Local information for Vallouise, Ailefroide, les Vigneaux Overview The Écrins region and National Park lies to the south-east of Grenoble in the département of Hautes-Alpes. Two main valleys cut into the massif. The Vénéon, in which la Bérade is the … Continue reading →
You can see larger versions of the pictures on this page in the Slideshow. Refuge du Sélé The refuge The refuge is a curious warehouse-like structure perched on a bit of levelled ground 50 metres or so above the valley … Continue reading →
If you’ve reached this page with a search engine and don’t want to read through all the detail, please go to the brief report in the "Logbook", which also has photos. Introduction This was going to be an important trip … Continue reading →
On this page is my brief report with the basic facts of the trip and most of the pictures. The Refuges and Huts page has information about the four huts I stayed in or visited. Local Info is just that. … Continue reading →
Reading Ishiguro’s novels out of sequence – this is the second to be published – possibly makes it harder to give a fair assessment, as expectations are already set. The acclaimed quality of his writing is as evident here as … Continue reading →
General information about the area FranceBeyond (including ProvenceBeyond). Links on the home page to specific Provence topics – villages, history, sport, etc. Good place to start your research. ProvenceWeb – Alpes-Maritimes villages Haut Pays de Nice (one-man site) Portail Vésubien … Continue reading →
Route details and statistics The GR52a skirts the edge of the Mercantour National Park starting at Colmars (04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) in the valley of the Verdon, then heading east, south-east, and north-east to the Col de Tende (06 Alpes-Maritimes) in the … Continue reading →
22 – 23 April 2005 First down My route plan showed this was going to be our hardest day – 800 metres of ascent, but a knee-wrecking 2000 metres of downhill. By now we were used to finding fallen trees … Continue reading →
20 – 21 April 2005 Prêt à Manger La-Bollène-Vésubie has a Post Office open every day, Monday to Saturday. From 1000 to 1130. There was one food shop, but it was closed when we went up into the village at … Continue reading →
18 – 19 April 2005 Introduction The soft green glow from the backlight of my watch showed me the time – 1.16 in the morning. I’d been in bed since before ten, and just woken for a moment. As I … Continue reading →