The Walker's Haute Route (12)

Gathering outside Hotel du Gietroz (click on any image for a slideshow)

Saturday 2 September - Le Chable to Cabane du Mont Fort 

Everyone is efficiently away by 8:20 after a sparse breakfast and a speedy shop for any remnants needed for our three days of lunches. 

The view from Hotel du Gietroz

Sue collects water... Caroline throws it away!

Above Villette

Alpine wires

The route up towards Verbier is pleasantly shady, and whilst the sun tries to creep out from behind the mountains, cloud cover slowly ensures a day of superb walking conditions despite paucity of sun.

Parasol Mushrooms

The path to Verbier

10:05 to 10:20 - tea break on corner of track before continuing on up paths avoiding Verbier, behind the alcohol laden fumes of one of the OTH gang. (Waggy - RIP).

A view towards the Mont Blanc massif

Another break at the Clambin refuge, where most of us enjoyed coffee, coke, or both - 11:10 to 11:45.

Outside the restaurant at Clambin

Verbier

Fieldfares busied themselves nearby. On and on up easy paths to the cablecar station / gondola at Les Ruinettes, where we commandeer two benches for lunch - 12:50 to 13:45.

Lunch at Les Ruinettes

The warm weather is becoming overcast and threatening, but despite a few drops of rain, waterproofs aren't needed and the paragliders aren't grounded. I get some video of a tandem departure.

Mountain bikes rush past and bounce down a specially constructed undulating path. But our route continues beside bisses, with a final haul on a quiet path up to Cabane du Mont Fort.

The path to Cabane du Mont Fort

We arrived there at 14:50 for welcome beers, etc. We have two rooms for four people - quite adequate, and lots of storage space.

Cabane du Mont Fort

Meet an Englishman (60+ mountain biker) who lives in Verbier and claims to own 18% of a sea of oil in Papua New Guinea. He tells of deals with rebel leaders before they truced with the government. Before that he was a property developer in Barcelona. He says he has to keep working to support several ex-wives, and describes himself as an 'entrepreneur'. He gives me tips on how to approach getting a place in Cortina... "find a farmer about to retire, or buy from plan."

A pleasant evening in the cabin with Uno and Scrabble - I tried playing both at the same time. Unsurprisingly unsuccessfully.

Next day
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