop, with a convenient ledge - right on the edge of the "Balcon du Jura" and settled down for lunch. Fortunately we were mostly finished by the time we were joined by the hungry-looking Labrador from the hotel - who joined us on our superb vantage point. Soon after he left, we were joined by a nimble little stoat (also known as a (h)ermine or short-tailed weasel), who entertained us for minutes as she/he darted in and out of the rocks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjqqtXEoHkNc5op8efVmnNr5XAlVeHxjK_ZUfGyzSBv8Ozjbqd-p7jZqMguhyphenhyphenZhC8tFp_4W6lwWAVUaHO2TsxGv_Wpm80r_8306GTBAp1cqePekpzq1TKiU-ylO4xcOLTpPpFJyXBqQ/s1600/DSCN5177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjqqtXEoHkNc5op8efVmnNr5XAlVeHxjK_ZUfGyzSBv8Ozjbqd-p7jZqMguhyphenhyphenZhC8tFp_4W6lwWAVUaHO2TsxGv_Wpm80r_8306GTBAp1cqePekpzq1TKiU-ylO4xcOLTpPpFJyXBqQ/s400/DSCN5177.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Lis with our lunch guest.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzCH6rPgVTB_JHc9zSMIrRO7mJE77jPhAcjAv-DI_ASGCjO26H8CT_otwinpo955fY2kpGjCQSOrwEL1WSYMWo72HNMyUFoj0_FYiHJK75TaMhGZlsTLO_EqNWpAtg-ZF_IAa0ZQi_A/s1600/DSCN5200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzCH6rPgVTB_JHc9zSMIrRO7mJE77jPhAcjAv-DI_ASGCjO26H8CT_otwinpo955fY2kpGjCQSOrwEL1WSYMWo72HNMyUFoj0_FYiHJK75TaMhGZlsTLO_EqNWpAtg-ZF_IAa0ZQi_A/s400/DSCN5200.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> The nimble stoat.</i></div>
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After lunch we settled-back for awhile. lazing in the mid-day sunshine and listening to the sounds of summer. Somewhere down below us a herd of cows were also enjoying the day, and their summer pasturage no doubt. We could hear their bells tinkling-and-clanging in that distinctive, only-in-Switzerland way. Memories of Hans Christian Anderson came to mind.</div>
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In his epic "O.T. a Danish Romance", when writing of "The Switzer's Homesickness", he wrote:</div>
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<i> "Sure 'tis fair in foreign land, but not so fair as home;</i></div>
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<i> Let me see thy mountains, grand glaciers, and snowy dome!</i></div>
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<i> Let me hear the sound that tells of climbing cattle, </i></div>
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<i> dressed with bells"</i></div>
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<i> Relaxing after lunch. Mont Blanc in the far distance, cowbells closer.</i></div>
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<i> Taking-in the amazing panoramic views from the top of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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<i> Looking towards the Alps - over Lac Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains.</i></div>
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<i> The Swiss plain, Lac Léman and the Alps near Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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Well-fed, well-rested ... and once again re-energized, we eventually tore ourselves away from the mountain-top and commenced our return journey towards Les Rasses. First, we stopped again at the Hotel du Chasseron - to check-out the observation deck and its panorama table, and have a peek inside the old inn. There were quite a few people there ... as well as the cheeky Labrador who'd obviously finished his door-to-door scavenger hunt among the picnickers on the hilltop.</div>
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<i> The observation deck at the Hotel du Chasseron.</i></div>
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<i> Checking-out the panorama table at Hotel du Chasseron.</i></div>
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<i> Leaving Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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Sometime around 12.30pm we took our leave of the mountain, and started retracing our steps back towards Les Rasses. Although we stopped from time to time to check-out flowers, or take photos, or a closer look at one thing or another, we were soon on the outskirts of Les Rasses - too soon it seemed, as this was a walk that we would have been quite content to drag-on, much later into the afternoon.</div>
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<i> On the road back to Les Rasses, near Le Rocher.</i></div>
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Instead, before we knew it, we were back in Les Rasses - at about 1.15pm. It had been a three-and-a-half-hour walk, although it could easily have been just a couple of hours, but it was a beauty. I'll mark that one down for a return trip, perhaps in mid-winter. We saw lots of snow-shoe trail markers along the route.</div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Crêt des Gouilles (No. 41) 1524m</li>
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Also:<br />
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<li>Le Chasseron (No. 14) 1607m </li>
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(Previously climbed in October 2012. See previous trip report here: <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/10/le-chasseron-no-14.html">http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/10/le-chasseron-no-14.html</a><br />
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
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<li>Climbing Crêt des Gouilles marked the 50th Jura peak that we have
summited since starting the Jura Mountain Rambling "project" in January
2012. </li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-68983115285232921752013-07-27T18:16:00.001+02:002014-10-31T14:46:45.264+01:00Les Aiguilles de Baulmes (No 24)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AdDU0Ua86PuZAQcldcs4O5Tbc0ejjgHzDeENWiiMi1U1l1ytB0SLcN0WXRRxYUKeYNG7TNOGaTZQmilw6sfdsDV2zbxlczUX6tMDZXfBGs6mH1olONa1iC-1GrttUR2qoMfSSCMY6w/s1600/DSCN4803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AdDU0Ua86PuZAQcldcs4O5Tbc0ejjgHzDeENWiiMi1U1l1ytB0SLcN0WXRRxYUKeYNG7TNOGaTZQmilw6sfdsDV2zbxlczUX6tMDZXfBGs6mH1olONa1iC-1GrttUR2qoMfSSCMY6w/s400/DSCN4803.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Les Aiguilles de Baulmes may not be the highest peak in the Jura Mountains (1559 metres), but it's certainly one of the most imposing. And dramatic. And rugged. And beautiful. And, luckily for avid Jura day-trippers (like us), it's also a fabulous place for a hike. We'd previously seen the gray-white limestone cliffs of the range during our hike to the summit of Le Suchet (No 19) last winter, and have been eager to get back here ever since.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplwAXSMqpNq4OnlWx3ox411gGbZjw_Zf1Zmm7ZlZPW-t6agn9hKF4os5OCaruBH2Su8XkiQ0_uJ41nYgqeSgjF4vRsl69MNCtFe_OZp4W8iEmvmjHEQ30zv6L7apFnskBYh3w2wnGWw/s1600/DSCN3953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplwAXSMqpNq4OnlWx3ox411gGbZjw_Zf1Zmm7ZlZPW-t6agn9hKF4os5OCaruBH2Su8XkiQ0_uJ41nYgqeSgjF4vRsl69MNCtFe_OZp4W8iEmvmjHEQ30zv6L7apFnskBYh3w2wnGWw/s400/DSCN3953.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Aiguilles de Baulmes (as seen from Le Suchet, December 2012). </i></div>
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Unfortunately a long, wet, un-walker-friendly spring and summer (and a busy travel schedule) has meant that it has taken us months to get back out here to hike the range.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vKoWw_-gq9LowN7kr6o2u6sOApm-oVF2X9GDRXKvnsnzAmHsAAeeFKVnyIy_1g_Pl8LJX6CZiqMEkWnWcvdsXx0bhjIK4qQDuRm9RNZ6lOafIGCdvKyQafH-YuYTr5_HaOnh7ARscA/s1600/DSCN5245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vKoWw_-gq9LowN7kr6o2u6sOApm-oVF2X9GDRXKvnsnzAmHsAAeeFKVnyIy_1g_Pl8LJX6CZiqMEkWnWcvdsXx0bhjIK4qQDuRm9RNZ6lOafIGCdvKyQafH-YuYTr5_HaOnh7ARscA/s400/DSCN5245.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> The imposing limestone cliffs of Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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We set-out (at about 10am) from the village of Baulmes (632m), which is tucked into a small valley at the foot of the escarpment - with the heavily forested Jura on one side, and the checker-board agricultural landscape of the Swiss plateau on the other. It's a great setting for a village, and a great place to kick-off a hike. There are quite a few optional starting points for the "tour de Aiguilles de Baulmes" - with Ste-Croix, La Gitte Dessous and Grange Neuve probably the most popular - but we chose to set-out from Baulmes, partly due to its name being linked to the mountain, and partly because of its great location, right at the foot of the scarp. "Baulmes" is apparently derived from an old Celtic word - <i>barme</i> - which means a cave, cellar or hole in a rock.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3drI5HtHJqAM2vmpKG8CAJ4HJZJttJpi2njc5m88tb5-0sXp-64xgWD5iHskeF7KyQLk_K5uj9ZCg6Edp9qXkiLT94is2BGhXaw94LCc_N3KE6UYzl5TiLoX5g3BKS38MzOOuNfakaQ/s1600/DSCN4753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3drI5HtHJqAM2vmpKG8CAJ4HJZJttJpi2njc5m88tb5-0sXp-64xgWD5iHskeF7KyQLk_K5uj9ZCg6Edp9qXkiLT94is2BGhXaw94LCc_N3KE6UYzl5TiLoX5g3BKS38MzOOuNfakaQ/s400/DSCN4753.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The village of Baulmes nestled under the Jura escarpment.</i></div>
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The town of Baulmes dates back to at least the 7th century, (for example, the Priory of St. Mary was built in the town in 652, by the Duke Felix Chramnelène), although Stone-Age artefacts in the caves above the town suggest it has been a popular place to live for much longer than that. By some accounts, the caves above Baulmes were the sites of first habitation in this part of Switzerland after the last ice age. A small group of survivors of that icy era settled first in a cave on the escarpment called the "Grotte à Barbareau", before later moving down onto "flatter" ground near the foot of the cliffs. It is believed that people have been inhabiting "Baulmes" for 10-12,000 years.<br />
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We parked at the back of the village, right alongside the church, and stood for awhile to take-in the wonderful, rugged, white cliffs that dominated the hillside above us. "Aiguilles" comes from the Latin word for "needles" <i>(acula)</i>, and the old French word for the same <i>(aguille)</i>, or for a summit <i>(aculeus).</i> It is often used to name rocky points, "striking rock formations" and summits ... which appeared entirely appropriate for the stark, white, rugged, jagged rocky outcrop "needles" that punctured the skies above the town.<br />
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<i>Our starting point - the old church at the top of the town (678m).</i></div>
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Leaving the church, we headed north out of town, and slowly zig-zagged our way up the steep slopes immediately above the village. The trail was well sign-posted, with two or three options available - either for going "straight" to the top of Mont de Baulmes, or for the longer "Tour de l'Aiguillon" if one desired to do the full circuit. We were set on doing the latter, but were first headed towards the top of the mountain named after the town - Mont de Baulmes. At first the trail ran alongside a lovely little stream - and we were soothed by the sound of the water cascading down the hillside and tumbling over rocks. The stream is actually the (near) headwaters of the Baumine River, a tributary of the Arnon. Along its way we passed a couple of small, old bridges, where we stopped awhile to watch the water tumbling and gushing its way over the rocks and down the hill; and took-in the coolness and tranquillity of our surrounds. Life doesn't get much better than this.</div>
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<i>One of the many useful signposts along the route.</i></div>
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The trail was predominantly through coniferous forest (mostly fir, pine and spruce) - which provided us with lovely cool shade on what was turning into a hot summer's day. At one stage we stopped for awhile to admire some forest fungi, and were delighted by a chamois calmly meandering across our trail, pausing awhile, and then floating down the mountainside and disappearing into the foliage. About 20 minutes from Baulmes we crossed the Baulmes - Ste-Croix railway line, which created a gap in the canopy and provided glimpses of the white-grey cliffs of the Aiguilles above us - the ramparts called Les Bataillards we thought.<i> </i>Through the trees, from time to time, we also caught glimpses of the old Baulmes lime cement mine. This ancient scar on the hillside was first opened in about 1900 (operating underground until about 1945), and eventually closed in 1962. The mine, which bored into the calcareous Aargau marl Jurassic rock, was established on two levels, which had a combined total of 11 sub-levels and a collective 17,000 metres of shafts. Since being abandoned, it has been popular with cavers and bat enthusiasts, and for awhile by mushroom farmers - who used the lower mine to cultivate their delicious fare in the years following the mine's closure.<br />
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<i>Lis crossing the Baulmes - Ste-Croix railway line.</i></div>
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At about 1,000 metres we passed through a patch of forest called "Grassys Brûles", and soon after an alpine meadow area with lots of tall grasses, low shrubs, wild strawberries and wildflowers. It was buzzing with bees and other insects, and ticks. (Lis soon discovered she had a hitch-hiker on her arm.) We eventually emerged from the forest and reached the edge of the ridgeline, just near a small mountain hut. Off to the northeast we could see another, more established dwelling and, further-on towards the horizon, the summits of Le Cochet, Petites Roches and Le Chasseron - which we'd climbed in October 2012. Somewhere, just down to our right was a place called "Granit de Procession", where one can find some granitic boulders left over from the ice age, apparently originally plucked-out of the Alps. One rock, called "La pierre à Bon Chateau", which is near Sergy, not far from Baulmes, was transported there by the huge ice sheets - all the way from the Saas Valley, in the southeast Swiss Alps not far from Zermatt. Not surprisingly, local folklore has it that the "Granit de Procession" was a place of worship in ages past. Beyond the "Procession" lies the Gorges de Covatanne - just above the village of Vuiteboeuf - which are equally steeped in local history. There are more of these huge granite boulders - glacial erratics - inside the gorges<br />
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<i>Arriving at the small hut near the top of Mont de Baulmes.</i></div>
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L<i>e Cochet, Petites Roches and Le Chasseron on the northern horizon.</i></div>
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The trail wound its way around towards the west, heading for the top of the eastern-most cliffs of the Aiguilles de Baulmes. Off to the right we could see the Chalet du Mont de Baulmes (1271m), which offers hearty mountain fare between May and the end of October. A short walk further-on brought us to the top of the Mont de Baulmes cliffs, which provided magnificent panoramic views over the Swiss plain below us and further off to Lac Neuchâtel and Lac Léman. Unfortunately a heat haze hung over the plain, obscuring much of the distant Alps from our view. The vista was still stunning, and we stayed there for some time, cooling-down from the strenuous hike up the mountain, soaking-in the views, and taking lots of photos.<br />
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<i>Capturing the scene from the cliffs of Mont de Baulmes, </i></div>
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<i>with Lac Neuchâtel in the distance.</i></div>
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Down below us we could see the village of Baulmes - nestled into the Valley of Baumine - and the multi-coloured (with shades of green, gold, yellow and brown) patchwork of farmland paddocks fanning-out across the plain to the south and east.<br />
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<i>Through the trees, our first glimpses down on Baulmes and the Swiss plateau.</i></div>
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<i>Looking west along the ridgeline, with the Mont de Baulmes observation table </i></div>
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<i>in the right foreground and, to its left, the summit of les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>Further to the left - Le Suchet.</i></div>
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A<i> walker checking-out the panorama panel at the Mont de Baulmes observation point, with the cliff-tops of the Aiguilles de Baulmes jutting-out in the background.</i></div>
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We followed the crest-line towards the east - in and out of the rocky "headlands" and denticulated incisions in the cliff-line - to the Mont de Baulmes observation point, where we checked-out the panorama information panel ... and the magnificent views to the east, south and west. In the process we reached the highest point on Mont de Baulmes (1285m), which, by my reckoning, ranks number 159 on the list of Jura peaks.<br />
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<i>Lis at the Mont de Baulmes look-out.</i></div>
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The interpretation panel says it's 1289 metres, but that is most likely wrong, as the table dates back to a time before modern, more accurate altitude-measuring technology. It was constructed in 1875-76 and brought up to the summit by members of the "Mountains sub-section" of the Societe du Musee de Ste-Croix. It's a fascinating information panel, with a huge number of landmarks sign-posted. It is also fascinating because it shows the longitude as being roughly four degrees east ... of Paris ... as it dates back to a time before France (and presumably the French-speaking world, including La Suisse), had adopted the Greenwich Meridian. (It should be about six degrees east). The Greenwich Meridian was adopted for international use in 1884, but the French resolutely hung on to their version, and continued to measure longitude as being west and east of Paris, until 1911.</div>
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<i>The beautiful panorama interpretation table at Mont de Baulmes, </i></div>
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<i>with Le Suchet and Aiguilles de Baulmes in the background. </i></div>
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<i>Looking down at the village of Baulmes. </i></div>
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<i>The view west along the top of the escarpment.</i></div>
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Eventually we pulled ourselves away from the Mont de Baulmes vantage point, and began making our way west along the ridge-top. At first we had to drop-back a bit from the cliff-tops, and wind our way through the undulating forest landscape and, at one point, over an ancient, crumbling stone wall somewhere near the Cul de Murs.<br />
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<i>Crossing an old stone wall at the top of the mountain.</i></div>
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Wherever we could, we left the trail and darted back out to the cliff-face to see what new views were unfolding before us. The forests obscured much of our views to the north and the west ahead of us, but off to the south, our attention was increasingly captured by the picturesque valley - the Baumine River valley - that lies between Le Suchet and Aiguilles de Baulmes.<br />
Back in the Middle Ages this valley used to be called "the path of Caesar" or "the Gate of Aiguillon", and was a popular route for French military forces and other invaders - mostly bandits and renegades called "ecorchers" or "Armagnacs" who came to plunder and pillage the inhabitants of the region, including the villagers of Baulmes. The latter responded by building a defensive fortress castle some time in the mid-1400s, into which they would all retreat and shelter whenever they were invaded. The castle thereafter had an interesting and chequered history, but, unfortunately, little remains of it today.<br />
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<i>The "Gate of Aiguillon" between Le Suchet and Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>The Les Nax farmhouse prominent in the pasturage in the valley floor. </i></div>
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We were soon standing on top of the section of stark cliffs called "Les Rebans" (1372m - and number 97 on the list of the highest Jura peaks). A little further to the west we reached the famous "Cave Noir" (which was first discovered by cavers in 1907). Like all such notable Swiss landmarks, it was well-sign-posted, and was relatively easy to access along the narrow trail that dropped over the cliff-top and followed a ledge back towards the east. While I had no interest in being a speleologist today, I thought I would at least head down there and check it out. I'd previously read that getting access to the main cavern required crawling through a narrow tube-like tunnel (which also meant getting wet and dirty) and I wasn't up for that today.<br />
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<i>The sign on the trail near Cave Noir - at 1432 metres.</i></div>
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<i>The start of the side-trail heading to Cave Noir.</i></div>
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<i>The ledge-top path leading to Cave Noir. </i></div>
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<i>There is a steel chain attached to the cliff-face for the last few metres.</i></div>
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The cave entrance is quite large - easily big enough for a few people to stand there and be sheltered from the elements. It stayed that way for some metres into the mountainside, and thereafter began to twist and turn, and shrink. It quickly required torch-light to be able to see where one was going. Luckily I had a head-torch with me, so ventured in as far as the entrance to the tunnel section. Apparently a relatively large chamber, into which streams natural lighting from a hole in the roof, awaits those who are keen enough to make the journey.<br />
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<i>Looking back towards the entrance of the cave from within the first chamber.</i></div>
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<i>In the depths of Cave Noir, with the tunnel section in the darkness ahead.</i></div>
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The next section of the walk, the final "push" towards the summit, was the most dramatic, and provided the most amazing sights. We stopped frequently to peer over the precipitously-steep cliffs - the "Flühe" - which are characterized by sheer faces of up to 100 metres, with still-very-steep, forested slopes below. The escarpment must also provide excellent updraft, as we saw numerous para-gliders sliding their way across the skies high above us between where we stood and the summit of Le Suchet - from where many were also apparently launching themselves into the Jura skies.<br />
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<i> A paraglider circling above the eastern end of Aiguilles de Baulmes. </i></div>
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<i>Mont de Baulmes (and Baulmes) in the background.</i></div>
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The thermals above les Aiguilles de Baulmes are also popular with conventional glider pilots, as we saw quite a procession of small planes towing gliders high into the air above us - before releasing them to go on their own silent way.<br />
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<i>A glider under tow above Baulmes.</i></div>
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A small plane like one of these - a two-seated Cessna with two people on board - crashed into the cliff-tops of Aiguilles de Baulmes on the 19th of May in 2010. Unfortunately the pilot was killed in the accident, but his passenger was lucky enough to escape relatively uninjured, and was even able to make his way to a nearby road and flag-down a passing motorist before being taken to the hospital at Yverdon-les-Bains.<br />
I read an account some time ago that said that three or four other people have also lost their lives at Aiguilles de Baulmes in recent times: "a climber who fell, a girl who jumped to her death, and a woman who was pushed-off the cliff by her husband". That was all a bit sobering, so we were careful about where we were placing our feet.<br />
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<i>Lis standing on the cliff-top looking towards Le Suchet </i></div>
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<i>and (in the far distance) the Dent de Vaulion.</i></div>
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<i>Lis enjoying the trail along the top of Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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Sometime around about 1pm, not long after we'd passed the mountain-top Chalet des Aiguilles, we found a beautiful grassy spot right at the cliff's edge, which afforded fantastic panoramic views - back along the notches and promontories of les Aiguilles towards Le Chasseron; out over the Valley de Baumine and Le Suchet; and north towards the highest point on the Aiguilles de Baulmes ridgeline, and the distant, hazy peaks beyond. It really was the most breath-taking picnic spot one could ever desire.<br />
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<i>Lis reclining after lunch atop les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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Refuelled, refreshed and re-inspired, we were soon back on our way, and virtually within minutes were approaching our main destination - the summit of les Aiguilles de Baulmes (1559 metres). A weathered wooden cross marked the high-point of this imposing five kilometre long ridgeline, which runs roughly in a WSW to ENE direction with Baulmes on one side (the south) and Ste-Croix on the other (the north).<br />
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<i>Approaching the cross at the top of les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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Of course, we stayed at the summit for some time, taking-in the fantastic views, and taking lots (and lots) of photos. It was a glorious summer's day and the vistas were just incredible.<br />
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<i>Rehydrating at the summit cross.</i></div>
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<i>Celebrating being at the top of the Jura's 24th highest named peak.</i></div>
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<i>Looking southwest towards Mont Tendre.</i></div>
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<i>The Jura Mountain Rambling team at the summit of les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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We still had a few kilometres to go before our day was over, so we eventually tore ourselves away from the peak, and started heading down the mountain - on a little-used route that cut down the arête immediately west of the summit. Most trekkers appear to either retrace their steps back along the ridgeline to Mont de Baulmes, or take the main trail that heads-off down the mountain in a north-north-easterly direction from the summit. We decided to take the more-precipitous, sharp mountain ridgeline ... mainly so we could keep these fantastic views for as long as we could. Down below, and ahead of us, lay the Col de l'Aiguillon (1293m) and, just another 700 metres further-on from that, the border with France.<br />
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<i>Looking back at the summit of les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>A view into the Baumine Valley from the ridge-top.</i></div>
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<i>Heading down the ridgeline with its marvellous views of Le Suchet, Mont Tendre, </i></div>
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<i>Dent de Vaulion. Around to the right (further north and obscured in this photo) lie the Piquemiette cliffs and Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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<i>Lis paying careful attention to where she is placing her feet </i></div>
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<i>on the descent down the ridgeline.</i></div>
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At times the trail descended into the proverbial "goat track" - with some very steep, slippery scree sections, jagged rocks and other obstacles that threatened to trip and tumble the careless walker. Also of concern is the fact that in a couple of places the trail either diverged, or completely faded-out amid the rocks. Walkers are well-advised to take care, and proceed with some caution. At one stage, we found ourselves at the end of a cliff-top dead-end and had to precariously scramble our way back up a slippery scree and rubble section (that we'd just slipped and slid down) to rediscover the true trail.<br />
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<i> It wasn't easy trying to come down here without ropes.</i></div>
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In this rocky, cavernous, canyon-like section we came across small gatherings of hard-core rock-climbers - working the cliff-faces with obvious delight and playful banter. The Aiguilles de Baulmes are something of a honey-pot for climbers, with a multitude of popular routes on offer amid the classic Jurassic limestone cliffs.<br />
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<i> A climber edging her way up the cliffs at Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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Not surprisingly, the Aiguilles de Baulmes has a special place in the history of Swiss mountaineering. The Jackdaw School of Mountaineering was established near there in the 1960s - at Gittez on the north side of the range, near Ste-Croix. Among the school's claims-to-fame is that it built the world's first indoor climbing wall (in the barn at their "Bel Horizon" farm headquarters); and that one of its members (D. Cochand) apparently invented the climbing harness. That's a pretty cool bit of history.<br />
