Since being in France this summer, and all by chance, we’ve been lucky enough to attend some major sporting events. Having already watched the football world cup on a big screen in the valley, today the Tour de France passed through our neighbourhood and the finals of the climbing world cup took place nearby in… Read more

We aborted yesterday’s climbing plans due to the discovery of another splendid alpine lake and spent the day swimming there instead! Also discovered another nice evening stroll that goes up the mountain side behind the chalet with more far reaching views. We finally got down to another of our local crags after yet another leisurely… Read more

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