Blog – Page 12 – GIN Club

Guided visit of Musée de l’Histoire des Sciences, 31/03/2023

The curator, Stéphane Fischer, gave 7 of us an illuminating 1-hour tour of the principal exhibits in this impressive museum in the Perle du Lac parc, which was built in Italian style in 1825 as a country residence by a rich banker Bartholini at a time when all around was virgin countryside.

A certain Hans Wilsdorf bought the villa and it was his wife who declared the area to be ‘la perle du lac’, and the name stuck. The villa got its present rôle in 1964, when large numbers of exhibits began to be accumulated, and this trend continues today. Some weightier items couldn’t be accepted as there is no lift in the building.

The achievements of 18th and 19th century scientists, in the majority from England and Geneva, were many and varied. Herewith a few examples

a battery in pile form (hence the word ‘pile’ for battery in French), by the scientist Volta, where alternating copper and zinc disks are charged to produce and store electrical current. In 1857 Geneva became the first city to light its ‘rade’ by electricity, replaced by gas in 1897
The Genevois Horace Bénédict de Saussure, basically a botanist who branched out into geology and physics, had long dreamed of climbing Mont Blanc to
carry out various experiments. In 1760 he offered a generous prize of 20 Thalers to whomever first reached the summit: for 26 years nobody succeeded, then in August 1786 Dr Paccard and a local cristallier Jacques Balmat reached the summit. The following year, de Saussure climbed the mountain himself with a party of 17 men: they had to carry a weighty glass container ( a museum exhibit) in which they collected a sample of the thin air above 4000 metres. They also had to carry a mountain of equipment, in duplicate in case of accidents, plus de Saussure’s bed, mattress, curtain, tent and several changes of clothes. They took 3 days. De Saussure suffered from mountain sickness and could not carry out all his experiments. He estimated the height of Mont Blanc at 4775 metres, considered pas mal pour l’époque (actually 4810m). The statue of Jacques Balmat pointing to the summit can be seen in the centre of Chamouni (18th century spelling) to this day.
various barometers used to decide altitude, using a tube of mercury
in the 19th century Geneva scientist Jean-Daniel Colladon explored the speed of sound through water, immersing measuring rods as detectors.
a device to show how polar auroras were formed (see photo). Its use of an electrical current to produce changing colours was accepted as the correct explanation until in the late 19th century a Norwegian scientist proved that auroras were formed by solar winds interacting with the earth’s atmosphere

One could spend several days in this fascinating museum, so rich and varied and impressive are the exhibits.
Once the visit was over, several of us reviisited some exhibits, then most repaired to the La Caramela restaurant in the nearby Hôtel Eden for a tasty lunch.
La Caramela turned out to be the name of the owner’s ginger cat, beaming down from its picture frame a few metres away.
As usual, les absents avaient tort.

Participants Mike Price, John Burley, Nathan Finkelstein, Rob McKenzie, Mike Muller, Paul Sochaczewski, Norman Eatough.

GIN Biking – March 23rd 2023

The GIN Biking season hasn’t yet started but the promise of another Spring day and shortage of snow on the slopes encouraged the B.Leader to suggest a gentle ride to blow out the cobwebs and get the gears back in action. An enthusiastic 7 responded to the invitation, although Thatcher had to pull out on the morning, leaving Stephen, MikeM, PeterT, Mervyn, Mark and Ivan to meet at the Everness Hotel. There were on display an equal number of uncovered muscular legs in shorts to legs in longer biking leggings and a 5:1 ratio of pure muscle power to e-bikes. Peter suggested an initial coffee on the hotel’s terrace or, at least, indicating that in the future we could meet a little earlier for a coffee on in order to ensure that we were in prime condition for the start. The danger would be that there wouldn’t be a start……

Participants took the description of a gentle ride to heart and set off at a modest pace through the woods in the direction of Grilly. From there the pleasant, slightly uphill, track along the converted railway line led us to Gex followed by the first, more meaningful, ascent of the day up to Vesancy. The leading biker arrived in Vesancy just as the clock was striking 11h….the hour when our regular coffee spot opens its doors to clients. Our friendly waitress recognised us from previous GIN visits and happily unpadlocked the outside tables to allow us to relax and enjoy the unstrenuous part of the season’s first outing. Coffees came and went but there was no sign of the backmarkers. Phone contact with Mervyn and Mark was attempted but suffered through poor signal.

