Six participants (Peter T, Mike H, Nathan, Richard, Ross, and Peter S) with 2 dogs (Kobie and Rocco) met at the Col du Mollendruz for the last snowshoe of the 2024-2025 season. Cloudy skies, the cool temperature (3°C) and a brisk bise wind called for extra jackets, beanies and gloves. There was no sign of any snow and definitely no snowshoes or crampons required.
The trail started on the left side of the Nordic sport cabin and headed down the gravel road to the Grand Chardeve (1097m) where it met the path up from L’Isle. After a gentle climb up through the forest we reached the fallen tree for a photo reminder of a previous hike done in Aug 2024.
This time RichardS is with us, as well ats PeterS and Ross.Aug 2024 Hike. We met RichardS at the Chatel Restaurant on the top.
A little further along the contour, a quaint chalet (Chalet des Italiens) with 2 benches prompted a water break. While Peter T and Ross settled in on the benches, Mike tucked into his sandwich thinking it was picnic time.
At the apèro stop with only nuts for apèro
After a short inspection of the inside of the chalet, the group continued up to the junction with the path from Montricher and then onwards to explore the archaeological site of the Chatel d’Arruffens. The panel describes its origins as a fortified refuge which was used between 1500 BC up to 150 AD by ancient Celts during “troubled times” on the plains below. Little remains of the fortifications except a small cluster of “sacred rocks” which resulted in another photo opportunity.
Richard leans on and PeterS inspects the sacred rock – in the SUN !!
After some indecision, a sheltered mound was chosen for the picnic. Before tucking into his ham and cheese wrap from the Volg, Peter T demonstrated use of the new suction device (LifeVac) he had acquired in case of a choking attack. This was quickly followed by the opening of a fine bottle of Cote du Rhone which served to, as it were, wash it all down.
The LifeVac SeminarLunch Spot – PeterT and his ham and cheese sandwich (The Volg Choker) – and his LifeVac
After leaving the picnic mound, the path led up through fields of early white and purple crocuses waiting for the sun to burst into bloom.
Croci
With the bise picking up, there was a brief stop at the cross marking the summit of Chatel 1404m) before descending down into the valley below the Buvette d’Chatel (closed in winter).
Summit photoWe passed this way on 16 Sept 2021
A short uphill led to the Jura Club of Cossonay where the sheltered porch allowed savouring the Corsican cedar brew from Richard’s renowned bottle.
Coffee stop and Richard offers his Corsican Cedras libation (quite nice)
The final stretch tracked down the road to emerge from the forest above the Chalet du Mollendruz (recently closed at the end of the winter season). The group returned to the Mollendruz parking to complete a 4.5 hour tour of 11 km, and ~500m dénivelé.
This is a short record of a necessarily limited group visit to CERN on 22.2.2025.
On 4 Jan 2025 a few selected folk received this email from Mervyn.
“Firstly, Happy New Year to one and all.
Secondly, here is your exclusive invitation to join a private group visit to CERN.
We will have the services of a qualified guide, an ex-CERN employee, friend and neighbour, Dr. Gunnar Fernqvist on
Date: Saturday 22 February 2025
Draft Programme:
09:00 Rendezvous at CERN Gateway (Parking available)
Introductory film
Selfguided tour of the exhibition area
10:15 Depart (by car) for underground visit of the LHC
11:00 Visit the CMS
12:00 Return by car to CERN
12:30 Lunch at CERN
14:00 Walking tour of other CERN exhibitions and sites
16:00 End of visit
IMPORTANT
Please confirm your interest to participate by return email as capacity is limited to 12 (adult, able-bodied, non-pregnant!). Please state your name, nationality and date of birth.
Joining instructions will follow once group participation is established.
Brush up on your physics!
Mervyn”
The day 22 Feb 2025 finally came around, grey and a bit cold. Rob picked me up and then Ross before we drove to the CERN parking near the Gateway. The Science Gateway is a much improved visitor centre (from the original that I had experienced 25 years or so earlier).
To plan a visit – see
https://visit.cern
CERN Science Gateway
CERN Science Gateway is a place to explore CERN and science through authentic, innovative and inspirational experiences. It is CERN’s new education and outreach center, where we take visitors on a unique journey building on the physical proximity to CERN, its accelerators, detectors, facilities and people.
Through immersive multimedia exhibits, hands-on lab workshops, science shows, events that blend science and culture, innovation-prototyping workshops and tours of authentic CERN places – all guided by CERN people – visitors of all ages and backgrounds can engage in the discoveries, the science and the technologies of CERN.
