I seem to have recovered quite well after my race on Sunday, so I decided to go for a long walk – up to the top of the Pic d’Artsinol (@2,998m / 9,836 ft).  Although both days promised to be sunny, I chose Saturday over Friday as the temperature was meant to be a few degrees higher.  I’m glad I did, as Friday proved to be quite cloudy, but there was still an early morning frost and some ice on the way up !  (See pics).

In the summer it’s normally possible to take the chairlift from Lannaz to Chemeuille at around 2,120 m (6,960 ft), so saving you around 700m (or 2,300 ft) of climbing.  But, due to “lack of funds” it hasn’t been running this year.  So the only way to the top, and especially at this time of year anyway, is to walk from the valley floor – or in my case, from our chalet.

About 30 minutes into the walk, I came across some red and white tape across the path.  I wondered if there had been a rock fall, or maybe a landslide, or whether there was some forestry work in progress.  Either way, I wasn’t going to risk continuing along the path.  I knew there was another way up, so, undeterred, I took the left turn to Lac d’Arbey.

At the top, there was a little bit more snow than I expected, but this only added to the views, which are in all directions.  The most notable peaks are the Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Dent Blanche and Matterhorn to the south east and the Grand Combin and Mont Blanc to the south west.

On the way down, I spotted what I think must be the last 2 flowers in the valley.  Remarkably they were in the same field and only a few metres / feet apart.