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End of Season hike to La Genolière for a fondu etc in a snow storm.

The weather forecast was dreadful. But was it going to be dreadful enough to hike in ? In other words, cold enough to be a blizzard. It looked to be promising, at least before 3pm when a warming trend was expected to be coming in, so I planned a short hike in a snow storm.

And 11 signed up to join me and Kobie. Mervyn and his mate Steven (soon to join GinClub ?), Nathan, Rob, RichardS, PeterD, PeterS, Drew, Ralph, Philip, Paul.

In order to avoid worrying about sliding down the hill on thick snow in cars after the hike, a train ride up and down from Sus Châtel to La Givrine was proposed, with a hike to La Genolière Buvette avoiding the main trail. Mervyn decided to test his car.

Rob was to join at the Joy Clinic, thus the remaining 9 and a dog boarded the 10.37 train at Sus C welcoming Rob aboard at the next stop. The blizzard was scheduled to arrive at 11.07 just as we de-trained at La Givrine. It did.

As we rose up, tracking the edge of the forest, the intensity of the snowfall and wind increased, at least behind us..

We passed through a gap in the wall and traversed a field up to the ski trail ascending the forest.

As time was passing I avoided a slightly longer planned “holiday” route alternative in order to reach the Buvette by noon or shortly after.

We were soon welcomed inside, the log fire warming the dining room, Moos the hut dog, an old friend, welcoming Kobie. There were no other diners, unsurprisingly. Once inside I sensed that the spirit of the party had suddenly risen somewhat, and we were soon ensconced on two candle-lit tables.

Fine beers were swiftly deployed as was warm bread with mountain cured meat. It was not long before the hot cheese arrived and our table opted for pinot noir as accompaniment. Moos and Kobie feasted on an extensive chew selection.

The food was good as was the craic, and the beers and wines. Discussions covered many subjects (including recent lynx sitings) and genres, including a toast (on Table B) to absent friends. They were missing a treat.

In due course the dessert course arrived, succulent apple tart, not dry like the usual mountain fayre! The Bohemian Kirsch in Richard’s epic bottle, at 90° proof, went down well and was to inure us to the tribulations ahead.

With an eye to the time, we needed to leave in order to catch the 14.48 train at La Givrine. Any later and the warming weather would be drenching us. We settled the two bills in cash and made our way out into the swirling snow, now noticeably sleety. Unhappily the way down would be straight into the wind and flying ice.

The hot food and libations meant that the sleet was hardly an issue and we made it down in good time for a farewell to Steven and Mervyn at the station, the train arriving on time, as we knew it would.

All went well and on the way down I made a speech bowing out of the hiking lead for 2024 and handing over the reins to our new Snow-Shoe Leader Rob, who had been handed the gavel (or ice pick in his back) by Mark2rs (who is taking on the Walking Lead).

The winter season starts in 2 weeks.

It was a good end – except that we forgot to press the Stop request button before Sus Châtel and had to travel on to the next stop – Genolier. Given that I had just resigned I did not feel responsible. Oh well – more denivellation to record.

In the end I made it 253m and 6.7km. This was perhaps a lunch with a walk, but under the conditions just what was needed to round off the Hiking Year. Oh, and I left my scarf there so Kobie and I will be back for more pie this weekend.

I shall post my record of hikes soon. And organise a lunch with spouses in January. Thanks to all for the fun, and especially to those who led hikes. And thanks for befriending my hound (those of you who did -like all of you).

Eight hikers and one dog gathered in the mist at the St Cergue Tancouex parking to catch the 9:58 am train to La Cure: Mervyn, Richard S, Nicolas with Onyx, Nathan, Stephen L, Ivan, David C and Peter S (leader). Around Col de Givrine the little red train broke through ‘band de stratus’ into bright sunshine and the group disembarked at La Cure (1,153m) in a bouyant mood.

The trail passed Restaurant Chez Mamac up to Chalet Les Coppetes (1,321m) for a short break before continuing up the valley passed L’Arziere (1,445m) and a righthand turn towards Cabane du Carroz (1,508m). On approaching the cabane, Kobie came bounding down the path with a smiling Peter T not far behind to complete the surprise!

Happiness filled the air as the group broke out sandwiches and snacks with wines from Spain and South Africa topped off with additional spirits from Richard’s bottle and Mervyn’s hip flask.

There was some discussion about the return of President Trump – not predicted by a majority at our monsoon lunch two weeks earlier.

