The Hausmen Hikers returned to the Canton of Vaud for the third and fourth stages of the "Tour des Alpes Vaudois", having been introduced to this part of Switzerland just last year when the first two stages were completed.
The route this year, at approximately 29Km, was a little bit longer than last year and was definately more of a trial. Now having clocked up in excess of 50Km over the first half of the route, a further 80Km or so awaits us over the next couple of years.
Sitting comfortably in our little train, setting off from Aigle, we discovered that we were initially following the route of last year's first stage. We then made another discovery - an old bridge we noticed the last time, on the far side of the valley, turned out to be the very one our train went over on its incessant climb to Sepey, where we connected with the Post Bus to Col des Mosses.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the Swiss Railway system and the following PTT bus, we arrived just in time for a drop to drink and a bite to eat before setting off for Château d'Oex.
We, by the way, were Dan D., and Dan L., who joined Jake, Ken and Norval, the original group from last year.
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We heard they were reputed to be a bit more amorous in the French part but we
were a bit taken aback by the extent to which they go.
Here's a frozen field full of fornicating frogs!
(How's that for effing alliteration?!) ;-)
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Caught off guard by this Tank in the middle of nowhere, I managed to screw up
on the navigation front so we lost a bit of time.
On the upside, Dan D. found a Swiss Army knife, which came in handy on the train
back home (the bottle-opener bit, of course).
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Back on track, we soon found the snowfields again. It wasn't long before we could see our destination town but there was still quite a distance to cover.
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With the first signs of civilisation appearing (don't you love his ears), we
were soon on the outer edges of Les Moulins,
a short distance from Château d'Oex, where we came across some wonderful
examples of local architecture and carpentry work.
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Not far now. Our accomodation was just the other side of the far church.
How to get there was the challenge.
We knew we'd arrived from the welcoming sign and our host.
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Setting off the next day, we hoped we could keep our breakfast down.
Not because of the previous nights activities but because of this very wobbly suspension bridge.
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Onwards and upwards. Starting the day at a little under 1000m above sea-level,
our goal was the Plan de la Douve at a little over 2000m.
Still, with no snow in sight it shouldn't be too bad.
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Having seen this on our way, we were wondering what lay on the path ahead!
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We found out soon enough.
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Trees, trees and more trees. Plus the odd smattering of snow.
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After all those exertions there was nothing else for it but a few energy bars and a bite to eat. Alas there were no bars to be seen anywhere.
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Fully energised we were ready for anything that lay ahead. Or were we? The
snow increased until the entire valley was covered with deep snow.
Fortunately, being on the shady side of the mountain it was quite crisp so it
supported us well and we didn't sink too deeply in to it.
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Safely past the snowfields laid down by avalanches, we heard a very loud cracking
sound on the other side of the valley
- near where we had been just 15 minutes beforehand. We were witness,
fortunately from a safe distance, of another
avalanche with loads of snow
and huge rocks tumbling down and smashing in the valley below.
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To add further insult the skys were now looking like it was mid-evening instead
of mid-day. Not long after it started snowing.
We decided to make life a bit easier by taking a lower pass saving another 100m
rise and about 1Km distance in the snow. Some of us were VERY happy!
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Being on the sunny side now, the snow was much softer so we had to be very careful
where we trod.
It sometimes gave way to very deep snow - with a cold shock to the
nether regions;
and sometimes to the rocks underneath catching legs - with a cold
shock to the face;
other times it was just as easy to simply sit down and slide -
with the resulting cold shock to the rear!
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With civilisation once again looming, some felt they couldn't look anything but
their best if they encountered others on the path.
It didn't appear anyone was
in but the bus driver was happy later.
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Only five more minutes walk and all thoughts turned to beer and the train.
The power of thought is an amazing thing.
No sooner had we thought hard about it and there we were on the way to Zweisimmen,
downing a few beers.
Beer does have some odd effects - sometimes you just
can't seem to stay standing!
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As last year, we had a wonderful time with great views, great food and great company...
... but a great deal more snow!
We'll certainly be back next year for the fifth and sixth stages from
L'Etivaz to Villars-sur-Ollon via Les Diablerets
but (as it's even higher) will aim to do it a bit later, in June or July.
Santé! Cheers! Zum Voll!