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<i>Old WW2 bunker near Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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We watched the climbers for awhile, then continued to work (and slip and slide) our way down the mountain. Eventually we got onto a better forest track, and finally emerged out of the forest just east of the Col de l'Aiguillon. Down below us was a section of the Toblerone Line (the old WW2 anti-tank defences) that formed an imposing barrier across the floor of the Valley de Baumine. We passed a few other old and weathered defence installations (mainly old WW2 machine-gun bunkers), as we walked east down the valley towards Baulmes. Up to our left were the cliffs of L'Aiguillon, which now stood stark and beautiful in the afternoon sunlight.<br />
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<i>The cliffs of L'Aiguillon.</i></div>
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<i>The summit cross at the top of the cliffs of les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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<i>On the trail near Les Prax farmhouse.</i></div>
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<i>Hmm, I'm not sure. But I assume it's a warning sign for kamikaze mountain-bikers.</i></div>
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<i>Last look back at les Aiguilles de Baulmes.</i></div>
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The route "home" was relatively easy-going. Firstly following the road that runs between the Col de l'Aiguillon and Baulmes - and passing, on either side, the Grange Neuve, La Combette, Les Prax, Les Crebillons, Les Mouilles and Les Nax farmhouses, before re-entering the forest again somewhere just below the "Les Rebans" cliffs. Somewhere in the forest off to our right was a site marked on the topographic map as "Fortification préhistorique de l'Hermitage" ... but that would just have to wait for another day.<br />
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<i>Heading into the forest on the road below the cliffs of Les Rebans.</i></div>
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<i>On the trail down through the forest.</i></div>
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B<i>ack at the Baumine River - where we stopped awhile to cool down.</i></div>
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We eventually arrived back in Baulmes at about 4.30pm - six and a half hours after we'd set out. Keener walkers can do the "Tour de Aiguille de Baulmes" in a lot less time than that, but we like to stop a lot, and take lots of photos, and take-in the views to our hearts' content .... so we're never that bothered by how long it takes us. Needless to say, we had another great Jura walk. Another ramble that I'd definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fabulous trail to follow in the magnificent Jura Mountains.<br />
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<i>Back at the car on the outskirts of Baulmes.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Aiguilles de Baulmes (No. 24) 1559m </li>
<li>Les Rebans (No. 97) 1372m </li>
<li>Mont de Baulmes (No. 159) 1285m </li>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The top of the Aiguilles de Baulmes ridgeline is protected by a 106 hectare forest reserve, which has, at its core, an even-more-protected nature reserve. (The latter has apparently been spared from all logging activities for more than 50 years).</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-4693719530897470452013-02-23T16:55:00.000+01:002014-09-17T01:02:46.118+02:00Châtel / Le Châtel (No 68)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Le Châtel is one of the easiest walks on our list of Jura peaks - being ranked number 68, and easily accessible from the top of the Col du Mollendruz (1184m) - although we could have made it a little more demanding if we'd headed there by climbing-up from the village of Montricher (750m) on the western side of the range. But the day was cold (minus 3 degrees) and windy, so we didn't need to make it any more challenging than what it already was.<br />
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We drove through Montricher on our way to the Col on Sunday, the 17th of February, looking-up at the thick, grey clouds that blanketed the crests of the Jura's eastern-most, and highest ridgeline (and wondered aloud if this was a good idea). The ridgeline is famous for its panoramas, but we weren't expecting any magnificent views on this particular day, and were soon driving in the mist - as the road snaked its way up from Mont-la-Ville towards the top of the Col. We parked the car in a small car-park about 750 metres west of the Auberge du Mollendruz, near a place marked "Fontaine Froide" on the topo map (1171m). There we pulled on our snowshoes and backpacks, and, at about 11.30am, headed south into the mist. (We'd left our departure as late as possible, hoping the weather would get better.)<br />
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<i>Leaving the car-park on the Col du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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Ahead of us, the trail disappeared into oblivion under a dense, smothering white-out, with visibility restricted to about 100 metres. But it was still relatively early, and anticipating (and hoping) that the clouds would lift and burn-off as the day warmed-up, we plunged on into the deep, fresh, powdery snow with bright optimism. Despite our positive thoughts, the weather showed no signs of "letting-up" as we headed along the trail, wrapped-up in our full snow gear against the bitter cold.<br />
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<i>Looking into the mist along the disappearing trail ahead.</i></div>
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In no time at all, we reached and passed the Chalet du Mollendruz - a popular destination for Col du Mollendruz day-trippers at any time of the year. Today, despite the weather, there were plenty of brave souls cascading down the toboggan slope just alongside the buvette, while inside we imagined that every table would have been filled with day-trippers seeking refuge around the warm fire - downing their coffee and croissants, or wine and fondue. We had no plans to stop and enjoy such creature-comforts, and quickly passed-by following a trail just west of the chalet.<br />
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<i>The Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>A pause on the trail near Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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We more or less followed a set of snowshoe tracks adjacent to a ski du fond track - that headed south towards the Col du Marchairuz. It took us into the heavily snow-laden, coniferous forest called the Bois des Croisettes. We were now just east of the Creux au Cheval, and, further up the slope, the Haut du Mollendruz. Having left the within-day-tripping-range Chalet du Mollendruz and the main trail, we now virtually had the entire forest to ourselves. It was fabulous walking.<br />
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<i>A single set of snowshoe tracks heading into the Bois des Croisettes adjacent to the main transjurassien ski du fond trail.</i></div>
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We continued to head more-or-less due south through the forest for just over a kilometre, before we broke-out into the open again near a small cabine just southwest of the Combe de la Neige (at about 1300 metres in altitude). Off to our right, hidden among the clouds was an alpine farmhouse called Pre de l'Haut Dessous. But we couldn't see it, and weren't heading in that direction.<br />
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<i>Cabine in the Combe de la Neige.</i></div>
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Instead, we skirted around the small cabine, and picked-up the trail that zig-zagged its way up the Cote de Châtel ridgeline on the eastern side of the combe that we'd been following since Col du Mollendruz. The trail sign pointed towards our destination - Le Châtel - and further-on to Montricher.<br />
We cautiously picked our way up the steep and, at times slippery, slope. It didn't take us long to reach the crest of the ridgeline, where we also picked-up the main snowshoe trail that ran more directly north-south between the Col du Mollendruz and Le Châtel.<br />
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<i>Trail signs at the head of Combe de la Neige.</i></div>
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We stopped to take photos of the ice crystals that formed neat patterns on the snowshoe trail signs. It was no wonder that we were feeling the cold. It was freezing up here, and compounded by a bitter wind that blew-in from the north. <br />
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<i>Icicles on one of the snowshoe trail markers.</i></div>
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Being only a few kilometres from the Col, it didn't take us long to reach the Châtel farmhouse (which, like just about every other farmhouse in the Jura at this time of the year, was abandoned for winter). Through the mist we could hear a couple of other hikers huddled under its verandas, no doubt stopped for a quick bite for lunch). During the summer months Châtel doubles-up as a buvette, serving tasty mountain fare of wine, cheese, bread, pasta and mushrooms to passing Jura hikers.<br />
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<i>The Châtel farmhouse in the mountain mist (1392m).</i></div>
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<i>Trail signs near the Châtel farmhouse.</i></div>
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<i>Another ice-encrusted snowshoe trail sign.</i></div>
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A couple of hundred metres further along the trail we reached the crest of Le Châtel ... and its magnificent wood and steel and glass cross. It was quite imposing, especially the way it gradually just appeared out of the mist as we approached it. The word "châtel" is derived from the Old French word <i>chastel</i>, and Latin <i>chastellum</i>, and means "a small castle built to defend a communications route". In this case it is in reference to a small castle that used to dominate the village of Montricher - which was just down below us somewhere ... obliterated in the mist.<br />
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<i>Approaching the summit of Le Châtel.</i></div>
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<i>The imposing cross at the top of Le Châtel.</i></div>
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<i>Cross detail - Le Châtel.</i></div>
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The cross had been erected by the residents of Montricher in May 2008. The origins of the cross - Montricher - is interesting for a number of reasons ... with one (for me at least) being its name. It was originally (in 1049) called Mons Richarius or Monsricharius, i.e., "Mount Richard". This was changed to Monte Richerii in 1177, then to Monrichie (in 1412) then to Montricher - its current name - in 1301.<br />
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<i>The commemorative plaque at the foot of the Le Châtel cross.</i></div>
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Being located on a strategic communications route along the eastern side of the Jura, Montricher was chosen as the site to build a small castle by a local noble called Rodolphe, the son of Adalbert II of Grandson - which he commenced, on a small hill above the village, in 1049. Unfortunately, the ravages of time, along with two devastating fires (in 1770 and 1828) which all but completely destroyed the castle and village, means there is little evidence today of the castle. Just a few ruins and wall foundations. The stones of the town walls and the castle were used to rebuild the village after the second fire, and perhaps the only substantial reminder of that past glory exists in the form of the local church which has an imposing round tower - complete with arrow slits, look-out ports and thick impenetrable walls - which is thought to be the chapel of the old castle.<br />
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<i>Lis at the top of Le Châtel.</i></div>
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Having "explored" the summit as best we could in the white-out, we searched around for a suitable place to hunker down for lunch. It was now about 12.45 - an hour and a quarter after we'd started our hike. We found a neat snow cavity just on the lee of the crest, behind a small clump of fir trees - where I did the strange snowshoe shuffle/tramp-around to flatten-out and harden a small patch where we could drop our packs and backsides whilst having lunch.<br />
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<i>Packing down the snow at our lunch-time picnic spot.</i></div>
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It turned-out to be quite well-sheltered from the wind, although we did get an occasional blast of snow into our sandwiches and tea - as snow was whipped-up by the wind scuttling across the white, barren landscape, or blown out of the trees above us. It didn't matter. We were having fun.<br />
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<i>Our picnic site at Le Châtel. (With the Le Châtel summit cross in the background).</i></div>
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<i>The snow-covered firs at our lunch spot.</i></div>
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<i>Icicles hanging over our heads at lunch.</i></div>
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<i>The magnificent view from our picnic spot - trees in the mist at Le Châtel.</i></div>
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Despite our hot tea, and customary nip of heart-warming French marc, we weren't inclined to hang around too long. The weather wasn't getting any better. The sun had made a couple of desperate attempts to break through the last layer of cloud above our heads, but it didn't look like it was ever going to really win that battle. So we dragged our snowshoes back on, now all encrusted with ice, and headed back out into the mist.<br />
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<i>Leaving the picnic site.</i></div>
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We sloshed our way back out to the cross through the powdery snow and took the obligatory Swiss flag photo to mark the occasion.<br />
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<i>The obligatory Swiss flag shot at Le Châtel (1742m).</i></div>
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Another small group of snowshoers appeared out of the mist from the north, no doubt heading towards Montricher - which is about three or four kilometres southeast of Le Châtel. We made a mental note to come back this way again in fairer weather, perhaps coming-up from Monricher. One reason for doing so (in finer weather), is that there is an interesting archaeological site on the trail between Le Châtel and Montricher - at about 1400 metres - at a place called Châtel Arrufens. It is a well-researched and documented Bronze Age (4th-5th centuries) site that was extensively excavated by an archaeologist named Jean-Pierre Gadina, between 1966 and 1973. It was further studied in the 1990s by two other Swiss archaeologists - Mirielle David and Daniel Elbiali Paunier - who recorded many discoveries, including coins, pottery and other artefacts.<br />
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<i>Lis taking one last hopeful look for the panorama.</i></div>
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Le Châtel is meant to provide a fantastic panoramic viewpoint of the distant Alps, lakes and plateau ... but there was nothing today - just a white wall of nothingness. The eastern side of the summit - called the Côte de Châtel - drops away very steeply and, with no other ridgelines in front of it, affords uninterrupted views for miles and miles to the north, east and south. But, with no such views being afforded on this occasion - nada, zilch - we soon turned our backs and hit the trail - heading due north back towards the Col. It was now about 1.30pm.<br />
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<i>Leaving Le Châtel.</i></div>
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This time we stayed on the main snowshoe trail, which took us back past the Châtel farmhouse, over a small hilltop (at 1404m), then gradually down the main ridgeline and into a majestic fir forest<br />
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<i>Heading back down the mountain towards Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>Lis under a magnificent patch of fir trees.</i></div>
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<i>Snow patterns radiating down the fir branches.</i></div>
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Eventually we intersected another trail at the northern end of the Combe de la Neige, then continued along a fantastic forest track that wound its way among the trees. Getting closer to the Col, we began encountering an increasing number of other walkers - it's obviously a popular trail, and well sign-posted. As well as having a well-tramped trail, it also had a couple of useful-looking interpretive signs along the way, and other distinct and regular markers. It would be hard to get lost on this route.<br />
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<i>Trail sign in the Combe de la Neige.</i></div>
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<i>Snowshoe trail info panel.</i></div>
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<i>Approaching the Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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Not surprisingly, it didn't take us long to get through the downhill forest section, and we soon found ourselves approaching the Chalet du Mollendruz - although this time from the south. We walked straight up to the chalet, where we stopped briefly to take a few photos, and to look inside at the packed clientele who were enjoying the warmth, as well as the wine and fondue that adorned just about every table.<br />
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<i>Arriving at the Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>Lis outside the Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>Icicles on the windows of the Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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<i>Snowshoes stacked-up outside the Chalet du Mollendruz.</i></div>
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By now we were thinking of our own wine and warmth - that was awaiting us via an open log fire - that we'd soon be enjoying back at our house at Les Côteaux. So we snapped-off the last photos of the day, and headed back to the car.<br />
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We arrived back in the car park at about 2.20pm, where we dropped our snowshoes and backpacks, and swigged-down another hot thermos of tea. It had been a relatively easy, and short walk, but thoroughly enjoyable and easily accessible. We'll certainly be coming back ... but next time on a day when the views will be able to live up to their reputation.<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Châtel / Le Châtel (No. 68)</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-69132103589740594682013-01-08T01:11:00.000+01:002013-12-04T22:23:13.989+01:00Mont Pelé (No 34) and Mont Sâla (No 42)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mont Pelé and Mont Sâla may not be on too many Jura hiker's lists of "Must-see-places-to-visit", but oh boy, are they missing-out on a couple of fabulous destinations! And if the journey really is better than the destination, then they're also missing-out on a great hike/trek/walk/ramble/snowshoe expedition as well. We hiked to both peaks on Sunday (the 6th of January, 2013), and had another competitor for "one of the best hikes of all time" in the Jura heartlands. Getting to Mont Pelé in particular, involved real back-country hiking - an authentic off-the-beaten-track, trail-cutting experience, which provided a great hike ... and some of the best views we'd ever experienced.<br />
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As for our previous two hikes, we set-out from the Col de la Givrine, where we parked the car in a small roadside car-park about a kilometre west of La Givrine. Driving out to La Givrine from St George early in the morning, we wondered what kind of a day was in store for us, as St George (940m), and everything below it, was blanketed in a thick layer of dense grey cloud. Fortunately, Ra (the sun god) was with us, and we drove-out of the foreboding, smothering cloud layer once we got to about 1100 metres. We were greeted by gorgeous sunshine by the time we reached St Cergue. Up at the Col, we hoisted our backpacks (at about 9.45am), speculated on the day's weather and the number of thousands of people who would fill this valley as the day wore on ... and then headed north up the trail.<br />
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<i>The calm before the storm - the Col de la Givrine - before the arrival of the ubiquitous multitude of mid-winter day-trippers that come to enjoy this winter wonderland.</i></div>
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It was now a familiar path for us, having come this way on our last two hikes - to La Noirmont (No 24) and Crêt des Danses (No 32) - and we made record time through the Bois de la Givrine and past the half-buried (and, of course, winter-abandoned) Le Sollier farmhouse (1290m).<br />
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<i>Le Sollier farmhouse (1290m). </i></div>
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Our next landmark was a big wooden sign telling us we'd once again entered the Parc Jurassien Vaudois protected area; followed soon by the (also winter-abandoned) Les Coppettes farmhouse/barn (1323m). Looming immediately beyond it were the twin peaks of Le Noirmont (1567m), but enticing as they looked - all covered in lovely white snow in blazing sunshine - they weren't our destination today.</div>
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<i>Les Coppettes (in the Valléé des Coppettes), with Le Noirmont in the background</i></div>
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We pushed-on - northeast up the Vallée des Coppettes - and into the Combe aux Tassons. After our two recent hikes up here, it was very familiar territory. I was keeping one eye on the trail and another on the sky: At times the "wide blue yonder" was filled with 30 or 40 jet-trails cutting all over the skies - as Sunday morning jet-setters skipped over the skies above us - heading for Paris, Rome, London and elsewhere around the world. As I feared, these trails (arguably lovely and picturesque in themselves), slowly flattened-out and merged into a thin blanket of diffuse stratus cloud, which dulled the sky as we watched.<br />
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<i>Jet-trails in the southern sky over Les Coppettes and La Cure.</i></div>
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<i>Thin stratus cloud forming-up from the higgledy-piggledy, criss-cross pattern of jet-trails.</i></div>
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Despite the "global dimming" going on 10,000 metres above us, the day was still glorious at ground level - the sun was shining, the snow was pristine, the going was easy and the landscape was adorable. And it appeared we had the entire Jura Mountains to ourselves. There wasn't another soul in sight.<br />
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<i>A picturesque old dry-stone wall below Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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We stuck to a long thin depression right under the southwest slopes of Le Noirmont, and then Creux du Croue, and passed-by the empty and silent L'Arxière farmhouse which was hidden from our sight behind a small ridge. <br />
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<i>Lis heading northwest into the Combe aux Tassons.</i> </div>
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We climbed a small knoll to see if we could see L'Arxière, but couldn't, and then
stayed there for a few minutes to look back down the valley - beyond which there were great views of the Jura peaks to the south, particularly La Dôle and, further south, Colomby de Gex.<br />
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<i>Looking southwest - with Colomby de Gex, Montrond and Petit Montrond in the far distance.</i></div>
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<i>About seven or eight kilometres to the south: le Pointe de Poele Chaud and La Dôle.</i> </div>
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The trek through the Combe aux Tassons turned-out to be a lot of fun. There were no existing tracks to follow, only the crazy twists and turns of one or two adventurous cross-country skiers who'd also ventured onto the "path less trodden". At times we plunged our way into deep drifts of snow, or semi-cascaded down steep slopes - in-and-out and up-and-down the multitude of hollows, hillocks, mounds and pits that characterized the landscape. Eventually we popped-out of our little snowshoe adventure playground, and back onto the main swale of the Combe aux Tassons.<br />
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<i>Coming out of the topsy-turvy passage adjacent to Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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Leaving the ridges of Le Noirmont and Creux du Croue behind us, we soon reached the (winter-abandoned) La Croue farmhouse (1469m). It was now about mid-day. We stopped for awhile to catch our breath, have a drink of water and take a last look back at Creux du Croue before heading back into the forest. <br />
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<i>Heading-up the slopes near La Croue.</i> </div>
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<i>Looking back from La Croue to the distant western cliffs of Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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<i>La Croue farmhouse and the cliffs of Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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Soon after leaving La Croue we passed an information panel telling us we were now in the Swiss government's "District Franc Féderal du Noirmont" - a priority zone within the protected area. We promised to be good and, as one of the two signs (roughly translated) advised: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints". We promised again (but see the footnote below).<br />
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<i>Sign at the entrance of the District Franc Fédéral du Noirmont. </i></div>
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The trail then disappeared (with us along with it) into a patch of wild country called the Cimetière aux Bourguignons - the cemetery of the Burgundians. It was about the wildest section of back-country that Lis and I have experienced during all of our hikes in the Jura. The tortuous trail took us tumbling, turning and twisting over rocks and fallen logs; around pits and sinkholes; through mini gorges, and past cliffs and steep slopes. The "cemetery" moniker felt very fitting.<br />
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<i>The rough-and-tumble terrain in the Cimetière aux Bourguignons.</i></div>
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This Tolkein-like, "Neanderthalic" landscape gets its name from the brutal 1476 massacre of Burgundian troops who, "on the tail" of their leader - Charles the Bold - were fleeing homeward following disastrous defeats by Swiss forces at, initially Grandson, and then (even more disastrously) at Murten (Morat) - in the lands east of Lac Neuchâtel. The invading, yet now defeated, Burgundians were pursued and harassed by Swiss mountain-hardened forces as they fled westward towards their homeland, only to meet their demise in the wild woods of the Jura Mountains. Following multiple, sporadic skirmishes on their route from Morat to the potential safety of Burgundy (if they could make it that far), they were finally, mortally ambushed in the triangular-shaped, wild "no-man's-land" between Creux du Croue, Mont Pelé and Mont Sâla ... and countless hundreds of hapless Burgundians lost their lives.<br />
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The conflict proved to be a critical turning point in what were called "the Burgundian Wars" - a long-running, on-and-off conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France ... which occasionally also spilled-over into the Old Swiss Confederacy. One such "spill-over" occurred when open warfare between the "nations" broke-out in 1474, which resulted in Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, being defeated thrice on the battlefields and finally killed in the Battle of Nancy, in France, in 1477. Charles' dominion was a "narrow, yet incomplete band of land between France and the German Empire ... which he intended to expand into an uninterrupted territory stretching from the North Sea to the Alps". Hence his ambitions on the Jura.<br />
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As part of the thrust and parry of the Burgundian Wars, Swiss forces (who formed, with their allies from Alsace-Lorraine and the upper-Rhine/Habsburg, an "anti-Burgundian" league), conquered and claimed the Franche-Comté part of the Jura - following their victory at the Battle of Héricourt in November 1474. The Old Swiss Confederacy extended its dominion even further in the following year, when Bernese forces conquered Vaud, which at the time "belonged" to the Duchy of Savoy, an ally of Charles the Bold.<br />
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Charles retaliated against the Swiss Bernese in 1476, and marched his troops first to Grandson where, in the Battle of Grandson (on the 2nd of March 1476), he and his 20,000 troops were soundly defeated and forced to flee, abandoning their artillery, and a huge quantity of their provisions and valuable treasures. Charles regrouped his forces and, to avenge his Grandson defeat, attacked the Swiss forces again - at Murten (Morat) on the 22nd of June 1476. On this occasion, his forces were almost totally devastated in a humiliating lakeside battle, during which approximately half of his troops - some 10,000 men - were killed. Charles fled to the safety of a castle at Gex, while the remnants of his bedraggled and disorganized troops did their best to escape homeward, across the treacherous Jura Mountains. Unfortunately for some of them, they became lost, disoriented and hopeless, in the jumbled limestone landscape in the shadow of the three peaks (where Lis and I now stood) ... and were slaughtered by the pursuing Swiss forces. Today, the only reminder of this sad saga is a simple solitary cross which marks the place where hundreds, perhaps thousands, of souls perished while trying to escape a war they probably didn't even want to be in.<br />
