Dwight Peck's personal website

Views of Pierre du Moëllé

and precious few views of Mont d'Or


Newly returned to the region after many years elsewhere, our plan was to walk up Mont d'Or and exult in some of our favorite scenery. Fat chance today.

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

The carpark at Pierre du Moëllé (1661m), 29 June 2014, on the pass leading from the valley of Ormont-dessous over to the Lac de l'Hongrin to the north. When I lived here, this served in summer alternately as a restaurant montagnard for hikers and locals and as a base for the military, whose vast training ground extends from here down throughout the Hongrin valley; that may well still be the case now, though evidently the restaurant is closed during the summer of 2014 for renovations.

Dieter VW in a vigorous rain

The Pierre du Moëllé and the front door of it -- the rock is a huge gun emplacement from the war years.

Weather notwithstanding, we're walking up towards Mont d'Or. For the views.

Assuming Mont d'Or hasn't moved in recent years, it's probably somewhere up this way. The gun emplacement covering the pass is atop the little buttress just above.

A break in the rain. The day is clearing!

The door to the old gun emplacements and (inaccessible) tunnels

Youthful exuberance

Dr Pirri! Wait up!

When the views were finally reduced to a metre and a half, we gave it up as a bad job and took a rain check.

[Earlier views of Mont d'Or in better weather]

Looking over towards Leysin, the Crête du Fer just peeking through under the cloud

The Chalet Restaurant Les Fers, and uphill to the right, the top of the télésiège skilift put in in about 1983

Dr Pirri in a contemplative mood

The urge to contemplation can seize one almost anytime.

Approaching the top of the gun windows

A model of patience

The door to the military tunnels

A contemplation fit

We notice that the weather seems to be clearing.


Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 1 August 2014.


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