Sunday 26th August: Weather 7°C to 12°C at Col di Entrelor then 20°C in valley of Rhemes: sunny all day
Eaux Rousses to Rhemes Notre Dame DAY 7: 17.5k: 9hrs: 8.30am to 5.30pm: Ascent 1341m Descent 1284m
Accommodation: Arthemisia BnB at Altitude of 1723m
Packing at Hotel Grivola
Blue skies on a picture perfect day
Gran Paradiso alps in distance
How nice is this day!
Marmot posing for Ian’s camera
Alp Djouan VENDITO FORMAGGIO
Inside the cheese cave
Alp Djouan's dairy herd on high alps
Gran Paradiso in distance
Barren landscape to Col di Entrelor
Picture perfect Col and jet trails
Fantastic day in the alps
SMorning tea at Lac Djouan 2515m
Next alpine Lac Noir 26650m
Col di Entrelor 3002 metres
1.30pm at Col di Entrelor
Retrieving poles thrown down steps
Iron steps in there somewhere
Lunch near Plan de la Feya 2403m
Up Val du Rhemes to Grand Combin
We are so lucky! This is our third day in the high Italian Alps with fantastic weather. Highlight was climbing out of Eaux Rousses with superb views to the peak of the Gran Paradiso and then on to the Col di Entrelor at 3002 metres with views all the way to Mont Blanc. Descending on the very steep iron ladders was memorable though not exactly an exciting highlight.
Our room at the Hotel/Camping Grivola was perfect and we both slept in til 6.30am. Time for a quick chat to Bonnie in Bali before a beautiful buffet breakfast of ham, cheese, breads and cakes. It’s 8.30am and a cold 7°C when we leave and walk the one k back up to the village of Eaux Rousses and begin our 1341 metre ascent. Up through the pine forest, zig zagging for 2 hours, with views back to the Gran Paradiso peaks. It’s a picture perfect day with blue skies, green forests and snow capped rugged mountains. Eventually we emerge from the pine forest above the tree line to the dairy farm Alpe Djouan at 2232 metres. I can’t go past the “VENDITA FORMAGGIO” sign - cheese for sale - and a young lad carries his scales into the cheese cave and slices off a slab of the younger cheese which Ian respectfully carries in his cold bag for me. Soon after we pass the cows from Alp Djouan being herded by a young lad to a different grazing area high in the alps.
The track climbs steadily on a very even grade up towards the Col. There’s a group of school children aged about 12 to 15 coming down towards us with several teachers. It must be ok and safe at the top if the kids can do it, we think. Looking up to the col, it’s just a picture perfect snapshot of blue skies and white jet trails. It’s 11.30 and we’ve been climbing for 3 hours when we reach Lake Djouan at 2515 metres and stop for morning coffee and cake.
Then on to the next alpine lake, Lac Noir at 2650 metres and finally after climbing on a very good but steep track, we reach Col di Entrelor at 3002 metres, where there’s already a dozen people perched having lunch. Some have come up from the Rhemes side and warn us about the steps. Well it can’t be that difficult if the school kids have done it, I'm thinking. Ian takes some glorious photos then it’s down the other side. Within 2 minutes we’re confronted by “the steps”. Better described as iron rungs down a very steep rock fall. I go down first, backwards, clinging to a rope and abseiling down, chucking my poles down 20 metres so I can get a better grip. It takes us 15 minutes to negotiate the “steps” and wondered how the school kids managed it. On getting to the bottom of the steps, my problem now was that my poles had slipped down off the track and I had to take of my pack and scramble 15 metres across a rocky slope to retrieve them.
The descent doesn’t get easier. It’s one of the steepest this trip. Obviously the king’s horses didn’t go this way or there would have been a well graded path 2 metres wide. An hour and a half later at 3pm , we reach Val de la Feya, a flattish upper valley where we find a spot for a late lunch of cake, fresh cheese and a cup of tea while soaking up the magnificent scenery.
Soon we descend into the forest and we know we’re past the 2000 metre tree line. It’s still a steep zig zag down and it’s almost 5pm when we reach the main village of Bruil in Rhemes Notre Dame, at 1723 metres. We know theres a souvenir/produce store here somewhere and Ian locates it on his phone 100 metres up the road. It’s full of tourists churning in and out of this pokey little shop.
We take turns to go in - there’s no room for people with back packs - and I buy the ham, bread, butter and tomatoes and Ian selects a few beers which he duly packs in his “cold bag” in his back pack.
We still have another kilometre to walk down the road to our BnB Arthemisia at Chavaney and arrive at 5.30pm. Our room has a wonderful view up the valley, and well worth teh extra walk. The first thing we do is wash everything. We’re in Rifugios for the next 5 nights and probably won’t get a chance to wash much other than undies and socks. After a shower, time for a cold beer with a ham, tomato and cheese sandwich and time to reflect on another fabulous day in the Italian alps.
Ian packing beer in backpack