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<i>The simple and solitary monument in the Cimetière aux Bourguignons.</i></div>
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Probably unaware of this history, the pioneering English ice-caves explorer Reverend George Forrest Browne (from St Catherine's College, Cambridge) described the place in 1865 as:<br />
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"... a curious district on one of the summits of the Jura, where the French frontier takes the line of a crest, and the old stones marked with the <i>fleur-de-lys</i> and the Helvetic cross are still to be found. In these border regions the old historic distinctions are still remembered, and the frontier Vaudois called the neighbouring French <i>Bourguignons</i>, or, in their patois, <i>Borgognons</i>. They keep up the tradition of the old hatreds; and the strange, bleak summit, with its smooth slabs of Jura chalk lying level with the surface, is so much like a vast cemetery, that the wish in old times has been father to the thought, as they still call it the Cemetery of the Burgundians, <i>Cimetiros ai Borgorgnons."</i><br />
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Knowing the full extent of the Cimetière's history, Lis and I paused for awhile at the stainless-steel cross, took a couple of photographs ... and then headed out of there. I kept glancing over my shoulder, among the trees and shadows, into the nooks and crannies, half-expecting to see the ghosts of the Burgundians following us from the shadows with their mournful, haunted eyes.<br />
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<i>Feeling "touched" by the sombreness of the resting place of Charles the Bold's Burgundians.</i></div>
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Fortunately we made no such encounter, neither with ghosts of Burgundians, nor gollums, nor trolls; and after winding our way along a rather circuitous route, we "popped-out" in a small, open hollow called the Gouille-au-Cerf ("stag's puddle"?), just west of Mont Sâla. Off to our left we spotted the cabane at Creux Devant (1474m), so we wandered over there to take a photograph or two, then cut a zig-zag path up the adjacent, northwest slope of Mont Sâla.<br />
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<i>The hut at Creux Devant (1474m)</i></div>
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We reached the summit of Mont Sâla (1511 metres) at about 12.45 - three hours of solid snow-shoeing after we'd commenced our walk - and were immediately rewarded for our travails. Off to the west was one of the most amazing sights that one can ever see from the peaks of the Jura - the full arc of the Alps floating above a layer, a sea of clouds - the "Mer de Nuages". The clouds completely obliterated Lac Léman, Geneva, Lausanne and all of the "lowland" Swiss Plateau below us. It was "gob-smacking". We stared, and stared, and took lots of photos; and then settled down on a majestic pedestal of rocks at the top of the cliffs, and ate our lunch while gazing at one of the most amazing sights we'd ever seen.<br />
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Appropriately, Mont Sâla gets its name from the word <i>saillant</i> which means a rocky promontory, or protruding height. (We were dangling our feet over the cliffs). It is derived from the Latin <i>salire, salian</i> - which means to "jump-out". There is also a local, regional word <i>sallaz</i> - which means rock, outcrop or talus slope.<br />
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<i>Standing on top of the world - above the clouds - at Mont Sâla.</i> </div>
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<i>Looking south over la Mer du Nuages. Somewhere hidden under the grey blanket of cloud is the southern end of Lac Léman and the city of Geneva.</i></div>
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<i>Looking east over la Mer du Nuage towards Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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<i>Les Dents du Midi and adjacent Alps on the horizon above la Mer du Nuages.</i></div>
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<i>Feeling blessed at another absolutely magical lunchtime picnic spot.</i></div>
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Once we'd finished lunch, topped-off with a customary, celebratory nip of French brandy, we took a few last, long looks at the scenery, along with another bunch of photographs, and then headed on our way. It was now about 1.30pm. The days are at their shortest at this time of the year, and we still had far to go.<br />
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<i>Celebratory summit commemorative pic. From the top of Mont Sâla, it's actually possibly to see Crêt de la Neuve (where we found the Swiss flag during a hike there last year).</i></div>
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<i>Checking-out the views, with Mont Tendre (in the far left distance) and Crêt de la Neuve (at right) on the horizon.</i></div>
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<i>View of La Dôle and Colomby de Gex from Mont Sâla.</i></div>
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<i>Looking southwest from Mont Sâla - with (the forested) Mont Pelé summit on the horizon, and an un-named, snow-covered, relatively bare, intermediate, 1515 metre peak in the middle distance.</i></div>
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We headed down the southwest side of Mont Sâla, cutting our own trail across the beautiful crunchy, untouched snow. Mont Sâla, with its clear summit and landmark cross, is obviously quite a popular destination for back-country hikers (as we had encountered quite a number of tracks on the way to the top). However our next destination - Mont Pelé - by no means enjoyed the same level of interest. In fact, once we left Mont Sâla, we didn't encounter another person's tracks for the next couple of hours.<br />
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<i>Cutting a fresh trail down the southwestern slopes of Mont Sâla.</i></div>
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Like we'd encountered within the Cimetière aux Bourguignons, the country once again became a jumble of sinkholes, cliffs, gorges, logs, grottos and dead-ends. Regularly checking both our GPS and topographic map, we navigated our way on a tortuous, meandering route around the western side of the intermediate, un-named 1515 metre peak, and then scaled the northern side of Mont Pelé. Such was the difficulty of the terrain, and having to cut our own trail, that it took us about an hour and a quarter to travel just over a kilometre through the deep-snow, mountain maze.<br />
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Somewhat drained from the effort, we reached the top of Mont Pelé (1532 metres) at about 2.45pm and, knowing we still had a lot of country to cover before nightfall, didn't hang around for very long - which was a bit unfortunate really, because it was a beautiful, tranquil place, and once again the views (through the gaps in the trees) were "to die for". Ironically "Pelé" means a "mountain or land peeled, or naked" - which it certainly isn't. Maybe it was once, when it was first sighted, and named, but now it's mostly covered by forest). We took a few quick photographs, sighed deeply, then plunged once more into the deep-forest abyss - now on the southwest side of the mountain.<br />
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<i>Planning the next steps at the summit of Mont Pelé.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back from Mont Pelé - at Mont Sâla in the middle distance, and (15-20 kilometres further to the northeast) Mont Tendre on the horizon.</i></div>
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<i>Looking over the Mer du Nuages above the southern end of Lac Léman - with the top of Mont Salève (the hills above Geneva) just breaking through (in front of the more distant Alps).</i></div>
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<i>The view from Mont Pelé over the Mer du Nuages towards les Dents du Midi.</i></div>
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By now the thin layer of jet-catalyzed stratus cloud had all but dissipated, and we were treated to glorious blue skies above us. Also towering above us, were thousands of ancient conifers (the summit of Mont Pelé is almost completely covered in forest, with no ubiquitous cross ... which might explain its (lack of) popularity). Some of the old firs and spruce were dead, and their stark, sun-bleached trunks looked like bare, sun-baked skeletons in contrast to their living, verdant cousins and brethren all around. More stops. More photos.<br />
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<i>Leaving only footprints down-slope from the summit of Mont Pelé.</i></div>
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<i>Natural art installation - Jura style.</i></div>
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One disadvantage of leaving the regular trail is that it takes you a lot longer to get anywhere, and you increase your chances of getting lost in the backwoods. However this is far outweighed by the delight and excitement to be gained by forging your own trail; by cutting fresh tracks across untouched snow; by seeing no-one else; and by seeing things you won't see closer to "the madding crowd". Such was the case in the morass of hollows and mounds on the southwest slopes of Mont Pelé. All day we'd been encountering tracks and scats of deer, chamois, fox, hare and a multitude of smaller critters that I couldn't identify. Then suddenly we came across the distinctive tracks of the rare capercallie (<i>Tetrao urogallus</i> - the largest member of the grouse family). Apparently, in the Jura Mountains, the relict population of this isolated and critically endangered species, is estimated to now number only about 500 breeding adults. Fortunately we saw quite a few tracks, so that was a good sign.<br />
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Our excitement about seeing the capercaillie tracks more-or-less paled into insignificance, when soon after we came across the tracks of a lynx - it was the first time either of us had come this close to the fabled forest feline. Boy, were we excited. Eurasian lynx (<i>Lynx lynx</i>), which were eradicated from the Jura Mountains during the 18th and 19th centuries (after being widespread 500 years ago), were reintroduced (with four "official" specimens - two males and two females - from the Carpathian Mountains in Slovakia; and about another six "unofficial" individuals) in 1974-75. It appears another three individuals were unofficially released in Vaud in the late 1980s. It is estimated there are now about 70 or 80 individuals - which is virtually the maximum carrying capacity of the mountain chain. (A single lynx needs a large territory - between 70 and 250 square kilometres.) <br />
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The tracks of the Eurasian lynx are very distinctive, having a relatively huge, rounded paw-print pattern, and a rear impression caused by fur between and behind the pads which give them a "snowshoe" effect when travelling across the snow in winter. Secretive, solitary animals, lynx prey primarily on chamois (<i>Rupicapra rupicapra</i>) and roe deer (<i>Capreolus capreolus</i>) (killing 50 or 60 of them a year), but also on brown hares (<i>Lepus europaeus</i>) and red fox (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>), and occasionally on red deer (<i>Cervus elaphus</i>) and even wild boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>). It was the over-hunting of these three species (by humans - 100-200 years ago) which primarily led to the disappearance of the lynx in the Jura (along with forest clearing - for timber, firewood and charcoal, the expansion of livestock grazing pastures in the mountains, and direct hunting of the lynx).<br />
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The tracks looked like they were a few days old, so we took a couple of photographs, then continued on our compass direction - which more or less coincided with the lynx's footprints for quite some time. Not surprisingly, we didn't see the lynx, but we did see a very healthy-looking red fox (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>) nonchalantly trotting across the snowscape.<br />
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<i>A lynx footprint in the snow near Mont Pelé.</i></div>
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<i>Another footprint, showing the lynx's distinctive rear fur-pad "snowshoe" impression.</i></div>
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Our course took us just to the northwest of a place called Combe Gelée and, cresting a rise, we looked back and had a last glance of Mont Pelé shining in the warm afternoon sunlight. Down on the forest floor it wasn't so warm - probably about two or three degrees - and we kept-up a solid pace, still going cross-country in a south-westerly direction. For a short while we followed a snow-covered old dry-stone wall, which took us up and over the 1400 metre high Crêt au Bovairon, to a col east of L'Arxiere.<br />
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<i>Making our way through the forest near Combe Gelée.</i></div>
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<i>Looking back at the forested peak of Mont Pelé.</i></div>
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Back in familiar territory for the first time for a few hours, we picked-up a trail that had been cut by other snow-shoers since the last snowfall, and headed over a ridge-top in the Bois du Carrox - just west of the Club Alpine Suisse Cabane du Carrox (1508m). <br />
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<i>On the trail near the Cabane du Carrox.</i></div>
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A kilometre or so along the trail we broke-out onto the southern side of the ridge-top, right near a mountain house called "Grutli" (1425m), which (according to a sign above its front door), dates back to 1948. Avoiding a precipitous cliff-face just below the house, we picked our way around to the east, then zig-zagged down the slope through the forest. Once clear, we made a bee-line for the Le Sollier farmhouse - which we could see a kilometre or two ahead of us.<br />
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<i>The all-quiet Grutli mountain house.</i></div>
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<i>Coming out of the forested slope below Grutli.</i></div>
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We were now back in familiar territory (again), so soon passed Le Sollier and, as the sun dropped below the horizon in front of us, plunged back into the Bois de la Givrine. Although not much more than half a kilometre to pass through, the distance was plenty enough to separate day from dusk, and we found ourselves walking through, at first near darkness in the dense forest, and then twilight once we broke back out into the open at the Col del a Givrine. There was magic glow in the air, as the last soft light of the day lit-up the crest of La Dôle and the far-distant Alps. Adding to the scene, the little red train from La Cure shuffled its way across the valley as we headed down to the railway crossing where we'd parked the car. We got there at about 5.15pm - meaning we'd spent about seven hours on the trail today. What a day. And what a trek. Absolutely fantastic!<br />
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<i>Emerging from the Bois de la Givrine.</i></div>
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<i>The Col de la Givrine at dusk.</i></div>
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<i>The summit of La Dôle catching the last rays of the setting sun.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mont Pelé (No. 34) 1532</li>
<li>Mont Sâla (No. 42) 1511</li>
</ul>
<b> Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li> Prior to their reintroduction in the 1970s, the last evidence of lynx in the Jura was in 1830 - when one of the final survivors of the population was killed near Lignerolle, in Vaud, and another near Pontarlier, in neighbouring France.</li>
<li>The lynx reintroduced to the Jura included four "official" individuals: two at Creux du Van (Canton of Neuchâtel) in 1974 and another two in the same location in 1975; and nine "unofficial": two at Moutier (Canton of Bern) in 1972, four in the Vallée de Joux (Vaud) in 1974, and three near Jorat (Vaud) in 1989.</li>
<li>With regards the human assault on Switzerland's forests in the 19th century (that contributed to the demise of the lynx), the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who was living in Geneva at the time, wrote in 1868 that there was still enough forest left in the mountains, but because the mountain-dwelling Swiss "live like the savages", there "will be no forest left within 25 years".</li>
</ul>
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<b>Note about the District Franc Féderal du Noirmont</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Hikers beware: In doing a bit of subsequent reading about the meaning of a place being designated a "District Franc Féderal" I discovered it includes a requirement that, in winter, all park visitors are requested to stay on the marked trails (although this isn't always the easiest thing to do when the landscape is covered in snow). It would have been really useful to have this information prominently displayed on the information panels near La Croue, and other entry points to the area. Obviously, had we known of this requirement at the time, we would have skipped going cross-country to Mont Pelé, and left it for a mid-summer hike. It's good to know. (You can find the full set of nine restrictions - including "no camping" and "dogs must be on a leash" - <a href="http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/9/922.31.fr.pdf">here</a>.)</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-22150600295163054682013-01-05T19:33:00.002+01:002013-12-08T12:29:11.624+01:00Crêt des Danses (No 32) & Creux du Croue (No 28)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Somewhat hooked on the Col de la Givrine as a snow-shoeing paradise, we decided to make the first walk of 2013 to the Crêt Des Danses - a 1534 metre peak about two kilometres north of Le Noirmont, just a kilometre or so east of the Swiss-French border. Having been there just a week earlier (to climb La Noirmont on the last day of 2012), we knew we'd need a long day to get into the back-country where Crêt des Danses lay hidden, so we made sure we were at La Givrine - our kick-off point - nice and early. Well, early enough - for a holiday day.<br />
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<i>The restaurant at La Givrine - our kick-off point.</i></div>
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We parked the car on the side of the Col de la Givrine road (which runs between St Cergue and La Cure), just below the La Givrine restaurant and, at about 9.30am, headed up the "graded" road that leads towards the popular farmhouse restaurants of La Genolière and Le Vermeilley. There was a light mist hanging around in the valleys around us. Darker, more ominous clouds built-up, then dissipated, over and around La Dôle - which we promptly put to our backs and headed north. Ahead of us the landscape was bathed in bright sunshine, however, with near-freezing temperatures, we set-out wearing snow jackets, beanies and gloves. The forecast had predicted about 3 degrees maximum, and lots of cloud, and expecting a long walk, we were prepared for cold weather - especially later, towards the end of the day.<br />
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<i>Heading up the "graded" road north of La Givrine. </i></div>
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Not surprisingly, carrying our snowshoes on our backs, we soon built-up a head of steam as we charged up the road under the forested slopes of La Tourbière, and soon stopped to peel-off our toasty jackets down to long-sleeved t-shirts. So far, so good ... it was turning-out to be a lovely day. Already there wasn't a cloud in sight.</div>
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<i> Lis shedding her snow jacket near La Tourbiére.</i></div>
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We passed a lichen-encrusted sign telling us we were entering the Parc Jurassien Vaudois protected area. As it turned out, just like during our previous visit a week earlier, the park once again displayed a plethora of small animal tracks and scats, but virtually nothing sighted. We didn't see a single animal (maybe we're too noisy in our snow shoes), but we did see lots of ravens (my favourite bird), so that was cool. </div>
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<i>Entering the Parc Jurassien Vaudois protected area.</i></div>
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We passed by the Glacière de La Genolière (one of those unique Jura underground glaciers that lie trapped in a karst-system cavern as a result of temperature inversions), and soon after, the La Genolière farmhouse restaurant (1348m), which is just south of the road. A gentle zephyr of a wind drifted intermittently across the snow-white landscape, and obliged with just enough strength at the right time to lift the listless Swiss flag just long enough for me to take one of those "typically Swiss" postcard snapshots. Having thus obliged, and done its duty, the wind dropped, the flag sighed, and once again drifted back to its slumbering pose adjacent to its flagpole.<br />
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<i>La Genolière alpage restaurant.</i></div>
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We followed the road further eastwards - through a valley called the Grande Combe, which looked absolutely magic in the early morning mist and diffused sunlight. Lis often strolled on ahead while I stopped to add to the 250-odd photographs that I'd end-up taking before the end of today's hike. But how could I resist capturing such beauty? Snap, snap, snap!<br />
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<i>Mist in the valleys between La Genolière and Haut Mont. </i></div>
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<i>Snow and ice ... near Combe Froide. </i></div>
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About three kilometres from La Givrine, we passed Haut Mont (1343m) and headed north through the forest between Entre Deux Vys (on our left), and Rochefort (on our right). Appropriately, further on, below Rochefort, the valley is called Combe Froide. Still early in the day, in mid-winter, the temperature must only have been nudging two or three degrees as we passed through the forest. Fortunately we broke back out into the sunshine as we approached Le Vermeilley farmhouse restaurant (1320m), where we were also passed by just the third or fourth person we encountered on the trail thus far - a woman on a ski-doo towing a supply sled out to the restaurant. Le Vermeilley marked the end of the graded road.</div>
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<i>La Vermeilley alpage restaurant.</i></div>
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We skirted around the western (left) side of the farmhouse and stopped to strap-on our snowshoes. A line of forlorn-looking, half-buried fence posts ran-off towards the north, so (after I'd photographed them) we more or less followed their course northwards through the valley to the east of Combe aux Cerfs.</div>
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<i>Fence-line north of Le Vermeilley.</i></div>
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A couple of hard-core cross-country skiers passed us heading in the opposite direction. They were on the Transjurassien ski de fond trail between La Givrine and the Col du Marchairuz ... and were towing a sled with all of their camping gear. We stopped to watch them go past.<br />
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<i>Cross-country skiers on the ski de fond trail near Le Vermeilley.</i></div>
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A little further down the trail we came to a "fork in the road" - with the easterly route heading through the valleys towards Marais Rouge and Les Pralets, and the western trail into the highlands - towards L'Arxière, Mont Sâla, Le Croue ... and Crêt des Danses. As planned, we turned west, taking the "high road", the path "less travelled by". "And that ... made all the difference." The fork in the road, and our decision to go west, brought back memories of one of my all-time favourite poems - "The Road Not Taken" - written by the American poet Robert Frost and published in a 1920 collection (appropriately) called "Mountain Interval":<br />
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<i>"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,</i></div>
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<i>And sorry I could not travel both</i></div>
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<i>And be one traveler, long I stood</i></div>
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<i>And looked down one as far as I could</i></div>
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<i>To where it bent in the undergrowth;</i></div>
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<i>Then took the other, as just as fair,</i></div>
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<i>And having perhaps the better claim,</i></div>
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<i>Because it was grassy and wanted wear;</i></div>
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<i>Though as for that the passing there</i></div>
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<i>Had worn them really about the same,</i></div>
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<i>And both that morning equally lay</i></div>
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<i>In leaves no step had trodden black.</i></div>
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<i>Oh, I kept the first for another day!</i></div>
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<i>Yet knowing how way leads on to way,</i></div>
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<i>I doubted if I should ever come back.</i></div>
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<i>I shall be telling this with a sigh</i></div>
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<i>Somewhere ages and ages hence:</i></div>
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<i>Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - </i></div>
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<i>I took the one less traveled by,</i></div>
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<i>And that has made all the difference."</i></div>
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<i>The cross-roads just west of Marais Rouge</i>.<i> We took the trail less trodden by.</i></div>
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The trail (although covered in snow, rather than leaves and untrodden grass) wound its way up towards one of those characteristic Jura ridgelines - on the southern side of crest called Combe Gelée (1355). Although in the open sunshine at first, we soon found ourselves in shade, in thick forest north of the Combe aux Cerfs. </div>
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<i>Trail marker near Combe aux Cerfs.</i></div>
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We trekked our way up and over a small col just south of the Crêt au Bovairon, then headed down into the next valley - the familiar valley des Coppettes - where we'd been hiking just a few days earlier en route to La Noirmont. Directly ahead of us was the mountain alpage farmhouse of L'Arxière (1445m), which was half-buried with snow, and abandoned for the winter.<br />
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<i>Crossing over the col south of Crêt au Bovairon.</i></div>
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<i>Heading down the slope towards L'Arxière.</i></div>
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<i>L'Arxière farmhouse with the lesser Le Noirmont summit above.</i></div>
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As soon as we were able, we turned north and into the Combe aux Tassons - which ran in a north-westerly direction just east of Le Noirmont and Creux du Croue. The fresh snow was beautiful underfoot, and we both wore broad smiles as we truly entered the "back country" of this particular mountain playground. For the next four or five hours we hardly saw another person, maybe just one or two cross-country skiers drifting across the landscape in the far distance.<br />
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<i>Cutting a fresh trail towards the Combe aux Tassons.</i></div>
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The trail through the Combe aux Tassons was made easy by a long thin clearing through the dense forest - along the long, thin valley surrounded by steep hillsides on either side. Le Noirmont dropped out of sight behind us, and was soon replaced by the eastern wall of the Creux du Croue - a huge, gouged-out hollow at the northern end of Le Noirmont left there by glacial forces during the last ice age. Occasionally we caught glimpses of its higher western wall - called the Crêtes du Creux du Croue - which we planned to scale on our way back later in the day.<br />
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<i>Heading down the trail towards the northern end of Combe aux Tassons.</i></div>
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At the end of the Combe aux Tassons, we crossed over another set of trail "cross-roads", and headed straight-up the facing hillside towards the (winter abandoned, half-buried) Le Croue farmhouse. It truly was half buried, with the bank of snow on its eastern side going right up to and over the roof.<br />
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<i>Looking back on the half-buried Le Croue farmhouse - with les Crêtes du Creux du Croue in the far distance.</i></div>
