scene of Marmot attack revisited

Juan has been wanting to return to this dour spot, first visited 2 years ago (see here) for some while. So here we were again. Only this time we opted for the refuge (was being crammed with 20 people in 2 layers in a 5m x 4m room really an improvement on toughing it out with the marmots?)

We did the same walk, up to Lac des Rouies. But miscalculated the timing (because of our snail's pace up) and only had a few minutes at the moraine above the lake...

... before being compelled to leave, to be back in time for the 6.30 refuge supper. We ended up literally running down the hill, to arrive just quarter of an hour late for a delicious, Nepal-inspired rabbit curry followed by a hazel-nut creme profiterole. Yum yum. But I'm not sure how many more steamy, gung-ho, large-group refuge events I'm good for.

After a particularly noise-some and claustrophobic night (I couldn't even bend my leg without hitting the wall!) we idled back down the valley, enjoying the bumper crop of blueberries and raspberries produced by the cold, wet summer. It was an antidote to the previous day's push. And our early start gave us several views of chamois - a rare sight.

view up the Muande valley towards the CAF refuge

Lower down the Venéon valley we had lunch beside the wonderful Cascade de la Pisse, for the first time actually sitting down and enjoying the place, rather than storming on up the track on our way somewhere else...

And so another weekend has flashed by. I'm going to try to get my act together this week - getting the house and packing in order - so that we can enjoy just one more mountain jaunt before I depart on my travels.