Awwww Tim hope the hills made you feel a bit better

Good luck for next weekend....hope the weather is kind to you

On Saturday and Sunday with my friends Dominique, Alain, Christine and Jean-François, we spent two days of winter hillwalking with snow shoes in La Clusaz in Haute Savoie. The weather was excellent, fresh powder snow and sunshine.

On Saturday night after a good meal and some nice red wine, we put our snow shoes on and did a 3 hour night walk from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM in the Combe de Borderan (see the picture below). The temperature was minus 10, no moonlight but a beautiful night sky with thousands of stars. A really great night walk and plenty of fun.

On Sunday morning after a lie in, we had a second walk up the Combe de Borderan to go and watch "chamois". We saw about 10 of them. The morning was sunny with blue sky and we walked until 2:00 PM. Then the weather changed and it started to snow.

Back to the wooden chalet in the forest, we enjoyed a nice meal and some more wine. That was a great winter week-end hillwalking.

Picture of the Combe de Borderan ! we climbed as shown along the red line but only nearly to the top. We had to go back down as the weather changed into snow.



We saw 10 chamois at about 100 metres from us and they were not really frightened.



Do hillwalkers in Scotland use snow shoes for winter hillwalking ?

Walking in the snow is easier with snow shoes and running and jumping when going down is good fun.



Here are the snow shoes I use for winter hillwalking. TSL is a very good trademark locally made in my region, in Haute-Savoie. I really recommend them.

If you are interested by TSL snowshoes, check their website (you can also find other quality hillwalking equipment). I think that TSL has got dealers in Great Britain. Everything is on the website.

http://www.tslsport.com/www/?country=uk&lg=en







Have fun !!! With snowshoes you can try the Yeti-jumping (as shown above).

On the TSL website there's a competition and you can win a pair of snowshoes.

Here are some pictures of my hillwalking weekend in La Clusaz with my friends.

Walking with snowshoes up the Combe de Borderan.





Watching the "chamois" running on the Combe de Borderan.

On Sunday 6th November, I went hillwalking with my friends Dominique and Alain. We climbed the "Dent d'Oche" (2 222 meters) a hill close to my home village.

You can watch the pics on the following address. If you click on the pics, you'll see them on a larger scale. I hope you'll like them. Give me your opinion. Thank you and...

Enjoy !!

http://au-dessus.blogspot.com/

Your pictures are fantastic Lionel. Those mountains look very tempting. One day I would like to come to the Alps to do some walking.

I haven't used snow shoes, although I believe some people do if the snow is soft. I use crampons and ice axe for hard snow. I don't think I would do enough winter walking to be able to afford snow shoes as well! The problem is I don't like driving if there is snow and ice on the roads, particularly if I have to drive back in the dark in bad conditions so it limits what I can do in the winter. I usually try to get out a few times though and we have plenty of snow on the high ground here already so maybe I will have a chance to do something soon.

Keep showing us your photos, Lionel, I really enjoy them. Thanks!

Cheers
Sheila

Hi Sheila,

Thank you for your opinion. You are very welcome to visit the Alps for a hillwalking trip. I'll be glad to take you to the hills of my region.

Greetings from France,

Lionel

Fantastic pictures, Lionel!

Hi Puffin !

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures !

Yesterday afternoon, the weather was really good : very sunny but quite cold (minus 5°C) so I went hillwalking using my snowshoes. I started directly from my home and I walked up the slopes above my village which is located on the lower slopes of Mont Billiat (see picture below). I climbed a lower top covered in fur trees wood. "Le Rocher Brûlé" (Burnt Rock). The snow cover was about 40 cm (fresh powder snow), very soft and excellent when walking with snowshoes. I had just left the village that I saw two roe deers (a mother and her "baby deer"). I really enjoyed that two hour walk in powder snow, perfect for snowshoeing. Back home I enjoyed a hot Irish Chocolate !!!
(Hot chocolate with Baileys Irish cream).

A picture of the Mont Billat (I live in this massif, on lower ground at the altitude of 3000 feet).



That's what it looked like yesterday !!!



And roe deers in the snow !!! Beautiful.

Sounds like you had a fantastic time Lionel, especially seeing the deer as well.
Like the sound of the hot Irish Chocolate....hmmmm you've given me an idea now think I have some Baileys in the cupboard

Hello Annie,

Yes indeed I had a fantastic time yesterday afternoon. I was very lucky as today the weather is "dreech" (wet and heavy snow at 3000 feet).

I know some good recipes for hot chocolate after hillwalking !

- Irish chocolate : hot chocolate and Baileys.
- Scotch chocolate : hot chocolate and Drumgray Highland cream liqueur or any
Highland cream liqueur.
- Green Show : hot chocolate and Green Chartreuse
- Aosta hot chocolate : hot chocolate and Aosta Prugna liqueur

Enjoy but dring moderately !!!

Try them and tell me if you like them.

Greetings from France,

Lionel

Hi Lionel

Can see I will have to go hillwalking this weekend now to try some of your hot chocolate recipes.....the Green Show sounds very tempting

The weather forecast here is looking good for Sunday so fingers crossed it will be a good day in the hills...otherwise it will be on with the waterproofs

Annie

Coastal walking today only with Storm at a wintry Lunan Bay just north of Arbroath !
Just a couple of snaps of the North Sea at it's finest........Brrrrrrrrrrrrr !!

Cheers for those Whitts!!! All these places of back home.

Last time I was at Lunan Bay I was on crutches after wrecking my ankle playing basketball and me being as stubborn as I am wouldn't let my mate help me up and down the dunes... was nearly a broken leg as well!

Lunan Bay! Fantastic - we used to go there a lot when I wis a bairn. Looks very chilly...bet that sorted out your hangover