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We continued in a northerly direction another few hundred metres, until we were right at the top of the unnamed col, where we swung west, through the alpine forest, towards the summit of Crêt des Danses. We reached the summit (1533.6m) at about 13.30 - three hours after we'd left La Givrine ... and were rewarded with one of the most magnificent lunchtime picnic spots we'd ever come across. The sun was shining, there was hardly a breath of wind, and superb views were to be had in every direction. We dropped our packs, and snowshoes, and plonked-down on the stone surrounds right at the foot of the cross. We certainly felt blessed!<br />
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<i>At the summit of Crêt des Danses.</i></div>
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<i>Nice woodwork on the Crêt des Danses cross (erected in 2009).</i></div>
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We broke out our usual trekking-lunch fare of bread, cheese, chutney and chocolate ... which we soon devoured and washed-down with a flask of hot tea and a nip of French brandy. Surely, life doesn't get much better than this. <br />
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<i>Lis at new favourite picnic spot.</i></div>
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After a leisurely lunch, we wandered around the summit for awhile, taking in the magnificent views, and taking lots of photos in every direction. To the south, we could see the long thin forest clearing that we walked through to get here (the Combe aux Tassons), and in the distance the peaks of La Barillette, La Dôle and Pointe de Poele Chaud. Just to the right of that scene were the cliffs and Crêtes du Creux du Croue, and further around to the west - the Orbe valley with the town of Les Rousses and its nearby lake - the Lac des Rousses. (I wrote a bit about Les Rousses in the trip report from Le Noirmont).<br />
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<i>Looking south towards La Dole and (the gap in the forest) Combe aux Tassons. </i></div>
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<i>View southwest - towards the cliffs and Crêtes du Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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Off to the west, mostly through gaps in the forest, we could see the Alps - with Mont Blanc easily the most prominent feature. It's impossible not to take a photo of the famous mountain every time it comes into view, so I shot-off another half-a-dozen pics.<br />
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<i>View west - of Mont Blanc - of course.</i></div>
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After spending about an hour at the top, we reluctantly packed-up and, at about 1.30pm, started making our way back down the mountain. Initially we headed-off in a north-westerly direction - skirting our way around the tall, precipitous cliffs on the south side of the mountain. Neither of us fancied the idea of falling over those. The more gentle trail, although longer, provided great views over Les Rousses and the Lac des Rousses.<br />
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<i>Heading down the mountain, with Les Rousses in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Valley de Joux, with Les Rousses (at left) and Lac des Rousses.</i></div>
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Ahead of us lay our next destination waypoint - our second Jura peak of the day - the highest point of the Crêtes du Creux du Croue. But first we had to drop right down into the col (at 1334m), before making our way up the distant ridgeline to the highest point on the western side of the creux (at 1547m). Along the way we trekked through some of the most pristine snow we'd ever been in - lovely soft, fluffy, powdery stuff, which scrunched under our feet as we trekked along. Once again, it had us grinning like Cheshire cats.<br />
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<i>Heading towards our next destination - the "summit" of the Crêtes du Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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<i>Lovely fresh, untrodden snow.</i></div>
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<i>Self-portrait between Crêt des Danses and Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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<i>In the col between Crêt des Danses and the Crêtes du Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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<i>Heading up the Crêtes du Creux du Croue, with the Vallée de Joux and the Forêt du Risoux (France) in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Lis approaching the peak of the Crêtes du Creux du Croue.</i></div>
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<i>Yay! Atop the Crêtes du Creux du Croue (1547m).</i></div>
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About 45 or 50 minutes after we'd left Crêt des Danses, we arrived at
the summit of the Crêtes du Creux du Croue (number 28 on the list of highest named Jura summits). We had fantastic
views back towards Crêt des Danses, and down into the Creux du Croue -
including of the mountain farmhouse of the same name which now lay
mostly-buried under snow in the valley floor. This beautifully
scoured-out glacial valley is renowned for its peat bog - which has been
listed under the register for "Raised and Transitional Bogs (and Fenlands) of National
Importance". Apparently it has its existence (in a landscape that is
typically drained and dry - due to the karst, "drains-like-a-sieve" substrate) because
it has been scoured down to a layer of ancient marl - which is
a relatively impervious layer, and therefore more conducive to the formation of
wetlands. The area is very fragile, with a number of endemic plant species, so fairer-weather (spring-summer-autumn) walkers are encouraged/advised to avoid the bog area and stick to the marked trails.<br />
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<i>Looking back towards Crêt des Danses.</i></div>
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Needless to say, there were no bogs in sight today, with the entire valley smothered by a couple of metres of beautiful glossy-white snow - which we stared at, and the surrounding views, in awe for about 15 minutes before heading on our way - further southwest towards Le Noirmont.<br />
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Somewhere along the ridgeline there is an ancient, famous marker stone marking a former border line between Switzerland and France - when it followed this ridgeline way back in the 17th century. The stone, which looks almost exactly the same as the one we saw near Le Noirmont a week earlier (see below) has the year 1648 etched onto one of its sides - along with the French fleur de Lys. On the other side is the emblem of Vaud.<br />
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<i>The ancient stone border marker near the top of Le Noirmont - similar to the one on the Crêtes du Creux du Croue (which we missed seeing). The emblem/shield of Vaud is visible in this picture.</i></div>
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<i>Another similar border marker stone from around the same era - this one from near the summit of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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The stone dates back to the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia - in 1648 - at which time the neighbouring (now French) Franche-Comté region was under Spanish control, and the Swiss Jura a part of the Swiss Oberland. With the historic 1648 signing, this section of the Swiss Jura (to the east of the Le Noirmont and Crêtes du Creux du Croue ridgeline) was officially pared-off from the "Holy Roman Empire" to become a part of the Helvetic confederacy.<br />
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The border through this part of the Jura had long been the source of "disputes and territorial disorders", possibly for centuries, but certainly since the (re)conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536. Between the period 1550 and 1640 for example, the Bernese made frequent incursions into the neighbouring territory in attempt to further enhance their claims on the border lands west of Vaud. Unfortunately, the "disorder" was not cleared-up by these conflicts, nor by a first attempt at a treaty - the Les Rousses Convention - which was signed in 1606. Nor was it by a subsequent intervention - in 1612 - this time by Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria, who (as the eldest daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth of Valois, and on behalf of Spanish King Philip III) at the time reigned over Franche-Comté (also then called the Free Country of Burgundy). Apparently she was hoping to negotiate a clear access to Bern.<br />
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Even the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, with its border along the Le Noirmont ridgeline, failed to put an end to the disputes, possibly due to the subsequent conquest of Franche-Comté by France - who instead initiated new negotiations that resulted in the signing of the 1862 Treaty of Dappes, which set the (final, current) border line between France and Vaud / Switzerland. The Treaty of Dappes involved an exchange of territory between the two countries, with France obtaining the western slopes of the Valley of Dappes, south of La Cure; and Switzerland receiving the Côte du Noirmont and other forested hill-slopes on the northwest side of La Noirmont.<br />
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<i> Map showing border alignment from the Treaty of Dappes.</i></div>
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In an interesting twist in the multiple negotiation and realignment of the Swiss-French border, there is a small "dog-leg" in the Swiss-France border just north of Creux du Croue - near the tiny village of Bois-d'Amont. The border juts into Switzerland for about 500 metres (for about one kilometre in length) - apparently which Napoleon demanded to be included in France t(o accommodate the wishes of a handful of Bois-d'Amont villagers who wanted to remain in France).<br />
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We walked-on past the summit of the Crêtes du Creux du Croue and down along the last of the Creux du Croue hollow, all the way in total admiration of the lovely wilderness that surrounded us. It was very special to be out here by ourselves.<br />
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<i>The pristine valley between Creux du Croue and Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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At about 3pm, we reached the top of Le Noirmont (No 23) - which we'd "ticked-off" just a few days earlier - on the New Year's Eve of 2012 (December 31). Once again the views from the top were stunning - especially of the Alps and Mont Blanc. However this time the weather gods were much kinder to us ... and we were spared the freezing wind of our last visit. Even so, we stayed just long enough to take a few photographs, and take our fill of the views, and then headed on down the mountain.<br />
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<i>Checking out the view from the summit of Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i>Mont Blanc from Le Noirmont.</i> </div>
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As we did during our previous visit, we zig-zagged our way down the steep south-eastern slopes of the mountain, making a bee-line for Les Coppettes farmhouse (1323m). It didn't take us long to drop down to the valley floor, where we headed straight past Les Coppettes as quickly as we could. The sun as getting low in the southwestern sky, and clouds were building-up on the horizon, meaning it would get darker earlier this evening than one might expect.</div>
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<i>Passing by Les Coppettes.</i></div>
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<i>The view of La Dôle from Les Coppettes.</i></div>
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Setting a cracking pace across the snow, we soon passed the Le Sollier farmhouse (1290m and, like Les Coppettes, half-buried and winter-abandoned), and plunged back into the Bois de la Givrine forest block. It got quite dark in there, not surprising really, given the scene that greeted us once we broke back out of the forest above the Col de la Givrine. A thick, low cloud obliterated La Dôle and the surrounding peaks, and we made our way back to the car in a gathering gloom. We reached La Givrine at about 4.30 - seven hours after we'd set-out earlier in the day. We both agreed it had been one of our "best hikes ever".<br />
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<i>View of La Dôle from La Givrine.</i> </div>
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Amazingly, by the time we approached our home on the drive back to St George - some 30 minutes later - the clouds and fog over La Dôle had completely lifted and we were treated to an amazing golden sunset over the southern Jura. <br />
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<i>View of La Barillette, La Dôle and Pointe de Poele Chaud.</i></div>
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West of us, the Alps also looked amazing, bathed in pink and purple colours, so I snapped-off a couple of shots in their direction. Of course, the last photograph of the day had to be reserved for Mont Blanc. "You can't have too many photographs of Mont Blanc!"<br />
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<i>Stopped on the road near St George to take-in the last lights of the day.</i></div>
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<i>One last look at Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Crêt des Danses (No. 32) 1533m</li>
<li>Creux du Croue (No 28) 1547m </li>
<li>Le Noirmont (No 23) 1567m (Previously climbed in December 2012). </li>
</ul>
<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The 1648 signing of the Treaty of Westphalia - which placed the border between Franche Comté and Switzerland at the top of the Crêtes du Creux du Croue - officially marked the end of both the Thirty Year's War and the Eighty Year's War. Involving France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden, the Swiss confederacy was represented by Johann Rudolf Wettstein, the mayor of Basel.</li>
<li>The Spanish "empire" was involved in the 1612 border negotiations because at one time, the Spanish crown controlled the vast areas of Europe called the "Low Countries" - which extended into France, Franche-Comté, Italy, Austria and even the Netherlands. In the Jura, the Valserine Valley, which was controlled by the Spanish ally Savoy, provided a crucial overland link between Spain and Italy, and was frequently used for Spanish troop movements. For many years was called "the Spanish Road".</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-62894364626608707752012-12-31T18:04:00.003+01:002013-12-08T12:23:48.219+01:00Le Noirmont (No 23)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Le Noirmont (1567m) turned-out to be a great choice for the last Jura peak of 2012. It proved to be somewhat challenging ... yet incredibly satisfying; while providing some of the best views of the year, and one of the very best lunchtime picnic spots imaginable. It was a great way to spend the last day of 2012, and to generate the content for the last instalment of my "Jura Mountain Rambling" blog for the year.<br />
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If you've been following my blog, you'll know that my ("tongue-in-cheek") 2011 New Year's eve "project" was to check-out the view of the planet
from the seven highest peaks in the Jura. By year's end, with La Noirmont added to the register, the tally
is:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>All of the highest 23 (named) peaks in the Jura; </li>
<li>27 of the top 30; </li>
<li>32 of the top 40; </li>
<li>39 of the
60 highest. </li>
</ul>
In all, I stood on the top of 41 Jura peaks in 2012. That
was one heck of a new year's eve resolution.<br />
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The trek to the top of Number 23 on the list, but number 41 for the year, commenced near a level crossing on the railway line that cuts over the main ridge of the Jura Mountains - along the Col de la Givrine - about a kilometre west of La Givrine. We parked the car in a small parking area ( at 1211m) that appears every winter when the road heading north to Les Coppettes is blocked-off by the annual snowfall, pulled on our backpacks and snowshoes, and headed north up the trail. It was about 10.30am.<br />
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<i> Lis at the level crossing where we commenced our last walk for 2012.</i></div>
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<i> Looking east towards La Givrine.</i></div>
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<i>Just after the start of our walk. Looking back to where we'd parked the car, with La Dole on the horizon in the background.</i></div>
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After a few hundred metres, the trail turned northwest, and plunged into the Bois de la Givrine, so we followed suit, skirting along the edge of a neatly-groomed ski de fond (cross-country skiing) track. It was lovely in the forest ... and I was hoping to see a lynx or something exotic, but all was quiet.<br />
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<i> The trail through the Bois de la Givrine forest.</i></div>
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About a kilometre along the trail we passed the Le Sollier farmhouse (1290m)<i> </i>- abandoned for winter of course. It provide a good landmark for our hike, so we checked our topographic map, and headed further northeast along our route.<br />
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<i> Le Sollier farmhouse - 1290m.</i></div>
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We stuck to the western edge of the Bois de la Givrine forest block, heading along a long, narrow, typically Jura valley (combe) marked "Le Sollier" on our topo map. We passed a sign telling us we were in (entering?) the Parc Jurassien Vaudois protected area. Still no lynx in sight ... In fact, other than a few birds, we didn't see any wildlife all day. But we did see more small animal tracks in the snow than anywhere else that we'd walked in the Jura. The protected area status must be working.<br />
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<i>Entering the protected area within the Parc Jurassien Vaudois. </i></div>
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<i>Le Noirmont is in the commune of Arziers, in the Canton of Vaud.</i></div>
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At a fork in the trail, a few hundred metres after the Le Sollier farmhouse we got our first real glimpse of the Le Noirmont anticline - about two kilometres to the north. Its name means "Black Mountain" (probably because of its heavily-forested flanks) ... but it looked very white today. Rather than heading straight for it, we decided to keep going northeast - further up the Le Sollier valley. This route took us over a couple of old dry-stone rock walls and, as soon as we'd passed over the second, a track leading up to the Pré du Four farmhouse (1394m). Judging from an inscription on the front wall, it was built in 1951.</div>
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<i> First glimpse of the two peaks of Le Noirmont, with the principal (highest) peak on the right.</i></div>
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<i>Lis approaching Pré du Four - 1394m.</i></div>
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Like all of the farmhouses in the high Jura at this time of the year, it was half-buried in snow and shut-down/shuttered-up for the winter. We stopped just long enough to take a couple of photographs, admire the spectacular views back towards La Dole and Pointe de Poele Chaud, then continued on our way.<br />
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<i> Pré du Four mostly covered in snow, with La Dole in the background.</i></div>
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We headed cross-country more or less due west, through a couple of tree lines, before breaking-out onto the upper slopes of the beautiful, blanketed Les Coppettes valley - just northeast of the Les Coppettes farmhouse. We had great views down the valley, with the frontier town (on the France-Switzerland border) of La Cure in the middle distance. La Cure is a popular alternative starting point for many Le Noirmont trekkers.<br />
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<i> Looking down on Les Coppettes farmhouse (1323m), with La Cure in the background.</i></div>
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We "sloshed" our way down the hillside through lovely powdery snow, cutting virgin tracks across the pristine landscape. Always up for a challenge, we decided to head straight-up the steep eastern face of Le Noirmont ... which got a bit tricky in a couple of places where the slopes were particularly steep. At a couple of points we had to rope up, and cut steps into the snow to be able to get up the cliffs. Lis broke through the snow on one of these "steps" when the snow underneath her collapsed - probably due to a small sinkhole or something in the jumbled mass of gnarly Jurassic limestone rock hidden under the snow. The Le Noirmont part of the Jura is renowned for its plethora of dangerous sinkholes - especially closer to Mont Pelé. It also used to be dangerous for other reasons - having once been an old army firing range. Summer walkers would often come across fragments of old mortars and missiles, and occasionally the shards of a mine or other explosives. Fortunately we didn't come across anything like that.<br />
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<i> Looking across the valley of Coppettes towards the eastern slope of Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i> Lis starting the ascent up the east face of Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i> Gaining altitude (and steepness) on the east face, with the Alps on the far horizon.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYxMRGUDDJEmI7gx8j10Qju1zuaIFpmbt2DxR2gNe-rvPouh4z_8KNMKmZ0WCZ2q5KbKoMvjZ_kDg1uKC0XIPjBoVILddWPy3fpv0uEpOzJsplxhlHcMEo_S2T44liXnM6kydBoWH2A/s1600/DSCN4125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYxMRGUDDJEmI7gx8j10Qju1zuaIFpmbt2DxR2gNe-rvPouh4z_8KNMKmZ0WCZ2q5KbKoMvjZ_kDg1uKC0XIPjBoVILddWPy3fpv0uEpOzJsplxhlHcMEo_S2T44liXnM6kydBoWH2A/s400/DSCN4125.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> Looking northeast, over L' Arxiere farmhouse.</i></div>
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After a few anxious moments, we finally reached the top of the Le Noirmont ridgeline, and located the main trail that follows the ridgeline all the way up from La Cure. The climb was worth it in many ways, not least because of the amazing views we had of the Alps on the eastern horizon. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day; not long after mid-day; and the panorama was possibly the best we'd had all year. Mont Blanc looked stunning. The spruce (<i>Picea abies</i>) and fir (<i>Abies alba</i>) trees all looked lovely with a "gentle" smattering of snow. Down below us was the L'Arxiere farmhouse (1445m), and just south of there, the Cabane du Carrox (1508m) - a mountain hut operated by the Geneva branch of the CAS (Club Alpine Suisse). We took-in the views for awhile, then headed for the day's main destination.<br />
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Just near where we reached the top of the ridgeline, we came across an old ski lift (telesiege) - which comes up the Côte du Noirmont hillside from the Valley of the Orb (on the western side of the ridgeline), near the tiny little French "settlement" of Les Plans. The ski lift wasn't operating, and in fact looked disused and abandoned, although we saw a few skiers nearby, who were obviously about to head down the well-used adjacent ski run.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqFI052mkX-oZiWQAwysvcNI1u0PYqs6cNXt37IsPj2BBmDxAfOGIkdnwhxLkIBExc0rTm2wyzAmukm1z4QBhS2w8D823QZlath5ADCpGBZ6qLlMigX4uaUODm_Uko814zRs0r6vADw/s1600/DSCN4128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqFI052mkX-oZiWQAwysvcNI1u0PYqs6cNXt37IsPj2BBmDxAfOGIkdnwhxLkIBExc0rTm2wyzAmukm1z4QBhS2w8D823QZlath5ADCpGBZ6qLlMigX4uaUODm_Uko814zRs0r6vADw/s400/DSCN4128.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i> The apparently abandoned ski lift apparatus near the lower Le Noirmont summit.</i></div>
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We found the crest of the lesser of the two Le Noirmont peaks (1547m), then headed along the ridgeline towards the highest point (1567 metres) - which is about 300 metres to the northeast. We cut our own course through the soft, powdery, fluffy snow, on an undulating trail that took us through a patch of coniferous forest before eventually reaching the summit of Le Noirmont. It was about 12.30pm, two hours after we'd set-out from the Col de la Givrine. We dropped our packs, pulled on our beanies, wind-stoppers and heavier-duty gloves (the typical Jura summit wind was threatening to snap-freeze us if we didn't), and then wandered around checking-out the amazing views, and taking lots of photographs.<br />
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<i> Flying the flag at the top of Le Noirmont - 1567m.</i></div>
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<i> Checking-out the views of the Alps from the top of Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i> Pointing-out landmarks in the Alps and Jura, with Mont Blanc in the background.</i></div>
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<i> Lis at the top of Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i> Tempted by Mont Sâla ... but that will have to wait.</i></div>
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<i> Faded sign atop Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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Sufficiently satiated by the views, we turned our attention to our stomachs (also in need of satiation), and found a hollow just below the summit where we could shelter out of the wind. We found a great spot that was well sheltered, yet still provided amazing views out across the eastern Jura, the Swiss plateau and the Alps in the distance. We slowly drank our thermoses of hot tea and munched our way through fresh bread, cheese, home-made chutney ... and Toblerone chocolate. All of this was washed-down with a final nip of French brandy ... to "warm the heart". It was heaven: A beautiful day, with beautiful weather, on a beautiful Jura Mountain hike, at a beautiful picnic spot, with a beautiful view ... Could life get any better than this?<br />
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<i> One of the best picnic spots in the world, with a classic view of Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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After lunch, I wandered around the summit one last time to take a few more photographs of the amazing views in every direction, then we repacked our backpacks and got ready to head down the mountainside. Off to the northwest lay the nearby peaks of Mont Pelé (1532) , Mont Sâla (1511) and Crêt des Danses (1534) ... but they'll all have to wait for another day.<br />
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<i> Looking south from our picnic spot - at the ubiquitous cross at the summit of Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i>Pointe de Poele Chaud and La Dole from Le Noirmont.</i></div>
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<i> One last look at Mont Blanc.</i></div>
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<i> Looking northeast from La Noirmont, with Mont Tendre on the far left horizon.</i></div>
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At about 1.30pm, we quit the mountain-top and headed southwest, back
down the ridgeline to just below the old ski-lift apparatus. Of interest
there, we came across an old stone marker, inscribed with a date of
1732, which probably once marked the border between France and
Switzerland before it was moved west into the valley from the Le
Noirmont ridgeline. With the crest of the Canton of Vaud on the Swiss
side, and the French Fleur de Lys on the other, the stone apparently
commemorates the signing of a treaty between Vaud and France in the
early 18th century demarcating their respective sovereign territories.<br />
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<i> Marker stone near the lower La Noirmont peak. With "1732" inscribed on the plinth.</i></div>
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There was also an information panel above the main Le Noirmont ski
piste. Off to the west we could see the French town of Les Rousses and
the Lac des Rousses, and beyond that, the rolling ridges of the French
Jura and Franche-Comte. Les Rousses, which is about four kilometres to
the west of the summit, is another popular set-off point for hikers
heading for the top of Le Noirmont - although mostly summer walkers.<br />
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The
Lac des Rousses is of interest in that it has no single visible origin,
gathering its source waters from numerous springs and small streams
that gush from the valley and hillsides above it. Out of the lake flows
the Orb River (L'Orbe) which flows into the Lac de Joux ... from where
it disappears underground, into subterranean channels, only to reappear
many kilometres downstream, near Vallorbe.<br />
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<i> Ski run information panel near the top of the lower La Noirmont peak.</i></div>
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<i> The French town of Les Rousses from the lesser La Noirmont peak.</i></div>
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Looking down on Les Rousses, and La Cure and the mountain pass road
winding over the Col de la Givrine reminded me of the account written by
the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who passed through here en
route from Paris to Geneva about 200 years earlier. On the 17th of May
1816, he wrote, in "A letter from Geneva":<br />
<br />
<i>"The next
morning we proceeded, still ascending among the ravines and valleys of
the mountain. The scenery perpetually grows more wonderful and sublime:
pine forests of impenetrable thickness and untrodden, nay inaccessible
expanse, spread on every side. Sometimes the dark woods descending,
follow the route into the valleys, the distorted trees struggling with
knotted roots between the most barren clefts; sometimes the road winds
high into the regions of the frost, and then the forests become
scattered, and the branches of the trees are loaded with snow, and half of the enormous pines themselves buried in the wavy drifts.
