We had a small amount of rain on Monday night which left a layer of snow down to around 2,300m or 7,500ft. With this in mind I scoured the map for something new and south facing, as the snow may well have melted away. I settled upon a walk above Crans-Montana to Bella Lui (at 2,548m or 8,360ft), with the possibility of carrying on to a peak called Tubang (at 2,826m or 9,272ft), if the snow conditions allowed. I also noticed that there was a return path from the Col de l’Arpochey, which sits between the two peaks, that would take me down to the Bisse de Ro and back to the parking area.

The map also showed that there was a ladder somewhere between the peaks, which I assumed would be to go up, but it turned out to be to descend. As you will see from some of the pictures below, there was quite a lot of snow still around and it was when I reached that ladder (pics 23 & 24) that I turned around and retraced my steps. I’d also spotted quite a lot of snow on the steep descent path (pics 21 & 22). After having had one fall this week, I wasn’t planning on having another!

The initial path was also interesting in that my GPS route took me up a mountain biking track. It wasn’t clear where the walker’s path was, but I have to say, those mountain bikers are brave souls! I tried to take a video on my way back down to show you how difficult the terrain was, but it didn’t work out very well. I did however manage to get a video of two parascenders (also in pic 18) taking off – which is at the end of this post.

The rather swanky resort of Crans-Montana couldn’t be more different to our, rather humble, little village. I only walked passed about 5 chalets and 3 of them are featured below.

8 responses

  1. Bug Woman Avatar

    I definitely don’t like the look of that ladder πŸ™‚

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    1. Alittlebitoutoffocus Avatar

      It wasn’t the ladder which worried me, it was not knowing what was at the bottom of it! There were no footprints on the way to (or from) it, so I would have been the first person to go that way for a while. I could see the two people at the Col, but they had arrived there from the right. But then it was the steep descent which looked a bit dodgy too. (As you will learn tomorrow, it was lucky that I had to turn around).

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  2. bayphotosbydonna Avatar

    Lovely scenery and gorgeous chalets! That ladder is a bit intimidating, yikes! πŸ˜‰

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    1. Alittlebitoutoffocus Avatar

      Yes, those chalets will be worth something with 8 digits (in CHF or USD), which is slightly out of my league! And, yes, I was a bit reluctant to go down that ladder too. I’m not sure what’s worse, having just the ladder or the cage around it. (I mean, if you did fall, I’m not sure the cage would help – though I guess it does give you something else to hang onto).

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  3. […] I got back to the car park after my walk up Bella Lui, I thought I’d have a quick look at the Bisse du Ro. I wasn’t planning on doing the […]

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  4. Sandra Avatar

    Wow! Those chalets are gorgeous. I don’t think I could afford the mini model version at that rate! And the caged ladder is the stuff of nightmares. But those views! Nice walk Mike, thank you so much!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Alittlebitoutoffocus Avatar

      You’re very welcome Sandra. I’m glad you enjoyed the views (though the ski lifts spoil it a little). I’m heading off again today to a different part of the Rhone valley, so hope to post some more images tomorrow. 😊

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  5. […] being thwarted by the snow on my last walk, I discovered a route, again on the south facing side of the Rhone valley, which only went to […]

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