Vallée de Valgaudemar

I haven't blogged in over a month, and people are beginning to complain. That is a clear sign that it is time to write again, especially when there is something to write about.

Right. So Louis decided that he's going to take me up into the clouds (literally), by foot ! We decided to spend a weekend at 2500 metres, trekking all the way up. Saturday 6th October, 5 of us set off from Grenoble by car. Louis, Caroline, Jean-Eudes, Stephanie and myself. We drove south of Grenoble for around 2 hours, to a valley called Valgaudemar, not very far from Louis' hometown.

Changed shoes, clothes, equipped ourselves with the backpacks and started the climb towards a refuge in the mountains. We walked, crossed mountain streams, several chamois (i dont know what they are called in English, but they are like mountain goats!). 4 and a half hours later, we were are 2500 metres above sea level, and at the small wooden cabin that was the destination. We were lucky, because the weather changed drastically, got very very cold, visibility was very low and the rain came down soon after !

We shacked ourselves up in the refuge, played cards with some fellow trekkers who arrived at the same time as us and made a superb "Fondue Savoyarde" for dinner !!

The next morning the weather had cleared up, and at 7 am the sun was bursting through across the valley. That is when we saw that we were well above the clouds, and the valley below as covered in a bed of clouds !

We decided to finish what we had started the previous day, and we climbed up to the summit, at 3000 metres !!That is the highest i have been on foot, and i live to tell the tale ! I dont remember what the pressure reading on Louis' barometer watch was, but the air was quite rarified when we were at the summit, looking at the glacier on the north face of the mountain....

Our descent was quicker than the climb, but harder on the legs. After two and a half hours of buckling knees and tensing calf muscles, i got to the starting point with little energy in me. My legs were trembling, i was out of water, and starting to feel hungry. The huge pie that we bought at the nearby village did me a world of good !

All in all, a great great weekend, although very very tiring. It took me 3 days to walk normally again, but i'd do it again if i had the chance. (no Louis, not saying this just to please you. Write a comment if you want to add something that i forgot !)

All photographs with titles, at the following link :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swaroopsrinath/sets/72157602331045323/detail/