The spring, as the inhabitants informed us, was unusually late, and
indeed the cold was excessive; as we ascended the mountains, the same
clouds which rained on us in the valleys poured forth large flakes of
snow thick and fast. The sun occasionally shone through these showers,
and illuminated the magnificent ravines of the mountains, whose gigantic
pipes were laden with snow, some wreathed round by the lines of
scattered and lingering vapour; others darting their spires into the
sunny sky, brilliantly clear and azure.</i><br />
<i>As the evening
advanced, and we ascended higher, the snow which we had beheld whitening
the overhanging rocks, now encroached upon our road, and it snowed fast
as we entered the village of Les Rousses, where we were threatened with
the apparent necessity of passing the night in a bad inn and dirty
beds. For in that place, there are two roads to Geneva; one by Nion
(Nyon), in the Swiss territory, where the mountain route is shorter, and
comparatively easy at that time of the year, when the road is for
several leagues covered with snow of an enormous depth; the other road
lay through Gex, and was to circuitous and dangerous to be attempted at
so late an hour in the day. Our passport, however, was for Gex, and we
were told that we could not change its destination; but all these police
laws, so severe in themselves, are to be softened by bribery, and this
difficulty was at length overcome. We hired four horses, and ten men to
support the carriage, and departed from Les Rousses at six in the
evening, when the sun had already far descended, and the snow pelting
against the windows of our carriage, assisted the coming darkness to
deprive us of the view of the lake of Geneva and the far distant Alps.</i><br />
<i>The
prospect around, however, was sufficiently sublime to command our
attention - never was a scene more awfully desolate. The trees in these
regions are incredibly large, and stand in scattered clumps over the
white wilderness; the vast expanse of snow was chequered only be these
gigantic pines, and the poles that marked our road; no river nor
rock-encircled lawn relieved the eye, by adding the picturesque to the
sublime. The natural silence of that uninhabited desert contrasted
strangely with the voices of the men who conducted us, who, with
animated tones and gestures, called to one another in a patois composed
of French and Italian, creating disturbance where, but for them, there
was none."</i><br />
<br />
Fortunately, we had a lovely sunny day, and plenty of hours of sunlight to get back to our destination.<br />
<br />
After snapping-off a few more photographs, and taking-in our last, long, lingering views of the Alps panorama, we headed back down the eastern side of the range. We came across a group of about eight or nine young Swiss snow-shoers who decided the best way to get down one particularly steep, slippery and unstable slope ... was to toboggan down on their bums and backs, or bellies - like penguins skating across the ice. We watched them sliding down the hillside, occasionally tumbling head-over-heels if their snowshoes dug into the snow - sending their smooth slides into rather ungracious, messy endings. They were having fun, and laughing all the way down the slope.<br />
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<i> Heading down the east face, with the Alps on the horizon.</i></div>
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We took a more restrained option, and slowly zig-zagged our way down the slope - heading into the valley in a southerly direction towards the "Les Coppettes" farmhouse (1323m). We more or less headed straight past the mostly-buried Les Coppettes, stopping just long enough to take a few photos, and soon after picked-up a marked snowshoe trail that headed towards La Givrine.<br />
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<i> Passing-by the mostly buried Les Coppettes.</i></div>
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<i> Snowshoe trail sign near Les Coppettes.</i></div>
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<i>"Late" afternoon view of La Dole from Les Coppettes.</i></div>
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<i>Looking south towards Petit Montrond, Montrond and Colomby de Gex.</i></div>
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About a kilometre down the trail, we intersected the route we'd followed on our way up the Le Sollier valley earlier in the day. There were ski de fond trails going in all directions. The Jura is truly a winter wonderland for anyone who's into outdoor winter pursuits. On this beautiful sunny day, the whole of the Col de la Givrine was filled with cross-country skiers, snowshoers, day-walkers and "tabogganists". The entire area is renowned as a "cross-country skiing paradise".<br />
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<i> Trail sign near Le Sollier farmhouse.</i></div>
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<i> Le Sollier farmhouse again.</i></div>
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Once again, we passed by the Le Sollier farmhouse, then headed through the Bios de la Givrine, and were soon back out in the broad flat valley just west of La Givrine. Right on cue, one of the small red trains that run between Nyon and La Cure choofed its way across the landscape.<br />
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<i> Back in the Col de la Givrine, with the tiny "red train" that shuttles between Nyon and La Cure.</i></div>
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We arrived back at the car at about 3pm - about one and a half hours after we'd left the summit. In all we'd been out for about four and a half hours - a very comfortable, but incredibly enjoyable hike. And I ticked-off my 41st Jura peak for the year. Time to celebrate with some new year's eve champagne!<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Le Noirmont (No. 23) 1567m</li>
</ul>
<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The famous German traveller, writer, poet, naturalist and
philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe climbed to the top of Le Noirmont
on the 25th of October 1779. That same day, he also climbed to the
summit of Dent de Vaulion, and stayed for a couple of nights in a house
"at the foot of the eastern side of Noir Mont" (Les Coppettes?
L'Arxière?). He climbed to the top of La Dôle on the 26th of October
1779.</li>
<li>The account from Percy Shelley above was published in his book "Essays, letters from Abroad: Translations and fragments".
He was travelling with his wife (Mary Shelley - the author of
"Frankenstein"), and Mary's step-sister Clara Clairmont. They were all
on their way to Geneva to stay with (another famous English poet) Lord
Byron. No doubt, Shelley's stormy night-crossing of la Givrine reminded him of his previously penned poem "On the Dark Height of Jura" - which featured in my blog about Le Suchet.</li>
<li>According to the folks at peakery.com, Le Noirmont is the 6,297th highest mountain in Switzerland.</li>
</ul>
<br /></div>
Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-87220360994802893002012-12-25T16:08:00.002+01:002013-08-05T19:02:49.399+02:00Le Suchet (No. 19)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Le Suchet may be number 19 on the list of the Jura's highest named peaks, but it provided one of the year's most amazing hikes, and views of the Alps. It also marked our 40th Jura peak for 2012.<br />
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There are a number of places from where one can commence a hike to the top of Le Suchet - Ste-Croix, Ballaigues and Baulmes among them, but we chose the popular set-off point of Entre le Fourgs (1074m) - which is in France (but right on the border), and about five kilometres west-southwest of Le Suchet (as the crow flies).<br />
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<i>The tiny village of Entre les Fourgs - 1074m.</i></div>
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We arrived there at about 10am on Christmas eve - for our last Jura summit for 2012 - and parked the car in the car park just beyond the old church in the middle of the town. Although a tiny place, Entre les Fourgs can get quite busy in winter, thanks to a ski lift and ski run right above the town. We tromped across the snow to a yurt - yes, a yurt (not something you expect to see every day in Switzerland), where we sat down and strapped-on our snow shoes.<br />
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<i>Lis outside the yurt near Entre les Fourgs.</i></div>
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We were soon on our way, heading southeast straight up the hillside called "Côte Marguiron", just on the eastern flank of the smaller of the town's two téléskis. On our left was the valley of la Jougnena Rau, which provided a great view of Les Aiguilles de Baulmes - number 24 on my list, and yet to be climbed.<br />
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<i>Les Aiguilles des Baulmes - 1559m.</i></div>
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We wound our way into the forest, away from "the bustling crowd" and began enjoying the tranquillity that comes from snow-shoeing across beautiful fluffy snow high in the mountains. We passed a small cabin, where we stopped for an obligatory "trail marker" photograph, then headed further-on, up the hillside, rapidly gaining altitude with each step up the steep slope.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Lis at the little log cabin on the trail just above Entre les Fourgs.</i></div>
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The next landmark on the trail was the la Piagrette Chalet farmhouse - now completely snowed-in, shuttered-up and abandoned for winter.<br />
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<i>la Piagrette Chalet.</i></div>
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From there we headed due south for a couple of hundred metres - where we encountered an old stone wall that also happens to mark the France-Switzerland border. There are a number of stone markers along the border, and we crossed back into Switzerland just to the west of one of them.<br />
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<i>This one had "42" chiselled on one side, and "1824" on the other.</i></div>
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Further down the fence-line is a gateway (which we encountered on our way back later in the day) which has an official border-crossing notice reminding us to have our passport on hand and to declare all goods to the customs officials. We didn't anticipate encountering too many customs and immigration officials in the snow, on a remote mountain trail in winter, on Christmas eve. We had the entire mountainside just about all to ourselves.<br />
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<i>The border customs and immigration sign near La Piagrette Chalet.</i></div>
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We turned due east after passing over the border, now finding ourselves on the main Chemin des Crêtes du Jura mountain trail, and headed up the slope to a small cabin called Petit Bel Coster (1277m). Just near the cottage we crested the top of the ridgeline, which gave us our first views over the main Jura ridge towards the Alps. Despite a bit of haze, Mont Blanc was clearly visible, as indeed were all of the Alps across Lac Léman - all the way along to the Dents du Midi.<br />
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<i>Mont Blanc on the horizon above Lac Léman.</i></div>
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The views towards the Alps continued to open-up as we continued on our way, and gained height, up the ridgeline northwest of Petit Bel Coster. Looking back, we also had great views along the peaks of the southern Jura - of Mont d'Or, Dent du Vaulion, Mont Tendre and even La Dole in the far distance. It was classic Jura landscape and scenery.<br />
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<i>Looking back towards Mont d'Or - which we'd climbed in October.</i></div>
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We were constantly stopping to take-in the magnificent views. We'd been blessed with a gorgeous day, perfect for snow-shoeing in the mountains. So far we'd had a mix of sunshine and cloud, comfortable temperatures, and no wind. Just about perfect. The snow conditions were much the same. Ideal.<br />
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<i>Lis taking-in the beautiful views from the ridgeline near Bel Coster.</i></div>
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We soon reached a place called Grand Bel Coster (1392m) - a summer cattle barn - which was now abandoned, and unreachable, with a huge bank of snow blocking the entrance to its open barn doors. Once again, we stopped just long enough to take a landmark photograph (of the barn), and some more of Mont Blanc and the Alps, then headed on our way. For the first time, up ahead, we could see our final destination - the summit of Le Suchet. We still had a couple of kilometres of snow-shoeing ahead of us, and about 200 metres to ascend.<br />
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<i>Heading east of Grand Bel Coster with the twin peaks of Le Suchet in the background.</i></div>
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The trail zig-zagged downhill (groan ... 'cos it meant that we'd have to gain all of that altitude again, which is never much fun), towards a place called La Poyette. Before we got there, we encountered a section of the Toblerone Line (I wrote about it in the blog from Dent de Vaulion - No 49; and see "Trivia" below).<br />
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<i>A section of the Toblerone anti-tank line near La Poyette.</i></div>
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We stopped to take photos and to check-out the topographic map, which I promptly mis-read (thinking that the road sign "La Poyette" that we were standing alongside was the actual place - which was in fact about half a kilometre to our northwest, hidden behind a small hill). So we left the trail and plunged into the forest, making our own trail across fallen logs, snowdrifts, smothered rock walls and the like to the hilltop ... from where we caught sight of the real La Poyette.<br />
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<i>La Poyette Chalet, more of the Toblerone Line, and (in the background) Le Suchet.</i></div>
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We skidded our way down the slope to the homestead (also abandoned now for the winter), where we wandered around, took some more photos, and steeled ourselves for the last "schlep" up the hillside to the mountaintop.<br />
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<i>The trail sign at La Poyette - 1331m.</i></div>
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One of the more amusing sights at La Poyette was the family car, which for some reason had been left parked behind the house before the onset of winter, and accompanying snowfalls.<br />
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<i>He ain't going nowhere.</i></div>
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<i>Lis alongside the Toblerone Line at La Poyette.</i></div>
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From La Poyette it was all straight uphill to the top. The trail cut through a patch of forest just above the chalet, following first the Toblerone line of concrete blocks, then railway-line spikes driven into the ground, followed by a stone wall and wire fence-line. It would have been hard to get lost now. Once out of the forest, with the sun breaking through again, the views became better than ever. We stopped every hundred metres or so, to catch our breath, and to take-in the magnificent views of the Alps and lakes to the east.<br />
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<i>Lis approaching the summit of Le Suchet.</i></div>
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Le Suchet - which means "rocky point" or a rounded hill-top - has two summits, one (at 1554 metres) marked with a cross, and another (at 1588 metres) with a prominent geodetic survey trig station. There was very little snow at the top, or vegetation (it's treeless), which is not surprising really - given the winds that scream over the Jura at this altitude. Most of the Jura's highest summits are bare and wind-blasted. Le Suchet is no exception, covered in little more than stunted sub-alpine vegetation. The wind must have been blowing at about 50 kilometres per hour at least. I read one hiker's account where he thought the wind had been about 100kph. Needless to say, he said he didn't stay long at the top. (Not surprisingly, the ridgeline here is very popular with paragliders in the balmier, calmer, summer months.)<br />
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<i> At the southwest (lower) summit of Le Suchet.</i></div>
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We stopped just long enough for a couple of commemorative pics, and then hastily dragged on our Mammut wind-stopper jackets, beanies and heavier-duty gloves. Then we dashed down into the hollow between the summits to try to find a sheltered place to have lunch. It was now about 1.45pm, three and a half hours after we'd set-out from Entre les Fourgs. We hunkered down behind a rocky outcrop on the western side of the summit, with views out over the Jura ridges that gradually diminished into the distance into France.<br />
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<i> The rocky outcrop (at left) where we hunkered down for lunch. The summit of Le Suchet in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Another view of Le Suchet summit and our lunchtime picnic spot.</i></div>
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Lis remarked on the irony of us having one of the best views in the world just on the other side of the outcrop - where we would have been blasted into hypothermia if we'd been stupid enough to sit there. Hypothermia isn't fun, so we crushed together and ate our cheese sandwiches, and drank our two big thermoses of hot tea. Heavenly, but freezing. So we ate our lunch in record time, and then headed towards the summit. We knew we were heading in the right direction when we came across this trail sign ... mostly buried.<br />
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<i>The famous Jura Crest Trail is down there somewhere.</i></div>
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First we had to go downhill again - into a saddle at about 1505 metres - between the two peaks. Amazingly there was almost no wind there. Well "almost" in a relative sense. It was still very strong. We stopped while I took a few photos, and shot a short video, to capture the beauty of the view towards the Alps in the distant east.<br />
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<i>The magical arc of the Alps - from north to south.</i></div>
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From the col, it was a short slog up-hill to the second, higher summit. Recharged from her thermos of hot tea, and conscious of the passing time (we had to get back to the car by dark, on one of the shortest days of the year), Lis led the way. The snow was now increasingly icy, and slippery, making the last few metres particularly hazardous. The slopes on the northwest and southwest side drop steeply, vertically in some places, about 800 metres down onto the plain. Needless to say, we trod carefully.<br />
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<i>Lis on the last section of the trail to the summit of Le Suchet.</i></div>
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We were soon standing at the scoured summit, once again being blasted by the terrific winds. I pulled my well-travelled Swiss flag from out of my back-pack, and Lis snapped off a few celebratory photos ... then bolted back down the mountain.<br />
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The views were amazing, and I was determined to enjoy them for as long as I could - despite the bitterly cold wind. To the north lay the Baumine valley, and beyond it the marvellous massif and summit of Le Chasseron. To the west was the Jougnena valley and the diminishing Jura ridgelines. To the east ... it was all magic ... lakes (Neuchâtel and Leman), plains and Alps.<br />
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<i>Under the geodetic triangulation survey pyramid at the summit of Le Suchet - 1588m.</i></div>
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I stayed for a short while to take a few photos, and to shoot some more video ... which later turned out to be so wind-shaken and tormented to be virtually unusable - then headed down in cold pursuit. It was now about 2.30pm.<br />
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The wind had been incredible at the summit, reminiscent of the "tempest" which the famous early 19th century English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote about in his poem "On the dark height of Jura":<br />
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<i>"Ghosts of the dead! Have I not heard your yelling</i><br />
<i>Rise on the night-rolling breath of the blast,</i><br />
<i>When o'er the dark aether the tempest is swelling,</i><br />
<i>And on eddying whirlwind the thunder-peal passed?</i><br />
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<i>For oft have I stood on the dark height of Jura,</i><br />
<i>Which frowns on the valley which opens beneath;</i><br />
<i>Oft have I braved the chill night-tempest's fury,</i><br />
<i>Whilst around me, I thought, echoed murmurs of death.</i><br />
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<i>And now, whilst the winds of the mountain are howling,</i><br />
<i>O father! thy voice seems to strike on mine ear;</i><br />
<i>In air whilst the tide of the night-storm is rolling,</i><br />
<i>It breaks on the pause of the elements' jar.</i><br />
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<i>On the wings of the whirlwind which roars o'er the mountain</i><br />
<i>Perhaps rides the ghost of my sire who is dead:</i><br />
<i>On the mist of the tempest which hangs o'er the fountain,</i><br />
<i>Whilst a wreath of dark vapour encircles his head."</i><br />
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<i>Looking northwest along the Jura towards Le Chasseron (No 14).</i></div>
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<i>The majestic view in the east - the Alps.</i></div>
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<i> Looking down on Lake Neuchâtel and the lake-side village of Yverdon-les-Bains.</i></div>
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I soon caught-up with Lis, who was waiting in the sheltered col. We slowly made our way back to the second summit, taking a few more photos along the way. We also surprised a small mob of chamois feeding on the exposed grasses and herbs. Being downwind, we were able to get quite close to them. In all, we saw about half-a-dozen chamois during the walk.<br />
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<i>Lis looking happy out of the wind. </i></div>
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<i> A semi-buried Chalet du Suchet, with Yverdon-les-Bains and Lac Neuchâtel in the distance. It's possible to drive to the 17th century Chalet du Suchet (1489m) during the warmer months. It provides meals and a place to stay for transjurassien ramblers and other hikers.</i></div>
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Before long, we were back at the lower summit, where we paused for one last, long look at the amazing view over the Swiss Plateau towards the Alps, and back up towards Le Suchet.</div>
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<i>Lis looking east towards the Alps from the lower Le Suchet summit.</i></div>
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<i>Last look back to the summit of Le Suchet.</i></div>
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We were now enjoying beautiful sunshine, beautiful powder snow ... and no wind. It was truly glorious. We made good time back down the ridgeline to La Poyette. This time we kept to the trail, skirting around the northern side of the hillock we'd "bush-bashed" over on the way up.</div>
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<i> Lis on the trail west of La Poyette. Le Suchet in the background.</i></div>
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The sun was shining bright, but sinking fast in the (south) western skies. A huge bank of black cloud was building-up over the southern Jura, which would mean the sun would set even earlier than normal today, so we kept our heads down and made tracks as fast as we could. We trekked back up the ridgeline to Grand Bel Coster, then back down the other side towards Entre Les Fourgs.</div>
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<i>Lis passing Grand Bel Coster.</i></div>
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Sure enough, once the sun hit the wall of cloud over the Jura, the lights went out very suddenly, and we found ourselves making our way down the last bit of the mountain in growing darkness. Even so, it added something special to our hike, and the sight looking back over Entre les Fourgs, once we reached there, was magic.</div>
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<i>The French Jura to the west of Entre les Fourgs (in foreground).</i></div>
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We trudged down the last of the slopes, past the ski run now filled with twilight skiers, and back into Entre les Fourgs. It was about 4.45 - six and a half hours since our departure from here this morning. Six hours on the trail in snowshoes! We'd feel it in the morning, but we'll also look back on one of the best hikes we've done all year. I can definitely recommend Le Suchet as a destination for anyone wanting a great hike in the Jura.</div>
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<b>Jura Peaks bagged</b><br />
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<li>Le Suchet (No. 19) 1588m</li>
</ul>
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<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Schlep: To go somewhere far away, usually a difficult destination that takes some toil to reach. </li>
</ul>
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<li>The Toblerone Line's real name is the Promenthouse Line, named after one of the three rivers along whose course the toblerones run (the others being the Combe and the Sérine). It is an anti-tank line, first built in the 1930s, but reinforced during WW2. In total length about 15 kilometres, the line of 16 tonne, triangular-shaped concrete blocks is more commonly now called the Toblerone Line - in recognition of the similarly-shaped popular Swiss chocolates (which are apparently themselves modelled on the shape of the Matterhorn mountain). </li>
<li>Percy Shelley wrote "On a dark height of Jura" as part of an epic entitled "St Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian" - which he wrote while at Eton College in about 1810. He visited the Jura twice in the following decade. (See also <a href="http://richardmclellan.blogspot.ch/2012/12/le-noirmont-no-23.html">Le Noirmont</a>).</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-90070654245461313212012-10-30T00:15:00.000+01:002014-10-31T14:51:32.435+01:00Mont Chaubert (No 347)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Autumn colours in the Jura foothills above la Côte Malherbe.</div>
