DAY 22: Saturday June 23rd - Pralognan to Refuge de la Leisse:
Walk: 20k, 9hrs: Blue skies, 5°C to 18°C
Accommodation: Refuge La Leisse
Hotel Epic
Looking back at Pralognan
More views of Pralognan as we climb
More views of Pralognan as we climb
Black goat in the midst
Injured goat mothered by dog
Because the sky is so blue
Ian likes to frame his photos
A photo opportunity when you can
Coffee on the way to the Col
The Vanoise is rugged and wild
Stepping stones across and icy lake
Most of the high track is snow drift
More snow drifts
At last the col de Vanoise - 2529m
These boots aren't made for snow walking
Rugged country with few signs
Vanoise wild flowers - pink
Vanoise wild flowers - yellow
Vanoise wild flowers - pale blue
Vanoise lichen - orange
Vanoise wild flowers - white
Vanoise wild flowers - lime green
Vanoise wild flowers - blue
Vanoise wild flowers - deep blue
Vanoise wild flowers - sky blue
Lunch on a flat rock
There's not a cloud in the sky
More snow drifts to cross
Shaley mountain slopes
Time for a chat to a lone walker
Falling down again
Still no clouds in the sky
Two tiny huts in the distance
Refuge de la Leisse - home tonight
But there's still a climb up
Time to celebrate with a beer
Can it get any better? Blue skies all day, no wind, more snow capped mountains in the rugged Vanoise National Park. We climbed the Col de la Vanoise at 2529 metres and trekked through high plateaus of ice, snow, lakes, rock falls and wild flowers - a myriad of colours. There were many day trippers initially but late in the day - just one or two through walkers - we think we will have the Mountain hut Refuge de la Leisse to ourselves - but no, there's a bus load of Parisiens come from the other side of the valley.
We wake at 7am, pack, phone home, then down to breakfast - one of the best we have had - hot bread, hot croissants, hot tea, slices of ham and cheese AND muesli and yoghurt - I'm stuffed. We'd definitely come here again - I'm already planning our next trip to the Vanoise. We leave at 8.30am through the village, and follow tracks through the forest. We come to a Table d'orientation - a view point over Pralognan and the mountains with a map showing all the names of the peaks. It's a stunning day - blue skies again.
We came across some sheep and a little further up is a dog mothering a lone sheep with an ulcerated hind leg as big as a saucer. The dog is licking and chasing the flies away - very touching. We move up out of the forest into wild open country and meet 2 Australians on a day walk then stop for a coffee. Further on we cross the Lac de Vaches - an icy shallow lake with stepping stones over 400 metres. Then snow drifts, following the tracks of the day walkers ahead of us. Another few hundred metres across soft snow and we’re soon at the Col de Vanoise at 2,529 metres with it’s Refuge of the same name where many have stopped for lunch. This Col is not a sharp saddle but the start of a high plateau covered in icy lakes.
We have a cup of tea admiring the beauty then we move on through the high plateau covered in more icy lakes and snow drifts, with towering shaggy alps above. We follow the lakes and then it’s a very steep descent into the Valley of La Leisse Torrent. It's a bit scary, so we don't stop for lunch - it fogs the mind, and we need to stay alert til we get to the bottom 500 metres below. The wild flowers on this slope are beautiful - so many different colours - rich pinks, deep blues, vibrant yellows and pale blues.
1hr later we reach the valley below and cross over a stone bridge where we sit on a rock and enjoy lunch - just the usual bread cheese and ham with the rest of my rice crackers and vegemite. Then we follow the torrent for a few kilometres around the contour, and a long way off in the distance we can see the two huts of Refuge de La Leisse. More snow drifts to cross and by now, falling down is par for the course.
At 5.45pm, we roll into Refuge de La Leisse perched on a cliff at 2500 metres. It's basic - not how the website described it. There's one shower and a queue of 30 people - a group has been bussed in from Paris for the night - our night. I sit and blog in the queue. 1.hr 30mins later I'm in the shower and Ian is next. The toilets are a hole in the ground but these are overflowing - there's 30 people here tonight.
There's 2 bedrooms, each with 16 people lying side by side. No room to unpack, so we stay in our day clothiers. Dinner is at 7pm - hot tomato soup - the American opposite asks if it’s vegetarian - yes, says the girl. But by the time we had finished dishing out the soup from the one large pot, we see a few sausages in the bottom. Ian and I have a bit of a giggle but don't say anything - what you don't know, won't hurt you. Followed by mashed potato and some kind of chunky chewy meat with a weird taste - probably marmot stew. The 2 Americans opposite us are with Earth watch and tell us they are volunteer marmot watchers - apparently marmots live to 13 of 14 and burrow 15metres under the ground to survive winter. The nondescript meat is followed by a piece of cheese and pineapple tart. I feel seedy just thinking about the meat.
We all go to bed at 8.30pm - there's no queue for the toilets - we all found our own rock after our first visit to the loo. It's freezing outside so 16 in a very small bedroom at least makes it cosy. I type some diary, before going to sleep.
Blogging while in the shower queue
The shower queue gets longer