Our vision is for a world where science and learning are part and parcel of everyone’s life. Our younger visitors may leave inspired to explore a career in science and technology. We hope that all visitors will feel empowered to make sense of the science that shapes their lives.
This vision is housed in an iconic building designed by the world-renowned Renzo Piano Building Workshop, with support from Brodbeck-Roulet architectes associés.
An iconic building
Inspired by the diversity and curiosity that are intrinsic to CERN, the building encompasses multiple elements, embedded in a green forest.
Five different spaces host three exhibitions, two hands-on labs, an auditorium, a shop and a restaurant, all connected by a 6-metre-high bridge that spans the main road in front of CERN. Two suspended tubes mirror the cutting-edge technology of the CERN accelerator complex. Raw shapes and forms, and exposed concrete celebrate CERN’s industrial character.
The building symbolises the inseparable link between science and society, with sustainability at its core. Almost 4000 square metres of solar panels provide energy to the Science Gateway and other CERN buildings. A forest of over 400 trees and 13 000 shrubs provides a habitat for animals and plants. When in operation, the building is carbon-neutral.
We reinforced ourselves on quantum coffee as 12 of us assembled, a leader and 11 bosons, not all GIN members but all with an inquisitive bent.
Gunnar Fernqvist (Leader)
Mark Watts
Lynda Watts
Henry Watts
Richard Saynor
Paul Sochaczweski
Mervyn Powell (Organiser)
Peter Taylor
Robert Pashley
Ivan Rykov
Ross Linsley
Philip Jenkins
We had a strict timetable to adhere to as CERN receives thousands of visitors per week and parties are guided on timed visits. During our visit we noted parties bumping up behind us when we asked too many questions or lingered a little too long, but this was not a serious hindrance and we did not collide.
We started up in the Gateway to watch the introductory film, but a large group of Italians visitors (in 3 coaches) were in the mix so the whole film was to be in Italian. We decamped instead to the Gateway exhibitions where Gunnar explained the basic working of the LHC and its related experiments (ATLAS and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid which we were to visit) being the hi power ones).
Gunnar gives us an outline of CERN in the visitor Centre.
Here is the basic outline of what CERN seems to be all about :-
The European Organization for Nuclear Research – known by its French acronym, CERN – is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Located just outside of Geneva, Switzerland, it was established in 1954, as one of post-war Europe’s first joint ventures, with the express aim of halting the ‘brain drain’ of talented scientists leaving the continent for America.
Today, more than 10,000 scientists hailing from more than 100 countries find themselves at CERN each year to use its facilities, which include some of the biggest and most complex scientific instruments ever created. Their goal: figure out what the Universe is made of and the laws of physics that dictate its behaviour.
What does CERN do exactly?
At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles.
Why was CERN built in Switzerland?
Switzerland was chosen to host CERN to a large extent because of its neutrality and its safeguards against the misappropriation of scientific research results for military purposes. This was especially important when the organisation was established in 1954 because the world was just entering the Cold War.
What has CERN done for humanity?
Crystals developed for CERN experiments in the 1980s are now ubiquitous in PET scanners. Today, CERN’s unique expertise and technologies are being used in areas related to medical diagnostics and imaging, therapy as well as computing and simulations for health applications.
CERN’s work, including attempts to create tiny black holes for studying antimatter, is conducted under strict safety protocols, with the organization and the scientific community affirming the research poses no threat to the planet.
Who funds CERN?
CERN is publicly funded by its 23 Member States and Associate Member States. Find out below about how this investment creates a positive impact on society.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It consists of a 27-kilometre ring (100 metres underground) of superconducting magnets (cooled by liquid helium) with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way.
The CERN accelerator complex accelerates protons, but also nuclei of ionized atoms (ions), such as the nuclei of lead, argon or xenon atoms. Some LHC runs are thus dedicated to lead-ion collisions. The ISOLDE facility accelerates beams of exotic nuclei for nuclear physics studies.
Complex being the operative word
The particle collisions recreate, for a fraction of a second, the conditions that existed moments after the Big Bang, when the Universe was born. By studying the debris of these collisions, physicists try to settle mysteries such as what matter is made of and how particles get their mass.
The LHC, which was completed in 2008, was built primarily to put the Standard Model of particle physics to the test. This wildly successful theory from the 1970s describes the interactions between the 17 elementary particles and three of the four fundamental forces of the Universe: electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force (gravity is the fourth).
What happened at CERN in the fall of 2008?
On 19 September 2008, a magnet quench occurred in about 100 bending magnets in sectors 3 and 4, where an electrical fault vented about six tonnes of liquid helium (the magnets’ cryogenic coolant) into the tunnel.