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Last week the Jura (if you remember my last blog) was bathed in all of the golden hues of autumn. It was a real feature of our walk to the top of Le Chasseron last Sunday. At home (that's our place with the orange-tiled roof in the middle above), yellow and brown and orange and gold leaves tumbled out of the forest, swirled around in the warm valley turbulence, and dropped like weary drifters all over our house and garden. We think it's been the best autumn display ever. Then ... on Friday night ... with little more than a sigh, the warm wind from the Mediterranean (the "Foehn" wind) slowly and silently came to an imperceptible halt. And in its place sprung-up a fresh, new wind - coming now from the north (the wind the locals call the "Bise") - which gradually transformed the whole landscape from balmy autumn into more Arctic-like conditions. The temperature dropped from about 20 degrees to minus 6 so quickly that you could almost watch the liquid contracting in the temperature gauge. And, even more incredibly, with the sudden drop in temperatures and the freezing winds, came about 10 centimetres of beautiful, white, fluffy snow. </div>
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<i>Lis outside our mountain house at le Côte Malherbe.</i></div>
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By Saturday morning the landscape had been transformed: The trees had been mostly stripped of their autumn leaves and a beautiful blanket of snow covered the landscape as far as the eye could see. It was magical. All of the lovely leaves that we'd been admiring so much these past few weeks now carpeted the ground, covered or patterned with crystals of white snow. Last weekend we'd been walking around in the Jura under sunny skies wearing t-shirts. Today I was pulling on ski pants and my heaviest duty, Antarctica expedition snow-jacket. It was bloody freezing!<br />
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We had originally been planning on doing a walk to the summit of one of the "top 20" peaks about an hour's drive north of our home. But instead, we hastily changed our plans and decided to just go for a walk in the forest above our house - to the nearest named peak in the Jura Mountains - Mont Chaubert. There are a number of routes between our place and Mont Chaubert - with the most direct one being straight-up the cliff-face behind our house. As you can see in the photo above, the cliff is right behind the house. It virtually cuts our block in half, with the back section being all cliff and forest. We've got a route to the top - via a few rough steps, a fixed ladder, a series of (even rougher) footholds and a fixed rope (which hangs down over the last one-third of the route - the top left section in the photo below).<br />
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<i>The cliff-face at the back of our house.</i></div>
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I checked it out to see if it would be the best option for starting today's walk, but soon decided it probably wasn't the safest (or driest) way to start a walk in the forest. Instead we decided to take the Swiss walking trail that runs right past our front door, and zig-zag our way up le Côte Malherbe to the entrance to the Mont Chaubert forest.<br />
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<i>Checking-out the fixed rope section of our cliff.</i></div>
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There are a couple of fantastic marked routes in the Mont Chaubert forest, installed a couple of years ago (and now beautifully maintained) by the local forestry department. They are among a series of about 30 walks in the region set-up under the "NatuRando" moniker. We decided to take the <i>Sentier du Mont Chaubert</i> route - number 16, which offered an easy 3.7 kilometre hike through the heart of the forest.<br />
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The route is well marked with trail signs (like those above), with green and white flashes painted onto trees all along the way, and lots of interesting information panels at significant landmarks and features. We encountered the first of these panels virtually as soon as we arrived at the trail head. <br />
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<i>Lis checking-out the information panels at the glass-blower's hut.</i></div>
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There are three structures located there that serve as a reminder of the early charcoal, lime and glass manufacturing activities that used to occur here decades ago. The most prominent of these had a sign over the front door saying "Le charbonnier" - the coal-man, or charcoal-maker. It had a couple of carved wooden figures alongside the hut, beautifully crafted by a local wood carver. There are lots of them in and around our local village of St George.<br />
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Just across the trail, one of these figures could be seen throwing a log of wood into the old charcoal kiln (typical of about the 1850s and called a "four à chaux). We went down there for a closer look.</div>
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<i>The carved man is actually life-size, and very impressive. </i></div>
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<i>A close up of le charbonnier. </i></div>
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History lesson over, it was time to get started on our walk, we were beginning to freeze-over as the <i>bise</i> whistled up the valley behind us, and blasted tiny flakes of snow into our faces. Heading northeast was a familiar trail that we often walk - which takes us on a loop through the forest from our house on le Côte Malherbe.<br />
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However today we took the <i>Sentier du Mont Chaubert</i> trail - to the northwest - which more or less follows a ridgeline at the top of an escarpment called Les Coteaux. It's the red route marked on the map below (on the right-hand-side).<br />
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The trail led us deeper and deeper into the forest, and slowly up the hillside towards the "St George refuge". The trail was magnificently soft underfoot, dampened-down by millions of fallen leaves, and about 10 centimetres of snow. It was magical. Snowflakes were still drifting down through the trees, and occasionally a mass of accumulated snow would tumble out of an overhanging branch. We were having fun.<br />
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<i>Lis heading into the Mont Chaubert forest.</i></div>
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As usual, I stopped and took a photograph of just about everything. There were lots of interesting shapes formed by snow accumulating on branches, leaves and even whole trees. I discovered a beautifully-fashioned woodpecker hole, which just had to be recorded.<br />
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<i>A very neat looking woodpecker hole.</i></div>
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<i>Patterns of snow on autumn leaves.</i></div>
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It's hard to believe that this forest was once part of a working farm - virtually completely cleared for cattle pastures a couple of centuries ago. A certain Monsieur de Gingins d'Elépens established a farm here in 1820. It was subsequently purchased by the Canton of Vaud, in 1837 (on the 28th of December to be precise), and turned over to forestry and aligned industry. Now it is a dense, mixed forest full of predominantly fir, beech, birch and oak. If we were lucky, we were hoping to see some deer, or chamois, or perhaps even some wild boar. We got our hopes up when we came across some fresh deer tracks that came onto, and then followed, our trail. However, unfortunately we didn't catch-up the deer, and soon arrived at the refuge.<br />
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<i>Arriving at the St George refuge.</i></div>
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This is an amazingly civilized refuge, all set-up with tables and bench seats, kerosene lamps, candles, barbecue, utensils, and even a cabinet with wine glasses. The wood is all chopped and stacked, and someone has even left dry paper and matches. Too Swiss!!!<br />
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<i>Lis outside the front of the St George refuge.</i></div>
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Despite all of the attractions of these amenities and this orderliness, the best thing about the refuge is outside - the magnificent panorama - which provides great views over the nearby Jura Mountains (especially down towards La Dole), the village of St George, and the distant Lac Léman, Geneva and the southern Alps. Unfortunately, not much of the latter was on show, but the village sure looked magnificent down below us, under its mantle of fresh snow.<br />
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<i>St George, nestled in the foothills of the Jura below Crêt de la Neuve.</i></div>
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St George is situated at about 940 metres above sea level, on one of the main routes over the Jura Mountain range - via the Col du Marchairuz. The commune is still mostly forest (about 75 per cent), with much of the remainder given over to farmland. The first written mention of the village dates back to 1153 when it was called <i>Sancti Georgii in Essartinis</i> by the resident Benedictine monks. With the conquest of Vaud by the bailiffs of Berne (in 1536), the local priory was secularized, and Saint-George, as it became known, came under the administration of the Bailiwick of Morges. After the collapse of the "ancien regime" (as a result of the "Vaudois Revolution" in 1798), the village came under the control of the Canton of Geneva. (It remained so for the duration of the "Helvetic Republic" period - from 1798 to 1803). With the signing/enactment of the "Constitution Mediation", it found itself transferred to the newly formed Canton of Vaud (within which it remains today). In 1798 it was assigned to the District of Aubonne. It's a great little village.<br />
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<i>Lis checking out the magnificent views from the refuge.</i></div>
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<i>Jura peaks La Barillette, La Dôle and Point de Poele Chaud on the horizon above St George.</i></div>
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<i>Somewhere down at the end of Lac Léman (hidden in the mist) lies Geneva.</i></div>
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<i>An arms-length self portrait at the St George refuge.</i></div>
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From the refuge we headed northeast, back into the forest, armed with our GPS, and looking for the nearby summit of Mont Chaubert. With the fresh overnight snow, it was often hard to exactly see where the trail was going, but most of the time the green and white markers on the trees made it easy going (and the GPS, even easier).<br />
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<i>Lis near one of the trail marker trees.</i></div>
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<i>Christmas trees in October???</i></div>
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Although it was somewhat difficult to find, being a couple of hundred metres off the trail and partially obscured by dense forest, we soon managed to scramble our way to the top of Mont Chaubert (1082m). It's not much of a summit, so we stayed just long enough to snap a not-so-decisive-moment commemorative photograph ... and then we were gone.<br />
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<i>Not exactly the most prominent peak in the Jura - the top of Mont Chaubert.</i></div>
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We retraced our steps back down the slope to the trail, and then continued on our way deeper into the forest. It sure was a lovely place to be walking on a Sunday afternoon.<br />
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<i>Above and below: Lis on the trail through the forest.</i></div>
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We passed a few sign-posted landmarks and interesting features - including the "Muraille de Chine" (the Wall of China), a high limestone rock wall of "mysterious" origins, (was it natural, was it man-made?), that was now just a big white blob of snow. A little further on we apparently encountered the ruins of an old mid-19th century farmhouse ("L'ancien chalet d'alpage") - which were impossible to distinguish under the snow and amid the undergrowth.<br />
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Fortunately the next landmark was much easier to recognize - the old farmhouse at Mont Bailly (1057m). The farm is still in operation - in a small alpage (mountain pasture) clearing about a kilometre northeast of Mont Chaubert. Mont Bailly (incorrectly marked as Mont Bally on some maps), gets its name from the Bailiffs of Berne (Bailiffs = Bailly) who had the run of the land here about four or five hundred years ago. After the "Vaudois Revolution" in 1798, when the Bernese were evicted from the district, the pasturages came under the control of the City of Lausanne - until the Canton of Vaud was constituted in 1803. More recently, in February 2007, the old farm (with its farmhouse dating back to 1803) was purchased by the nearby village of Gimel.<br />
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<i>The old farmhouse at Mont Bailly.</i></div>
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Not surprisingly, it was deserted on the day that we were there, with no signs of life other than a couple of old horses scratching away in the snow trying to find some grass to eat. Adding the only splash of colour to an otherwise monochromatic landscape, a red and white Swiss flag fluttered from a flagpole at the front of the house.<br />
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We took a couple of photographs, then quietly watched a lovely, healthy-looking, bushy-tailed fox sniff his way across the snowscape, following the scent of something obviously desirable. He was a magnificent specimen, with a white tip at the end of his bushy tail.<br />
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We headed back into the forest, briefly following a <i>ski du fond</i> (cross-country ski) trail, which took us past a mid-19th century silviculture plantation and, soon after, the ruins of the original Mont Chaubert farm.<br />
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<i>Lis on the ski du fond track.</i></div>
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The old farmhouse is long gone, but in its place one now finds the Refuge Forestier du Mont Chaubert (1044m), built by local foresters in 1906.<br />
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<i>The Refuge Forestier du Mont Chaubert.</i></div>
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The refuge had a neat-looking sign on the front wall with a poem that read:<br />
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<i>"Protect the forest, maintain its presence.</i></div>
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<i>After the axe is fast and the growth is slow.</i></div>
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<i>Of our acts, our sons will judge us.</i></div>
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<i>Let us work with wisdom, honoured they will return."</i></div>
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Not a bad mission to greet you when you come to work in these forests, today, and the years into the future.<br />
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From the refuge, we headed down a forest trail that more-or-less followed a contour above Côte Viri - the hillside just to the east of la Côte Malherbe. We knew this track well, and knew that we were now close to home, so were savouring the last stages of our loop around the forest trails of Mont Chaubert.</div>
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<i>Lis enjoying the last, downhill section of the trail.</i></div>
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We passed the familiar sign designating the entrance to the community forest, and were soon "back in civilization" - at the eastern end of our road - the Chemin de la Côte Malherbe. From there, it was an easy walk home. Not a bad trail to have right on one's doorstep huh?<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mont Chaubert (No. 347) 1082m</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-66019293993051578122012-10-23T01:41:00.000+02:002014-07-30T22:00:45.241+02:00Le Chasseron (No 14)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Le Chasseron, the 14th highest peak in the Jura Mountains, is unmistakable, yet is often confused with Chasseral (the 13th highest peak), which we trekked to in September. Adding to their confusion, they are both virtually the same height - with Le Chasseron 1606.6 metres (rounded-up to 1607), and Chasseral 1607.4 (rounded-down to 1607) - and both have their names from the same origins: the place of <i>la chasse</i> - the chase, the hunt. A good place to go hunting for wild game.<br />
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Fortunately they are both good places to go hiking as well, and the trip to the top of Le Chasseron on Sunday (21 October) reinforced this peak's reputation as one of the best day hikes in the Jura. We headed up there from the village of Sainte Croix (or Sainte-Croix or Ste-Croix - depending on which map/sign/book you're looking at), which is about 10 kilometres northwest of Yverdon-les-Bains, the picturesque town located at the southern end of Lac de Neuchâtel.<br />
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The road up the Jura escarpment was a classic switchback-abundant, zig-zag, mountain-side road that took us from the relatively low-land Swiss plateau to the first saddle (or "col") of the Jura's highest ridgeline - the south-eastern chain, the "Balcon de Léman", which rises steeply to the village of Ste-Croix.<br />
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<i> The church in Sainte-Croix and trail sign to Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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We parked just below the Sainte-Croix church, and, without much ado, grabbed our back-packs and (at about 10am) headed north out of town. The trail virtually started right at the church's back door. Ste-Croix is famous for lots of reasons - but mostly because of its music boxes, and the fact that the famous 18th century writer, philosopher, botanist, wanderer and explorer Jean-Jacques Rousseau used to hang around here back in the 1760s. He lived in the nearby village of Môtiers from 1762 to 1765, and frequently wandered around the hills in the vicinity of Le Chasseron. Whilst living in Môtiers, Rousseau fell in love with the Jura Mountains, and took every opportunity to hike into its highlands - including to Le Chasseron - in search of "plants and inspiration". Suitably inspired by such walks, he wrote his famous books: <i>Reveries of the Solitary Walker</i> and <i>Letters written from the Mountains</i>, which were filled with vivid descriptions of the landscape. He once wrote: "I cannot possibly describe how pleasant it is here in the warm season". One account of Rousseau said: "his depiction of nature as an object of contemplation rather than a source of imminent danger triggered a flow of foreign visitors eager to see the Swiss countryside for themselves. Some used his novel <i>Julie, or the new Heloise</i> as a travel guide ... Scores of English romantics followed his lead, becoming the first tourists to visit the Jura Mountains".<br />
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The music box heritage dates back to about a hundred years after Rousseau - to 1850, when the Swiss watch-making industry went through a bit of an economic crisis, prompting the watchmakers of Sainte Croix to diversify into manufacturing new products: music boxes. This proved to be sufficiently profitable for the industry to take-on some degree of permanence, and gave the town a whole new reputation. Apparently the local music box museum and workshop are well worth a visit. It's not open on Sundays, and besides, we were itching to "hit the road", and so we didn't hang around for very long.<br />
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The trail heading out of Ste-Croix is along the famous "Chemin des Crêtes du Jura" transjurassien trail. Initially it went straight uphill, out of town, and into a wonderful deciduous forest ablaze with autumn colours. The path was covered with fallen leaves, and neither of us could resist the childhood urge to shuffle our boots along the ground as we went - kicking up leaves along the way. That was fun.<br />
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<i>Leaves cover the track heading out of Ste-Croix.</i></div>
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About one and a half kilometres from Ste-Croix, just past a farm-house, we reached a walking-trail-crossroad at a place called Les Praises (1255m).<br />
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<i>Trail-signs at Les Praises.</i></div>
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After scrutinizing the signs, and our topographic map, we turned east and headed along a gentle incline which took us into a (mainly) coniferous forest - which is more typical of the Jura's higher landscapes. The track was a two-wheeled limestone road that obviously universally serves the needs of the foresters, farmers, ski-lift operators and skiers, refuge owners and visitors, mountain hotels/restaurants, hikers, etc.<br />
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<i>Lis heading east on the Les Praises-La Casba forest road.</i></div>
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Fortunately we only had to follow it for about a kilometre, before we turned onto a grassy/rocky walking track that headed north towards Le Chasseron. The turn-off was just south of a mountain hut/refuge/restaurant called "La Casba", which was located near a whole bunch of ski-lift apparatus servicing the ski-field around Le Cochet. A little further along the track we reached Les Avattes - another chalet that doubles-up as a restaurant, serving hikers, skiers and motorists probably all-year-round. A magnificent aroma tantalizingly wafted over our trail, with the smell of a wood fire burning away, and something sizzling (la chasse?). But we resisted the urge to investigate, and pushed-on up the hill.<br />
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<i>Passing by Les Avattes (1458m).</i></div>
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Les Avattes must be quite a destination in itself, because from there-on the path (now looking more rocky and rustic like the "Chemin des Crêtes du Jura" should) became increasing less-trodden. At first, it led up a steep hillside through a last patch of forest, then out onto open mountain pasture and, finally, a sharp rocky ridgeline called le Petites Roches (the "Little Rocks"). This ridge - with gentle sloping pasture-land on one side (the east), and steep, rocky, forested slopes on the other (the west) provided our first good clear views over the surrounding Jura, and distant lakes and Alps. Unfortunately, the latter were little more than fuzzy outlines in a blue-grey haze - that hung over the Neuchâtel and Léman lakes. There were no amazing views to be enjoyed today.<br />
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<i>Standing atop the western (Jura) side of the Petites Roches ridgeline.</i></div>
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The highest point of les Petites Roches - at 1583 metres - was our first destination for the day, being number 21 on our list of the Jura's highest named peaks.<br />
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<i> The top of Petites Roches.</i></div>
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Once we got there, we stayed just long enough to take the obligatory celebratory photograph, to check-out the surrounding landscape, and take a few more pics. There was a stiff wind blowing-in from the Alps, which meant that every time we stopped walking, we needed to pull-on a windbreaker, and every time we started walking again, we needed to take it off.<br />
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<i>Flying the flag at the top of Les Petites Roches, with the cliffs of Le Chasseron further along the ridgeline in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Looking west towards Mont de la Maya (the peak in the middle distance) and Le Sollier farmhouse (in the valley below).</i></div>
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<i>To the north lies Roches Blanches, towering above La Merla farmhouse.</i></div>
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<i>Looking southwest back down the ridgeline, with Le Suchet and les Aiguilles des Baulmes in the distance at left, and Mont d'Or in the far distance above the hikers in the centre.</i></div>
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<i>Looking northeast along the ridgeline towards the top of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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We were soon back on our way, dropping down from Petites Roches into a bit of a swale just east of Crêt de Gouilles (1524 metres), and following the trail that skirted along the cliff-faces. The views were amazing and, from time to time, we stopped to take more photographs - mainly of les Petites Roches behind us and Le Chasseron looming ahead.<br />
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<i> Lis at the cliff-tops just southeast of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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<i>The west face of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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It didn't take us long to cover the last kilometre or so between Petites Roches and Le Chasseron, and we soon passed the Hôtel du Chasseron - the mountaintop hotel/restaurant that is perched on the slopes just south of the summit. Far below us, through the haze, we could see the town of Yverdon-les-Bains - from where Rousseau had been evicted (he was "persecuted by the authorities" - partly for his "worship of nature"), just before he moved to Môtiers in the 1760s.<br />
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<i>The Hôtel du Chasseron. Lazy diners can drive all the way up here from the village of Bullet, about 500 metres (in altitude) below.</i></div>
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<i>The view from the hotel terrace over Lac de Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains.</i></div>
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Uninspired by the look of the hotel, we scrambled like a pair of mountain goats up the last rocky outcrop and stood at the edge of the abrupt cliff-face atop the Jura's 14th highest summit - Le Chasseron (1607m). Lis snapped a pic of me standing at the summit under the big geodesic signal pyramid that marks the highest point. This had been erected in 1989 - to replace the original one that had been there since 1901.<br />
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<i>At the top of Le Chasseron, 1606.6 metres above sea level.</i></div>
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It was now about mid-day, and for the first time the skies above us were seriously clouding-over. There was little to see towards the Alps, where (as the very informative panorama information panel told us), one could normally see the magnificent chain of Savoy, Valais and Bernese Alpine peaks. Those who've made it to the top on clearer days also normally get great views of three lakes - Neuchâtel, Biel and Murten (and limited views of a fourth - Lac Léman) - and the Fribourg plateau.<br />
