DAY 24: Monday June 25th - Tignes le Lac to Refuge de Rosuel:
Ealk: 19k, 8hrs: Misty rain, 0°C to 9°, but 1hr is 20°C
Accommodation: Refuge/Chalet Rosuel
7am out our window - Tignes le Lac
Leaving Hotel d'Aigle at 9am
Mist lifts but raining on way to col
Tignes le Lac - Leggo city
On way to Col de Palet at 10am
Leaving Tignes le Lac behind
Not picnic weather at Col de Palet
Col de Palet 2652metres and 0°C
Too cold to tie boot laces properly
Whiteout just past the Col de Palet
Yeh, I can see the path ahead
Magical misty beauty
We've been up there somewhere
I think we're going down there
My new red poncho really works
Take note Graham - blue sky
Refuge Entre Le Lac at end of lake
We're the only ones up here
Still so many wild flowers
I see huts huts - a good lunch spot
Good spot but the lettuce is gritty
A field of boulders ahead
A wild kind of beauty
Waterfalls out of the misty snow
Heading down the valley into trees
The noise is deafening
How green is my valley
Stripped off - for 1hr it's 20°C
Refuge Rosuel - note grass on roof
A cold wet misty rainy day with winds at 50k/hr and 0°C while climbing the Col de Palet (2652metres)!
We awake at 7am to misty rain and have a leisurely breakfast of hot tea, hot bread, ham and salami. The owners are Italian as are the other guests and they’re happy because Italy defeated England last night in a soccer world cup qualifier. We wait for the mist to clear and make a few calls home on FaceTime then pack and don our wet gear before stepping out into the rain - it's 9°C. We go to the SPAR for the usual ham, fresh bread, tomato, cheese AND a whole lettuce,. Then walk around the lake to begin climbing. A group of bootcamp runners pass us. They say the weather will be better later, but as we climb , the wind gets up, the rain gets heavier and the temperature drops. Soon the group comes back down – too cold. Then two runners who did go to the Col, come down and tell us to take the high route to avoid vertical drop offs - Ian likes this idea. We note they have blue noses and blue knees – they’re in shorts.
We move on and spy a hut at the telegraphique and stop to strip off wet clothes and change into 7 layers of dry ones. We have a cup of hot coffee - it's too cold to take a photo. The temperature plummets to zero but the rain eases and an hour later we decide to make a move. The wind is driving at 50k/hr and I hear Ian's poncho flapping around his ears. His is a cheap Woollies disposable poncho for emergencies - this is an emergency. Mine is tied around my waist with a shoe lace rescued from Ian’s shoes.
We reach the Col de Palet and there's a picnic table! We've been to 7 Cols in perfect weather and never a picnic table - and now its freezing and snowing, and here’s a picnic table. We continue down the other side through snow drifts. The rain eases and the climb up has warmed us. It's easier gradients going down and the wind on this side has eased. We see the Refuge de Palet but it's out of the way so we keep moving rather than stop for a hot chocolate. Past the snow drifts we find shelter behind a rock and have a hot cup of tea. On again for another hour or so and we get to a few huts – a perfect spot for lunch out of the wind. Ian spreads the lettuce on our plastic plates and adds the frozen cheese and mayonnaise.
On again past the Refuge Entre Le Lac then we clamber our way through a section of boulders before descending sharply. On the opposite side of the valley are thunderous waterfalls. We encounter a group of walkers going to Refuge Palet - they shuddered when we described how windy, wet and cold it was. We descend to the tree line and meander through pine forests for an hour. The temperature rises from 9°C to 20°C and we have to stop to shed our wet gear. My pack becomes noticeably heavier. We can see a beautiful green valley below with a few houses and huts strewn along a road. Our Refuge Rosuel is one of them. Ian thinks a road to a refuge is good - they can bring in foodstuffs by road - and beer!
It's been a long 1,000m descent and soon we see the Refuge de Rosuel - I know it by the grass on the roof. It also doubles as an information centre for the Vanoise Park. We have a wine/beer outside at the picnic table. We're optimistic there’ll only be us here tonight - until I step inside and see 30 bags stacked in the hallway. At 5pm we go up to our room. The girl who shows us around tells us there's a shortage of hot water, so we drop everything and race off to the shower before the 30 owners of the 30 bags arrive.
We go downstairs to have another drink and blog. Ian chats to a doctor who is a lung specialist while I type. We are joined by two others - a man whose boots just died and he’s returning home. Another man, Jacques, is doing the GR5 in 16 days - he’ll average 40k per day - his time schedule is about 12 hours average of our walking - he doesn't stop for lunch - OR coffee. There's 2 other men in our dorm doing the a fast GR5 from woe to go – ie from Lac le Man near Geneva to Nice on the Mediterranean. Dinner is salad, sausages and pasta and mixed vegetables then cheese followed by apple slice with a carafe of red wine - we're stuffed. Jacques is off to bed early as his days start at 5am. It's 9pm, still light outside and it didn't rain here today. Time to go to bed. The 3 guys doing the fast GR5 are already in bed.