dimanche 19 novembre 2017

Winter walk up towards the Port d'Aula

Since the minibus accident about 10 years ago when someone tried to take a minibus up to the Col de Pause in snowy conditions and reversed it off the road killing several people - controls on access in winter have become a bit tighter. Last year a friend of ours got a parking fine for going to the Col de Pause when the road was officially closed, even though there was no snow at all! We (Susie Sheri and I) decided to play it safe and parked at the barrier which added an extra couple of km and 300m of ascent - After the last hairpin the road becomes snowy but it was passable with a 4x4 (someone was parked there in fact). 

At the cabane d'Areau we lunched (having started late) and put on our crampons. At the Refuge Forest (ONF) we looked out over the frozen lake before returning on snowshoes. Snow conditions were variable crust, powder, hard frozen snow and wind blown snow all in the space of a few metres. Beautiful weather and lovely views as always.






The high pressure is bringing beautiful clear skies, warm daytime temps (18 this week) and cold night temperatures (-2). The sunsets are glorious!



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