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<i> Thanks for the panorama panel Monsieur Jaccard-Lenoir, but there were no Alps on show today.</i></div>
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The wind was cold and cutting, so we once again pulled-on our windbreakers, and found a place in a hollow behind some rocks where we could hunker-down for lunch. A picnic lunch at the top of the Jura, who could ask for more? Hot tea, bread, cheese, chocolate and a nip of French brandy - all while taking-in a magnificent view over the Jura Mountains. Absolute bliss!<br />
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<i>Lis at our lunch spot at the top of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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After lunch we wandered around the summit, taking-in the scenery, and enjoying the occasional burst of sunlight that broke through the passing clouds and lit-up the mountain-top. As usual, I took about a hundred photographs.<br />
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<i>Lis at the top of the world, with Roches Blanches - through which runs the boundary between the cantons of Vaud and Neuchâtel - in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Looking northeast towards the northern Jura.</i></div>
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<i>Lis taking-in the arc Jurassien - on the Chemin des Crêtes du Jura walking trail.</i></div>
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<i>I'm not exactly sure what this two-metre high inscription was all about, but it was certainly impressive.</i></div>
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<i>A view towards the west - of the Jura's parallel and diminishing ridgelines.</i></div>
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<i>A last look back at the sunlit summit of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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One of the most interesting stories about Le Chasseron dates back to 1850, when a young man collecting plant specimens at the foot of the mountain found a handful of old Roman coins. Not surprisingly, hundreds of amateur fossickers followed in his footsteps in subsequent years - scouring the site and discovering a multitude of objects, including more coins, and pieces of jewellery, pottery and other objects. This is how the discovery was reported in the <i>Gazette de Lausanne</i>:<br />
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"A few weeks ago, a young man engaged in collecting plants at the foot of Chasseron found a Roman coin, whilst snatching a plant. It was soon known in (the towns of) Fleurier and Sainte Croix. Therefore, many people of these localities have been excavating the site and found so far, about two hundred Roman medals ... Also found were bricks, fragments of vases, almost-intact bells, iron tools, etc."<br />
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The site was further studied by a man named Julien Gruaz, who described the site in some detail in an account entitled "Le Chasseron temples and Mountains" - which was published in the <i>Vaudoise History Journal </i>in 1913. He wrote that: "the site had probably been first used by the Gauls, and then the Romans, as a temple at which they could devote themselves to their gods in some high places". He wrote (with some degree of lyricism, but here slightly lost in translation): "In relation to a huge space, where exist to infinity a variety of sites amid soft undulating lines; where the contrasts of light and shadow, storm and weather deploy powerful effects, it seems that the veneration shines on mountaintops would associate the worship of the gods - at all times exercised over the human soul, and the forces of nature".<br />
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The site was most comprehensively examined in the summers of 2004 and 2005 - by a team of archaeologists led by Professor Thierry Luginbühl from the "Institute of Archaeology and Sciences of the Antiquity" at the University of Lausanne. These more thorough and professional excavations "shed far more light on the site, revealing distinct foundations of the temple/shrine, completely exposing the remaining walls, and even discovering fragments of Roman tiles which once adorned its floors and walls".<br />
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<i>Looking again southwest back down the ridgeline, with Le Suchet and les
Aiguilles des Baulmes on the left, and Mont d'Or in the far distance on the right - behind the top of Petites Roches.</i></div>
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With no such antiquity to arouse our interest, and suitably rested, we re-shouldered our packs and began retracing our steps down the mountain. Fortunately the back-tracking only lasted a few hundred metres - where we stopped to check-out an interesting monument called "the Stone of Peace". This is a huge gneiss boulder that had been originally dragged from miles away by an ancient glacier, and deposited somewhere near the village of Bullet at the foot of Le Chasseron. It was placed up near Le Chasseron as a monument to peace, and had engraved into its upper surface - by sculptor Jacqueline Jeanneret from Col des Roches - the symbols of ancient and more-modern religious faiths - surrounding the mathematical sign for infinity.<br />
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<i>The Peace Stone just below Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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At this point, we took a trail that headed down the escarpment on the western side of the ridgeline - towards the farmhouse called La Merla (1390m). Although steep and rocky when we first dropped-over the cliff-tops, the path was mostly a gentle zig-zag down the side of the valley to the valley floor where the farm's summer homestead was located.<br />
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<i>Lis leading the way down the mountain, with Petites Roches high on her left and (our next destination summit) Mont de la Maya on her right.</i></div>
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<i>On the farm track heading towards La Merla farmhouse, with Mont de la Maya on the right.</i></div>
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<i>In the valley floor, just south of La Merla, and looking back up towards the summit of Le Chasseron.</i></div>
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This is a lovely, flat section of the trail, and we made good time to our next landmark - another mountain farm homestead that annually bursts into life during Switzerland's warmer months - called Le Sollier. From here we turned a sharp right, towards the northwest, and headed straight-up the slope towards the summit of Mont de la Maya.<br />
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<i>Lis heading-up the southern slope of Mont de la Maya, with Le Chasseron and La Merla farmhouse in the background to the northeast.</i></div>
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The slope got progressively steeper, such that by the time we were approaching the top we were having to zig-zag back and forward across the slope to gain height. It was too steep to go straight-up. Even though Mont de la Maya is way down on the list of the Jura's highest peaks (1465 metres, and number 54), it felt more like a mountaintop than many of the higher peaks we've climbed. Not surprisingly, the trail to the top isn't even marked on most maps. To most hikers passing by, it's another obscure summit (only climbed by "collectors"). Lis reckons I'm the Jura Mountains' equivalent of a "twitcher" (for those who don't know the term, it's applied to bird-watching enthusiasts "who travel long distances to see a rare bird - which they would then tick, or check-off, on their list".<br />
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And after one last scramble over some rocks, we found ourselves at the top of Mont de la Maya. The peak gets its name from the Latin word <i>meta</i>, which means "cone or pyramid", and generally applies to a place with a conical top. We didn't stay there for very long - pausing just long enough to catch our breath, have a drink of water, munch-down a snack bar, and then take the obligatory "proof-I-was-there" photograph.<br />
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<i>At the highest-point survey marker atop Mont de la Maya. Roches Blanches lies to the north in the background.</i></div>
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We retraced our steps back down the mountain - to a set of walking trail "cross-roads", just east of Le Sollier farmhouse. We took the lesser-travelled route towards the south, which took us back into the coniferous forest below Petites Roches, and led us towards our final destination - the top of Le Cochet.<br />
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<i>Le Sollier farmhouse (1373 metres).</i></div>
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About one-and-a-half kilometres further down the track, we turned-off to the west, and made our way up the slopes of Le Cochet - following a thin sinuous clearing through the forest that was obviously a winter ski piste. We were just near the "La Casba" chalet again.<br />
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<i>Lis on the way up the northern side of Le Cochet, with the summit of Petites Roches in the background.</i></div>
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Sometime around 2.30pm, we reached the top of Le Cochet (at 1483.3 metres, it's number 49 on the list). Tick. (It's been a good day for a Jura twitcher - four peaks, and four ticks - bringing the total number of peaks "ticked-off" in my "Jura Seven Summits" project thus far - to 38.) Le Cochet gets its name from the surname of an old farming family who once lived in the district, and probably owned the mountain pastures around the peak.<br />
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<i>The top of Le Cochet, with the ubiquitous summit cross. This one was erected on 17 October 1964, replacing the original cross put up here by locals in October 1938.</i></div>
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<i>Sur le sommet du Cochet. </i></div>
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<i>Looking down on Ste-Croix.</i></div>
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Unfortunately, although only mid-afternoon, the day hadn't got any warmer, the cold wind still chilled us whenever we stopped walking, and the clouds and haze blanketed-out any chance we had of getting good views of the peaks on the horizon. So, as soon as we'd taken our photographs, we charged-off down the mountainside, following a rough path that wound its way down the hillside under the ski-lifts on the eastern side of the mountain.<br />
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We soon re-encountered the trail that we'd been on earlier in the day, just near "La Casba", so we turned south and headed back towards Ste-Croix. Ironically, as soon as we got back into the lower altitudes, the wind dropped, the clouds began to clear and the sun came out. As it had been in the morning, the countryside was once again bathed in glorious sunshine as we headed back into the deciduous forest.<br />
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<i>Lis heading into the forest just above Ste-Croix.</i></div>
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<i>A distinctive yellow diamond trail marker in the forest.</i></div>
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<i>Emerging from the autumn-gold-filled forest just above Ste-Croix.</i></div>
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We got back to the car sometime just after 3pm - making the hike roughly five hours long. As had been the case on every Jura Mountain ramble thus far, we'd had a great time, had seen some great views, and talked about when we'll come back and do this hike again: Perhaps in mid-winter, or mid summer, or .....<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Le Chasseron (No. 14) 1607m</li>
<li>Petites Roches (No. 21) 1583m</li>
<li>Le Cochet (No. 49) 1483m</li>
<li>Mont de la Maya (No. 54) 1465m</li>
</ul>
<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Putting it into perspective, Le Chasseron is apparently the 6,183rd highest peak in Switzerland.</li>
<li>Regarding its name, Le Chasseron is also thought to be derived from the Latin <i>saxon</i>, which means "rocks", and which became <i>sasse</i>, then <i>Sasseron</i>. Other accounts suggest Le Chasseron may once have also been called "Sucheron".</li>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-21815148388903302692012-10-15T23:26:00.004+02:002013-12-04T22:32:58.983+01:00Mont d'Or (No 55)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Les ors de l'automne (the golden colours of autumn).</i></div>
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The spectacle which is Mont d'Or is a very appropriate Jurassic destination when the colours of autumn are turning all of the Jura's deciduous trees' leaves into lovely golden hues of yellow, amber, orange, brown and red. It was too bad the weather turned more winter than autumn, i.e., sans sunshine, but the reputation of Mont d'Or still provided the promise of some amazing experiences and spectacular views. Actually Mont d'Or doesn't get its name from "gold". Its name is thought to originate from either an old French variant of "Alp" (<i>Au</i>); or (more likely) the French word for bears "our" - and refers to it being a place frequented by bears ("once upon a time"). Given the day (the weather) and the age, we didn't expect to see either Alps or bears today.<br />
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Another version of the story is that the name owes its origins to the golden sunlight which bounces off the mountain's magnificent eastward-facing limestone cliff-faces every bright sunny morning. But that didn't seem to be right to us either - especially on the bleak, overcast day that shadowed the mountain throughout the day while we were there.<br />
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<i>The cliffs of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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In yet another nomenclature option, there is apparently a local legend that the name originates from centuries ago after a local shepherd discovered a vein of gold somewhere on the mountainside. With his new-found wealth, he approached the nearby Lord of Joux in order to present a proposal of marriage to the Lord's beautiful daughter. Foolishly, while doing his best to present himself well during conversations, and in order to demonstrate the reality of his wealth, he revealed the location of his golden deposit. Seizing the opportunity to expand his own wealth, the rather unscrupulous lord rapidly responded by throwing the shepherd into a dungeon in the depths of the lord's famous fortress castle, and stealing the poor man's gold. The mountain was thereafter called Mont d'Or in memory of the stolen mineral wealth and the hapless shepherd.<br />
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Mont d'Or is located in the heart of folded, French, Jura Mountain dairy country, and is famous for the cheese which bears its name - Vacherin Mont d'Or - which some claim to be the best cheese in France and Switzerland. Hmmm, I'm not the best judge of warm, soft, creamy, molten Jura cheeses, so I'll decline to say anything on the grounds that I might incriminate myself. The cheese is only produced during the colder, winter months (between September and May), when the local breed of cows - called the Montbéliardes, a piebald red-and-white variety which has been bred here for more than 300 years - are holed-up in local farmers' barns. The cheese comes distinctively packaged in round wooden boxes.<br />
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<i> Here's a Vacheron Mont-D'Or from our local fromagerie in St George.</i></div>
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We drove to the foot of the mountain and parked the car on the outskirts of a tiny village called Les Tavins - which is just over the French border about three kilometres north of Vallorbe. From Les Tavins, we drove about a kilometre south - on a mountain track that led into the foothills between Mont d'Or and the Jougnena river - where we parked the car at the bottom of a ski lift located just near the Piquemiette Chalet. The latter was closed now, but looked like it might be a pumping place when the skiers start turning up here in a couple of months.<br />
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<i> The Télésiège des Roches at la Piquemiette - with the cliffs of Mont d'Or in the background.</i></div>
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We were only anticipating about a four hour walk, so didn't arrive there until about noon, hoping that the bleak morning's weather would lift as the day wore-on and warmed-up. Unfortunately it didn't, and by the time we set-off at 12.20pm, the conditions were still overcast and cool. A brisk wind whistled-in from the south. We stopped briefly to check-out the Refuge de Piquemiette (1058 metres), then headed into the forest on a trail called the "Le Tour du Mont d'Or". The trail is marked by distinctive yellow and blue stripes along much the way - in the (largely) French portion, (and by the distinctive red and white striped mountain trail signs in the relatively short Swiss section).<br />
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<i>It's hard to miss these along the route.</i></div>
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<i> Lis heading into the forest along the lovely leafy trail.</i></div>
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About a kilometre along the trail, in the vicinity of a patch of forest called "Source du Creux Soudet", we came upon a stone marker which marked the border between France and Switzerland. It dated back to 1649. We were heading back into the wilds of the Swiss Jura.<br />
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<i> The French side of the border.</i></div>
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I read somewhere that on the Swiss side of the border, you'll find chamois, boar and other wild creatures, and on the French side: les Montbéliardes (the local cows). In another account it had the wildlife living on the cliff-faces, and the cows on the flatter mountain pasturages. Unfortunately, we didn't see any wild fauna, but did see lots of wild mushrooms - of all colours - red, white, red-and-white, orange, pink, yellow, grey ... and they all looked beautiful .... but deadly.<br />
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<i>These were our favourites.</i></div>
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Suddenly we found ourselves in a clearing, on a mountain pasture that provided the first inkling of the kind of views we were going to see today. A high layer of cloud blanketed all western Switzerland (and eastern France) as far as the eye could see, under which we were able to get some surreal views of the distant Alps and a few of our favourite Alpine landmarks - including Mont Blanc and les Dent du Midi. Closer to where we were standing, we could also see the Dent de Vaulion (1483m, No. 47) across the Orbe valley to our south.<br />
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<i>The majestic Alps on the horizon above the easternmost and highest ridgeline of the Jura.</i></div>
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<i>The massif du Mont-Blanc (I took this photo from the Col du Marchairuz on the way up to Mont d'Or earlier in the morning).</i></div>
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<i>The distinctive peaks of the Dents du Midi (to the right) which Lis and I hiked around in 2010.</i></div>
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The trail then turned-off to the west, and headed back into the forest. It was lovely being in the woods in "the fall" - with leaves tumbling and cascading out of the tree tops to litter the path ahead of us. It was quite magical.<br />
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<i>Multi-hued autumn leaves litter our trail to the top of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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About two kilometres down the trail we encountered our first landmark - the Pralioux Dessus farmhouse and, perched above it, the Club Alpine Suisse (CAS) mountain refuge hut peculiarly called Cabane Gym.<br />
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<i>Lis heading past Pralioux Dessus, with Cabane Gym on the ridgeline in the background.</i></div>
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<i>I loved this sign erected just outside the farmhouse, which says: "Livestock loose. Parking at your risk and peril".</i></div>
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From there, the route turned to the north, taking us uphill on a (at times) hard-to-distinguish trail through the forest, that suddenly opened-up onto alpine pastures near the top of the Mont d'Or cliffs. Along the way, we skirted past another CAS mountain refuge - the Cabane du Mont d'Or (1373m), then wandered over towards the top of the cliffs. A fierce wind blasted against our backs, threatening to blow us off the mountain.<br />
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<i>The cabane du Mont d'Or, with the summit of Le Suchet (No. 19 on the list of the Jura's highest peaks) in the background.</i></div>
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We now found ourselves on a section of the tour called the "Sentier des crêtes" - marked by gentle alpine pasturage on the one side (on our left, the west while heading north), and precipitous 200 metre cliffs on the other. It was a time for paying attention to where one put one's feet.<br />
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That was a hard ask, considering the amazing views that now lay before us. For the first time we could really see where our forest trail had taken us - close now to the top of the mountain, as well as the valley floor from where we had started the walk, and an amazing Jura panorama beyond.<br />
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<i>Looking back along the trail at the top of the Mont d'Or ridgeline.</i></div>
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<i>The view towards the east with (left-to-right) the villages of Jougne, Le Moulin, la Ferrière and Les Echampes in the centre, and an impressive line-up Jura peaks on the horizon, including (right to left) Le Suchet, les Aiguilles des Baulmes, le Chasseron and Le Soliat (Creux du Van). In one clearing down there somewhere (in the centre) is our car.</i></div>
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We were soon at the highest point of Mont d'Or (1463m). It was now about 2pm - an hour and 40 minutes after when we'd first hit the trail. The wind was turbulent and blisteringly cold, and doing its best to blow us off the mountain-top, so we scampered down just over the edge of the cliff-face, found a ledge, and hunkered down behind the rocks to break-out our trail lunch. Our tried-and-true trail mix was just the tonic to battle the near-Arctic winds that were howling through the skies above us - as we downed our "traditional" fare of bread and cheese, which we washed-down with two thermoses of hot tea, and capped-off with a bar of dark Toblerone chocolate and nip of French brandy to celebrate the summit.<br />
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<i>Lis near the summit of le Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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<i>Looking east from the summit of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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<i>Ricardo flying the flag at the top of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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Suitably refuelled, and now wrapped-up in our polar fleeces and windbreakers, we continued north along the Sentiers des Crêtes totally "gobsmacked" (there's no better term) by the views that continually unfolded in front of us.<br />
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<i>The cliffs of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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It took us ages to traverse the last kilometre or so of the total 2.5 kilometre clifftop - as we kept on stopping to take photos or to just sit and take-in the incredible panorama in front of us. Not surprisingly, it's a popular launching pad for paragliders (from the cliff-face - when the weather conditions are right), and for skiers (on the more gentile slopes - when the landscape is blanketed in snow in mid-winter). There are ski lifts all over the slopes from the east and the west - with quite a few converging on the summit of le Morond (1419m), about a kilometre to our north.<br />
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<i>Paragliders love jumping off here! Not me.</i></div>
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<i>Lis on top of the world at Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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<i>The queen of the mountain.</i></div>
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<i>Hanging ten above the magnificent Mont d'Or amphitheatre.</i></div>
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<i>Looking south along the cliff-face.</i></div>
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<i>Taking-in the last views of the cliffs and scree slopes far below, with our route back heading down that ridgeline behind Lis.</i></div>
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<i>A last look to the south, with the "Sous des Falaises du Mont D'Or" trail on the left, below the cliffs, that we will need to be on in about an hour.</i></div>
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<i>La Piquemiette is way down there in the distance on the far left.</i></div>
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It's mid-October, the days are getting shorter, and the sun was starting to drop out of the skies, so we decided to make our way back down the mountain. We headed to the northern end of the cliffs, then further on to the end of the Sentier des Crêtes trail - just below Le Morond (1419m). From there we made our own way down a ski piste (at this time of the year, a long, thin and sinewy mountain pasture) that zig-zagged its way down the mountain, around an escarpment called "le Troupezy", and through a magnificent multi-coloured autumn forest. It wasn't hard to work out why this neck of the woods had hosted the World Mountainbike Downhill Championships in 1993 (they were based in the tiny town of Métabief, about two kilometres north of le Morond).<br />
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For the first time all day, the sun momentarily broke through the clouds - giving us a fleeting glipse of the radiance around us ... then disappeared again.<br />
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<i>It was a teaser of "what might have been".</i></div>
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We continued on down the trail until we intersected the "Chamois" section of the "Sous les Falaises du Mont d'Or" trail path. (Under the cliffs of Mont d'Or).<br />
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Looking back up towards the cliffs, it was hard to get a real idea of just how high and precipitous they were. We vowed we'd have to come back here again, and do an early morning walk in mid-summer when this valley would be filled with golden sunlight; or perhaps also in mid-winter, on snow-shoes, through one of the planet's most amazing landscapes. Imagine this place covered in snow, with huge fluffy snow-flakes swirling and tumbling all around you.<br />
