DAY 36: Saturday July 7th: Walter Bonatti to Maison Vieille:
Walk 22.0k, 8hrs 45mins: 10°C to 23°C blue skies, light cloud,
Accommodation: Maison Vieulle Courmayeur
How's this for a start to he day
Leaving Walter Bonatti - 8°C
By my Thermometer - still 8°C
Meadows and wildflowers
Time to check the GPS tracker
Looking back - Col de Grand Ferret
Mont Blanc peeping through clouds
Looks good- but on the wrong track
In the jungle - still on wrong track
Closed track - took 1hr to find out
Coffee on a rock near La Pallud
Telecabina - La Palud to Chamonix
Entrance to Mont Blanc Tunnel
Courmayeur for lunch - 23°C
Looking down the Aosta Valley
1/2 way up - looking back down on Courmayeur and Dolonne
It's really hard walking up - but they're on bikes riding down
Time to look up at the view
Maison Vieille - home for the night
Another fabulous day in the Alps. It's cool and clear with light fluffy clouds. A saunter down the valley to Courmayeur then the afternoon climbing the Col de Checrouit (1956 metres) to our refuge Maison Vielle 750 metres up a steep dusty path above Courmayeur.
We're up at 6am, pack, no shower, just a cold splash , then breakfast at 7am. The dining room is 1/4 full - the young ones slept in. Breakfast is nice for a refuge - almost hot tea, almost fresh bread yoghurt, jams and butter. We collect our washing and shoes from the drying room and by 7.30am we're out the door. Today we’re walking down Val Ferret instead of the high route via Col de Sapin at 2436 m which we've done twice before. It’s a cold 8°C as the sun is still behind the alps. We look back to Col de Grand Ferret - not a cloud in the sky but there’s a ring of fluffy white cloud around the tip of Mont Blanc.
The GPS sends us up a newly paved road but half way up we realise we've missed a turn off - that's 2k extra. We go back and find a hidden track to a jungle. According to the GPS this is the right track but at best it's a cow path through high grass. We decide to go to the valley road - that's a another 2k extra. We head down the road towards La Palud, following a stream and come to a bridge where the track we were trying to find should have exited - but there's a sign - Ferme (French), Chiuso (Italian), Closed. There were avalanches down the mountainside for the past few kilometres so they've probably decided not to repair the track if it continually happens - pity there wasn't a sign at the start!
Time for coffee on a rock close to a torrent. We're careful to not let our cups roll away. But just as I’m putting Blistex on my lips, I drop the small tub - gone to the Mediterranean. We walk to La Palud where the telecabina is strung high above the Mont Blanc Massif to the Aguile de Midi near Chamonix. We did this amazing trip last time from the Chamonix side to Helbronnerjust above La Palud. Below is the Mont Blanc Tunnel - it was closed when we were last here due to a terrible fire that claimed 39 lives.
It’s 12.15pm when we walk down the road to Courmayeur and the shops are closed until 2pm. We see an Aldi style supermarket still open and Ian pops in to buy powdered milk. He's soon out saying everything is dirt cheap - we've come from expensive Switzerland to cheap Italy. We stock up with no shops for 3 days except for a cheese place near Les Chapieux. With chocka bags, we get to Courmayeur and have lunch in the park opposite the Hotel Walser where we’ve stayed twice before. It's a beautiful 23°C day. We have a 2 hr climb to Col Checrouit after lunch so we're both careful not to eat too much (Mountain rule 2 - don't eat before a climb) but we're starving after an early breakfast of bread and jam at 7am.
We leave to cross the stream to Dolonne and see a lot of weary walkers coming down the steep descent, but we’d rather climb up than down any day. Two cyclists come hurtling down – crazy – as we slowly slog uphill. After 2 hrs climbing the steep dusty track, we reach Col de Checrouit and see Maison Vieille where we stayed in 2009. We shower, do some washing, and hang it on the line at the back in the sun and breeze - but not near the horses (3 years ago one ate Graham's shirt off the clothes line). That's all done in 20 minutes and we rush down to the bar to see the last of the Tour de France - Bradley Wiggins wins the mountain stage with Cadel second. Time to blog for a few hours waiting for dinner at 7pm.
At dinner, we're sitting with 2 American ladies who are in the hotel business. It's nice to chat about the day's events - they had come from Les Chapieux today. Dinner is the hugest plate of Spag Bog - mostly spag, not much bog - enough to feed 10 people. But it's hot on this cold night. Main is sliced roast pork with tinned peas - anything green is good. Dessert is a small delicate cream/tart/chocolate. Back to the dorm, and it's another sleeping sheet night. It’s cold so I load up my bed with 3 heavy weight blankets that I scunge from other vacant beds. Lights are all out at 9.30pm