What discoveries have been made at CERN?
Highlights include the 1983 discovery of a pair of elementary particles called the W and Z bosons, which was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee helped invent the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989 by developing a way for computers to talk to each other, called hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
In 1995, CERN scientists were the first to create atoms of hydrogen’s antimatter counterpart, antihydrogen. In 2000, they discovered a new state of matter: a hot, dense, particle soup called quark-gluon plasma. And the Higgs boson, predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics, was observed for the first time in 2012 at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scooping its discoverers a Nobel Prize. This discovery confirmed a crucial part of our understanding of how particles acquire mass.
One CMS photo showed (apparently) that the Higgs boson is produced in the collision of two protons at 14 TeV and quickly decays into four muons, a type of heavy electron which is not absorbed by the central part of the detector – but in the outer muon detectors.
The discovery was a big win for fans of the Standard Model, but the theory is incomplete. It leaves many questions open, such as: what is dark matter? Why does the Universe contain more matter than antimatter? The LHC may help answer these questions.
Things could really start to get exciting after the next long shutdown, currently slated for 2026-2028. During that time, the LHC will be upgraded so heavily that it warrants a new name: the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). Over 20-plus years of operating, the machine will work up to generating luminosities nearly 30 times greater than those produced to date, allowing physicists push the Standard Model to its limits.
And the search for new physics doesn’t end there. A proposed new collider – theFuture Circular Collider (FCC) – would dwarf the LHC. “It’s really just a concept right now, but ultimately this would be an even more powerful collider that would be 100 kilometres around. The LHC ring would basically just be the booster ring for the FCC!”.
Gunnar, being an electrical expert, sparkled with energy, especially when describing magnets and the power supply aspects of the LHC. In particular in his time, his team were challenged to get a firm control on the current such that it provided for a finely controlled and powerfull magnetic field to bend the accelerated particales around the ring, focussing them in the centre of the vacuum tube such that they never touched the sides (which would have given rise to the magnets becoming non-superconducting and exploding as in 2008). The power in the circulating paricles is so high (of the order of a jumbo jet) that in order to quench it (every few hours or so), the particles are brought offline and sprayed into a 300 m long carbon dump – which becomes radioactive for a while.
Gunnar was keen to show us that while we did not have personal radiation detctor devices for our safety, he did, and he demonstrated that his read zero radiation before and after (hence during) our visit. Safety is a big part of the CERN operation.
We did get back to see the initial part of the introductory film before time beat us and we were required to whisk ourselves away in a quantum leap across the ring (in our cars) to the CMS Experiment at Cessy across the border in France.
We descended 100m underground in a large lift, after a safety lecture, down to the airlocks and tunnels into the vast CMS chamber. The huge cylindrical detector lies on its side surrounding the thin beam pipe (somehow the two pipes form one in the detectors).
It was partially disassembled in that the final disc detector had ben slid forward, and workers were paying it some attention. When the beam is running this chamber is filled with radiation and personnel are kept well away.
Gunnar in CMSEngineers fiddling aboutMany Watts go through this tunnel
All too soon we were required to return to the surface as another party was coming in. The drive back to CERN centre for lunch led us to the chosen restaurant in a far corner of the CERN site, but sadly being Saturday it was closed. No worries we decamped to the main restaurant. This science stuff can bring on a good appetite.
After Lunch
The afternoon was spent at the Anti-Matter Factory, the old original Proton Synchrotron, and the Atlas Control room. Each were fascinating and we plied Gunnar with plenty of questions which he ably asnwered.
A very odd state of matter – apparently it is quite normal in nature :-
Natural antiparticles
• A person weighting 80 kg produces 180 anti-electrons (positrons e+) per hour from the desintegration of Potassium-40, anatural isotope
• A banana produces 10 e+ per second
A key experiment going on seemed to be seeing if anti-particles are affected by gravitiy in the same way as particles, and it seems they are: attracted by the earth and not repelled.
Antimatter decelleration ringInside the Anti-Matter factory. Does it do anti-aging too?
The Proton Synchrotron history is explained in this film.
As the beam was down, no actual personnel were present and nothing was happening but again Gunnar brought it back to life for us.
All in all an amazing day – a visit to CERN, even without the special visit that we were given, would be a wonderful day out for anyone with a fascination of life, the universe and everything.
