Up Col and Down Gorge, Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains
Zagan the motorhome’s done us proud today, pulling us high over the Col des Aravis, swooping down the Gorge de l’Arrondine and rumbling along the Route des Grandes Alpes. The day’s seen us bouncing around a bit in this part of the Alps, but we’ve finally settled on a freebie car park in Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains for the night (N45.88715 E6.71293).
Free motorhome parking at Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains, note massive hulking mountain view from windscreen
Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains, a good mix of motorhomes, a coach and cars in here, plus a service point if you need it
Last night Le Grand Bornand put on a show. The outdoor ice rink, sheltered by the most enormous unwieldy mass of wooden truss, played host to figure skaters aged from about a year old (that’s how old she looked to me, the wee thing) to a seasoned adult couple. Ju and I huffed and puffed in the cold, in among a gathering crowd of hundreds, watching the spectacle and wondering. One young teenager leapt into the air, spun and with an ankle-bending thud crashed to the ice. As she continued her routine, the rest of it flawless, you could see her face was flushed, perhaps a mixture of embarrassment and pain. I was in awe at the way in which these focussed skaters put themselves out there in the first place, and have the steel and nerve to carry on when it goes wrong. At the end of her routine the skate-sporting compère lady offered her another go at the jump. Again the same result, bone-crunch. The third time she got it, to a roar from the crowd.
Nah, he’s not fallen over, somehow he’d worked out a way to skate horizontally…!
A couple on and off-ice, that’s about all we understood from the French narrative
Another comfy night in Zagan, and this morning we geared up to leave, watching the Alpine activity around us. The local Nordic ski club set off early, making the most of the piste before the slower skiers arrived. Nippers lay prone on ice, firing guns at targets, perhaps readying them for future biathlons. The lower snow cannons all went off, showering patches of ice-hard snow with powered, sugary crystals. How they get water to these things without it freezing is beyond me.
Our plan for today was to head towards Les Houches ready for the Kandahar, the men’s world downhill event this weekend near Chamomix. Being in the mountains, there’s not usually a direct route between anywhere. Even allowing for the Herculean efforts of the road makers over time, nature forces compromise routes around things like hulking great roaring Silverback-massive mountains (unless we just drill a big tunnel through ’em, Mt Blanc style)!
The route for us took us up to the Col des Aravis, a 1486m high pass over the Chaine des Aravis mountains. Passes usually mean switchbacks, and this col was no exception, a twisting grey piste of tarmac slashing through an endless field of snow. Thankfully the road was quiet, giving us chance to appreciate it. Only at about 1475m did we have a minor panic, as the road suddenly went snowbound at the col. Hesitation occurred, followed by a quick smattering of expletives before Ju spotted no-one coming the other way was on chains, so we pulled up, grabbed a photo from the cab and rolled off the snow back onto blacktop.
Up we go! Good news, the col is open!
Hmmm, quite snowy up here.
Bit of snow blown onto the road here and there. At one point we had some wheelspin but apart from that, no problemo.
You can’t fault the way the French roads are kept clear!
Oh sh*t! Reaching the col, the road went a bit white, as did my face.
Col d’Aravis in mid Feb
Once over the top the road stayed clear of snow and we rolled into the gorge, relieved, still swinging the steering wheel about as we descended back to earth, like Starsky and Hutch. Much of the rest of today’s drive consisted of gaping-mouthed ga-ga mountain views, either laid bare before us, or seen as lurking giants behind trees and buildings. We’ve topped up on LPG, our rig had got through 18 litres in 6 nights. Although it’s not been cold during the day, Zagan’s spacious interior’s been kept pleasantly warm, we’ve partaken of the odd hot shower and the fridge has used the power of gas to keep me beer cool. At 3 litres a day our self-installed gasIT system would last about 11 nights, which we’re very happy with for winter use.
Leaving the Gorge de l’Arrondine
Next up: Passy. Park4night.com showed a free parking area next to a Super U super market. In we rolled, Ju again going ga ga at the fact there was a massive washing machine in the self-service laverie which would wash our sleeping bags and duvet cover. An hour later, despite the cracking mountain views and the fact some workmen offloading fencing next to us had told us we were fine to stay the night, we engaged reverse and left. Why? Goldilocks. That aire wasn’t quite right. The fact some inconsiderate had opted to pour pure sewage on the floor at the service point (this right in front of a very nice supermarket who didn’t need to provide a service point) rather than pay €2 to dispose of it properly might have contributed to the decision, dunno.
The Super U at Passy, with free motorhome parking adjacent (N45.91888, E6.70366)
It only took another 15 minutes of Zagan-shaking up the twisties to get here. Finding a spot at the end of the car park we reversed in, had a brew then walked around the town. Weirdly people wander about in ski boots when there’s zero snow here. There is a telecabin though, and a board in the square shows all but one of the runs on the slopes around us are open. Visiting the Kandahar from here is looking tricky though. The lass in the tourist info office suggested we have as much chance of parking at Chamonix as finding rocking horse do do, and we should take a train from here and then a bus. Neither of us are fancying that option much: the train alone would cost us €120 return. Nah, we’re de-camping tomorrow and making an assault on the Chamonix aire. We’ve seen it. It’s massive. The only thing is, there’s a 700 space car park here too, and it’s packed full, so we’re either being brave or foolish…
Don’t look behind you Charlie…
All-the-rage magnetic snowboard holders. Probably been around for years but this is the first I’ve seen of them
Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains looking south towards the big hills! Italy lies just beyond the peaks.
Right, tea time! Cheers folks, Jay
Thanks for sharing. Looks like it can be challenging in the Alps. Have fun and stay safe.
Stunning photos…what an adventure, love the photo of Ju & Charlie. Still waiting for the shot of you, in shorts, sunbathing in the chair, in the snow…come on Jase, take one for the blog.:-)
You should have took to the ice rink and made out you taught Torville and Dean all they knew at Nottingham ice rink!!!
Brrrr, would have gone white face at the top too… But you’re a great driver! Well done on the snow! Cross my fingers for your Chamonix adventure. And oh, yes, like Wayne, I am waiting for that sunbathing photo! ;-))