DAY 35: Friday July 6th: La Fouly to Walter Bonatti:
Walk: 22.5k, 8hrs 15mins: 7°C to 10°C (except for 1hr at 16°C), patchy sun, mostly overcast, no rain
Accommodation: Rifugio Walter Bonatti
8am - Ian sets the GPS Tracker
Climbing above the mist
Switzerland - alps, snow, green meadows, and cows
Coffee at La Peule - out of the wind behind a group's arab tents
Now to the Col de Grand Ferret
Blue skies ahead
But there's a storm behind us
Standing room only at the col
Col de Grand Ferret - 2537metres - it's cold and windy - but no rain
The other side of the mountain
Lunch at Glacier de Pre de Bar
Wood stack - not Swiss style - we're definitely in Italy now
Glacier du Triolet - very receded
Picturesque Val de Ferret
2 days away - The Col de La Seigne - memories of a whiteout in 2009
Walter Bonatti Refuge - it's full
A man on a bike and his dog
Nearly there - and still smiling
It's mountain magic- no rain, mist in the valleys, snow on the alps, cows in pastures and hanging glaciers. Both times we’ve climbed Col de Grand Ferret (2537m) were a mini disaster - this time I want to enjoy.
We're awake at 6am, showered, packed and at breakfast by 7am. Breakfast is hot tea, meuslii, yoghurt, cheese, ham, hot bread, croissants and jams. We collect our shoes from the boot room then leave. Ian sets the GPS tracker but we haven't seen others with one. It must catch on soon. The Samsung tablet is small enough to fit in his pant's pocket. It's poncho weather - damp, cold (8°C) and misty rain as we head to Ferret - but when Ian checks the GPS (too wet earlier), we've walked 1k off route. Back to Ferret, then on to the correct uphill track. Soon we're above the mist and warmed up enough to take the ponchos off. We reach the small dairy farm La Peule which sells cheese and where there’s toilets. It's cold and windy so we crouch behind some Yurt tents for a coffee, bun and cheese to keep us going to the col.
It's an easy gradient to the col but getting colder and windier. Twice we’ve climbed this col and both times were mini disasters. In 2005, I overdosed on 6 Ibuprofen I took for a broken collarbone and in 2009 with Graham and Jenny, it was so miserably cold, with no view. It's cold now but the views back to Val Ferret are fabulous - 3rd time lucky. We get to the top and enjoy the views on both sides for a few minutes but it's too windy to hang around so we move down looking for a warm place out of the wind for a cup of tea - there's none. I's steep and slippery all the way to Refuge Elena at the bottom of the valley when suddenly the sun comes out and there's no wind. We find a grassy knoll with a view of the Glacier de Pre du Bar. Lunch is fresh bread, tomatoes and lettuce from yesterday.
There's lots of day-walkers today as there’s a bus route along the valley and lots of car parks. We can tell we're in Italy - the wood piles are not neat, the men have a paunch and the ladies are a mama miarish. We walk on the valley road admiring glaciers. It warms up as we near Hotel La Vachey and we’re tempted to stop for a drink and to watch the Tour de France. We decide not to as an hour's walk uphill to the refuge Walter Bonatti after a wine or beer, wouldn't be good. The 1 hr uphill climb is hot even though it’s 16°C, so we change to shorts and a tee shirt. There's a guy on a mountain bike, followed by his faithful dog a few metres behind. We saw him and his dog earlier about 7k further back and when the dog tired, it sat on top of the guy's back pack, literally hanging on to his ears. Obviously a fit and faithful dog.
We arrive at Walter Bonatti at 4.15pm and given a token each for a shower of 16 litres of hot water. The refuge is full and has dortoirs but I’d booked months ago so we were lucky to secure a twin room. We dump our stuff and go for a shower. 16 litres would be enough if the head wasn't aimed down the wall where you can't get under. No complaints, it's hot and good for a splash. The wash basins have freezing cold water, but it's OK to wash out our Tee shirts and undies. There's a drying room and it's hard to find a spot. Everyone has already squashed up the already hanging clothes to make room for their own.
We sit in the lounge room and I blog while Ian chats to some Americans doing the TMB. The views outside are to die for - mountains, snow, glaciers, green meadows and mist. Dinner is at 7.15pm. We've already had 2 wines and a bag of peanuts. We sit with 2 Americans from Oregon who are sole walkers like us, and 3 Australians from Melbourne who are on a cheapie tour with accommodation organised and maps supplied. They actually got to stay at the elusive Elisabetta Refuge near Courmayeur - bunks were stacked 3 high with 10 sets per room - a good place to miss. Dinner is potato salad, vegetable soup with cheese and croutons, then roast potato and carrot with a kind of veggie rissole, followed by apple tart.
Everyone is in bed by 9pm. Tomorrow we're planning to do a variant down the valley instead of the Col Sapin which we've done twice before. We hope to be in Courmayeur at lunchtime ready for an assault up the mountain to the Refuge Maisonne Vieulle.