Final drinks
Many thanks to Mervyn for organising and to Gunnar for being our guide into this mind bending place. I’m off to eat a banana…
As the leader for the day pointed out, snowshoes were not needed for this hike on Mont Mourex and Mont Mussy. The spring-like weather of the week before had reduced snow levels on the Jura and, despite some new coverage, the decision was taken to reduce altitude level to try and stay on relative firm ground. As it turned out the weather forecast for the day was unsettled and as we gathered in the car park next to the old station in Divonne it was indeed trying to rain as well as blowing a cold wind.
Eight intrepid GIN Snowshoers turned up on time (well almost) with two canine friends (Kobi and Rocco) happy to see each other and join in the circuit. Stephen (leader for the day) Mike H, Nathan, Richard S, Mark 2Ts, Peter T, Peter S and Ross made up the starting group. We set off through the Divonne housing in the direction of Les Crottes and onto the Chemin de Tir where the road melted into a track leading along the base of Mont Mussy to Mourex. Helpful “Deviation” signs showed us the way….intended for traffic but somehow seemed suitable for this group. Happily, any deviating individual had been properly admonished on the last snowshoe outing, consequently solidarity with the leader’s directions was unflinching.
Along the way, we experienced some unexpected hail and an attempt at snow but also some sunshine. Arriving at the road leading up through Mourex, several of the group, who are also members of the Biking Group, recalled the hard slog in the saddle up this hill from the old train track below. This forms part of the famous 3 hills circuit pioneered by Peter D. We followed the road up through the village until we reached the parking for Mont Mourex. At this point, our canine presence was swollen by a dog walking group of at least 8 dogs of various sizes and breeds. Extracting Kobi and Rocco took a little time.
We completed the hike up to the highest point (755m) where the vantage point and circular tableau offered not only a superb view but also a useful bar and table, albeit a little wet and slippery. The cold wind didn’t allow the Puglian Primativo to be enjoyed at it’s best and even the spirit bottle of many names was untouched in favour of Mark’s warm coffee. (That could also be due to the fact that it’s contents were unchanged from the previous outing and our memories of that tasting experience are still fresh). However, the increasing number of snacks that appear on these outings were happily consumed in an attempt to provide insulating fat and ballast.
Highest point – Mont Mourex
The “bar” in action
A happier Mike………amazing what abstinence can do
At this point the leader suggested retracing our steps to the car park to enable joining the track leading around the far side of the hill. Despite seasoned voices suggesting that there was indeed an alternative route to achieving this aim, not requiring backtracking, solidarity and compliance with the leader’s pre-determined route prevailed. As it transpired, this allowed a second encounter with the dog walkers and their canine posse, much to the delight of our two dogs.
With only occasional stops to ensure that we were taking the correct forks in the track, we arrived at the parking by the Ferme de Mussy. At this point Peter T, Ross and Peter S took the direct route back to the cars, foregoing the pleasures of L’Accord Parfait. In Peter T’s case this was probably due to concern that Kobi would ensure that he didn’t need a doggy bag as he would have benefitted from a tour of the restaurant and kitchen, sampling from any plate left unattended.
The five lunch-goers took the small meandering path to the back of the restaurant and arrived after a Tayloresque off-piste steep descent. Why there is no formal path down is a mystery. We joined Mark 2Rs who had arrived separately, recovering from a flu/fever but well enough to have ordered and consumed a kir prior to our appearance.
Beers were ordered and a bottle of Argentinian Malbec (at the correct temperature). All but Richard and Stephen opted for the menu du jour. This comprised of a salad and meat croute starter, sausage and mash, and an ice-cream dessert all for an amazing 19Euro. Richard and Stephen went for the more modest coquelet with fries, “modest” being relative only to the set menu lunch as Richard took half of his lunch away with him for later and Mike managed to find room for excess fries. Rocco behaved almost impeccably under the table apart from his penchant for destroying serviettes. He won over the waitress who ensured that he had adequate water. Conversation was varied and interesting, as usual, but don’t expect me to remember the details…..I was struggling with eating all that chicken meat.
Contemplation of the sizeable main course of the menu du jour…..the coquelet is arriving in the background
Lunch anddinner for one
The walk from the restaurant back to the parking by the old station was uneventful. It was a shame that the first part had to be along the main road but there was no appetite for a rescaling of the off-piste to the woodland path. Mark 2Rs took us on a shortcut alongside the chateau to enable not only seeing property in an unknown part of Divonne but also ensuring that siestas were not delayed further.
Consensus was that we covered ca. 12kms and climbed 365m.
Ten walkers and a dog met in glorious springlike sunshine at the Place de l’ancienne Gare in Divonne les Bains for the 2.8km saunter along the old railway line to the Restaurant des Bergers in Grilly. The walk took us by the homes of two of the participants where we noted the wife of one was working hard in their garden pruning roses and the other participant joined us having sat on a bench in the sun waiting our arrival about 1km into our journey.