Reassured that we now had a leader who knew where he was going, we began the descent through the woods to reach the road from La Givrine to Vermeilley. After a short stretch on the road, Peter T turned right onto his secret path that tracked through scattered forest, stone walls and leafy glades to reach a style just short of Cabane Rochefort.

Emerging from the forest passed the A-frame house we were greeted with a broad view of the Leman basin covered in mist with the Alps faintly visible in the distance.

At the junction to Chalet Derrière, we parted ways with Peter T and Kobie as they turned right towards La Givrine and we continued on to Chalet Devant/Fruitières des Nyon (1,333m).

After hearing we had come from La Cure, an elderly French couple offered up the bench in front of the wall which was a clear sign that we needed another break. The impressive views were complemented with coffee (absent milk or sugar) and chocolate McVitie’s.

After a short stretch on the path down towards La Borsatte, we were back in the mist which persisted all the way back to the Parking lot at Tancouex to complete a hike of 15 km with denivelation of 493 m. Peter T with Kobie clocked 12 km and 425 m denivelation on their tour from La Givrine to Cabane du Carroz and back.

Twelve signed up for this hike, with 4 apologists. Attending in no specific order:-

Mark2rs, Mark2ts, PeterS, RichardS, Nathan, Rudi, Stephen, Ralph, Philip, MikeH, Nicholas, me (PeterT), with dogs, Onyx, Rocco and Kobie. A fine turn out for what I had promised as a moderate hike (not much over 400m ascent) in the hills above Bassins.

In the event it was 12.25km and 444m denivellation (my watch said 416m).

We met at what3words ///revolting.though.aquatics at 971m and I wondered if this would put a curse upon us; would it rain (again) on our parade?

We all met up on time at the revolting car park above Bassins. It was good to see Stephen back with us, as well as Rudi and RichardS (albeit he had just led the Lac de Joux hike).

We headed off on time and set course across an open and level field, the wire fencing having been removed after cows had been descended. Clearly Onyx was going to run and run, while the other two hounds were slightly more sedate.

We ascended the grassy track and then the leaf strewn trail up to La Dunanche overlook, by the Toblerone line. The view from here is normally magical. Today we were in the cloud.

We continued on up and towards the outlook at Le Planet. Amazingly the skies cleared and we came out above the cloud, albeit not exactly into the sun. The wooded path takes a steady rise at the edge of the scarp up to the outlook.

Several questions were raised about whether this was the lunch stop. But it was still before noon so we had to continue onwards and upwards.

We soon reached the open fields above Le Planet and passed some cows and a stile following which we headed towards a forest road.

Mike was supportive – “yes it’s a good idea to keep going a little so that we can lunch when the sun comes out fully”.

It was not long before we were enveloped in cloud again and after a short section on a road we headed gayly off left into the forest. This was an error of map reading by the leader (who actually had a paper map – but it was fairly large scale). This trail gradually petered out as PeterS and I went ahead into the uncertain undergrowth. Happily PeterS had a phone map with satellite GPS locationing and we managed to navigate out of the thick forest onto a logging trail. Unhappily this trail was covered in a thick layer of broken and unrolled rock. A kilometre of this awful surface followed.

Happily we exited onto a smooth straight trail heading towards where I knew there would be a bench/table/bench by a hut for us to have lunch. It was at this point that it began to spot with rain. It was 1.15pm or so.

We were at the Cabane de Peney at 1275m. 6 aside on the big table. Some Valpolicella and Swiss wines were offered. Two of our team were on the wagon! Others were abstaining as per their religion (etc). But it became clear that this was to be no dry lunch, as the rain became steadier.

We were so enjoying the lunch and associated banter that we forgot to cover the subject of Scottish independence, but we did have a poll on who was going to win the US election: Harris came out on top beating Trump 6 to 4 with 2 abstensions.

Gradually the rain grew heavier and our drinks were becoming diluted. Certainly I can recall no previous lunch where we had sat out in such conditions. Happily it was not so cold. But not too warm either.

It was time to move on and escape back down to the cars.

The escape route was easy enough – via the campsite (Mervyn knows), and down the road back to the cars. Fortunately the rain begain to ease and the journey back down was not unpleasant.

A memorable hike, perhaps for a wrong reason, but good fun despite revolting aquatics – it’s just so good to be out in the fresh air enjoying nature with chums and hounds.