Didn’t we have a few other riders at the start?

Eventually, Stephen set off back down the road and met the two, not too far away, upset that a puncture had delayed them but glowing with pride that, due to the benefit of prior more negative experiences, they had the necessary equipment to fix it. Mark was particularly pleased that Mervyn was able to share in the chain grease….an unavoidable consequence of fixing a rear wheel puncture.

The late comers were allowed a short recovery break before we set off again, enjoying the initial downhill ride before bracing ourselves for the inevitable Bonmont climb. On this occasion we took the classical (i.e. legal) route without having to encounter on-coming traffic, which previously had been known to be somewhat indignant that one-way guidelines were not being strictly followed. Unfortunately, Meteo Suisse failed us at this point and the rain-free day proved to be over optimistic. Happily , this was short lived and we also had the protection of the trees as well as the help of the uphill climb to distract us. Regrouped at the usual 777m point, we realised that our timing would be perfect for the 12.30h lunch reserved at the Auberge de Crassier. All that lay before us was the downhill cruise.

Bonmont conquered (again) and open road to lunch awaits.

They say that lightening never strikes twice in the same place. The same cannot be said of punctures. Once again, the front runners were left wondering where the peloton was. Happily, phone signal allowed notice that there was an interruption to the descent. Sadly, the supply of replacement inner tubes had been used up and Mark had to wait for Linda to rescue him. Did we detect a little Schadenfreude from Ivan? The irony that he had a few problems with the bike Mark lent him last year did not go unnoticed…..

Peter, sipping his beer at the Auberge, was unaware of the reason for the latest delay but had used the spare time to reconfigure the restaurant to allow for the 6 of us to be seated (for some reason a table for 5 had been prepared). When we arrived, minus Mark, this had to be reconfigured back to 5 again. We ordered drinks and the plat du jour (fish with rice and asparagus) and waited to see if Mark and Linda appeared. They did, just as we finished the salad starter, but they decided not to stay and headed home to relax over their own plat du jour: sushi.

Mark, you didn’t have to go to such lengths to have lunch at home…..

Not sure that salad is agreeing with you Mike.

Conversation was wide ranging and lengthy. We covered topics such as: preferences of baths vs. showers, unchanging character traits from adolescence, political polarisation, the luck of living in Switzerland, Russian speaking in Ukraine and much more. The time drifted by, coffee came and went, and we reluctantly left the now empty Auberge to recover our bikes and the relatively short ride home (shorter for some than others).

A great start to the new season, although punctuated by unexpected stops, and a well worthwhile warm up for the year ahead.

Statistics: ca. 42kms, 19.1km/h average travelling speed, 580m elevation gain.

No snowshoe snow hike from the Givrine to La Cure and back – 16 March 2023

Mark Warren SS Leader writes :

The four members first meeting in Divonne and two plus Kobie going directly arrived at the Givrine parking rendezvous in good time for our scheduled 10am departure only to discover that the new pay parking system was creating more problems than the cost. The metres do not accept debit cards (the card operators charge too much for the liking of the Commune), the Twint QR card had been removed (what vandalism in St Cergue!) and there was little to no wifi connectivity precluding the use of the App “easypark”. (NB in future walk up to the station where 4G is stronger. Ed PT). There was however a traffic warden present to supervise the five or so cars in the carpark (one had a parking ticket) and to witness our plight and to enable Nathan to negotiate free parking. But all this came at a cost since we didn’t leave until 10h20.

