Winding Down

We've only a month left in France-land before our triumphant return to Australia, but we're planning on cramming alot in into the time that we have left. This coming monday we're off to Chamonix to do the Chamonix-Zermatt Verbier Variation, most commonly known as the Haute Route. The following monday we will return to Bourg for a few days before flying down to Corsica. We'll have 6 days there, kicking it with Gabby and exploring the island, before once more returning to Bourg to pack up our stuff and move out of our little drippy cave. For our last week in the Hexagon, we're hiring a Kangoo and driving north to visit Madeleine in Mirecourt, then dropping back down to end up in Paris.

But it's been a while since I logged on and put up any updates, so what have we been up to? Well, we've cut back on our skiing and ramped up on our riding. The days here are just perfect for it - high-teens, sunny and with vertical gains of well over 1000m on quiet, steep mountain roads, it doesn't get much better. Having the Surly and Bullwinkle running cyclocross tyres means we can also explore the hundreds of dirt paths. These are incredible - centuries-old paths, usually linking up hamlets or individual farm houses and cutting across steep hillsides, boarded by intricate stone retaining walls.

Picnics. If you're going to have a picnic, you might as well go to picnic heaven, lac d'Annecy.

We've also been touching a bit of rock with visits to a cliff just near town, an artificial boulder in the park, and the indoor wall. I can't wait to get back on it and visit the local crags when I get back to Aus, it's been a while!

Getting ready for the Haute Route has taken a lot of planning and effort. We've had a few skills sessions up on the hill to make sure we're all up to date with the techniques in crevasse rescue, glacier travel, avalanche rescue and ski mountaineering. The first couple of days on the HR should be fun as we'll be able to get some quality self-arrest and crevasse recue practice in on some good terrain. Always fun! [po snow bollard] The HR is apparantly in very good knick, which is some good luck. We should be able to ski all the way down to Champex on the second day, and hopefully all the way down the piste in to Zermatt on the final day, which will be a great way to end it.