It had been hot for days and days and the forecast for Thursday was for a 35C day in Founex. It was therefore unsurprising that a large number of not unreasonable excuses, alibis, pretexts, and aoplogia flooded my inbox just before this planned outing. We missed you all.
In the event there were only 3 of us as I wrote to Nathan and Mervyn:-
“Just the 3 of us and Kobie have signed up.
Suggest we meet early at Mervyn’s.
From there I’ll drive us all to Trelex for an assault on the Vieux Chateau via Beatrix at St Cergue.
Is 8 am ok ?
Suggest we take a picnic lunch – which – if you skip or reduce breakfast – we could have as a brunch.
There is a coffee stop too!
Train back down to Givrins. “
Subsequently Nathan proposed an earlier start and it was at 7.15 am on a bright and cloudless canicule morning that we assembled at Mervyn’s.
From the normal “Trelex” parking for Dogging (600m) we left at 7.43am and passing the Lac of Frogs (where Kobie takes his normal dip) we entered the shelter of the forest for the fairly direct ascent up to St Cergue. The temperature was still quite pleasant.
Indeed we arrived in fair shape at the Hotel La Pointe du Jour (1015m), on the main road (currently closed to up traffic) just before St Cergue, at 9am exactly. This was an eatery of old days – my last had been 20 years ago for a pizza after night skiing at St Cergue (Chf 35 all in). The friendly innkeeper came out with a water bowl for Kobie and we took on croissants and coffee under sunshades on the rather fabulous terrace. I took time to read out the apologia.
From here the path onward miraculously appears behind bushes over the road directly opposite the hotel (thanks to Ross for showing me this prior to a recce that I did a few days before) and it turns up through the forest reaching the Balade Béatrix. This is a small and quite precipitous path that skirts under the overhanging cliff that guards the summit (1130m).
There is a long and rather tiresome tale (in French) of the legend of Béatrix and what went on in the middle ages before the destruction the Vieux Château. That château must have indeed had a magnificent location atop the hill above St Cergue.
“Le sentier de la « Ballade à Béatrix » est jalonné de 16 panneaux récitant les étapes de la Chronique de St-Cergue. Celle-ci fut écrite par Frédéric-Jacques-Louis Rilliet (1794 – 1856) après qu’il eût effectué un séjour à St-Cergue à une date qui n’est pas établie précisément. Il raconte avoir reçu d’un vieillard du village un vieux meuble, seul vestige du château, qui contenait un ancien parchemin dont cette chronique a été extraite. Elle relate le dernier épisode de la vie du château de St-Cergue qui fut démoli durant les guerres de Bourgogne. Si les personnages de ce roman sont imaginaires, à l’exception du Duc de Bourgogne Charles le Téméraire et des Ducs de Savoie, le contexte politique, militaire et géographique, quant à lui, s’inspire de faits historiques. Nous espérons que l’humanisme des personnages de cette légende st-cerguoise vous rendra les personnages proches et sympathiques.”
Skipping reading the 16 panels we took a short cut and landed on top at 10am facing the rather wonderful panorama over Lac Leman to the alps from the panoply of grassy picnic areas. We took shelter from the sun under a substantial picnic shelter. It was of course a little early for our own picnic lunch, but we did take a nibble and took on more liquid, also wetting Kobie on his back.
Aiming to catch the 10.37 train from St Cergue we were soon down in the air-conditioned comfort of the NStCM carriage from which we alighted in the growing heat in Givrins.
Kobie took a bath in the water tank there and we were soon down and back up to the car, reaching Mervyn’s for beers and our picnics, at noon.
At hot one. Mad dog and Englishmen with a Yank, not out but home just before the midday sun.
7.5km and 640m ascent. Good idea to get out early. Thanks Mervyn for the coffee and beer.
