Dwight Peck's personal website

Mont Sâla in a snowless January

Winter 2006-2007 spent waiting around for winter

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.

A walk up to Mont Sâla in the Swiss Jura mountains

This is the Combe des Begnines, a hidden valley along the Swiss Jura ridgeline between the Cols of Marchairuz and Givrine. We've walked up through the forest, 21 January 2007, from the top of the Route des Montagnes (1263m) above the village of Bassins (a road that should normally be closed by mid-November).

Turning southwest towards Mont Sâla and the farm of Le Couchant

The farm of Le Couchant (1445m altitude), part of the commune of Chenit in the Vallée de Joux, near the French border on the far side of the Jura ridgeline

A darkish day

A hikers' carrefour

Le Couchant

Le Couchant from the south

The southwestern end of the Combe, with Mont Sâle up on the left

About 20 minutes later, the decorative cross on top of Mont Sâla (1511m)

The decorative cross

Looking southwest towards forested Mont Pelé and bald spot in front of it

The unnamed Bald Spot at 1515m, zoomed. We'll go on over there in a few minutes.

The Combe des Begnines from Mont Sâla, 21 January 2007

The farm of Les Pralets just below at 1271m, on what would normally be the Marchairuz-Givrine cross-country ski track at this time of year

The farm of Mondion (1270) and Lake Geneva (Lac Léman)

Looking northeastward up the Combe des Amburnex towards Mont Tendre, the Bois de la Bassine below

Looking south towards Lake Geneva, the Forêt des Pralets and Bois de la Grande Enne below

It's time to proceed to the 1515m Bald Spot.

We depart from Mont Sâla (and its decorative cross)

Just down off the ridge from Mont Sâla, a small col called Creux Devant (1474m)

and a cabin with cisterne

From the cabin along the length of the Combe des Begnines. Now down through the Cemetery of the Burgundians (the Cimetière aux Bourguignons) . . .

. . . and stomping up out of the forest towards the top of the Bald Spot.

Frosty ground, but not snowy

Near the top

The top, more or less. Lake Geneva is in the background.

Mont Pelé from the Bald Spot next door

Not a decorative cross, but almost as good

Views of Lake Geneva

And a view of Mont Sâla from our Bald Spot

We're going to find a way down through the cliffs along the front today, which we found most of three weeks ago.

It's down here somewhere.

And that's the way through that we couldn't find last time. Neat.

We'll bring Kristin back for a go at it in the spring.

Out onto the pasture of Les Pralets and kilometre's walk back to the car

from SwitzerlandMobility (http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en)

Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 9 February 2007, revised 26 September 2008, revised 3 September 2014.

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