Izoard

I got up early and rode Izoard today, again from the North side. I have discovered that one problem with leaving early is that I ride slowly. Therefore, I had a pretty pitifully slow pace up to the top, but then again, it is more than 1200m of gain. In any case, the upper part of the col is totally beautiful, and only surpassed by the Casse Deserte on the other side. Indeed, I descended the short distance down the South side to wander around and take pictures of the moonscape.




Back at the top, the bonbon guy had set up his stand, with promises of natural flavored candy.

I bought an incredibly overpriced sachet for the kids, and then did the descent back to Briancon. I packed up the stuff and was back at the Chalet by 10:30. Not too shabby!

The babysitter arrived at noon, and Chloe and I got to enjoy a little spa time at les bains! Very nice.

We also finally bought another rope, after almost six years of loyal service:

At the fabulous AlpiMat store in Briancon. We bought exactly the same rope as before: A Beal Booster. I've bought a decent number of ropes, and Beal have always treated us well, and in stark contrast with other ropes which have suffered a variety of shortcomings like sheath shrinkage, extreme fuzzification and weak sheaths. The Beals have been perfect however.

Later that night, Chloe and I went for a walk and stumbled upon a hedgehog! I had never seen one in the wild and actually would not have seen it at all had Chloe not jumped into the air, temporarily lost her English vocabulary and started shrieking "HERISSON!, HERISSON!". It was a cute little dumpling shaped thing, but scurried off into the bushes before I could get a picture.

Briançon, Rocher Maubert, BBQ

Zoe, Nana, Jicha and I went to Briançon this morning to explore a little bit. We had a cafe in the square in front of the church, and I pushed Kenji AND Zoe in the wheelchair up the steep streets. We found a road that takes you to a dirt track leading to the famous vaulted bridge, but there was no way I was going to be able to get the wheelchair down that!





It really is a lovely town, even if the main street is a tourist trap. Once you cross into the smaller streets, it becomes apparent that people actually live there. Zoe got a nice pinwheel, like last time, and we walked along the ramparts. Zoe lost a precious hair band along the way, which she and Nana miraculously found in the church.

Later that day Chloe and I headed up to Rocher Maubert. We had originally wanted to do a second grande voie, but were still pretty beaten up from Millesime, so decided to go for something lower stress. We warmed up on Panorama (6a) then off to a pretty difficult 6b, then on to a 6c and 7a to the right, both of which spit me off (to much consternation), and then finally a successful 7a a due to the right. I would advise against climbing there on a very sunny day like today! Otherwise, a brilliant crag.


Later that night we had Francois, Barbara, the kids and their friends… and their kids over for a BBQ. Hamburgers, of course!

Bardonecchia

Today we drove to Bardonecchia for lunch after a quick stop in Briancon.

Kenji, Zoe and I took the cool way, via La Vachette and the Col de l'Echelle, while Chloe, Zoe and my mom took the lame way via the col de Montgenevre. Laaaaame. Lunch, however was not lame. Along the way, I saw a child's car parked in a real car space


Because our route was so much more beautiful and direct (heh he) we arrived earlier than the others, and took the opportunity to go to the fantastic pastry shop across the street called "Ugetti Franco". We bought petits fours as well as enough apricot, raspberry, blueberry and strawberry tarts for the entire clan.


Shortly afterwards, we went to the restaurant(Etable). They did not have the Pesto to End all Pestos, which made us sad, but they did have plenty of other delicious and interesting things.








A lovely meal! I'm sure we will be back some time soon. On the way back, Kenji and I watched with amusement as they drove an immense timber truck through one of the tiny toens in between Nevache and Briancon. It looked like there was about two inches left on either side of it.

Millesime Grande Cru

Today we climbed Millesime Grande Cru: a rarely climbed route on the Roche Colombe. You can see the Roche Colombe from the valley floor: it is BIG. Big and far away, I should say. The guide book and our friends said 1:30 for the approach, but it took us 1:40 to get to the base of the cliff. Most of the hike was pretty easy: take the trail up from the Pont de l'Alpe, past the huts, Roche Robert and on towards the Grande Lac. Along the way we edged past somewhat menacing looking cows

and flatulent horses, and eventually left the trail to work our way more or less directly uphill to the starting cave. The rock was fabulous over the entire route, with only a little of the usual ledge annoyingness. There was a beautiful section of slabs with runnels in the middle.


Even Chloe, who hates slabs, loved it. I was amazed to see how high the formation is. From the Alpe du Lauzet, it only looks a bit taller than the surrounding peaks because of the perspective, but as you get higher up the route and look around, you realize that you are all of a sudden towering over everything (at least everything nearby, like the Aretes de la Bruyere, and Roche Robert). At one point, I looked across at the red tower to the left and saw a chamois looking back at me inquisitively.

After five hours on the route




we finally topped out, soaked in the 2832 meter (9,200 feet) views for a few minutes,



and then start down the painful descent.

