DAY 37: Sunday July 8th: Maison Vieille to Les Chapieux:
Walk: 25.0k, 9hrs: 5°C to 20°C , rain, wind then blue skies
Accommodation: Refuge de la Nova, Les Chapieux
6am: Rain pouring off roof - ugh
8am: 5°C, rainn, 7 layers of clothes
There's hope yet - it might fine up
It's cold but cloud is lifting - yeh!!
Getting colder but sky is bluer
We can see the Col de La Seigne
The Elusive Elisabetta is in sight
Looking back - it's blue skies
Looking forward - can see the col
Col de la Seigne - WW11 scenes
Yes, we can almost see Mont Blanc
Yes now we can see Mont Blanc
Col de La Seigne - rear Mont Blanc
Tea at the top
Down the other side to Chapieux
Looking back to Col de la Seigne
Ponchos off - blue skies ahead
Des Mottets - newly rennovated
A beautiful afternoon on way down
How good is this afternoon
Lunch at the creek
2009 - Jenny and I put on10 layers of clothing in this garbage shed appropriately called Poubelles
Another magical day - blue skies on the Col de La Seigne at 2516 metres and views to Mont Blanc. It didn't start that way - rain, cold, wind – with 7 layers of clothing. The long day of 25k was one of our best on the TMB considering in 2009 it was one of our worst after being caught in a whiteout blizzard.
We're up at 6am - it's dark, cold and raining heavily. After a hot shower, we pack but our rustling wakes everyone up. To get to breakfast, we have to run in the cold rain to the dining room. Breakfast is muesli, yoghurt, jams, semi stale bread and luke wam tea. Shes from Argentinia and fell in love with the place - and a man. We stall at breakfast, chatting to the 2 Americans who have decided to get a cable car down to Courmayeur. It's supposed to fine up later, but if we wait, we'll be finishing the 25k walk at midnight!!
After breakfast, we put on every piece of clothing for a cold windy rainy day - - we've been caught in a whiteout blizzard on the Col de la Seigne before and froze – but not today. I have on 3/4 tights, rainpants, 2 pair of socks, two Tee shirts, thermals, long sleeved shirt, Aldi wind vest, goretex rain jacket , poncho and beanie, scarf, gloves and cap. Ian does the same. We leave at 8am and I'm clogged with clothing so it's slow. Every 10 minutes is a downpour with white blobs - I'm not sure if it’s snow or hail. Behind us the cloud is lifting a little, so there's hope. We climb Alp superior de l'Arpe Vieille at 2303 meters and see the Col de la Seigne ahead shrouded in dark clouds , but no whiteout. Before we climb this col, we descend to the valley at 2000 metres. And soon the elusive Elisabetta comes into view. We’re down after 3 hrs, and find a sheltered spot for coffee, cheese and bread. The rain has eased but it’s a cold 8°C and windy. A group of Australians have just been dropped by mini bus and we suspect they are Lisa's group.
I'm not stripping off any clothes yet, but it's stopped raining. Looking back, it's blue skies behind and looking forward we see the col beneath the clouds. It's 1 hr 30 mins to the Col (says the sign) and in that time, the clouds lift even more, the sun comes out and the mystical Mont Blanc comes into view. When we reach the Col de La Seigne at 2516 metres, it's still windy and cold, but the skies are blue and we see Mont Blanc in full glory. We celebrate with a coffee crouched behind a cairn. Within 30 minutes of descending, it's warmed to 20°C and we stop to peel off everything to shorts and tee shirt. It's a beautiful afternoon considering 3 years ago we followed 20 army personnel up to the col in a whiteout blizzard.
At the bottom is Des Mottets, a refuge we stayed in 7 years ago in a converted cow shed. Today there's three new buildings with private rooms costing 190 Euro doing a roaring trade with TMB walkers.
It's almost 3pm when we stop for lunch at a creek - cheese, meat, tomatoes and lettuce - but it's now so warm, our chocolate has melted making a disgusting mess. We look back at the col, disbelieving that it could be so picture perfect with blue skies after such a wet cloudy morning. Further down the track we get to La Ville de Glaciers where they sell cheeses, but I'm not allowed to buy any. Then we see the little shed where in 2009, Jenny and I changed into every stitch of clothing we had before climbing Col de La Seigne in a whiteout blizzard. This little shed, appropriately named Poubelles is a garbage shed.
The 7k walk on bitumen road to Les Chapieux is easy and we arrive at 5pm after a 9hr day. I’ve booked the Refuge de la Nova many months ago and we have a room with a double bed - shower and loo up the hall. Time to shower, wash a few clothes - then go downstairs to blog and meet whoever's down there. We meet some of Lisa and David's group who are doing the TMB clockwise like us and the only dates that coincided was July 8th at Les Chapieux. We had a quick chat to them before dinner, and then sit with another group of Aussies. Dinner is nice - soup, casseroled meat and potatoes then berry tart with a house red, and topped off with a genepy. Jeremy and Vanessa from Melbourne are sitting beside us and we share a few TMB stories before going to bed at 9.30pm. It's our last night on the TMB - tomorrow we'll finish in Le Contamines and will be sad to finish, but we still have the TdeF to look forward to.
Auberge de la Nova - Les Chapieux
Time for a beer in the garden
Cheese and salami shop - where I'm not allowed to go