Valgaudemar mountain tour in the French Ecrin

In 1996 and 1997, the Herborists Association organised only spicy hikes in the French Alps led by Maurice. Here is a report on such a walking week at Valgaudemar in the French Ecrin.

We are seven for this hike in the Valgaudemar valley, four women and three men. Our mountain tour starts in the refuge Gioberney. We find each other in the afternoon and go first to eat a failed croque. Then we hoist with enthusiasm the heavy backpack on the back and yes, to The young Joke in the head, the old ones in the back. It is only a few hundred meters rise, but how hard it is for Hilde, her heart starts to sputter and her mood too.

The others let her care and yes, at the back she also arrives at the green piece of paradise where the tents are planted. The surroundings are beautiful and the effort quickly forgotten. We are in a “cirque” of mountains and glaciers close to the Lac de Lauzon. Orchids, one smells very nice, the vanilla orchis. For that, Maurice, skillfully like a mountain goat, climbed a hill rap rap. We drink something warm and are now walking among the many kinds of flowers and herbs.

Second day: 15 July Lac du Lauzon, refuge du Pigeonnier, Cabane Gioberney.

At night Hilde invents a retreat, but that doesn't happen, further up is the message! The sun emerges radiantly behind the mountain top. Is it the Sirac or another mountain? The first mountaineers pass by and chat:”Yes, there is little tourism with the past bad weather.. ". Maurice wants to climb glaciers, the others do not. Now first get water in the mountain stream for coffee or tea. Maurice turns on the burner and we drink and slurp, only Eric will be late, then only cook a second bucket. This scenario will repeat itself, that's what Eric is doing. And yet this diligent boy will turn into a real, helpful mountain walker, thanks to or despite the cigarettes. After breakfast we go back to the mountains again.

In the afternoon we arrive in the Refuge du Pigeonnier, located on a small mountain lake. We eat and chat and it is great fun. We leave and everything goes well to a steep snow field. For Jo with the neat shorts it suddenly goes downhill. Goosebumps slips down in her full length, as gracefully as possible, with backpack and all. Hilde sees it and wants to meet her skiing on her shoes, but they both go down to the depths.”You shouldn't have done that now.”, Jo still calls. With the courage of despair, Hilde resolutely plans her cane in the deep snow, lifts herself and Jo from the depths to prevent an unfriendly landing in the stone field below. Hurray! Saved! With a planed forearm Jo gets rid of it well. Hilde has her The left buttock burnt to the snow. Fortunately, their optimism is not to be broken. We are happy to go further and talk about simple topics that sometimes provoke profound philosophies, among others, about underpants. Maurice knows how to tell Jo one and the other about this. Wim and Joke, father and daughter, make a silent and wise impression. Joke also suffers from headaches and puts her red head in the cooling water at every mountain stream.

When, after a very long descent, we come down exhausted and tired, horses and flies are already present at our campsite. Especially the flies we will not forget. We are waiting for Marianne for dinner. Her toenails have become a bit black due to pinching shoes and that plays her.
The food becomes a walking buffet, slaloming between swarms of mosquitoes and flies, we make a way for food to our mouths: noodles with a vegetable sauce and tuna, but it tastes in spite of everything.
Marianne and Hilde are out and go under the feathers early. The others take stock in the car, a hundred meters deeper, close to the refuge hotel. It will be a nice evening walk with a view of the lights somewhere on the side of the Sirac. Back in the tent we try to sleep, but the loud bustling mountain stream doesn't stop and that keeps us awake, even though the one-toned sound is also sleep-inducing.