Lost in the vertical forest (Bois de la Sauge, Switzerland)

Dwight Peck's personal website

Winter 2015-2016

Retirement is still as much fun as ever

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.

Lost in the vertical forest (Bois de la Sauge, Switzerland)

And good weather for it

20 March 2016: Our guide (Dr Joe) is leading us from Grand Fuey (1181m), the intersection of the Bière and St-George roads up to the Col du Marchairuz. Who knows what his intentions are, at this point.

We've chanced upon the horizontal track off the Chemin à Marc (1310m) leading westward

Out of the forest onto the pastures of La Foirausaz -- we've just noticed two people down in front of us; that won't do; we're turning up into the forest again.

We both know precisely where we are -- leaving the pastures of La Foirausaz, bound through that gate in the stone wall and upwards. Towards Mont de Bière Devant on the horizon.

But a commendable adventurous spirit intervenes, and now we don't know where we are anymore.

Ancient instincts kick in, and to go up, you just go up. Apparently that's the reasoning here.

But another ancient instinct: when "up" begins testing the capabilities of your TSL 225 snowshoes, "across" might bring you to a preferable "up".

Sounds promising, but we'll see.

-- Man Down!

Ten minutes later, all's well again.

So, "up".

Spirited debate ensues about where the most preferable "up" might be, somewhere in the Bois de la Sauge.

Our guide has a plan.

No harm in tagging along to see how it works out.

So far so good

A flush of enthusiasm and other positive feelings

Our guide has just mushed the whole thing up insufferably. What do we do now?

We'll just find an ever better way up.

Not so much better, as it turns out.

We'll endeavor not to have to slide down the same way.

We rejoin our guide's track, in the hope that he had it right in the first place.

We hate triumphalism.

This is the farm road leading to Mont de Bière Devant. We'll descend gently on this nice predictable roadway.

Ah, our guide is already looking for short cuts.

-- Jump.

We're lost again.

And found again, thanks to the mysterious workings of a hit-or-miss memory.

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