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 January Bassins walk in unsatisfactory snow conditions
We're up at the trailhead on the Route des Montagnes above Bassins, Switzerland, 14 January 2018, with our woolies on and snowshoes in hand -- and not much snow on the ground. That's the farm of Le Bugnonet (995m).
From the trailhead, that's La Chaumette (980m) on the far side of a frozen swamp.
Not much use for snowshoes, worse luck, at least so far; we've left them behind.
What snow there is, is like concrete.
We're headed for the forest around the hill of Le Jubillet.
The forestry chaps have beat us to it. How nice.
Well past the big machines now, we're marching up along the Ruisseau de la Combe, which will join the Serine at La Cézille below Bassins, which will eventually dump into Lake Geneva near Prangins.
The creek bed of the Ruisseau de la Combe -- on a previous expedition, some years ago, this creek bed should have been considered beneath our dignity:
With Dr Joe's enlightened counsel, we're continuing up the combe towards the farm of La Dunanche.
It's rather a long combe, and it takes a while.
We're under the headland called Le Rebattiau, at about 1033m now.
.
Out onto the pasture under the cliffs and caves of Les Ormes up on the left -- now, straight up to La Dunanche.
The farm of La Dunanche (1117m)
Now we're turning northwest towards the farm of Les Frasses.
The foresters have been busy -- we'll hope that they leave some trees for the rest of us.
We've crossed the Chemin des Crêtes passing Les Frasses farm and are bound for the last of the four SW-NE parallel combes under the Les Gilles cliffs and the Mondion farm. (Look it up.)
The northwest-ist of the four combes, a long one presently at about 1171m.
Formerly running water under the snow leaves holes
Turning right and over the wooded ridge
Down into the next long pasture
Towards the next little wooded ridge . . .
. . . to Les Frasses farm (according to Henry Suter, the name derives from old French and Latin names for the ash tree; there are several isolated farms in the region with that name)
Les Frasses (1151m) from the west
Les Frasses from the east
The Chemin des Crêtes du Jura long distance hiking path, Zürich to Geneva, runs by right here.
We intend to follow the Chemin des Crêtes du Jura long distance hiking path for exactly the next 142 metres.
An info panel -- the farm building was built in 1750, like most of the isolated farms up here, give or take a decade.
Retracing our steps down the farm road towards La Dunanche
La Dunanche in a mist
La Dunanche from the east, down the hill and into the Bois au Ministre forest.
The forest called the Bois au Ministre, usually heavily forested
Down to the pastures by the farm of Le Bugnonet
It's progress! It's been threatened for some years, and evidently now it's happened. Snowshoes and skis are forbidden here now. (Good luck with that.)
Well, in fact, it was our bad luck not to have been wearing snowshoes today anyway.
Another nice day out. Of course, we'll still be wishing for more snow anyway.
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All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 11 March 2018. 