 A Stroll up the Môle – 10Km and 725m

With apocalyptic weather events currently affecting much of the planet it might seem churlish to be concerned about our local météo.  But there were some apprehensions expressed about the conditions we could expect on our planned ascent of the mighty Môle.  However, with Ralph’s confident prediction of a temperature of 23°(where?), Mark 2Ts, Mervyn, Nathan & Ralph confidently set off from Divonne at 9am in Mark’s new e-car to rendezvous with Ross and Peter T, plus faithful four-legged friend, at the start of the hike.

After a few minor detours, but at the last minute wisely excluding the option of going via Bourg en Bresse and Lyon, we duly arrived to be met by a slimmed-down, shaven Kobie bounding down the track to lick us all. The two-hour ascent from the parking at Chez Béroud 1160m via Plan Meulet to the summit at 1863m was completed in under the signposted 2 hours.

It began in sunshine while we traversed the forest but by the time we emerged above the tree line the clouds were gathering and the mountain tops were frustratingly obscured.

The path became steep and the heavy recent rain had made it muddy and slippery. It was reassuring to know that there was an alternative route down. 

At the top, wearing our warm outer-layers and gloves (it couldn’t have been much above freezing) we duly celebrated with champagne, chilled gamaret and warming Knockando.  

Absent friends amongst you readers were toasted. The promised full 360° panorama was not to reveal itself on this occasion, much to the chagrin of the two Môle virgins amongst us, but we did get fleeting glimpses of the some of the peaks and the lake. Another time?

The threatening shower accelerated our picnic and we quickly descended to Le Petit Môle, where it was sunny, tantalizingly revealing the peak we had just left. No-one was keen to reclimb 330m!

The easy route back down became a stony track and we were reacquainted with the cars within an hour, all the while enjoying good views of the Arve valley well below. 

I for one enjoyed the day immensely.

(PeterT Notes:- A great day out, pity the weather was not great, but it could have been worse. A really tough last few hundred metres, my heart rate went higher and for longer than any on other hike in the last 4 years…)

The previous Thursday had been a washout. So I suggested a Tonic (interim) hike to fill in before the next full hike.

As such this was to be a moderate (Tonic) hike, in part requested as such, and also because I had a bad back (after a Kobie-related incident) I wanted one too.

So a short hike in the forest above Gilly was planned, taking in the Combe de Bursins and the Sentier de Chatagnerie.

Ten turned out: Mike H, Mervyn, David, Ross, Richard W, Philip, Ralph, Mark2rs, PeterS and me, with two dogs Kobie and Rocco. The Bise was starting so we had bright clear weather and were generally sheltered by the forest.

From the initial parking, at 10 am, a 100m ascent led to the Molard Motorway, a forest track recently brought into top condition by some organisation with too much money. After about 30 minutes we reached a road coming down, and it was then I realised that very likely we were going to reach the lunch spot too early. Nothing for it but to make the hike a bit less moderate than planned, and up the road we went. It was not long before we reached the top where a fine view gave excuse for a photo opportunity.

From this vantage point there is a great view up to the Jura, with Arzier in full view. Leading back along a forest track we passed the erratic boulders deposited by the Rhône Glacier 10,000 years ago. In particular the Pierre à mille trous.

The wind was blowing a bit as we descended a ridge on the track, and soon we had a fine view over the Lake, with some believing the the Jet d’Eau was running, but I could not make it out.

A lady walking a horse overtook us (sic) before we descended a short way down to a forest track that took us to the Chataignerie Trail. It was a short pair of up and downs to the lunch area reached at an acceptable 12.15 or so.

Ten of us fitted around a picnic table with built in benches. Any more of us and we would have had to spread to another table. The sun shone, we were out of the wind, the craic was good, and my sandwich was too. Reds from Sicily and France helped conversation flow (too many subjects to relate). We drank to absent friends, I listed out all the apologies I had received, mostly substantive, especially as this was only a Tonic. Dogs were reasonably behaved, well, just.

Note – no dogs appear in the lunch photos !

Mervyn brought out his flask of Scottish fluid, but sadly M2ts was away in Blighty and there was no coffee. However people seemed happy and after it was all over we headed off down, then back up, to the cars, only about 20 minutes or so from the lunch stop. David suffered a slight knee problem on a descent – let’s hope he gets fully fit again soon. Otherwise we came through unscathed.

8km and 370m accomplished (as opposed to the 5.65km and 250m originally planned). Next hike next week, less moderate, perhaps.