We were joined by the final participant at the restaurant itself so there were twelve of us who sat down to eat an excellent fondue washed down with a delightful Chablis.
After such a lunch, the return journey was most welcome.
Participants: Jeff C, Norman E, Mike M and Nessie, Robert O’R, Mike P, Richard S, Paul S, Rudolf S, Gerry S, Gary V, Ralph W and Mark 2R.
Ed: Many thanks to Mark for organising the walk and lunch and for the blog.
This time a different trio – Mark 2ts, St.Cergue Stephen and myself signed-up for a day in the Grand Massif starting from Samoens, where we met up shortly after 10am after an easy drive.
By 11o’clock we were coasting down towards Flaine to enjoy the still surprisingly good snow above 2000m. We weren’t alone as the half-term holidays were still attracting lots of intermediate skiers who bloated the lift queues and littered the slopes. However they seemed to head for the restaurants before noon leaving the well prepared pistes down from Grandes Platières delightfully empty. Stephen, fresh from his numerous outings in Les Rousses, but venturing into the Alps for the first time so far this year, exhibited fine form on his unforgiving GS planks.
Stephen and Mervyn spoiling a stupendous view of Mt Blanc
An al fresco mid morning coffee was followed by a late lunch at Le Blanchot. Were the portions too generous or was Mark just too exhausted even to finish his salad?
Under continuing clear sunny skies we headed back up to the top of Flaine for a final descent before covering the several kilometres back to Samoens. We set off for the return drive at 4pm after another glorious outing. Thanks guys!
An exhilarating day began as 8 hardy souls (plus two 4-legged companions) awaited the 10:12 train at the Col de la Givrine. We joined two other hardy souls already in the train for the short trip to our starting point.
The hike began at the La Cure train station with just a small amount of snow on the ground and quite clement weather.
Attending were: Kobie, Mark2rs, Mark2ts, Mervyn, MichaelH, Nathan, PeterT, PeterS, Philip, Richard, Rob, Rocco, Ross, and Stephen. Excuses received spanned from a wishy-washy claim of lousy weather (fake news!), I’ll come only if it’s dry (which it was, so he participated) and a last minute abandon with no reason given but it was assumed to be a force-majeure.
Assessing the recent fire damage at Chez Mamac
When we arrived at the restaurant Chez Mamac to assess the recent fire damage, some of the more clairvoyant amongst us decided to don their snow shoes as the snow became a bit deeper.
Beyond Chez Mamac the snow slowly became more abundant
Others preferred to wait until the snow was knee-deep.
One of the group members decided not to use his snow shoes at all and simply strategically hiked behind someone approximately his height who was kindly blazing the trail. This worked well until our friend missed a step and fell into a hole. Luckily for him a nearby mate came to his rescue or we may have lost him forever.
One member, with his vintage snow-shoes, struggled a bit because near the beginning of the day his shoe tightening strap broke. A fellow hiker helped find an adequate solution with a strap from his sack. Nonetheless continuing the hike with one shoe only somewhat tied to his snow shoe was a courageous endeavour and deserves recognition.
The snow was deep enough to cover the paths and there were a few discussions about which direction we should take but we managed to maintain cohesion and all 12 of us arrived at Pré du Four for a well earned refreshment pause.
Although we were a bit behind schedule we decided refreshments were needed.
After the pause, an alternate route was selected which took us past Le Grütli and through a lovely forest that was not part of the initial plan. It turned out to be an excellent choice.
Just before the restaurant we parted company with two members who descended directly to La Givrine rather enjoying a meal with us.
Lunch discussion subjects largely included the antics of the present USA president (fondly known as The Orange Monster). It seems that the group has lost interest in Scottish independence for the moment.
Fondue, various croutes and röstis were welcome accompaniments to the beer. Being 10 people helped immensely to determine the cost per person.
While we were replenishing our energy, our two 4 legged companions renewed their friendship with Moos, their host, and went frolicking outside in the snow.
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and after a few beers and a delicious meal we decided to take the direct route back to the car park.
The day went very well: the weather cooperated, no injuries were incurred (although there was a helicopter that flew by to check on us) and we managed a distance of 9 km with a 360m climb.
Not sure in which activity category this fits – walking, dining, culture(?), or a new and separate activity – just drinking?
