Epic Day

We decided to climb Les Hauts Forts, a summit without ski runs; reserved for wildlife so no chair lift. It stands tall at 2466m and from the top, we appreciated 360 views of all the surrounding mountains, including the snow clad Mont Blanc.

Also amazing were the wild flowers up there - just so many and quite a few new to me. Of course they attracted butterflies. I’ve put some Woodland ringlets and a Blue on extras.

The walk started in Morzine with the climb really starting about 2km out of town, very steeply into the forest. We were glad of the shade and got very hot in any case. Once out of the forest we carried on climbing steeply through a flower meadow, grazed by cows with their traditional jangling bells. And then it wasn’t long before we were on an exposed rocky ridge, where in places a metal cable provided some security. There were long scree patches too but at least it was dry underfoot.

We climbed the 1530m from Morzine in 5.5 hours.

We had intended continuing past the summit and dropping into Avoriaz to catch the Prodains lift down. However a friendly couple at the summit warned us they’d come that way and it was precipitous on both sides of the ridge and unsafe for a descent, with loose rock. A peek over the sheer edge confirmed this.

So we chose an alternative route via Les Morzinettes, which meant a full 1530m descent too! The entire hike took 9 hours and what a magnificent day! Finished with a well earned beer and pizza outside.