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<i>Lis on the trail under the cliffs of Mont d'Or.</i></div>
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Right on cue, a huge gust of wind roared through the forest, crashing into the cliffs and sweeping-up the precipitous face. With it came a billion golden leaves - rising, falling, swirling and eddying - all around us. I tried to capture the moment in a photograph, but just couldn't do justice to the unreal atmosphere.<br />
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<i>All of the brown spots are autumn leave. It was magical.</i></div>
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The words to <i>California Dreamin'</i> (famous 60s song by the Mamas and the Papas), that I'd been singing in the car on the way out here this morning, came back into my head:<br />
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<i>All the leaves are brown</i></div>
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<i>And the sky is grey</i></div>
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<i>I went for a walk</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>On a winter's day</i></div>
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<i>I'd be safe and warm</i></div>
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<i>If I was in LA (or St George)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>California dreamin'</i></div>
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<i>On such a winter's day.</i></div>
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Before we knew it, we were at the top (the end of the line so to speak) of the Télésiège des Roches, and after one last look over our shoulders at the majestic cliffs of Mont d'Or, we headed straight down the mountainside (literally) to where we'd left the car.<br />
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<i>The last section of our hike - coming straight down the mountain under the ski lifts.</i></div>
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At about 4.30pm, we arrived back at the car park, where we decided unanimously that this (although ranked "only" number 56 among the Jura's highest peaks) had to be among the best top-five hikes in the Jura for sheer enjoyment and spectacle. To paraphrase Arnie the Terminator: We'll be back!<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
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<li>Mont d'Or (No. 55) 1463m </li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768000558463782496.post-62260366848928293292012-09-25T01:00:00.000+02:002014-10-31T14:48:09.187+01:00Chasseral (No 13)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Chasseral, the highest peak in the northern, Bernese Jura, is on the top of many walkers' lists (it has thousands of visitors per year), but, unfortunately, it's not on mine. It's busy, it's a long way from St George (125 kilometres, or one and a half hours away by freeway), it has a road to the top (complete with hotel-restaurant and car-park), and is capped with one of the biggest and ugliest telecommunications towers you'll ever see. But, as a destination, it gave us one of the best walks we've ever had ... thanks to the cliffs and climbs and chasms in the canyon of Combe Grède. But more on that soon.<br />
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Lis and I headed up there - to Canton Bern - on Sunday (23 September) to tackle summit number 13 on the list of Jura peaks. The entire Jura was blanketed in low-lying cloud when we drove out of our drive-way on Côte Malherbe, which left us in some doubt as to whether or not we would be the recipients of any decent views from the Chasseral summit once we got there. The summit is famous for its views of the northern Jura, the peaks of the Vosges, the Bernese and Valais Alps and the massif of Mont-Blanc ... not to mention the lakes of Lac de Bienne and Lac Neuchâtel. We drove-on in hope.<br />
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<i> Chamois, deer, marmotte, lynx ... and much more.</i></div>
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At about 10am, after passing through St Imier, we parked the car in the "Combe Grède" parking area just south of the village of Villeret. This neck of the woods is famous for its local cheese - the "Gruyère d'alpage" and the fact that it was for a very short time (in 1765) where the famous philosopher, botanist, randonneur and author (including of "Les rêveries du Promeneur solitaire"), Jean-Jacques Rousseau passed-by. There were no remnants of Rousseau today, so we perused all of the information and interpretation panels, and then commenced our trek southwards, up the Combe Grède trail. The guide-books said the trail required "a sure footing, and an absence of vertigo" and that walkers should be ready for ladders and cables ... and falling stones. This was going to be an adventure! <br />
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This forest track led us into le Parc Jurassien de la Combe Grède, established in 1932 as a nature reserve and named after the Grède family, who were the first to own the forest - sometime way back in the 16th century. They sold the land in 1794, and in the ensuing decades the forest was subjected to somewhat of a hammering, especially in the 19th century - when it was logged for charcoal production. In the early 20th century it was heavily exploited for timber, until, eventually, it was appreciated more for its natural attributes than its commercial returns. <br />
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<i>Lis heading into the forest at the start of le sentier de Combe Grède.</i></div>
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The track that we were on - le sentier de Combe Grède - was established way back in 1904, by local Villeret residents and Club Alpine Suisse (CAS) members from St-Imier. It's been looked after ever since by the Sociétè des amis de sentier de Combe Grède, including when their trail (and lots more besides) was completely obliterated by huge flash-floods in 1963 and 1969. The reserve was given further protection in 1982, when it was declared a strict nature reserve, with no forms of exploitation allowed - no forestry, no hunting ... perfect. It was given the additional descriptive title of "sauvage" in 1999, when the "friends of the Combe Grède trail hooked-up with the l'Association du Parc Jurassien de la Combe Grède/Chasseral to maintain it as a wilderness trail. The result is one of the best tracks we've ever had the pleasure of walking.<br />
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<i>On the magical Combe-Grède trail.</i></div>
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The morning mist we'd been surrounded by in St George was still with us at Villeret and the Combe Grède forest, so we were treated to an enchanted forest experience as we made our way through the misty forest and leafy-cushioned track. It was like walking through a scene from Lord of the Rings. We took ages to make any headway, as we stopped so often to take photographs and to marvel at the huge towering trees, gnarly tree roots, fallen trees smothered with moss and fungi, precipitous gorge walls and cliff faces, scree slopes, rocks, chasms, cairns and grottos. It was a truly magical place.<br />
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The first part of the walk was relatively gently uphill, through a magical tall forest of thousands of sky-scraper trunks, that no doubt would have been ideal ships' masts in a by-gone era.<br />
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<i>Lis in the land of giants.</i></div>
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As we got higher up into the valley, it became much more of a gorge, with occasional signs warning us of what lay ahead - with possible rock falls, slippery slopes and precipitous pathways.<br />
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Right on cue, just as we were crossing one of the rock-fall areas, we heard a tumult of boulders tumbling their way towards us down the mountainside. We scurried ahead, out of their path, and turned to watch the rocks cascade across the trail behind us - further down into the depths of the valley.<br />
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<i>Lis picking her way through fallen rocks and logs at the bottom of the gorge.</i></div>
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The forest trail gradually turned into a rough-and-tumble gorge track, at times needing fixed ladders (there were three of those), and steep cables, to provide access up the increasingly steeper "path" to the top of the canyon. It's easy to see why this trail is warned-against in the winter months between November and May. We were having fun.<br />
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<i>Lis making her way up one of the slippery, wet ladder sections. </i></div>
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<i>We're heading for the top of the cliff face above her.</i></div>
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<i>Getting close to the top of the gorge.</i></div>
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<i>Lis near the final ascent of Combe Grède.</i></div>
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<i>Lis under a trickle of a waterfall. One can hardly imagine what it's like during "the melt" when tonnes of water must cascade down this mountainside.</i></div>
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A series of switch-backs took us higher up the cliff face, and, with my altimeter showing about 500 metres gained (half a kilometre straight-up in about two kilometres!) we began to feel that we were near the top of this first ascent. The clouds began to dissipate, and for the first time we could see more than about 100 metres in front of us.<br />
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<i>On the edge of the world: Tolkien country at its best.</i></div>
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<i>Lis near the top of Combe Grède.</i></div>
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As with so many of these kinds of walks, after a last, short push, we suddenly found ourselves at the top of the gorge and out into bright sunlight.<br />
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<i>At the top of Combe Grède - 1200 metres.</i></div>
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<i>Lis and a friend at a spring at the top of Combe Grède - at Pré aux Auges (1277m).</i></div>
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Typical of us, rather than making a bee-line straight for Le Chasseral, which was hidden through the trees about two kilometres to our east, we turned almost back on our tracks and headed north - towards Les Limes Derrières, Les Limes du Haut and a mountain farmhouse called Métairie de Meuringue - and began skirting around a ridgeline about a kilometre to its north. (A métairie is a farmhouse in the Jura that turns into an alpine tavern/restaurant, "where cheese is made and wanderers find refreshment" in the months when it's possible.)<br />
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<i> Above the clouds - looking back down Combe Grède.</i></div>
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<i>Looking south from Pré aux Auges towards the Le Chasseral ridgeline.</i></div>
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Initially this took us through some magnificent forest country at the top of the Combe Grède cliffs - where we stopped to recharge on water, snack-bars and fruit-and-nuts - before the landscape opened-up onto high mountain meadows - interspersed by Jura ridges and their intervening valleys (the combes). <br />
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<i>Lis enjoying a well-deserved snack attack at the top of Combe Grède.</i></div>
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The trail took us north, then northeast for a couple of kilometres until we reached an alpine farmhouse called Les Limes du Haut, from where we diverted from the well-used farm-track and headed up a narrow goat-track that led into the forest to the southeast.<br />
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<i> Heading past Les Limes Derrière en route to Les Limes du Haut.</i></div>
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<i>Looking north towards Les Limes du Haut, with a Quixotic gang of 19 wind turbines on the distant Jurassic ridgeline above Villeret and St-Imiers.</i></div>
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The steep track soon had us sweating and our hearts racing, but the sweat was rapidly blown away when we reached the top - where we burst out of the sheltered, shady forest into blazing sunshine, and gale-force wind, right near a mountain refuge hut operated by a local mountaineering club.<br />
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<i>The mountain refuge hut on the ridgeline about a kilometre north of Chasseral.</i></div>
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For awhile we were a bit disoriented, and had to pore over the GPS, topographic map, hiking map and guide-book that I had stashed in my back-pack ... before coming to the realization that we still had far to go ... and our stomachs were grumbling. It was about mid-day, and we'd been up since 4am!<br />
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<i>Checking-out the topo map. Where-the-heck-are-we?</i></div>
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We gingerly made our way down the steep, rocky, pot-holed slope to the Métairie de Morat farmhouse, where we temporarily parted ways - with Lis headed east along an access road, while I charged-up the adjacent ridgeline to tick-off another Jura summit. (It's a boy-thing, I know.)<br />
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<i>Métairie de Morat (1461m).</i></div>
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My destination was Petit Chasseral - 1572 metres and number 22 on the list of highest peaks. When it comes to mountain summits, this was somewhat nondescript: a gentle, grassy, convex ridge-top, ungraciously marked by a ruptured wooden post. The post was probably once a proud Christian cross (as one usually finds at the top of the Jura summits), but this one had been torn asunder by a lightning bolt from Thor (or some other irreverent thunderstorm god or goddess), and looked like little more than a ruptured fence-post. No matter, it marked the 26th peak of my "Big Year" in the Jura, number 22 in terms of altitude, and the first for the day. That was worth celebrating. But the gales were blowing, Lis was waiting somewhere down the ridge, and (like her) I was famished.<br />
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<i>Very ignominious - the summit of Petit Chasseral.</i></div>
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I hastily snapped a ceremonial photo, then scampered southeast down the ridge to the nearby farm-house called La Neuve - where Lis and I had arranged to rendezvous.<br />
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<i>La Neuve farmhouse - 1514m.</i></div>
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We passed-by the farm-house, and a small group of <i>al fresco</i> diners who were enjoying their Sunday lunch on a terrace just outside, one of whom was serenading any hilltop hikers within earshot with tunes from his long wooden Swiss alphorn. We listed for awhile to his lilting tune, and the echoes that were bouncing off the ridgeline across the valley ... and then headed south in that direction. This took us to the top of the most southern, and highest Jura ridge - the 20-kilometre-long Chasseral Jura fold. From there we should have been able to see those magnificent views that I described in the first paragraph of this account. Instead we saw la Mer de Nuage - the sea of clouds - that completely blanketed-out just about everything below us.<br />
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<i>Looking south over la Mer du Nuage.</i></div>
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We had glimpses of the tops of the foothills below us, but none of the lakes. Even the distant Alps were hazy and difficult to distinguish.<br />
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<i>The cloud-covered Jura foothills to the south of Le Chasseral.</i></div>
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We scanned the horizon trying to recognize some of the peaks in the Bernese and Valais Alps, but soon gave-up and succumbed to more immediate priorities - lunch. It was now about 1.30pm ... and a long time since breakfast. But first, we had to scramble to the top of the nearby Les Roches - 1525 metres and number 40 on my list of peaks. Duly scaled, and photographed, Les Roches provided a rugged setting for a scrumptious mountain lunch and well-earned trail break. Les Roches gets its name from the medieval Latin, and Gallic word <i>rocca</i> - which (not surprisingly), means "rock". There were lots of them at Les Roches - which lies above the tree line, on a broad, exposed and barren, wind-scoured limestone ridge.<br />
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<i>Atop Les Roches at 1525 metres.</i></div>
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Unfortunately we still had far to go, so we didn't rest long and were soon back on the trail - heading west-southwest along the ridgeline towards Chasseral. We were now in the heart of the Parc régional Chasseral - home to a variety of rare flora and fauna, including the rarely seen owl "chouette de Tengmalm" (<i>Aegolius funereus</i>), "pic noir" (black woodpecker) (<i>Dryocopus martius</i>) and "coq de Bruyère" - le Grand Tetras (<i>Tetrao urogallus</i>). It also used to be a favourite haunt for mountain wolves. Hermann Hesse set his short story "The Wolf" near Le Chasseral.<br />
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<i> Looking back along the ridgeline towards Les Roches. In the distance on the left is the Le Neuve farm-house, and the Petit Chasseral ridgeline.</i></div>
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Le Chasseral was only about a kilometre away - further west along the ridgeline, so we were there in no time at all, mingling with all of the day-trippers who'd driven-up to the hotel-restaurant just a little further down the ridgeline ahead of us. Le Chasseral is 1607 metres high, the 13th highest peak in the Jura Mountains, and the highest peak in the Bernese Jura. The German-speaking part of Switzerland - which starts just to the north of Chasseral - call the summit "Gestler", although it's marked as Chasseral on all of the maps. Chasseral means "a place of hunting" and is derived from the French word <i>chasser</i> - to chase, pursue, hunt or shoot. <br />
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<i>Lis approaching le Chasseral and its giant landmark telecommunications tower.</i></div>
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By now, above us, it was glorious sunny day (albeit with the usual fabulous views from the summit either blanketed-out below us, or hazy on the horizon). And with just a few weeks before the onset of more frigid weather, everyone and their dog appeared to be making the most of the sunshine. We didn't stay long amongst the throng .. just long enough to look around, and take the mandatory summit-ceremonial pix, before heading southwest further down the ridgeline.<br />
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<i> At left, the top of Petit Chasseral from le Chasseral.</i></div>
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<i>The trig station and telecoms tower at le Chasseral.</i></div>
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<i>Under the trig station at le Chasseral.</i></div>
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The telecommunications tower was first installed on the mountaintop in 1945 (inaugurated on the 26th of June 1945). A new station was built in 1983 - for Swisscom radio and television - to which the 120 metre tower, with its distinctive red-and-white striped tower, was added in 2010. It is quite a landmark in the northern Jura. At ground-level, it's a popular place for day-trippers, pic-nickers, hikers, Jura Crest Trail trekkers, para-gliders and (in winter) skiers, "snow-shoers" and kite-skiers. In the skies above, it's a landmark for light aircraft and gliders, and we watched both a glider and an old bi-plane (it looked like a Tiger Moth) drift and labour respectively across the skies above us while we were at the summit.<br />
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Next stop was the Hôtel Chasseral, just a kilometre down the road. <br />
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<i>Looking southwest along the ridgeline towards Hôtel Chasseral and (further beyond) the summit of Chasseral Ouest.</i></div>
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Not surprisingly (with it virtually being all downhill from here), it didn't take us long to reach the hotel. The distance between the two Chasseral landmarks wasn't far, but it provided some great panoramic views in every direction.<br />
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<i>Looking east - back towards le Chasseral.</i></div>
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We also passed another interesting landmark - a plaque set into the rocks that commemorates the death of three Swiss air force pilots (First-Lieutenant Emilio Gurtler, Lieutenant Rodolfo Meuli and Lieutenant Rudolf Rickenbacher) - who died here during an aerial combat with German fighter planes during the Second World War - in June 1940.<br />
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We soon passed the hotel, resisting the urge to head indoors, put our feet up and order a cold beer or slab of cheese-cake, or whatever was on the devilish menu. We still had far to go today, and looking north over the immediate combe and the Métairie de St Jean farmhouse, we could see that we still had many Ks to go to get back down the Combe Grède to Villeret.<br />
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The Hôtel Chasseral was first built in 1880, then rebuilt in 1925 - after a fire destroyed the original building.<br />
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<i>The ever-popular Hôtel Chasseral, with the summit of le Chasseral in the background.</i></div>
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<i>Looking north over the Mètairie de St-Jean farmhouse towards our final destination of Villeret and Combe Grède (on the right). The two peaks in the centre are La Cornette (1494m) and L'Egasse (1460m) - numbers 46 and 56 on the list of highest Jura peaks.</i></div>
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By now we were on a mission: to tick-off our last Jura summit for the day and get down the mountain. So we stopped at our last peak-bagging destination - Chasseral Ouest (1552 metres, No. 26), took the mandatory photo, and skedaddled.<br />
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<i>Standing atop Chasseral Ouest, with the northern horizon in the background.</i></div>
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Chasseral Ouest is mainly noteworthy because it is the highest point in the Canton of Neuchâtel. Other than that, there's not a lot to write about it. Few Jura hikers know about it (it's not marked on any of the topographic maps or guide-books), and few hikers make the effort to add it to their walking itinerary.<br />
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<i>Looking back - northeast - towards le Chasseral from Chasseral Ouest.</i></div>
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With one last glance back up the ridgeline, we tumbled down the last half kilometre or so to the Col du Chasseral (1502m), from where we commenced our journey back down the mountainside.<br />
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Initially we scrambled northeast, cross-country, down a slope through alpine pastures (and around numerous sinkholes) towards the Mètairie de St-Jean. Before long, we intersected the walking trail that would take us all the way back to Villeret. We skirted to the east of L'Egasse, to Pré aux Auges (where we'd been hours earlier at the top of Combe Grède), from where we followed a forest trail that followed the contours along the Combe Grède cliff-tops. We stopped awhile at the vantage point at La Corne (1333m; and number 118 on the list of Jura peaks), from where we had fantastic views of the gorge below and the rolling landscape to the north. By now, most of the clouds on this side of the Jura had lifted, so we had great views.<br />
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<i>Lis atop the cliffs of Combe Grède - at La Corne. </i></div>
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<i>Looking northeast across Combe Grède from La Corne.</i></div>
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<i>Looking east - back towards le Chasseral. </i></div>
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<i>And far below us - Villeret, and the start of the Combe Grède forest.</i></div>
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Mission largely accomplished, we headed-on down the trail towards the Mètairie des Planes (1289m), near where we passed a real Tolkien-like "ent". It was really an oak tree, but was very old, very gnarly and kind-of spooky.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoR2cmrYQwHYSVbxZNpLIChOyw44QOKe2awKMrtAEi5LzJ8wRy4gb0F0K_bz-McQbCUNaVS0XW0e1F4WCsQE6cKHieeZVJUVTUVmRajhvaOjqT5eQEXPohk1uFcv2cBP4L_HiTf1KkA/s1600/DSCN3269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoR2cmrYQwHYSVbxZNpLIChOyw44QOKe2awKMrtAEi5LzJ8wRy4gb0F0K_bz-McQbCUNaVS0XW0e1F4WCsQE6cKHieeZVJUVTUVmRajhvaOjqT5eQEXPohk1uFcv2cBP4L_HiTf1KkA/s400/DSCN3269.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Before long, we were back in the Combe Grède forest, and on a lovely, leafy trail that wound its way gently down the mountainside and back into the heart of the ravine. All downhill, we revelled in its beauty (and ease), and skipped-over the last kilometres with ease.<br />
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<i>Heading back into the Combe Grède forest reserve.</i></div>
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<i>Near the end of the trail through Combe Grède.</i></div>
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<i>Who's a happy camper now?</i></div>
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We wearily walked into the Combe Grède car park at about 5.30pm - after more than seven hours of solid walking and climbing. It was no wonder we were both feeling a bit tired. We'd probably covered about 16 or 17 kilometres, climbed (and then descended) more than a thousand metres, and stepped-over countless rocks, logs, potholes and other obstacles along the way. We still had about an hour-and-a-half's drive ahead of us, but the thought of a hot bath, a glass (or two) of red wine, and a comfortable bed in our mountain house maintained the smile that I'd kept on my face since the moment I woke-up. What a magnificent day!<br />
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<b>Jura peaks bagged:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chasseral (No. 13) 1607m</li>
<li>Petit Chasseral (No. 22) 1572</li>
<li>Chasseral Ouest (No. 26) 1552m</li>
<li>Les Roches (No. 40) 1525m</li>
<li>La Corne (No. 118) 1333m </li>
</ul>
<b>Trivia:</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A total of 6,501 "border violations" were recorded by the Swiss during the Second World War, with 244 foreign planes either forced to land or shot down after venturing into the skies above neutral Switzerland.</li>
</ul>
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Richard McLellanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12022766623630153533noreply@blogger.com0