This season has been particularly bad for snow shoeing. We started off with winter wanders before any snow arrived and then only had arguably three “proper” snowshoe outings before we were out hiking again, albeit with some slippages. Although it had snowed Wednesday morning, the restaurant and the webcam indicated that it had all melted so we traipsed off at hiking speed only to discover there was much more snow hiding round the corner, including some still in the trees. Not enough to warrant our absent snowshoes but deep and fresh enough to give that lovely crunchy sound made through walking on fresh snow. Animal tracks were clear (hare and wild boar).

At least we were walking on the white stuff !

It was lovely in the sunshine and we went to that extra post across a field, reaching the chalet Pré du Four for a pause, taken in the traditional GIN way.

Some white some red – Swiss apèro courtesy of Stephen who had been cleaning out his cellar

A quick phone call to the restaurant to ensure a late arrival wouldn’t create a lunch problem enabled us to enjoy the view of the Mont Blanc range for longer, then off we went on an easy snow covered path to Chez Mamac for our lunch, which we took outside, starting with welcome beers and cheese with cold meats.

At Mamac. Let’s start with beer and cold meats !

Chez Mamac is famous for its trifon – a fondue saucepan partitioned into three parts – enabling a choice of three different cheeses. The usual intellectual conversation scarcely covered Scottish independence but included Crédit Suisse and other banking problems, Shackleton and antarctica, and end of the snowshoe season and start of the hiking one. As the baker from St Cergue had delivered insufficient tartlets, we moved directly from main course to coffee.

Despite the temptation to take the train, we unanimously decided to leg it back to Givrine, which was mostly over snow! And so freak blizzards aside, ended the 2022/23 snowshoe season with a snow hike.

Mark handed the gavel back to Peter for the 2023 summer hiking season. Next hike 30 March 2023 – La Vuache led by Philip.

Participants: PeterT plus Kobie, NathanF, MervynP, RichardS, StephenL and Mark2R

Distance 11km; height difference 320m.

PS – Many thanks to Mark for leading us through this relatively snow-free winter. We had some memorable outings. We look forward to more in 23/24. PT et al.

Walking group Divonne-les-Bains 7 March 2023

Parcours Patrimonial of Divonne les Bains

Twenty-one members and guests (we were twenty-three by lunchtime) of the GIN Walking Group met at the old railway station of Divonne under a sunny blue sky, which stayed with us all morning – the rain only starting as forecasted in the late afternoon.

Mark explaining the route

All listening attentively

The Tourist Office has prepared an excellent brochure that describes the more important buildings and other items of interest that are identified by blue plaques around central Divonne and we followed this itinerary, starting with the old station. In the first half of the 20^th century, Divonne was the meeting place of trains from Paris (some carriages were direct) and Nyon, via Crassier, and walking from the station we saw that the actual Police Station was the Hotel des Etrangers. For Divonne in the late 19^th and early 20^th century was an important spa, attracting the wealthy from all over the world that resulted in the development of several hotels. We also noticed the bust of Marcel Anthonioz, mayor, deputy and tourist minister, who inspired many of the post-war developments including the casino.

Continuing up the Avenue de Genève, we turned right down the Grande Rue that is everchanging with its major road works. Today’s major activity did not hinder our progress as we ticked off the three blue plaques on our way to the Place de l’Eglise, which includes the Villa Beaulieu, one of the few pre-revolution buildings and the only Divonne one officially listed as a historic monument. Thereon, we took the riverside walk and onto the Casino, the 1904 theatre and two large hotels constructed for the wealthy curists in the early 20^th century.

The hares arrived first…….

