The Fantastic Hautes-Alpes

I really wish I knew exactly where we went on the snowshoe weekend, but it was a tiny refuge tucked away in the Hautes-Alpes département, about an hour and a half away from Grenoble. There was a fierce snowstorm when we arrived, so after descending from the bus we had to ready ourselves in a steady fall of snow and swirling wind. After putting on our snowshoes we began a two-hour hike to our refuge, several kilometers away. Along the way a friendly dog began to trail and play with us.


All bundled up!


A few mules congregating to brave the fierce conditions together.


Visibility is a bit restricted, but this should hopefully convey, just a little, how remarkable the scenery was.


After dropping off our sleeping bags and backpacks at the refuge, we began a four or five hour trek into the snowy wilderness, forging new trails and pretty much climbing up and down anything that had snow on it. The conditions were absolutely perfect because it wasn't too cold and the snow was so pleasantly packed, we had hours of snowball fights. There was at least six to eight feet of snow because we often spotted the tops of pine trees poking up by our feet.


More beautiful scenery.


The excursion was organized by an international student group called IntEGre (International Etudiants Grenoble) and the French guys in charge are a ton of fun.


From dust to dust, snow to snow.


The only way to reach the refuge was through a narrow valley opening.


A precarious descent; the slope is nearly vertical and some found it easier to simply leap off the edge and plop into the fluffy snow.


There are many ways to traverse a creek.


Saturday night, the IntEGre crew put on a skit demonstrating the preparation of gratin dauphinois, a delicious regional specialty involving sliced potatoes and melted cheese.


The sky on Sunday was absolutely gorgeous, but the temperature had dropped a little, resulting in fiercer wind and unfortunately harder snow.


Some of that fierce wind.


We discovered monumental natural works of art. That's supposed to be a Zach, but apparently those less schooled in high art study envision Rach, an interpretation clearly not intended by the gifted artist.


I LOVE MY CAMERA.


On Sunday afternoon we descended to our bus rendezvous and prepared ourselves to re-enter a world without snow, 5am parties, gluttonous meals and 24/7 fun. Actually, that seems to fairly accurately describe our destination, too.