After yours truly had availed himself of a BuyClub voucher, back in the autumn, for a private group guided visit to the Calvinus brewery in Carouge plus beer tasting, he set about fixing a date for interested members. This proved far more difficult than he would have imagined, given the attractiveness of the offer. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that five beer lovers were able to finally settle on a mutually agreed date – February 26th.
That evening saw four of us, Peter D, Peter T, Stephen and myself assemble at Coppet station to catch the 17:41 Leman Express to Lancy Pont Rouge, the nearest station to the brewery at 51 Route des Jeunes near La Praille. Not having these beer lovers behind a steering wheel that evening was considered a prudent decision! A fifth member, who shall remain nameless, having forgotten the date, drove to the venue, arrived late, missed most of the brewery tour, passed on the substantive tasting (he did sip them all) and drank only the non-alcoholic beer.
Calvinus, the latinisation of Jean Calvin, one of Geneva’s most famous residents, was chosen as the name of the only brewery in the canton of Geneva in 1999. Although not exactly known for his riotous or even pleasurable life-style, but instead for his strict religious teachings, Calvin was apparently experimenting with the brewing process in later life:
In Birae Predestinas
“Shortly before his death in 1564, Calvin, who was already unwell, would spend many hours cloistered in his house at rue des Chanoines in Geneva. Strange odours would emerge from his laboratory and percolate right up to the foot of the ramparts. He was even suspected by his enemies of practising alchemy – a pursuit forbidden by the Inquisition. In fact, assisted by a former Trappist monk, he was learning the art of brewing beer. His doctors had forbidden him to consume any communion wine, so terribly did its abysmal quality affect his complexion and gnaw away at his internal organs.
Alas, one fine Sunday in May, a dreadful bilious attack put a premature end to his life and his work. In memory of Calvin, we, Les Frères Papinot, have resumed his valuable research. After countless efforts, we have finally succeeded and the Calvinus beers have been born.”
Calvin on fire
Our guide for the visit, Arthur Papinot, son of one of the founders, showed us round the small brewing plant and explained the process.
Arthur explains the early stages of the processesArthur with some malt The fermentation vessels
He emphasised the attention paid to using quality raw materials – malted organic barley, hop concentrate in pellet form, yeast and spring water – and the absence of artificial preservatives, stabilisers, or pasteurisation. The ancient brewing traditions are respected, although the equipment used is stainless steel and ultra-modern. Calvinus produces about 100,000(?) litres of beer of various types annually – blonde, blanche, ambrée, IPA, noir(stout). It is sent to Appenzell for bottling and sold to restaurants and shops and at festivals in and around Geneva.
A fifth member arrives just in time for the tastingsIn the Brasserie, tasting the BlondeMark with the five beers we tasted
The tour concluded with a tasting of five of the beers produced accompanied by a cheese and cold meat platter. The consensus was that all the beers were indeed pleasant but not outstanding. The stout was characterised by its distinct coffee aroma and taste. The price of beers has gone up during the past couple of years due to the Ukraine war forcing a steep rise in the price of raw materials and energy. After a rapid expansion in the number of small artisanal breweries in Switzerland during the past decade some are now proving uneconomic and are closing. We hope Calvinus will not be amongst them and so to show our support we stayed on and sank several additional glasses.
Poor old Calvin. He never got to drink Calvinus! (Neither did Mark…(Ed.)).
8am on a rather grey drizzly morning saw four of us (Ralph, Mervyn, Mark and his grandson Henry) set off in Ralph’s comfortably commodious car in a Champéry direction, hoping to find more clement weather.
By 9:30 we were parked up and heading for the téléphérique to take us up to Planachaux and the start of our skiing – to our 10:30 rendezvous with Stephen, who was joining us from Morgins having escaped grandparenting duties for the day. Our French resident member was unable to use his on-line purchased ski ticket because seemingly he had specified Morzine (in France) rather than Champéry (in Switzerland) as his entry point into the Franco-Swiss Portes du Soleil ski domain. This was rectified by the payment of an additional supplement, but because of the queue at the guichet, also cost him two missed cable-cars and, in true GIN fashion, some mild piss-taking.
So somewhat behind schedule we set off but were soon enveloped in thick cloud as we groped our way along the ridge and down the long but gentle Abricotine run to Les Brochaux. The youth member of the team, on his first outing of the season, found that his skiing improved markedly once he’d done up his boots. Hot drinks and banter raised the spirits and with the visibility improving we headed towards Avoriaz to enjoy the Coupe du Monde and other long runs.
Lunch was taken at an old favourite, the erstwhile “soup kitchen” above Prodain whose menu now included fondue and tartiflette. After a tasty draught IPA we were soon tucking into the afore-mentioned fare plus wine and coffee for a very reasonable €40. For the information of our only €uroland dweller it’s a cash only establishment. He has now ratcheted up a debt as well as sundry fines.
