Thursday 4th September: Sunny then overcast: 8°C to 12°C
Arolla to Cabane de Prafleuri: 21.3k: 9am to 4.30pm: 8hrs 30 mins
Accommodation: Cabane de Prafleuri
Leaving Hotel Kurhaus
On the way up to Pas des Chevres
Blue skies and alps all round
It's a long way up
Slippery Col de Reidmatten OR the ladders of Pas des Chevres
The other side of Pas des Chevres
The start of the ladders
Barren landscape and Lac des Dix
Pas de Chevres at 2855 metres
I'll go first
Almost down
Hanging on for dear life
Choice of Col de Reidmatten or Pas de Chevres from other side
Coffee to recuperate after ladders
The glacier de Cheilon
Barren landscape with Lac des Dix
Looking back at Col de Reidmatten, left and Pas de Chevres, right
Stunning lake in deep valley
Marmots everywhere
Peek-a-boo, I see you
The head wall and Glacier de Cheilon at end of valley
Luch among the cow plops
Snow capped Alps above Lake
Track around the Lake
Refuge de la Gentiana
Col des Roux at 2,804 Metres
Ladders! Last night I was dreaming about foxes taking our food bag, Ian was dreaming about ladders. There was a choice of cols today - the Col de Reidmatten or the Pas de Chevres, both about 2900m high passes and less than 100 metres apart. Reidmatten has notoriously slippery slopes on shale on the way down and Chevres has ladders over a mountain ledge 50 metres below. We'd been warned2 weeks ago by Fran from the Tour Group that Reidmatten was dangerous and to take the ladders, so we did.
It's 6.30am and pitch black outside. We're packed and at breakfast at 7am, the best ever. A magnificent spread of meusli's, fruits, meats, cheeses, eggs, fresh bread, hot tea and coffee. At 7.30am we Face Time Bonnie then leave at 8.00am for the Col de Reidmatten/Pas de Chevres- the same route til the last 100 metres. It's an 8°C stunning day with blue skies for our 900 metre ascent. At 11am, we need to make a decision - ladders or slippery slope. We take Fran’s advice - ladders down the other side.
Another ten minutes and we 're at the top of Pas de Chevres at 2900 m and see the ladders down to Lake des Dix. The old ladders, still in place, had a 50 metre sheer drop but the new ladders are in stages with platforms. It takes 15 minutes to prepare, do a ladies and mens stop behind the rocks, put on a rain jacket as it's cold on the other side, telescope the trekking poles and stash them in the back pack, don gloves, tighten the back pack so it sits snug to the back, and then we're off over the edge on the ladders.
It's pretty safe going down and only takes 10 minutes to get to the bottom and re-assemble everything. Coffee time to recuperate from the mental effort. It was timely as we soon encounter trekkers walking towards us from Prafleuri to Arolla. A few minutes later and it would have been busy on the ladders. We're thinking the rest of the walk will be easy, but for 3k we scramble over boulders, part of the moraine from the Glacier de Cheilon. It's 1.30pm and we can't find a spot for lunch. It's a bit breezy off the lake and there's no place to sit other than among the cow plops. At this stage, we're starving and who cares. I have some leftover lamb from last night to go with our cheese bread and tomatoes. It was a nice feast.
It was 4k around the Lac des Dix, all level and we move quite fast as it's cold walking into the breeze off the lake. We're thinking it's not far to go to the Cabane Prafleuri.. Wrong!. Just before the end of the lake, there's a sharp turn left but there's no Cabane in sight except for the Refuge de la Gentiana which is deserted. On and up and we suddenly realise there's a 2804 metre Col des Roux to go over before we get to our Cabane de Prafleuri. That's two cols in one day!
The sun peeks through and the uphill climb warms us up. At the top of the col we see a giant quarry on the other side. It was used to build the barrage (dam wall) for the Lake and Cabane de Prafleuri housed workers. Down a bit, the Cabane appears in the middle of a gravel pit and we arrive at 4.30pm. The Cabane is privately owned and run gestapo style. It's the only place we've had to pay before we set foot in the door. We're shown to our 20 person dorm - there's 4 spots left - - the mattresses are lined up - and the little one said roll over. The light and power switches need a one franc coin and no one is willing to pay. The shower needs a 5 frank token and there's only 2 showers between 50 people, so we wait in a queue. The water is luke warm and the drain is blocked so there's 3 inches of water in the bottom.
It’s an hour before dinner so we chat and we’re told that Richard Branson and his young troop were here yesterday. We're the only ones who've done the next stage in reverse so we can tell them about ladders. They tell us about the two options we have tomorrow and say the short route is covered in ice and snow and took longer. We decide to take the longer route over 3 cols. Dinner is at 6.30pm sharp – hit soup, salad, mashed potatoes and marmot stew (we think) with a sweet cream and tinned apricots for dessert. A girl arrived late at 8pm and they refused her dinner – as I said it’s run gestapo style
Cabane de Prafleuri in the quarry
And the little one said roll over