When you’re starting the day’s hike in a valley surrounded and dwarfed by mountains there’s going to be some climbing. Today we walked over a mountain across the Col De Balme; the frontier between Switzerland and France 😊
Shortly after setting out we crossed a fast flowing river; avoiding wet socks a priority requiring nibble footwork. And then the 1000m climb up to Col De Balme over the next 5km. Relentless ascent; step by step, metre by meter, kilometer by kilometer, heart and lungs at capacity fueling arms and legs. After ascending 600m we broke the tree line with a lovely view down to Trient and lumbering into unprotected grasslands encountered a series of snow fields to cross. Walking across the steep sloping snow needs careful negotiation; step forward, dig and stabilize, poles forward and anchor and take next step. One slip promises a very long slide to the bottom. The last crossing was long, tricky and scary as we walked diagonally up the snow 😬
Spectacular views welcomed us at the Col looking across into France and we took a break enjoying a delicious and much needed sandwich.
After descending 400m exposed to a very hot sun we arrived at Charamillion, enjoyed a drink and …… took the cable car down the next 400m avoiding a further steep winding walk in the sun.
The last four kms were mainly in shade walking on an undulating ledge on the mountain side following a river a few hundred metres below catching sight of a few villages before descending into Argentiere 😎
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