Not exactly prime conditions in the Alps this morning. A strong wind was blowing up the high street of St Véran threatening to take the table and chairs from the balcony when we drew back the curtains and the sky was lead grey.
Given the conditions, we'd decided go make a leisurely start, so began the day with some breakfast in bed while watching the dark clouds approaching. A relaxing start was just what we needed after the last few days and after a few brews, got up and packed up for next next few days which (weather permitting) were to be spent up in the high mountains.
It was raining when we set off from the end of the road at St Véran - not exactly the alpine blue skies that we'd hoped for! Still, the trail was relatively easy and safe from any avalanche danger and we could always dry out at the hut.
The trail was surprisingly tiring as it only gained 500m of ascent over the 9km. Luckily for us, the rain eased and later turned to snow. The sun did its best to make an appearance, but it was still hoods up for most of the day.
An odd phenomena that we saw was that the precipitation all contained some red Saharan dust. As the rain dried, our glasses and clothes all became dirty and dusty; the snow also began to take on a reddish tinge!
We stopped for bit of late lunch (and some shelter from the weather) at an old chapel and watched a couple of decent sized avalanches release on the opposite hillside. (Note how the avalanche stands out in the red snow).
Overall though, the veiws were not really up to the usual standards..
Once in the hut, we got our kit hung up by the wood burner to dry and set about a serious game of scrabble before dinner.
The snow continued to fall and the wind picked up during the evening, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow...
On the plus side, the hut has free hot showers, inside toilets and we've even got a bunk for two (rather than the typical 10 person alpine bunks that are often found in such accommodations).
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