As we are talking about Strider... here is a beautiful day on the Welsh hills with Strider who enjoyed water all along the walk and with Annie and Alun my very good Welsh guides.

On Thursday 12th April, Annie and Alun took me to a wonderful place. We climbed Fan Brycheiniog (802 metres) in the Brecon Beacons, a very nice hill overlooking a fantastic lake. The sky was a bit hazy but we had beautiful views over the surrounding hills.

I really liked the atmosphere of the place with a great feeling of wilderness, empty spaces and calm. We met few people and that place had something magic, really magic. Like a spell ! Annie and Alun, thank you so much to take me there. That was one of the highlights of my trip to Wales.

(just a detail : the first two pictures are not in the right order - sorry about that).

My pictures are here :

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...EINIOG/?start=0

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...pg?t=1179184547

Greetings from the Alps,

Lionel

Great pics as usual Lionel.
That's quite a Water-pup you've got there, Annie - and he seems to have got up the hills first!

Lionel - great photos as always , you're right it is a fantastic place very wild and unspoilt. So glad you enjoyed the day

Puffin- he loves water, think he would've stayed in that lake all day

Recently It has been snowing on higher ground over here so on Wednesday, after my morning lessons, at 10:00 am, I decided to drive up to Avoriaz for another ski-mountaineering tour. The snow was very good. A thin coat of powder over a hard base. I started the tour under sunshine but it gradually closed in to grey sky and cold wind on the highest place I could reach at the altitude of 2300 metres on the Haut Forts slopes. The views on the Swiss Alps of Valais were really nice but then I saw a snow storm coming towards the Haut Forts range so I decided to ski down to Avoriaz (1800 metres). The descent was really good, very smooth and quiet and I saw a golden eagle flying very low and not far from me. Very spectacular flight !Unfortunately I didn't have my camera ready and I couldn't take a picture. I was back from skiing at 1:30 pm and very pleased with this tour.

My pictures are here :

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...VORIAZ%20ARARE/

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...007_0321026.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...007_0321027.jpg

Greetings from the Alps,

Lionel

hi lionel.
great pics and a nice reminder of 3 great days walking.
Scotland has Loch Ness and Nessie.
North Wales has Lyn Tegid and Tegi
Brecon Beacons has Llyn y Fan Fawr and Strider lol.
he must have done each walk 2 or 3 times

i love the pics of the clouds coming ove rthe mountain lionel.
what is the mountains name??

Awww you trying to say my dog is a monster Alun?

no annie lol.
he is lovely and i liked the way he came back to c if i was ok wen i fel behind wile adjusting my gaitors

Hi Alun,

Yes indeed, that was a great view !! And the mountains with the clouds are the "Dents de Valère - 2267 metres !

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...007_0321027.jpg

The other high peaks that I could see clearly are the Dents du Midi - 3257 metres

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...007_0321018.jpg

All of those mountains are in the Swiss Alps of Valais.

Greetings from the Alps,

Lionel

Last year I couldn't ski at all because of a bad sciatica that kept me in bed for several months, but this year I can't stop skiing as long as there is a wee patch of snow on the hills. Here is another report of my yesterday ski-mountaineering tour in Avoriaz, under a burning sun but with fantastic views of the French and Swiss Alps.

I had the luck to see some wildlife including a small grouse, two golden eagles and a marmot.

The skiing in the morning on the Arête des Intrets was really good. But skiing down back to Avoriaz at 1:30 PM on the Arare run was a bit more difficult because the soft snow made the turns very difficult so I had to ski straight down to the bottom of the run at high speed (not as fast as usual on very good snow though).

Another great day ski-touring on the Savoy hills ! They are so rewarding.

My pictures are here :

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...ntrets/?start=0

And a picture for a quick watch :

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...pg?t=1179674813

Greetings from the Alps,

Lionel

hi Lionel.
again great pics, thanx for shareing them you are very lucky to have such a beautiful area to be able to go to that is near.

Hi Alun !!

Thanks for your comment. One day, you will have to come over here to walk in the Alps. Have you been hillwalking recently ? Where have you been ?

Greetings from the Alps,

Lionel

hi lionel thanx.
unfortunately i havnt been out for a few weeks now due to work and weather.
i finish work at the end of the month and hope to go up snowdonia for a week or 2 so that should make up for not going out for a wile.

Lionel ..great photos as always ...glad to see you're still able to ski out there

Alun - hope you have a fantastic time up in Snowdonia when you go up there. I'm going back up at the weekend ...must remember to put my camera in rucksack this time

Annie and Alun !

Your pictures of North Wales will be awaited here ! Please don't forget the photo box !!!

Yesterday, I took my father (who is 84 years old) and my nephew (12 years old) to the hills for a ski-mountaineering trip !! In fact, my father went animal-watching (he was lucky to see a chamois, small grouses adn a marmot). My nephew was snow-shoeing and myself ski-touring. We climbed the north face of Hauts Forts (2466 metres) up to the top of Avoriaz ski fields. We left at six in the morning and we were on the snow at 6:45 AM so the snow was really good. My father, despite his age, managed to walk on the hard snow and to climb up to the altitude of 2100 metres. One more great ski tour this year !

Pictures are here :

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Ch...Lionel%20Arare/

Who is this ?



My nephew tried to take pictures while I was skiing down the Arare slope



That's a much better shot !

Greetings from the Alps !

Lionel