Sunday morning. Yay! It has stopped raining. Time to stretch the old legs methinks. We pack lunch and waterproofs and head off up the local hills. A short walk (4.5 hrs) with a light rucksack is most enjoyable after the long hours with heavy bags.
We walk to a small village high above Evolène where I spot this...
It is a 1940's U.S. Willys Jeep. Well, at least the body is. The wheels and the seats on the other hand are pure Mad Max beyond the Thunderdome. (For those old enough to remember this was a classic movie of the 1980's. For those too young, watch it. It was a classic of the 1980's for heavens sake.)
I want one. I know, it's far from an accurate renovation but it is very cool all the same.
The walk is lovely, the villages are chocolate box pretty and very reminiscent of Nepali mountain villages. Even down to the prayer flags and yaks! (Yak lovers should check out the link)
Snowy aside: It's been snowing up high as I said previously. It changes everything on the mountains. The following 2 pictures are both of the Pigne d'Arolla, from the same angle before and after the snow.
On Monday 3rd we drove for about 1.5 hrs to Saas Grund, a village in a valley west of Zermatt, in the district of Visp (still Switzerland). Where we plan to go climb another snowy mountain. This will our final dalliance in Switzerland. This is a real shame however, it is just too expensive here. We plan to move on into Italy after this climb, where at least we can wild camp without being fined and moved on by the local police.
On arrival in Saas Grund I went out to shop for provisions while Mrs P took a nap. Biding my time so as not to spoil her peace I wander round the town. Walking out of one shop I almost literally bumped into an old friend.
We will call him Steve, for that is his name, he is an old friend from my many happy years hanging out with the Buxton Mountaineering Club crowd. We headed off to a local coffee shop to catch up. Really great to see him.
We have arranged to meet up for dinner on Wednesday evening after we get down from our mountain.
We spend the afternoon packing for our next snowy sojourn into the high mountains. Then, for tea, a new culinary masterpiece from my red mush range. Gnocchi. Pronounced... erm.. well... it's definitely pronounced somehow. I can even pronounce it. The problem is spelling the pronunciation. It's a bit like spelling 'Arrrghhh!' One never knows when to stop.
Anyway, it is getting colder now it is September and we are high up, 1600m, but, Mrs P is not afraid of the cold. Oh no. She is more than happy to retire to bed with her new acquisition. A hot water bottle made using an old Sigg (water) bottle stuffed inside one of Mr P's surplus to requirements, socks. (I'd patent the idea but mountaineers have been using this method for years. It does however add a certain tang to the water when you drink it the following day.)
Important note: We are off to climb a mountain tomorrow (Tuesday 4th September). During the 2 days we are climbing I will not be posting to the blog. Please do not abandon me, simply return on Thursday or Friday when I will have updates on our latest adventure for your edification.
For those interested we are off to climb the Allalinhorn, 4,027m. For those who know about these things, no, we are not going up the easy way. What do you take us for? Our plan is to summit via the Hohlaubgrat also referred to as the East ridge.
