Had a wonderfully slow start to the French national holiday, before heading down to Mt Dauphin to climb a few routes on the conglomerate. We knew we were a bit late really for such antics in the midday heat, but there were still a couple of sectors in the shade, which gave some good climbing. Read more

A fine few days of getting to know our local area and settling into alpine living. A big thunderstorm has re-set the temperatures around here. We used the overcast day to get some shopping done in Briancon, then went for a swim in the rain at Roche de Rame, where the lake water is considerably Read more

We’d semi-planned on going climbing on the conglomerate cliffs below the fort at Mont Dauphin, but didn’t want to rush out. Before making any hasty decisions, we took a short walk along the balcony road to get a feel for the day. By the time we’d got back it was pretty much lunchtime, so we Read more

We were greeted with blue skies as we woke to our first activity day from our new alpine hideout, but there was no need (or desire!) to rush anywhere. A breakfast on the balcony (actually much sturdier than it looks!) in the shade, after some gentle stretching broke us into the day nicely and gave Read more