Thursday, 26.8.2021

Today's route: La Petite Berge (2071 m) - Lavachay (1805 m) - Col du Bresson (2469 m) - Refuge de la Balme Tarantaise (2009) - La Lance (1486 m) - Valezan (1186 m) - Bellentre (776 m) - Landry (777 m)

Phew. A tough day. We started hiking at 8am and arrived at the hotel in Landry at 6pm. We were on our feet for at least ten hours. The nearly 2000 meters of descent didn't weigh us down much - the gradient was very pleasant - but the ascent to Col du Bresson was tough. After ten days of hiking with some distance and altitude, we thought that an additional 600 meters of ascent would be no problem for us. However, we struggled with the last 200 meters and it was very challenging. It comforted us when we met experienced hiker Jean-Claude from Les Diablerets again at Refuge de la Balme and he told us the same thing. - We also met the other fellow hikers again, those from Beaujolais who had their car pick them up in Valezan to save time, and of course our Ivan Jallat, Monsieur Orange.

We enjoyed the comfort of Hotel L'Alpin, especially the bathroom, and then the wonderful dinner. For Ignaz, it was his first body cleansing since the start of the hike; otherwise, he just moistens his face in the morning. (And shaving was wonderful.) Lis, on the other hand, is much more conscientious and mindful of personal hygiene. However, every two to three days, we rinse our completely sweaty clothes in cold water to at least keep their smell under control (woolen clothes are ideal for this, and we wear them while hiking).

About the blog: The post for August 18 somehow got lost and will not be replaced. The order is not always correct, but we will leave it as it is. Sometimes a post, like the one from Tuesday, will come later. This can be due to the lack of network connection, adverse conditions (rain, cold), or other reasons.

And regarding COVID: The hike would not have been possible without Lis' vaccination; the restrictions would have been too strict. We would have had to abort. In the mountain huts, it would never have been a problem, except for one exception; but further down, like in the current hotel, they are strict: nothing without a 'pass sanitaire'. Often whole communities, like in Les Contamines, require masks throughout the entire village. People generally comply to some extent. It seems that many people are very obedient, almost to an exaggerated extent, while few do not care. We read that Switzerland is heading in a similar direction with the certificate requirement.