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prettiest view in the world?



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 5th 04, 04:45 AM
Ken Roberts
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Default prettiest view in the world?

Last Monday I ran into the most spectacular view I ever saw from a groomed
cross country ski trail -- in France near Grenoble. I was skating on a
trail I didn't even know existed when I started out that morning, and it's
not on any ski trail map I've seen.

What are some other spectacular cross country ski views in the world?

I drove down to Grenoble, then west up into the Vercors plateau to Autrans,
site of the 1964 Winter Olympics XC ski courses. My goal was to take on the
challenge of skating up the long climb there, from Autrans up to Geve.

When I got to the base ski center, I was lucky to find there was still snow
holding on this late in the season -- but the main "foyer de ski" building
was locked. I looked inside and saw a note that all the trails were open up
at Geve, so I drove to there. But the buildings were closed there too, so
there was no place for me to purchase a "badge" for skiing or get a trail
map.

But the trails were beautifully groomed, so I just started skating, and soon
found a map sign at one of the intersections. It showed a connector trail
going off to La Sure, which I never heard of, but it looked like it might
make a nice out-and-back warmup before taking on my challenge. Turned out
there was already a good climb on this connector, and then some down -- and
I found that La Sure was a lift-served alpine downhill ski area -- with
trails beautifully groomed from the weekend. Nobody was skiing on the wide
trail, so instead of heading back to Geve and Autrans, I thought I'd try
skating up the alpine downhill trail -- which soon led to playing with Peter
Hoffman's "switchback" idea. I skated up all the way to the top of two
lifts (taking some rest stops).

Up there I found there was also a cross country trail that came to the same
place, also beautifully groomed, so I started skating north on it, and soon
it made a downhill turn, where I stepped five meters off the trail to the
top of a sheer cliff -- with a giant view northwest out over the river
valleys and plains of France. (but that's not the view I'm talking about).
Further down this trail I found a turn-off that would take be back to
Geve -- but I thought that before my planned challenge, I would test myself
climbing back up this _narrow_ trail, which took me back to the top of the
lifts.

But next I noticed that the skating trail continued on behind the lift and
further south -- to who knows where? It was a perfect sunny day, so I
started skating. (I did have a hiking topo map of the Vercors plateau, but
it didn't show which routes were ski trails.) After a few km, I reached a
little side-loop with a wonderful viewpoint over the interior of the
Vercors. I liked this better than the views I've found in most North
American XC ski areas, because I could see villages and farms, not just lots
of trees and snow. (but that's not the view I'm talking about).

The beautiful grooming continued, so I kept skating generally south, with
occasional signs for "Moliere". Then there it was -- a view across the
whole French Alps, north to Mont Blanc, east to the Ecrins group and further
south, with the great mountain groups in between, the Chartreuse and the
Belledonne chain prominent, also major peaks in the Beaufortain and Lauziere
and Vanoise ranges. At this "Moliere" viewpoint there's a "table of
observation" there that shows the names of the major peaks. I've never seen
a view from a groomed cross country ski trail that comes close to that
spectacular. But I'll be glad for suggestions -- and more excuses to
travel.

Then I kept skiing down a hill to a refuge hut (that might be serving food
on weekends), and finally reached the end of the grooming. But there was
still another trail heading back north but lower. And though it wasn't up
on the ridge, it had pretty rocks right alongside it. Then a steep climb up
to that same Vercors interior viewpoint, and from there I backtracked on the
high ridge trail to the top of the Sure lifts. Down the narrow
cross-country trail, with another visit to the cliff-top view. Then I found
there was also a "high" connector trail between Sure and Geve, which
traversed around the upper rim of the northern Vercors -- another pretty
route where I could then look back across to where I'd been. And back to
Geve.

What a great day of spring-time skiing.
France may not have the quantity of trails in Norway. But it's got enough
special quality places. In addition to Geve - Sure - Moliere, there's the
fun trails of La Feclaz, and the gentle but big-mountain-surrounded valley
of Bessans. the wine, the food, the sunshine. The 1992 Olympic courses of
Les Saisies with some spectacular peaks close by, and the Jura with its
famous long route and race. Did I mention the sunshine, the food, and the
wine? Now that I've made the obligatory pilgrimage to Norway, France is the
place I'm going back to.

