9/25/11

Pic Chaussy and Le Pare



Outside of Leysin and Les Diablerets there are a few non-technical peaks that caught my attention a while ago.  I finally managed to summit Pic Chaussy and Le Pare only recently.


Pic Chaussy from Les Diablerets


Navigating our way out of town was not hard to do


Les Diablerets (the mountains) across the valley 


Summitting Pic Chaussy


The Col du Pillon just down the way actually is the dividing line between French and German speakers around here.  The line is not completely clean and we spent about 5 minutes trying to fake our way through a Swiss German conversation


April attempts to find us a place to sleep for the night which is not covered in cow poop.  Not an easy task in Switzerland.


Sunrise over Les Diablerets


On the way up to the 2nd summit of Le Pare


Morning self portrait just short of Le Pare's summit


Sheep guard the ridgeline.  They are usually herded higher than the cows here


On the way down from Le Pare to Col de Mosses



Next up:  Mont d'Or 

9/21/11

Jogging in the Jura - Creux du Van


Sometimes referred to as the 'Grand Canyon' of Switzerland, the Creux de Van deserves recognition of it's own right.  Its a beatutiful semi amphitheatre in the middle of the Jura range in western Switzerland.  The 14 signature switchbacks which climb up to rim from Noiraigue are distinct in that they exist in a country that is almost otherwise entirely devoid of such trail features.  This is a place that is loved and used, for good reason.



On one of the 14 switchbacks up to Creux de Van from Noiraigue 



April gets her taper on innahikingstylenfashion on the Creux du Van rim


The rim trail 


The rim of Creux du Van outside of Lac Neuchatel, Switzerland in the Jura mountains


The rim of Creux du Van outside of Lac Neuchatel, Switzerland in the Jura mountains


The rim of Creux du Van outside of Lac Neuchatel, Switzerland in the Jura mountains


The rim of Creux du Van outside of Lac Neuchatel, Switzerland in the Jura mountains


On the descent from Creux du Van towards the shores of Lac Neuchatel


We took a wrong turn on the way down from the Jura crest and ended up running through a castle.  Oops!

9/3/11

Lac d'Emmoson / Col de Barbarine


Le Chatelard to Lac d'Emosson, Col de Barbarine to Vernayaz.



Swiss railroads are steep!


Lac d'Emosson, evidently the French and Swiss actually traded territory over this resovoir at 1900 m (wikipedia link).


Home for the night around the Lac d'Emosson area. Incredibly there were no cows here.


Looking back at the Lac d'Emosson from halfway up the Col de Barbarine


April near the Col de Barbarine



   Breakfast.  April shows proper form on the Col de Barbarine.