Hiking
I hiked on snow shoes (that the French call raquettes) from the top of the Beauregard lift (1647 m.) up from La Clusaz in Haute-Savoie. The mountains are the Chaine des Aravis and the glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif. The skier is going down the cross-country black route down from the lift.
Me, this was the first time I have been to a ski report in winter, let alone getting up on to the snow. I was staying with Arno in Annecy and was trying out hiking using raquettes (Raquettes à neige) that I’d bought just the previous evening. Sure, hiking with raquettes is literally the most pedestrian of the Nordic winter sports, but having the equipment to get away from the crowds at the top of the télécabine and being able to enjoy the winter wonderland at 1450 or 1500 metres or so was a revelation, even without the adrenaline rush of downhill skiing. The clarity of the air, the sheer brightness of the fresh snow and the apparent proximity to big rocks and Europe’s highest mountains was fantastic.
Varied and rewarding walk along the Thames Estuary starting and returning to Abbey Wood rail station on a circular route comprising paths of the Green Chain and the Thames Path routes. We were surprised and impressed by the quiet grandeur of the river Thames, here fully tidal in the estuary downstream of the Thames Barrier. And there really is a ruined Augustinian abbey in the woods at Abbey Wood!
The South Downs take some familiarity to appreciate their particular natural beauty. The scoops and curves of chalk hills and valleys contrast with the linear landscape of a ridge walk along a line of hills. The subtle colours are no less engaging for their softness. The underlying chalk, whiter than almost anything else in the landscape, sticks readily, its mud loading the boots almost immediately.
My photos are of a hike to Black Cap (206 m.) from the rail station at Falmer near Brighton.
Col de la Tour, from col de Bergu, 801 m. A brilliant view of the Montagne du Glandasse in the Vercors, rewarding a winter afternoon's long hike up from Die on the banks of the river Drôme plus some rather arcane train and bus connections.
Eagles found me having my picnic and circled above. The rest of the Vercors plateau was clear of mist and dramatic enough but monochromatic without direct sunshine. Interesting and different to see the col de Rousset from afar rather than on a motorbike. And great to spend time with my friends in the Drôme département.
The Oxford and Cambridge rowers race each year on the Thames in the Varsity Boat Race from Putney up river to Mortlake. Their crews just over a quarter of an hour to row the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) course: Cambridge hold the course record since 1998 (16 min 19 sec; average speed 24.9 kilometres per hour - 15.5 mph).