We might have been off route, but ended up in some chossy gullies, flanked by stacks of shattered rock. Later on, we did a little scree skiing,


and ended up getting a bit beaten up. Actually, both of us were in total agony because of all the time in our tight fitting climbing shoes. I could feel blisters forming on the balls of my feet, and both of us crashed and burned a few times in the scree. Chloe definteley had a worse time than I did in that respect! As we were descending, we noticed a PGHM helo circling the Aretes de la Bruyere, and we hoped that it was not for us (The route+approach+descent had taken us considerably longer than expected). By the time we got to the Aulp de Lauzet, every step felt like precise hammer blows were being delivered to each of my toes. The 100m climbing rope was digging into my shoulders, and felt more like steel cables than soft nylon. Ahh, climbing!

Later that night we had an excellent meal at the Auberge de Choucas (babysitter!), but I was barely conscious for most of it.

A ride through Italy

Today I did an abbreviated version of what I had planned to do earlier in the season (I won't describe it because it will make todays ride look pretty wimpy in comparison). The plan was to cross two cols that straddle the French-Italian border and ride a big loop through both countries. I drove to La Vachette, just north of Briancon, parked, suited up and set out down the road for Nevache. My legs were feeling pretty good, the weather was glorious, and there were throngs of people out riding. The road is flat with a little rolling terrain until you reach the relatively mild climb up to the Col de l'Echelle. I hammered this section because I was feeling good, and well… why not? Once you arrive at the top of the col, you find yourself in yet another beautiful alpine valley with beautiful praries. People were just arriving to park their cars and set off on hikes. Also, somewhat inexplicably, there were a lot of people out on sun chairs, tanning! It seemed like an unlikely place to get a tan. Anyway, on to the end of the col, where a beautiful Italian cyclist was just arriving at the summit (see video below), and whispered a slightly out of breath "Ciao" to me. From there, it was descending time, which was beautiful, if a little slow. The climb from this side looks much better than from the other side -- must do it at some point. The only issue with the descent was the depth and size of the rain gutters. They were long and ramp like, and I managed to inadvertanly catch some air off the last one. I could immediately tell that I was in Italy by the steepness of the descent and total lack of switchbacks. I continued on the road towards Oulx, which is also downhill. So much downhill in fact that I was beginning to think that I was going to have to pay for it pretty soon. And so I did, riding up the road towards Sestriere and Cesana, sucking diesel through the tunnels. I was sorely tempted to stop at a roadside pizzeria which had fired up its delicious smelling wood fired pizza oven, but wanted to get off the SS24 ASAP. In Cesara, I asked for directions to the nearest fountain, and got stuck behind a mini convoy of the Guardi di Finanza who were also lost. After filling up, I gave the col de Montgenevre all I had, which was not much at this point, ate a rice cake, and then started my descent. I got stuck behind a truck, which was pretty terrible since it was kicking up huge clouds of dust, but driving just fast enough to make it dangerous to pass.



That night we did another pizza-on-the-gro;; experiment, with Simon's help which turned out pretty well. The key is to finish them in the oven, I think, and probably let the mozzarella dry out beforehand so it does not soak the crust.

Rode to Lautaret this morning. I did my fastest time, but still felt sluggish. I should have kept on going to Galibier, but was running out of time so I turned around.

Later, I took Kenji for a walk (OK, roll) through town. The cobbles turned out to be a little problematic with the wheelchair though

The drive

We drove up to Monetier-les-bains today. I never get tired of the road, even with the holiday traffic. Once you pass Riouperoux and the other ash filled and sunlight starved towns in the Romanche valley. I always point out the climb I did on the Rocher de l'homme. Kenji was suitably impressed. After a stop for water in Bourg and to view La Meije from La Grave,

we eventually made it to Monetier, where Chloe, mom, Zoe and the Aussies were waiting for us.



Earlier, we went to the market in Place aux Herbes for provisions (wine, fruit) and to the *fabulous* new Japanese market.

Crazy day

Getting things ready for our one week trip to Monetier-les-bains and finishing things at work. I of course made time to bring the parents to our favorite off site lunch place. They have a customer who draws new placemats every once in a while, and I particularly likes this one.

The various animals and veggies that are regularly consumed at the restaurant are on strike! The good news is that I solved a structure, but right before we have to leave, as usual.

The Parents Arrive!

Zoe and I drove to the airport this afternoon to pick up the parents. We were there early, so we watched planes take off and land for a while. Zoe was mostly interested in whether each plane contained Nana and Jicha, however

Col du Sabot

Went for a ride with Darren and Martin up the Col du Sabot: excellent! The pace at the start was a bit hot, but my compatriots soon settled on a more reasonable "allure", as they say in French. The top part of this big (1300 or so vert meters) is gorgeous! IT is also supposedly the highest col in the Isere, at 2100 or so meters. There was a strong wind battering us towards the top, but the views took our minds off of it. Some escaped Donkeys sauntered over the hill while we were eating. No sign of the riders. From the top, you can see Glandon, and all the way to the Mont Blanc.