Timid blue patches of sky were now turning into the forecast sunshine and we spent a pleasant afternoon playing on Arare and Fornet. The exciting off-piste was the scene of much sitting down skiing by one of our number, who complained that an old war-wound was giving him some gyp.
Returning to Switzerland, we rather sensibly opted for a descent of Chavanette by chairlift and enjoyed(?) the spectacle of numerous skiers who had clearly overestimated their ability to handle one of the most fearsome mogul fields in the Alps. Stephen left us at Les Crosets to ski back to Morgins and tired legs was the excuse for the rest of us to head back to Champéry the shortest way.
The return home in just over 1h30 was surprisingly easy and thanks to Ralph for his excellent driving and general bonhomie. Thanks too to Stephen for his guiding, to Henry for fitting in so well and lowering the average age of the group and to Mark for his customary good humour and displaying unorthodox drag-lift technique.
We were so busy enjoying ourselves no one had time to take any photos. Nor was distance or denivelation recorded, but it seemed lots.
At least one intending snow shoer inquired as to whether this hike could be moved from Thursday to Wednesday in view of the poor weather forecast for Thursday, but following the addage that there is no such thing as wrong weather, only wrong gear, we ploughed ahead.
11 and a dog showed up at Le Coutzet parking at 1160m, at 10am, just as a very large truck was loading up very large logs in the car park.
Loading logs with dexterity and finesse
Happily the log loader had done this many times before and we were not threatened by falling wood.
Attending : Mark2ts, MichaelM, Stephen, Rob, Nathan, Andrew, Ross, Drew, Mervyn, Ralph and me and Kobie. Apologies were received from many, some of them with reasonable sounding excuses. Sad that Larry had had to return to Canada to lower his blood pressure.
I was quite surprised that all 10 others who said they would come, actually turned up on the day. The forecast was indeed not great. My hope was that the precipation would turn to snow as we gained height – and indeed this turned out to be the case. Despite this being a snow-shoe hike, and with it being mild and slushy at the car park we unanimously took the decision to leave our raquettes behind in the cars, and “wing it” on boots. I must admit to being a little apprehensive about this, especially as the snow arrived in spades not long after we had left the car park, both underfoot and falling on us !
Anyway without the snow shoes we were lighter and more nimble as we slid our way up the initial slopes.
Nimbly taking in the initial slush
Stephen led upward and he seemed to be in fine form after his hiking holiday in La Gomera, despite his somewhat niggling replacement knee, possibly to be re-replaced soon. He sported an orange plastic bag which reminded us of another member who also has this in his lexicon of kit (and who also hikes La Gomera).
The team in a “Before” shot, looking positively charged
We had been in reasonably dry weather to begin with. The precipitation soon came. Rain, then sleet then snow. Stopping for a breather at the Bent Tree (now more bent as you may discern) brought back memories of winter hikes past.
Kobie at the Bent Tree – before the thick snow arrivedKobie at the Bent Tree April 2023looking back from the Bent Tree
Morale seemed good so we ploughed on up towards the Chalet des apprentis
Thicker snow falling – the Chalet des apprentis on the rightLooking back at the Chalet des apprentis, Nathan in his Norwegian white jacket
Kobie led the way up, sensing or smelling the chamois whom we spotted hunkered down on the steep cliffs left of the Col de Porte which was reached in good time for some aperos.
Aperos and coffee at the ColThe same spot in April 2023
Sheltering under the lee of the hut at the Col de Porte (1557m) we were looking out at falling snow, reminiscent of April 2023 when Nathan had led us up here. These are the winter walks at their best !
Thus far we had seen precisely nobody else about, and the trails were virgin snow, surprisingly easy to walk on without raquettes. The descent began at 12.10 pm and indeed it took us only half an hour descending in pleasant powder snow, passed lower down on the piste by the odd skier enjoying very pleasant snow conditions.
Looking back up to the Col de PorteThe trees beginnig to take on a Schilligers look
We arrived at the Restaurant Couvaloup de Crans (1280m) only a little behind schedule. There were a number of skiers taking refreshment, but a big table had been set for us. Dr Gabs beer was soon delivered and a relaxed feeling that “the worst is over” seemed to be coming through. Of course this was a false sense of reality – but more of that later.
Various dishes were ordered duly deliverd and consumed, including much rösti and croute fromage and mushroom. One member misrembered his order and started eating the plate of another, but a diplomatic incident was averted as a new dish was required to be cooked and came in good time.
