La Berra, Sunday 25 May 2008
28th May 2008
The weather didn’t actually look very promising on Sunday but since I’d got a new pair of boots (some Raichle Mountain Trail GTX) I wanted to get out and try the boots. I’d been interested for a while in walking the ridge at La Berra, it’s a local ski station although I’ve not skied there for a couple of seasons, but the ridge dominates the local landscape and marks the start of the alpes as you travel East from the Jura.
The clouds looked attached to the ridge as we approached but when we arrived either they’d moved on or the first view had been deceptive. The trail starts off through pre-alpine forest which is fairly pleasant although it’s a little hot and humid once we’re on the ridge there’s some light wind and it’s pretty nice.
That mist rolled in and out a few times but we made the summit of La Berra. Above right, Julie reading the information under the summit triangulation point. Apparently it’s one of the first order triangulation points for Swiss mapping so the height is recorded down to centimetres.
Another reason I wanted to walk along here was to check the snow level, I knew the ridge only had snow in gullies as I noticed from the valley but I wanted to see how much snow was on some of the higher ridges and how accessible they were at this early season point.
There were a handful of people around but it’s still quiet. There’s some chalets along the route but so far they’re shut, mostly places will open on June 1st so there was no chance to stop and get a drink but that’s fine, we’re carrying trail food and drinks of our own.
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