……..and then the tortoises

And then the arranged visit to the Moulin David. This Moulin is the oldest hydroelectric plant in France still operating on its original site. It was originally set up to provide electric power to the town’s prestigious hotels and spa and had been scheduled for demolition when a few volunteer enthusiasts headed by people from CERN lovingly restored it to working order. And several were there to welcome us and to give an excellent presentation and demonstration. The 1907 Winterthur’s thermic engine with its 3 tons wheel was particularly impressive – very much the icing on the cake of the visit and much appreciated by us old boys.

Our knowledgeable guide at the Moulin

Hi-tech electronics

Watch those fingers

Spellbound!

Lunch was taken at La Truite, a 19^th century hotel and restaurant where Guy de Maupassant once stayed and which was the only one listed in the first red Michelin Guide ever (1900). The three-course meal was excellent value.

A much-appreciated cultural walk of approximately three kilometres. Thanks to all and especially to our Walk Co-ordinator, Alan Baker, who asks for volunteers to lead further walks this year.

Present: Brian Allardyce, Alan Baker, John Burley, Bryan Clark, David Colledge, Trevor Davies, Norman Eatough, Ray Fiander, Nathan Finkelstein, Larry French, Dave Gernandt, Philip Jenkins, Rob McKenzie, Mike Muller, Hubert Pettingell, Mike Price, Richard Saynor, Paul Sochaczewski, Wouter van Ginneken, Gary Vannatter and Mark Warren plus guests Hugh Pettingell and Dave Watson.

Blog written by Mark Warren

3 day ski trip to Tignes, March 4-8, 2023

Three fearless skiers: Mervyn, Ralph Wares and Mark, left Commugny at 08:30 last Saturday morning bound for Tignes. Sensible people might ask why we were stupid enough to be out of bed at that time – after all we had no dog to walk – but Tignes is quietest at weekends and we wanted to maximise skiing time on Saturday.

Ralph drove us in his fancy large newish car with everything working, even the navigation screen!!, after Mark had pleaded that his car was too small and Mervyn had pleaded something about the scrap yard.

We duly arrived in the Grande Motte parking and were ready to ski by 12:30, Mervyn and Mark revelling in their free passes while Ralph will have to wait nearly 10 years for his. The snow was remarkably good considering there had hardly been any precipitation since January and the sky was as bright blue and cloudless as it was going to remain until the end of skiing on Monday afternoon.

We celebrated the lack of crowds by immediately going up the Grande Motte to take the télépherique to the highest point in the whole resort at 3456m.

Great view, shame about the 2 old geezers

Then back down to Val Claret, up to the Aiguille Percée and down to the lowest point, Les Brévières at 1550m.

Sunday was over to Val d’Isère via la Daille and Santons. Previous experience and uncustomary common sense told us to avoid la Face (ice) and épaule (large hard moguls). Ralph managed to get wiped out on Santons – a lunatic going too fast who claimed that Ralph had reversed into him. With no permanent damage we continued and took the Solaise lift over to the next valley which we fully explored before hopping on the Leissières lift to the col d l’Iseran. This lift is a real treat as it goes up and over the ridge leaving you feeling weightless at one point. I could spend the whole day just riding this lift.

We even found some powder in this valley then had to race back to catch lifts before they closed and left us stranded. Mark developed a new skill of not seeing Mervyn or Ralph. I often skied right past them as they were waiting for me. Best was when I missed them at the Olympic lift out of Val d’Isère so that I was waiting at the top and they were waiting at the bottom. And this was a time when we had to get to the next lift before it closed.

That’s better, Tignes le Lac, Val Claret is over to the left, Mt Blanc is somewhere there.

Monday brought the crowds. There were queues at most of the lifts. Fortunately Mervyn demonstrated his true calling, pushing to the front on a ski queue. He left Ralph and I full of admiration as we followed sedately behind but never had to queue for more than a few minutes. We again went over to Val d’Isère and filled in bits we had missed the day before so that only a small corner on the bottom left of the ski map was left untouched by us. We then had the inevitable race back to Tignes and arrived just in time for a last run down Génépy from the Grande Motte – we arrived at one lift just 3 minutes before it closed!!

