Took the car over and parked in the large car park next to Le Buet railway station. Immediately across the road, we picked up the footpath towards the Cascade De Berard. Its easy going, first crossing the La Poya beginners drag lift and ski area and then meadows with grazing cows. Once into the forest, the going slowed up considerably due to the large numbers of wild strawberries and blueberries growing either side of the path.
A little further on and we soon came across the chalet by the waterfall. Real picture postcard stuff and the ideal location for the obligatory ice cream stop! We decided to continue up the path towards the refuge and stopped in a sunny glade by the icy cold river for lunch, before returning to the car via sur le rocher. Another really pleasant and fairly short walk through some fantastic scenery.
Called at the National Park office on the Col des Montets on the way back down. Interesting interpretation and well worth the stop, even more so if you’ve got a really good understanding of French. Not me then!
Going for a run seemed like a good idea on Friday. That was, however, until we chose to run up to Plan Joran on the Grand Montets. Any sane person would have realised that 700m straight up (opposite the apartment) was always a daft idea, but..! Unlike back home on, say Ben Nevis (half the reason for going out was to grab some much needed training for the Ben Race), the paths zig zag up the hillside keeping a nice even and runable gradient. Ouch!
On reaching the top we took a right turn and descended via the Alpage at the Chalets de la Pendant and then on down the Grand Balcon Nord route to Le Lavancher, returning to Argentière by the Petit Balcon Nord. By the time I reached Le Lavancher I was feeling totally dehydrated, dizzy and generally banjaxed. However, following on Nix’s heels, we were soon back at the apartment and soon it was all just a memory. 1hr 50 mins round trip. Needless to say, there was some time spent by the pool in the afternoon!
Finally gave in to the lure of the Quecha shop down near Sallanches yesterday. My halo remained firmly in place and I came away empty handed. Caroline, Jodie and Sam all scored big time however, with new trainers, jackets, over-trousers (we will be heading back to the Highlands at some point!) and t –shirts. On the way home we called in at the Parc Aventure at Le Fayet for an ice cream and a play on the swings. The narrow gauge railway was also running and lots of children were enjoying free rides round the park. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Sam and Jodie were trundling round the park on the back of the trains too. A big hit!
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