Samoens 2019

A long weekend hiking in the French Alps.

4 days ― September 2019

Part 1: Refuge de Sales and on to Pointe de Sales

With summer fast disappearing, Oj and I escaped to Samoens for a long weekend of hiking and charcuterie.

Day 1 #

A pleasing hike up the Gorges des Sales to the Refuge de Sales, before doubling back up much higher to a great lookout over the valley.

A photo taken from one side of a valley facing the other. The opposite face is deeply scarred, with patches of moss green on the upper faces.
Ed holds a railing as he looks from one side of a steep valley to the other. The side he’s stood on has a near vertical wall of stone, with a path cut out in to it.
Photo by Oliver Wooderson.
Looking up a valley. A path ascends the valley on the right, with Oj walking half way up it.
A panorama taken from the valley of the Refuge de Sales
Looking straight on to the Chapelle de Sales in bright sunlight.
Looking inside a small chapel. The inside is bare except for a few religious artefacts on a cement table.
A white sheep looks directly at the camera
Oj climbs deeply creased rocks under a deep blue sky.
Ed and Oj stand at the top of the Pointe de Salles looking north over the valley.
A panorama looking straight at the Pointe de Chardonnière
Looking back to the Pointe de Chardonnière.
A photo looking down a valley in shadow as the sun sets. The right hand cliff is still lit brightly, in contrast to the dark blue rocks below.


Part 2: To the end of the world

Day 2 #

For our second day we choose an easier route - driving to Joux Plane at 1691m, walking to La Borgeoise, then north to Pointe d’Angolon.

A wide panorama from the Pointe d’Angolon
Oj in the air, mid jump. He’s high up on a mountainside in the bright sun.
Oj climbing a steep path on the left, with a panorama of the alps to the right of him. In the center of the frame is a large pipe emerging from the hillside.
A yellow circle painted on a rock, with a smiling face in the middle.
A close photo of the trunk of a medium sized tree. A stripe of white-red-white stripe has been painted horizontally around the trunk.

Day 3 #

Following the Giffre stream uphill to the source, we got to ‘Le Bout du Monde’ (The end of the world) - which rewards with a spectacular view back through the valley.

A wide panorama of a valley with steep rocky sides.
A brown and white goat with horns stares straight at the camera, with it’s mouth open. It’s stood on a branch of a tree above the photographer.
Ed sat on a large rock, overlooking a large and deep valley.
Several sheep graze on a grassy mountain side.
Ed and Oj sat at a picnic bench half way up a valley. There’s a large red awning above them.
A hiker on a path with a wide sunny valley behind him.
Before Samoens I visited Lisbon. Afterwards I went to Snowdonia.