We’d eaten out so well on Saturday and Sunday nights that we decided to stay in Monday and just have a bowl of soup plus a little liquid refreshment. We were exhausted but more than a little satisfied.

Our ski group coordinator planning future trips.

Tuesday was planned to be a gentle 3 hour run home but the “I don’t want to work until I’m 64” brigade closed the motorway, leaving us, and the whole population of the Savoie, crawling at snail’s pace, or slower, through the back streets of Albertville. Eventually we got on our way again, Ralph and Mervyn did not have to crawl into their sleeping bags for the night, and we got home about 4 o’clock.

All agreed it had been a good weekend’s skiing. The snow was brilliant if a little old. No idea how far we skied as forgot to turn on the tracker but we covered most of the resort.

Snow shoe hike to La Loge 2 March 23

Mark2rs our SS Leader, chose this hike early “Due to the lack of snow both actual and forecast in the Jura, I am proposing our classic end of March outing a month early.”

Indeed there was a sad lack of snow but higher up the skiers seemed happy on the artificial stuff.

Meeting at Divonne at 9.30am were –

Mark2T

PeterT + Kobie

LarryF

NathanF

MikeM

RobP

MervynP

Mark2R

Three joined directly at the Crozet Télécabine at 10.00

RichardS

PhilipJ – but not for lunch

DavidC

It was a splendidly good turn-out for this classic (heck, the hiking outings don’t attract as many) perhaps lured out by Franck and Katy’s hospitality (esp. le génépi) at La Loge. Very little wind was forecast and although the day was cloudy, we could see the white of the freezing cloud on the trees high on the skyline and Richard promised sun even higher. The first question seemed to be – carry snow shoes or not? According to Mark “Katy advises snowshoes as there are areas with accumulated snow and it can be slippery with the negative over night temperatures” but some decided to leave them in the cars. For some it was wise advice.

So, to the télécabine (Nathan said that he had always hiked up until now but he seemed prepared to join us in the lift). With our tickets in hand “The télécabine costs €9; the return “free” offer is valid one year, so if the tickets are not punched on the return, keep them as they could be useful if we walk up to the Grand Mont Rond later and wish to take the télécabine down from the Petit Mont Rond – they are becoming sticklers there and could charge €5 for the down trip” it was a matter of getting Kobie (free for dogs but not us old-dogs) and the team up the metal stairs and into cabins. The stairs were easy but Kobie had to be pulled hard in to the moving cabin, others may have been pushed.

Artificially arriving onto artificial snow, Kobie shorn of his winter fur

Safely out onto the artificial snow at Le Fierney at 1300m after a ride up of 700m or so, it was a little cold as we were in the cloud. Dodging the zipping skiers we crossed the slope to pick up the track that would take us to the Col de Crozet. Normally snow-covered it was completely dry.

Starting out – Larry, Mark, Nathan, Rob, David, Philip, Mike, Richard, Mervyn, Mark

In order to avoid the ski-piste (dogs and skiers don’t mix well) we took a turn right up a grassy hill. There followed the need to cross a steep snow patch; this was our Hilary Step and it tested the mettle of the party.

Mettle tested, we were on our way across easier gradients as the sun began to shine through and we summited (mathematicians might disagree) the col at the viewing platform. Views indeed there were excellent including Mt Blanc in its/her radiance. Time for some sustenance and gold-flecked Sambucca and other things in flasks appeared, as well as a bottle of Luins, and we toasted our good fortune under a blue sky.

Richard had heard that a party of 14 had also booked lunch at La Loge, so we said our goodbyes to Philip who had an appointment, and steadily pushed on down past the top of the Lelex lift to the Ref de la Loge. In fact it was some while before we all arrived as Katy’s slippery paths materialised and slowed down some of the party, indeed snow shoes were utilised after three falls for one member (but no submission or knockout).

