Some variation from last weekend, still at Moléson and on snowshoes but this time we took a longer route taking in La Chia which is a nearby ski station. La Chia is pretty tiny, it’s got a single lift that wasn’t actually running today and it’s somewhere I’ve never actually skied. Along the way we stopped for a glass of wine at the Cabane des Cles which is a Swiss Alpine Club (CAS) hut operated by the Gruyère section which I’m actually a member of although not a very active one!


Read the rest of this entry »

We spend so much time in Zinal and the Val d’Anniviers now and it’s not often that we’re here in the pre-alpes so it’s ages since we’ve been to Moléson. The plan was to go out on snowshoes somewhere and originally I’d thought of the col des Mosses which is good for any kind of randonnée summer or winter but the moderate snow fall we just got meant conditions at Moléson looked good so we went there. The route was from the base of the lift in Moléson up to Plan Francy on one of the marked raquettes routes although we took a more direct finish to Plan Francy in the end.

I’m really enjoying the odd day on snow shoes, you can get to places that aren’t practical on touring skis sometimes and it’s a good exercise keeping pretty much the same muscle groups going as ascending on skis and skins. The Inook raquettes we’ve got seem to be working out well although Julie has a small boot which doesn’t fill the toe piece too well which isn’t ideal, I’m thinking I might make some sort of block to hold the toe a bit firmer for her.


Read the rest of this entry »

Some reasonable of snow has finally arrived locally so skiing was on the cards. Still the options looked limited, one run at Lenk, one at Gstaad, one at Adelboden and three or four up at Les Diablerets. Leaving home late morning Les Diablerets wasn’t really an option as it’s about one and half hours drive. The most local station wasn’t running any lifts but there seemed no reason that should be a barrier. Attaching some skins to my skis I started to climb to Plan Francy. I stopped on the way up (above) for a drink which was when I realised I’d left my energy drink in the car. So, somewhat sort of energy I carried on up anyway.

Read the rest of this entry »

click on photo’ for full-size version

We decided to take a walk near Le Moléson taking in the ridge opposite the peak itself. Part of the reason I wanted to do this was to have a look at the where the old ski lift used to run at La Vudalla. It’s a good walk along the ridge with more climbing than I’d expected. The path is a little vague in places as well and you need a head for heights along the ridge.

Read the rest of this entry »