Today I went with Emilie, Ceclie and their father, Louis, to La Chapelle-d'Abondance in the Haute-Savoie region of France. It’s in the Alps near the border with Switzerland, within a couple of hours of Lausanne by car.
In a scaled down version of our Rifugio Monzino weekend a couple of months back, we had a date with La Via Ferrata de Saix de Miolene. It’s basically a cliff with various climbing routes that are more or less scaled down versions of “real” mountain climbing (i.e., there are often pre-set foot and hand-holds as well as safety cables to connect a safety rope / harness).
As can be seen from the pictures on the sign, it’s definitely not for those with a fear of heights.
We took the one hour route and it was definitely a workout. While I had brought my camera with me to get some pictures during the climb, it was impossible to actually take any because I literally was clinging for dear life for the full sixty minutes. Unlike our previous climb, there weren’t any real rest spots. Instead, you were effectively on a cliff face climbing vertically or scaling horizontally for an hour straight.
We had all the requisite safety equipment in terms of harnesses and ropes, but it was still an exhilarating experience given the height and the overall challenge of the climb. You definitely always had to pay attention to where you were putting your hands / feet at all times.
The weather was beautiful – clear skies, sunny and hot. It made the climb a bit tougher with the sun beating down on us and the heat radiating off the rock face. But it was nice once we got to the top and began the hike back down to the car.
Here are a couple of pictures from when we got back to the bottom of the trail.
By the time that we got back to the car it was time for lunch. There was some sort of fair going on in the adjacent town – Abondance – so we drove there to check it out and get some food. The town is known for both cheese and the cows from whose milk the cheese is made – and we saw a lot of both. In fact, there was a competition for the most beautiful cow.
Louis’ ski club was serving food in one of the booths at the fair so we ate there. They had some sort of soup along with bread and cheese. It was very good, particularly since I was starved after our exploits earlier in the day.
After lunch we walked around the town a bit to see the countless booths lining the streets. People were selling everything from clothes and crafts, to food and drinks.
After seeing some cotton candy I learned that in French it is called barbe a papa (dad’s beard). I guess that makes sense, but I think “cotton candy” is more fitting.
We then headed to L’Abbaye d’Abondance, which was founded around the 11th century. It is on a hill that overlooks the town center and allowed for some nice pictures. I particularly like the second one, with the colors from the stained glass windows illuminating the wooden statue.
Before heading home we also visited the adjacent cloister, which was built in the 14th century and is known for its murals.
In a scaled down version of our Rifugio Monzino weekend a couple of months back, we had a date with La Via Ferrata de Saix de Miolene. It’s basically a cliff with various climbing routes that are more or less scaled down versions of “real” mountain climbing (i.e., there are often pre-set foot and hand-holds as well as safety cables to connect a safety rope / harness).
As can be seen from the pictures on the sign, it’s definitely not for those with a fear of heights.
We took the one hour route and it was definitely a workout. While I had brought my camera with me to get some pictures during the climb, it was impossible to actually take any because I literally was clinging for dear life for the full sixty minutes. Unlike our previous climb, there weren’t any real rest spots. Instead, you were effectively on a cliff face climbing vertically or scaling horizontally for an hour straight.We had all the requisite safety equipment in terms of harnesses and ropes, but it was still an exhilarating experience given the height and the overall challenge of the climb. You definitely always had to pay attention to where you were putting your hands / feet at all times.
The weather was beautiful – clear skies, sunny and hot. It made the climb a bit tougher with the sun beating down on us and the heat radiating off the rock face. But it was nice once we got to the top and began the hike back down to the car.
Here are a couple of pictures from when we got back to the bottom of the trail.
By the time that we got back to the car it was time for lunch. There was some sort of fair going on in the adjacent town – Abondance – so we drove there to check it out and get some food. The town is known for both cheese and the cows from whose milk the cheese is made – and we saw a lot of both. In fact, there was a competition for the most beautiful cow.
Louis’ ski club was serving food in one of the booths at the fair so we ate there. They had some sort of soup along with bread and cheese. It was very good, particularly since I was starved after our exploits earlier in the day.
After lunch we walked around the town a bit to see the countless booths lining the streets. People were selling everything from clothes and crafts, to food and drinks.
After seeing some cotton candy I learned that in French it is called barbe a papa (dad’s beard). I guess that makes sense, but I think “cotton candy” is more fitting.We then headed to L’Abbaye d’Abondance, which was founded around the 11th century. It is on a hill that overlooks the town center and allowed for some nice pictures. I particularly like the second one, with the colors from the stained glass windows illuminating the wooden statue.
Before heading home we also visited the adjacent cloister, which was built in the 14th century and is known for its murals.
1 comment:
Regarding barbe à papa, wait until you try pets des soeurs (nun's farts) as they are delicious in spite of the name.
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