We sat out in the warm sun on adjoining then merged tables in an as-good-as-it-gets setting. Beers preceded wines (red and white excellent) and good food (chicken and rice, or cheese sort of en croute with salad, followed by tart and genepi). We toasted absent friends naming a few (well most of us seemed to be around the table) and our discussions covered the usual subjects; health, Scottish independence, Brexit, Northern Ireland, Boris, Trump, Ukraine, Putin, war, music, art, watches, rugby, dogs and the weather. Larry told us the secret to ageing well (it is a secret still).

Laos, the dog du Refuge was absent – not as we suspected down in Lelex with lady friends, but locked up to prevent that. Kobie did his begging rounds of the tables. There was much banter with other parties and with our hosts. Various members acted as serving wenches, one member using his flat-topped head. A large and friendly looking fellow came over to chat – he was the vicar of the valley. It was good to see such good humour in a man of the cloth, possibly helped by years of génépi. I liked his dog-question method of introduction.

The friendly local vicar. We did not need another blessing though.

How does an 87 year old look like a 40 year old mountain guide ? Wine and tarts the answer ?

All too soon it was time to revisit the terrors of the slippery traverse path back up to the col and then the amble back down gentle slopes to the T-Cabine where Mark2ts kindly treated us to his (black! no sugar!) coffee (merçi Mark).

Kobie had behaved and I think members almost did too.

Another splendid Franck and Katy Loge classic, not on snow shoes but with super weather allowing us to be outside in the sun. Thanks Mark for organising.

I believe Richard recorded 323m. I had less but I think my recording stopped. Between 6 and 7 Km.

Patek Philippe museum, Feb 21, 2023

A momentous occasion, the first ever outing of the culture group. This was organised by Mike Muller, one of our newest GINtlemen, who had not realised that the culture group existed in name only – up till now!

Mike wisely decided that a museum visit would be better on full stomachs so seven of us met at 12:15 at Le Lyrique for lunch and a good chat. We also wisely, and uncharacteristically, only chose soft drinks. We then repaired to the Patek Philippe museum for our visit scheduled for 14:30.

Mike had arranged a private guide and also somehow managed to keep negotiating the price down. We started expecting to have to pay over 40 francs each and ended up paying 23! Each time re received an email from Mike the price had reduced further – a week later and they would have paid us! The downside of this was that one floor of the museum was closed which was why they were not charging the normal 10 francs entrance fee.

The guide explained how Patek (Polish) and Philippe (French) came to be working together and also the development of the pocket watch then the wrist watch during the 1st world war. Each watch seemed to have more and more “complications” including perpetual calendars, correctly adjust date for leap years, and even one that will not count 2100 as a leap year but will count 2400 – if mankind exists that long!

Several of the watches were limited edition or even one off so adding extra value. One watch recently sold at auction for $31 million!

In 1932, during the depression, the company was bought by the Stern family who have run it since then as a family business. They have also bought back many of their watches which were previously owned by famous people and these feature in the museum.

A very interesting and educational visit, thanks to Mike for organising, despite there not being any free samples at the end of the visit.

Attending: Mike Muller, Paul Sochaczewski, Harry Leefe, Thatcher Shellaby, Drew Meek, John Burley, Mark Watts

23 Feb 23 Biking

Following the outing in January I considered that we needed to ensure we recorded a ride in February. The weather was mild and sunny and the turnout excellent. Mark, Peter D and me on push-bikes and Paul, Nathan and Reinier on E-Bikes. Several apologies were received of a variety of quality of substance – but we missed them all. (As we were now at 50% e-bikes, a record, it seems churlish to retain the e-moniker for those on e bikes). In the event it seemed to work well with the party managing to hold pretty well together.

Photos at the Everness start – 10.30am so not too early.

As many of us had not been out on our bikes for weeks/months, this was going to have to be a fairly easy ride, albeit we had little time to stop for coffee as lunch at Founex Tennis Club at 12.30 had been booked.

