Sunday 4th September: Weather: 4°C to 19°C:
Day 19 Rifugio Cuney to Oyace: 15.4k: 7hrs 45 mins: 8.15am to 4pm: 1 x 30min and 1 x 15 min stop
Ascent/Descent: Ascent 836m, Descent 2,150m, Total up and down 2,986m
Accommodation: La Tour Hotel Oyace
Cold 5°C and amazing sunrise Cuney
Magical start to Day 19
Pretty as a picture Rifugio Cuney and Chapel of Cuney
View back to Rifugio Cuney high
Blue skies leaving Rifugio Cuney
Chris and Tim 30 mins ahead
Misty Bivouac Clermont 2,705 m
Col Vessona at 2,788 metres
A day high in the Alps above Oyace
Trail runner sprinting down slopes of Col Vessona on slippery tracks
Morning tea - coffee and apple strudel with a magnificent view
Steep gorges Valpelline Valley
La Tour Hotel Oyace - wonderful
Day 19 was a fabulous day in the high alps. A bit of cloud and mist, but no rain on this very long 15.4k day going up and down almost 3,000 metres. Biggest highlight was to awaken high in the alps to an amazing sunrise. Then the hiking highlights were the two cols and arriving at the wonderful Hotel La Tour in Oyace. The first col is Col Chaleby at 2,693 metres, not a huge ascent because the Rifugio is already at 2,600 metres and there was only a few hundred metres down before we went up. The big col was Col Vessona at 2,788 metres with a step ascent after reaching the interesting Bivouac Clermont at 2,705 metres. Then came the long, long down into Oyace - 1,698 metres down down down into a deep gorge then at the very end a climb of 265 metres up to Oyace.
Considering how cold it was last night, we both slept really well in a quiet 2 person dorm under the heavy weight of 4 thick blankets. We’re awake at 6.30am to the most amazing sunrise on a freezing cold morning at 4°C. A cold dash downstairs to the toilets, then time to pack and fold the 8 heavy weight blankets from last night. We were almost toasty warm. Breakfast is at 7.30am and we have to wait a while talking to the companion dog while our cook gets’s it ready. Breakfast is a simple bread, jam, biscuits and butter with HOT HOT Tea of coffee. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the women at our accommodation stops who make the hottest tea or coffee.
We leave a little later than planned at 8.15am, our two UK friends have left before us as we’re still taking photos around the Rifugio set near the old chapel high in the Alps. The first Col Chalebey at 2,693 metres is a grassy climb and takes only 30 minutes. Then there’s a descent of about 300 metres before the steep climb up to the Bivouac Clermont set in a magnificent location facing Mont Blanc, which today was shrouded in mist. Then up a steep climb, but not precarious , to Col Vessona at 2,7888 metres - every col we climb is compared to the perilous cols on the AV2 we completed last week - Crosatie, Fenetre, Entrelor and Lauson. It’s misty up top of Vessona, but a trail runner arrives just in time to take our photo.
Then our long 2,000 metres descent begins. It’s ok to begin with, a damp shaley path down to a high grassy plateau with cows, and the track levels’ out. So far so good says Ian - not too steep. We’ve been hiking non stop for 4 hrs, and at 12.15, we’ve made good progress and decide to break up teh downhill with a belated coffee stop at Arp Damon at 2,006 metres. The stone buildings on the ledge are deserted, and we find a grassy spot overlooking the deep valley below to have a piping hot coffee and finish off our apple strudel. It’s 12.45 when we leave and there’s a lot more down hill to go - we’ve done 700 metres down and another 800 metres down to go.
For the next hour, it’s along winding fairly level path, strewn with debris, stones, trees and mud - for good reason it’s known as Avalanche alley. Then we reach the pine trees, with not much view to give us a perspective of how high up we are. It get’s steeper, and we have glimpses of villages in the valley below, then finally see a sign to Close and Oyace, the village we are aiming for. The problem is that we need to go down deep into the gorge then almost 300 metres up the other side to reach Oyace at 4pm.
La Tour Hotel is easy to spot in a small village and the umbrellas are a welcome site. Olga welcomes us and shows us to our room with an amazing view up the valley. First a shower, then the washing from the past 2 days, which we string up on thee balcony. Then a belated lunch at 4.30 pm - the last of the cheese from Simon at Obre Loo and bread from Champoluc. Then downstairs for a beer and a few nuts while we blog and catch up with emails. It’s father’s day today so there’s lots of messages from the kids but we’ve had no internet or phone for 3 days.
We’re hoping to have a pizza for dinner and we’re half expecting our UK friends Tim and Chris to turn up. They’ve booked and airBnB somewhere in Oyace. We’re about to order pizza when who should turn up but Chris and Tim, and the Air BnB turned out to be a room at La Tour Hotel! I order a salad, the boys order a pizza each, but it’s big enough for Ian and I to share, washed down with a beer and red wine. A good ole chat about todays hike and at 9pm it’s bed time. This place is so nice.