Awesome day along Bisse de Levron

Some groovy ice formations are appearing with all this sunny weather!

These little wings are what hold the pine nuts that all animals are after during winter. The squirrels, birds, and rodents are all leaving them strewn all over the forest floor. They come from the Norwegian Spruce (épicéa) pine cones. I find them extremely difficult to extract, but they are tasty!

Of course the Massif des Combins was ever present in the incredibly blue blue sky!

Super Snowshoeing near Verbier

Just a little drive away from the tourist center of Verbier lies a fabulous area to snowshoe in. There were lots of animal tracks, & views from Verbier to the Saint Bernard regions - not much is missing!

Views towards The Entremont Valley & Orsières

Fresh powder tracks!

Not often that someone is willing to walk infront of me and make my snowshoeing day easier! Yippee & Thanks!

Old troll beards hanging off the trees!

Picnic & tea spot under the frozen roots of a larch (mélèze) tree which fell over. It is amazing to take the time to inspect the roots and see what they hold : rocks & bolders, new trees, frozen dirt, homes for rodents, etc...

And of course some crazy fresh air lichen, soaking up the non-polluted air of the val de Bagnes!

Verbier Funny snowshoe places

With signs like this just barely sticking out of the snow you better keep your eyes open! 

Beautiful massif des Combins & powder!

Snowshoeing back into Verbier the picturesque way!

Imagine you have a hard time inviting friends for dinner at this place, but what a view of the valley & the stars! It is beautiful here!

Fun in the snow

Yahoo! What a beautiful day out in the fresh snow!

Squirel snow jacuzzi?!

Snowy snowshoe day!

Snow is such an interesting material!

It was light and heavy at the same time today!?!

Don't even need to take photos in black & white!

How heavy do you think that is?

Peek-a-boo! Verbier through the clouds!

Snowshoeing in Valais

Nothing beats snowshoeing on a sunny day when no one has ventured yet to where I am going! What a workout though! 

 Incredible views onto the Massif des Combins, and over onto the Chamonix Mountains as well as the Dents du Midi. It really is a view to see!

Evolène snowshoe to Les Haudères

Evolène in the val d'Hérens has a beautiful glacial river, La Borgne, which gurgles along here in an interesting plateau at about 1380 meters. This is a great place to do some relatively flat snowshoeing!

The cliffs give a sense of tinyness to ones esteem and the frozen waterfalls are works of art in progress!

Fantastic feats of architecture. 

Did you know these century old barns are built with wood that can't burn to the ground?

Spot the ice troll?

How many icycles can you see?

Gurggle gurgggle! Splish! Splash!

2 humpback whales coming upstream?!

Great Snowshoeing in Verbier

Here are some of my favorite photos from my outings this winter so far. It has been an excellent start to a great season for me. We have seen wild chamois & chevreuil, as well as lots of wild hare & silly squirel tracks & I actually saw a rock ptarmigan (coq de Bruyères) fly out in the forest! The snow has been up high and fluffy. I have discovered some new spots, spent my first winter night at the Cabane Mont Fort, and managed to snowshoe in places I had never been before! It amazes me how big the Verbier playground is, after 15 years of living here I still can stumble upon new treasures! It is snowing at the moment and I am looking forward to playing in it this afternoon!

L'Arpille

This is a fun little summit to get to, it doesn't take too long and is not too steep, but the views and all the animal footprints all over the place really make it a unique spot. Just nestled between the Chamonix Valley and the Valais, all the summits are out on a good day!

Didn't need snowshoes today!

In the early fall the myrtilles are delicious! And a good reason to come for a walk here!!

 Le Grand Chavalard and the amazing area around the Dents de Morcles was all over the horizon!

 Saw a few chamois, and lots of wild hare, chevreuil, squirrel and wild furry prints on all sides. It is so much fun to try and guess who has left the prints behind, and where were they going, and why?

 Of course I cannot go up here and not give you a photo of the highest mountain in the Alps! So here is the shot of Mont Blanc!

But for me the most stunning view of all is the Rhone valley. The absolute flatness of it is shocking with all the mountains rising sharply up above it. Some have year round glaciers covering them, and others are a bit lower, many have grape vines if they are on the correct side for the sun. Here the view also shows the crazy drive up to Sembrancher & Verbier. A unique spot for sure.

Wild Summer Tea

The snow is starting to cover the mountain tops, does it feel like summer is slipping away to you? Well here is a good way to keep a bit of the summer beauty in your life : tea made with wild flowers and herbs of the mountains!

Hopefully as you have been out and about this summer you dried some of your favorite flowers or herbs. Just throw a handful of them into a tea pot, or add them to your favorite teas. They are also fun to cook with or toss into a fresh salad.

Start or end of Rhône?

Hidden away at the crossing of the Furka, Gothard, Oberalp, Neufennen, Susten passes is the start of the mighty Rhône River that travels all the way to Marseilles. At the same time it is the end of what was once the begining of the once upon a time mighty Rhône Glacier that travelled all the way to Lyon.

The strength and power of this area is overwhelming, and impossible to ignore. After all, Switzerland & France would not be as we know them had they not existed.
The feeling here is emotional as one wanders around realising how time & geology & evolution proceed.

Definitely a place to visit. I plan to organise some multi day walks starting in the Goms valley through here to Andermatt to Chur in the Grisons. Cannot wait!

Beauty of Zermatt

What a gorgeous walk through the Gorges of the Gornera bach. Nice to do it on a sunny day and take advantage of the freshness.

On a clear day there is just no question why Zermatt is so popular. All the 4000 meter peaks were visible and the glaciers clean & white.

The hills were alive with the sound of wildflowers! And a fabulous lunch accompanied by artists from the music festival were very relaxing.