So we set off through the Bois de Ports, across the bridge over the Versoix River and up to Grilly to the bike trail which we followed to Gex. The usual road up to Vesancy was taken at a gallop (I think I recorded 134 seconds at over 147 bpm on the hill). No time for coffee so we carried on in the sunshine down through St Gix and the track at the Jura foot (the hills looked magnificent in the sunshine with mist on the tops). It was hard but I turned right to avoid a Bonmont and we descended to Tranchepied from the Creux de Chène, down to Borex and then Arnex-sur-Nyon (almost stopping at Stephen’s (where was our leader ?)) before turning back for Founex where we arrived on time at the Tennis Club.

Nathan turned off just before the Club as he had an appointment, but the remaining five enjoyed an excellent lunch (salads and saucisse and tagliatelle) courtesy of Ismael and his team. The beers were excellent too – it was good to relax after a first ride in the sunny (spring?) weather. There was much talk about watches after the recent Patek-Philippe visit. Time for coffee then off home for a siesta.

I recorded 36 km and 422m from my home. Thanks to all for a fine short outing.

Snowshoeing to Chalet Gaillard and beyond 16 February, 2023

Nine of us met at the Divonne lake car park and set off in a convoy of three cars to the designated What3words meeting point of “vowel.handle.scornful” above Bois D’Amont by the Forêt de Risoux which straddles the border between France and Switzerland. Temperatures of -6c were indicated in the cars at the bottom of the valley but had climbed to a balmy -2c by the time we reached Peter and Mike who had arrived barely a minute before us. They were, like Nicholas, sadly dog-less as we were entering the natural reserve, although we noticed a wolf-like hound running freely in some nearby gardens.

After booting up, we walked a short distance to the start of our steep climb through the forest but within 20 metres decided to don snowshoes. As usual, some acrobatic manoeuvres were required to accomplish this, but we set off at a rate of knots belying the age differential of twenty years between the members. Thankfully, even the youngest were able to keep up and we trudged up the first brutal ascent. Unfortunately, the trees were now devoid of the snow that Mark 2rrs and I had witnessed some 10 days before, but the trail was sufficiently snow/ice-covered to warrant the use of our raquettes.

We reached the Chalet Gaillard within 1 ½ hours and we confirmed our presence in the area to the hut manager. A young Belgian lady approached us whilst coffee was being consumed and told us that she was on a 10-day snowshoe tour through the Jura. We were impressed that she was doing this alone, whilst carrying an enormous rucksack weighing more than 15kgs.

Duly boosted by caffeine, we continued towards our goal of Le Roche Bernard. This viewpoint proved be at the top of an impressive cliff overlooking the dual lakes of Bellefontaine and Mortes which are in the departments of Jura and Doubs respectively. The vista North-West across the Jura range was breathtaking, and inevitably a bottle or so was cracked open to celebrate our achievement.

Stephen and Peter getting their breath back

Top half of group with Peter taken by local amateur

After the obligatory photos were taken, we hastened back to the Chalet reaching there just three minutes after our planned rdv time. True Swiss, or maybe Jurassic, timing!

The eleven of us squeezed onto a table in the small dining area and ordered our meals. The plat du jour, partaken by everyone, was a hearty bean and vegetable soup with lumps of sausage and generous helpings of grated cheese. Mark and I had eaten exactly the same fare previously and wondered if, in fact, it was the plat de chaque jour! Beers were ordered by some as well as a litre of red wine. The latter had a distinctly watery taste raising some possibly libellous suspicions. Some persevered with it, but Peter threw in the towel and ordered a (price unknown) bottle of Bordeaux which saved the day. Mike gallantly finished off the house wine declaring that he wasn’t up to a full-bodied red at that time of the day.

Philip wondering what on earth he was drinking

Conversations were as diverse as usual, but those of us at the North-West end of the table noticed some very animated cultural discussions taking place at the South-East end. Of course, absent friends were heartily toasted.

