Snow Shoes To Mamac 1 Feb 24

Our SSLeader M2rs had foretold of a lack of snow, no need even to bring snowshoes. What a racquette this climate change has become!

M2rs had written:-

“The weather for Thursday is looking overcast with perhaps a lttle rain but unless the forecast is completely wrong, I have given up trying to find any snow for us to snowshoe on. 

So with snowshoeing past in mind, I am proposing a winter wander from the Givrine to Chez Mamac at la Cure for lunch and walk/train back. 

Depending on the exact route we take, the distance is about 11 kms (7km plus a further four if we walk back) height difference about 300m. 

I’ll be very surprised if we even need to bring our snowshoes but if anyone who has been up there recently thinks differently, please let us know. 

Meeting 9h30 Divonne customs car park, 10h00 (or just after for anyone taking the train) at the Givrine. 

Please let me know if you’re coming by Wednesday lunchtime so that I can inform the restaurant. “

MikeH and I with Rocco and Kobie arrived at 10am just before Stephen, David, SSL Mark2rs, Richard S and Nathan at the carpark (1205m) and shortly before RichardW and Rob who arrived by train. It was indeed a mild and damp start to February with precipitation forecast for the middle of the day. The winter wander then proceeded up the grassy field in a NW direction before turning NE on the somewhat icy tarmac road. Soon though we were safely off onto grass with even some snow patches.

We rose steadily passing a wall (some taking it directly) and up to the Pré du Four Cabane/Cowshed at 1395m where we established a table for apèros, rosé and genepi. Sadly no strong black coffee as M2ts was away in Blighty.

I believe that it was from here that RS established contact with son Tim and his beautiful dog Spencer to fix a rendezvous at Mamac for our lunch. Clearly we had been proceeding slowly because Tim and Spence came out into the mist to meet up with us in the fields.

All of a sudden Tim and Spencer appeared on our left giving impetus and energy to our party, or was it the lure of lunch?

We arrived at 12.30pm or so at Mamac and given a warm welcome with a large table for ten and 3 dogs. As I recall everyone was well behaved except Kobie (I’m working on it…).

It was not long before beers and wines arrived and we raised a toast to absent friends, some of whom had proferred better excuses for absence than others.

This was going to be a cheesy affair, the main question being the choice between en-croute or the Triphon fondu. Both were delicious, even the chèvre en-croutes.

The salad was good as was the cheese, wine and beer. Tim and Spencer left early to go back to work while the party discussion continued on areas such as the upcoming 6 Nations, diets, the organ recital, Trump, the Middle East, plans for the year ahead, the wonders of the E-Vignette, etc etc.

Finally we paid and were off into the dampness which seemed to have been worse over the lunch but was now abating. We eschewed any notion of catching the train and so tramped down to La Cure and up across the road to the path memorable for RS’s two falls in ten metres, of a few years ago. This time he only fell once, but I balanced out the count by slipping over on the wet group just afterwards.

A very pleasant lunch and an enjoyable wander. Indeed 11km and 300m. Sad about the snow. Gintlemen and dogs reasonably well behaved.