Michael and Mark hold the far endMervyn eyes his tartelette de citron
Stephen related an Irish joke from La Gomera. It was funny but I cannot relate it here as the Censor would make noises. We drank the health of absent friends, sorry to miss them and sorry they were missing another classic.
At this juncture I can tell you that I’m typing this on 13 February – ie the same day as this outing. We(I) did inquire of Rob as to when his blog of the SS outing 4 weeks ago was going to be seen, but he seemed to fall back on the “no rules” “rule” of GinClub, some would say a line of argument on thin ice. Given that he is the SS Organiser (and is having an abstemious quarter), he does have rank over me here, so I’m resting my case.
It was snowing outside and the fire inside was keeping us nice and warm. More beer then dessert and coffees arrived and Drew shared some Scotch.
Andrew and Ralph pondering the likelihood of escaping aliveGenral view with our efficient and friendly hostess
It was time to pay up and go, the bill being divided unfairly or fairly as to ones choices, but in fact I think we tried to be fairer than a straight split by 11.
Off out into the precipitation now being more sleety rain than rainy sleet.
Wending our way up the trail to Fin Château
We opted for the shorter higher trail home. Indeed I did not recall this from earlier (April 23 visit) in particular that the trail rises up well over 110m on the way back. Clearly nobody had been this way for some time, trees had fallen across the trail which at times seemed to disappear.
Following the rather sketchy trail
This route followed a trail on the map just south of Le Kikajon to the Fin Château, the latter being not obvious as, if there ever had been such an establishment, it’s Fin was some time ago. We descended steeply to a clearing and a trail more indicative of use and stopped for a breather and a photo.
The “After” photo – many still smiling. Kobie seemed a bit resigned though.
It was indeed not too far now to the cars. The rain/sleet had subsided. If there was any grumbling, I did not hear it. Even Kobie had enjoyed himself (when does he not?).
A hike of nearly 11km and 550m denivellation. Some gear was tested. Some found good, some not so. Lessons for the future. And I believe we all agreed that given the soft conditions and low depth of snow that wearing snow shoes would have been worse. Thanks for all the fun folks. Until the next time.
A rather short-notice proposal for a ski day on Tuesday, to take advantage of recent good snow and very favourable weather resulted in just two of us, Joe and Mervyn, heading off in Joe’s car to the easternmost end of the canton, Les Diablerets, for a high-level adventure.
We duly arrived at the Col du Pillon, boarded the téléphérique and were quickly up at 3000m by 10:30. The sky was stunningly sunny and cloudless, the snow deep but firm, and crowds absent. After taking a few moments to absorb the view we decided to test our legs firstly on the relatively easy slopes on the top of the glacier. Indeed the T-bars were the most problematic feature, the skiing being effortless on the pristine pistes. Suitably encouraged we ventured down the magnificent Combe d’Audon, the first of several descents on this 7 km long, empty itinerary piste to Oldenalp some 1200m lower. The only disappointment was that the normally forgiving powder was crusty and uninviting.
Easy pistes to start with on the glacier
Time for a mid-morning coffee at the only open restaurant on the mountain, the recently restored Le Carnotzet at the summit, Scex Rouge. My all-time favourite watering hole, Refuge de l’Espace, nestled beside the iconic Quille du Diable is closed (for ever?) and the Cabane des Diablerets had its shutters firmly closed and no sign of a flag flying. One cannot visit Glacier 3000 without making the exhilarating Peak to Peak suspended walk, widely promoted throughout the region and the country. It was the perfect day to do so and we were rewarded with a breathtaking full 360° panorama, extending from the Jura, the cloud-covered lake, Gstaad and the Saanenland, the Bernese Oberland, the Valaisian Alps, to the Mt Blanc massif.
On the Peak to Peak walk.Joe on top of the (Vaudois) world
After more runs we took an al-fresco lunch at the cowshed at Oldenalp, now bathed in sunshine and transformed into a pop-up bar with barbecue. The menu was limited but wholesome – bratwurst mit rösti – and almost made the infuriatingly long wait worthwhile. Perhaps the cowherd needs to stick to his day job, or get some extra help. The afternoon saw us completing all the available runs and repeating the best of them. We were relieved to see that the recently constructed and infamous Black Wall was closed, requiring us to descend to the Col du Pillon by cable car, but with a clear conscience. A long 46° icy black run is not recommended at the end of the day! We were back in the car by 4:15 and home well before 6pm. All in all a great day and one to repeat, but only in sunny weather and preferably after fresh snow has fallen.