Deserts and coffees downed, we set off for the relatively easy stroll back to the cars. Steve decided that snowshoes were for wimps and elected to strap his to his backpack and leg it home. In the icy conditions, those following had cameras at the ready expecting some good photo opportunities but he is very sure-footed and kept upright.

GIN outings often have small, or larger, dramas (helicopters, etc), and this one didn’t disappoint. Two thirds of the way back, Peter, who was leading, encountered a(nother) young girl who had lost her family, and her way back to her starting point. She was from Grenoble, 14 years old, and was pleasantly named Ocèane. Having given her mobile phone to her mother and knowing that it was on mute, she was unable to get in touch with her. Fortunately, she finally managed to remember the number of her brother so she used one of our phones to try to call him. Of course, there was no network connection at that spot anyway, so rather than leaving this little defenseless maiden in the dark forest, we offered to take her back to our cars, about 1km away. We must have looked the harmless old codgers that we are, as she accepted our offer and later on was able to reach her brother’s phone, assuring him that she was in safe hands. When we got back to the parking spot, I drove down to the village and delivered her to her mother who was anxiously awaiting her. Then I went back to the rest of the group to say our goodbyes.

Present and correct: Marks 2rrs and 2tts, Peter, Mike, David, Stephen, Philip, Nicholas, Nathan, Larry, Richard. Mark informs me that eleven was a record for us, so well done, everyone!

Distance: a generous 12kms and 450ms dénivellation.

More snow, please, for the next sortie!

GIN skiers to PdS, February 9, 2023

The sense of danger must not disappear:
The way is certainly both short and steep,
However gradual it looks from here;
Look if you like, but you will have to leap.

Armed with these inspiring words from WH Auden, six intrepid GIN downhill skiers came together in Champéry on 9 February to attack the domaine of the Portes de Soleil.

Part-time Champérolain Nicolas and Mervyn were on hand to greet Steven as he motored up from his Morgins hideout; Peter, Mark TT and David braved the autoroute to join the expedition.

The team promptly proceeded to the Mosette lift in order to test their skills (?) on the more rigourous French Alps: zipping down Abricotine and then taking the chair to a snow packed road above Avoriaz. At this point there was some dissension in the ranks with Steven propounding a change in programme to ski in the ever white Dranse/Chatel domaine. The rebel faction won out and we were soon to find ourselves regrouping before the handsome chapel on the Plaine de Dranse (no GIN members were recorded going into the chapel to confess their sin and error, although several candidates came to mind).

This lead to a rather extensive morning ski exploration of the Chatel ski area, largely led by local boy Steve, who proved very knowledgeable as to all lifts and connections (including at least one that was entirely new to your humble scribe.). The team was consequently quite ready to sit for lunch by the 13h00 reservation.

Déjeuner à six was held at the Refuge de l’Abricotine, an establishment well known to Nicolas; alas the plat du jour of a brochette de viande was a bit tough and Steven was a bit disappointed in his croute de fromage. Nevertheless a convivial time was had by all, possibly aided by a pitcher of Côtes du Rhône and the suds that preceded it.

The afternoon was a bit less dynamic as the team took on one more French slope and then the long télesiège back to CH, where we proceed down to Crozet by the serene if unchallenging secret route. A prudent group headed directly back to Champéry by the benne—Steve and Mervyn were made of sterner stuff and skied down to Grand Paradis.

It had been prior announced that those who distinguished (or at least did not totally embarrass) themselves on the slopes would be invited for a libation at Nicolas’ Champéry chalet, with eligibility to be determined by secret council. As it happened the determination was made by a sole distinguished jurist and all participants made the cut. Surprisingly for a GIN Group most were quite abstemious, preferring tea to other beverages (with Steve opting for an Irish coffee). Indeed the group was happy but restrained, possibly recovering from their earlier exertions, or perhaps already gaining strength for their next sortie.