Glaciers and lakes

Today it was S’s turn to bottle out of the walk … I took him breakfast in bed, Lorenzo made him a picnic lunch, and we left him to rest. Which he took full advantage of, staying in bed till 3 pm.

The rest of us went on a walk to glaciers and lakes at the foot of Monte Bianco, aka Mont Blanc. As usual it took us over an hour to reach the start point, with fine views en route. And once again, Lorenzo had to adapt the walk as the path he intended to take was closed due to a landslip. We took a detour across a field and scrambled over a wall to join the road, climbing at a steady gradient.

This area was very busy compared to the other places we’ve been, perhaps not unrelated to it being the start of the school holidays. Hordes of walkers and cyclists, and an unconscionable number of young women pushing toddlers in giant pushchairs. Once above the tree line, we hit a robust headwind, but eventually we reached the refuge that was our first rest stop. The guardian of the refuge was just leaving. “There’s no water,” she said. “No toilets. So I’m closing.” Whereupon she secured the door by screwing it shut with an electric screwdriver and drove off. It seemed a bit perverse given that we were surrounded by sources of fresh, gushing water from the heights.

We sat down and ate our Lorenzo-supplied sandwiches. Two women walked by with toddlers on their backs. The children were swathed in blankets against the cold, leaving only their limp, dangling legs visible. They were certainly asleep and wouldn’t have seen anything had they been awake. What was the point?

Anyway, the glucose rush from the Mars bar I ate gave me the boost I needed to follow Louise up the rocky, steep path up to the ridge above us. The other three declined owing to the very gusty wind, so Lorenzo saw them back to the refuge and followed us up. The wind did buffet us about, but once we dropped over the ridge we were sheltered. Sadly, the view from the top was slightly underwhelming. The lake was a bit pathetic, and the glacier was covered in rocks and earth, so not very picturesque.

We rejoined the others, trying not to be blown off the path in the process, and as it was so cold and windy decided to head back to the van. Then we drove down to Courmayeur, which despite its French-sounding name is in Italy, and had a drink outside a bar, then a small shopping spree in a deli.

Stats of the walk: 9.1 km, 455 m climbing, 3 hours of actual walking excluding rests. Maximum altitude 2,030 metres. A high-level walk!
https://fr.wikiloc.com/itineraires-randonnee/mont-blanc-217207873

Back to the hotel to freshen up, then all of us went out for dinner at L’Oca, voted our joint favourite restaurant after we ate there a few days ago. Another lovely meal, and the staff were friendlier this time.

I’m still not caught up with my own blips, never mind anyone else’s! Normal service will be resumed soon.