Today’s run did not go quite as planned, as is becoming the norm for us here in France. We planned a run that was supposed to be about 8 miles. It turned into an 11 mile adventure!
We easily made it to where we had planned to begin our run, only to find the way closed due to construction. We tried another route and ended up scrambling up the side of the mountain next to this huge waterfall. Once again I was surprised and impressed by M’s climbing skills although this is becoming the norm.
After taking many pictures, we made our way back down the mountain which took about the same amount of time, if not more, than going up. Using the map to orient ourselves, we found a way to get up the mountain which also had a sign saying it was closed due to construction. This did not make any sense as there was no way for trucks or equipment to be on a trail that is single track and switchbacks a million times. Rightfully and rebelliously, M declared that we were taking that trail and that we were going to the top! I half-heartedly disagreed because I am afraid of signs that have a man screaming stop, but up, up and away we went.
It turns out that the trail we took up with the million switchbacks is actually the uphill access trail for skiing in the winter! This is completely opposite of anything in the states where the mountain operations have you going straight up the middle of a run before the mountain opens. I don’t have any pictures of this because I was too busy trying to keep up with M who was charging up the mountain like a mad goat!
After climbing for a long while we reached the top of the trail and some restaurants that are only open during the winter. I mistakenly thought our adventuring was over at this point and that we would be going downhill and back towards home. During our planning last night, we had read some information that made the trail we were on seem like a good route. The information did not mention that we’d have to go down what turned out to be a trail stuck to the side of a cliff and sliced through by a massive waterfall.
After using some ropes and ladders stuck to the side of the mountain to descend the trail, we came to the waterfall. It was 10 feet or so wide and would wipe out anyone who tried to cross. We were very brave and thus decided to turn around and go back the way we came.
All this wandering around added some miles and vertical to our run, but we learned a lot and the views of Mt. Blanc were outstanding. We will not be chasing after waterfalls in the near future or doing that part of the trail ever again.
