french alps

Labor of Love

Sometimes, a long and steep climb can have it's own payoff.

I spied a tall peak nearby as I was resting in the refugio halfway through my Mont Black Circuit. It looked promising, and from a glance at the map, it seemed a hop, skip and a jump away. But was I proved wrong.

After an hour of climbing 1600ft (500m), I finally arrived at a saddle at the base of the peak, which was 1200ft up. I was almost out of breath, and just as I was about to give up and turn back, I looked around, and I knew what I would see up at the summit would be even more stunning than the amazing scenery I was feasting on at this saddle. I started climbing the grassy 40 degree slope in earnest, praying for an easier way down. And slowly but surely, by just focusing on the next step, I made the painstaking climb to the summit.

And there, the reward for this long and arduous climb redeemed all the labor that went into reaching this summit. The shrouded summit of Mt Blanc stood in all its glory, along with the rugged Val Ferret, with hanging glaciers descending down every valley.

Tour du Mont Blanc

Italy

Fire and Ice

The refugio was winding down for the night. And after the heavy dinner and a long day of hiking, the warm confines of a cozy bed seemed rather appealing. I peeked outside one last time an hour before the sunset, and the clouds seemed lackluster. But something egged me to wait till sunset.

It was my fourth day of hiking in the Mont Blanc region, and I was ready to call it a night in a beautiful alpine refugio in Val Ferret in Italy, , on the south-eastern flank on the Graian Alps. But my photographer's instinct made me stay behind. And my hunch proved right, as a bank of clouds over a glacier changed to orange, and set the Frebouze glacier on fire.

Courmayeur

Italy