Ken

P.S. Actually my skiing for the day wasn't over. From Geve I skied all the
way down to Autrans, and along the way took the challenge of the two steep
climbs of the "Variante de Coupe du Monde" trail. Even though that note at
Autrans said something about closed trails, the snow down low was
beautifully groomed. So finally I was able to try my originally planned
challenge: the long climb from Autrans to Geve. And except to take my skis
off to cross one paved road, I actually skated the whole way up without
stopping to rest. Hope I get to try it again sometime.


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  #2  
Old April 5th 04, 02:35 PM
Jeff Potter
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Default prettiest view in the world?

Sometimes my yard is pretty darn fine. : ) No vista but plenty of beauty just
the same. (See pics at OYB website.)

I've been contemplating the Quintessential Michigan View and have a notion of
what it is: a quarter-mile vista with a gentle hill and a swampy swale with
cattails in it. There's a little creek running through the swamp, expanding
into a little pond at the edge of the scene. On the side of the hill we have
small cedars in a field. The trees we see are a mix of poplars, pines, fir, oak
and maple. Put all these things together and you have THE Michigan View, to me.
And it's as good as any out there. (Although, I do long to see other views as
well again someday.)

I would be happy to see some photos or artwork of this View. I'm thinking to
make some myself, so I'm starting to bring the digicam out with me more often,
looking to capture that View.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of do-it-yourself culture ... bikes, skis, boats & more! ...
... with radically relevant novels from the ULA & LiteraryRevolution.com! ...

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  #3  
Old April 5th 04, 02:38 PM
Jeff Potter
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Default prettiest view in the world?

PS: Note that my View is perfect at any time of year. However, it's worth
nothing that it's particularly nice during seasons which are often considered
not so pretty, like when the snow is melting and there is considerable grass
field exposed. A mix of spring snow and grassy hillside is very nice in my
View. The browns add to the charm. And you can still see for a long way into
the woods thanks to the low, crusty snow cover.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of do-it-yourself culture ... bikes, skis, boats & more! ...
... with radically relevant novels from the ULA & LiteraryRevolution.com! ...

... free music! ... tons o' articles! ... travel forums! ... WOW!
800-763-6923


  #4  
Old April 5th 04, 04:08 PM
Laurent Duparchy
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Default prettiest view in the world?

What a journey that monday !

La molière is fantastic ! but groomed only when there is lack of snow
in Autrans valley.

A competitor is "La noire de Divonne", Jura, France, La Vattey site.
Also wide view of French and Swiss Alps, lac Leman and Genève.

I found this on the web :

http://photogallery.free.fr/VATTAY_D/vattay.html
  #5  
Old April 5th 04, 09:55 PM
Andrew Bolger
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Default prettiest view in the world?

On 5/4/04 5:45 pm, "Laurent Duparchy" wrote:

What a journey that monday !

La molire is fantastic ! but groomed only when there is lack of snow
in Autrans valley.

A competitor is "La noire de Divonne", Jura, France, La Vattey site.
Also wide view of French and Swiss Alps, lac Leman and Genve.

I found this on the web :

http://photogallery.free.fr/VATTAY_D/vattay.html



Jeff, I think, would go with Richard Jefferies' (19C British writer)
observation that it is better to have a deep understanding of a few home
acres than a superficial knowledge of the world. The French Alps take some
beating though but how about Val d'Herens in the Valais, Switzerland? I've
not been there in winter but it's wonderful in summer, has xc trails (and
the Haute Route) and is said to be just as good if not better in winter.





  #6  
Old April 5th 04, 11:21 PM
J999w
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Default prettiest view in the world?

Prettiest view in the world of XC?

How about from the top of the podium?

:^]

jw
milwaukee
  #7  
Old April 6th 04, 01:28 AM
George Cleveland
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Default prettiest view in the world?

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 21:29:52 -0400, Jeff Potter
wrote:

J999w wrote:

Prettiest view in the world of XC?

How about from the top of the podium?


Maybe someday. If the right people don't show up, eh Jay? : )

Regarding the 19thC writer, how about Thoreau, who said he "traveled
widely in Concord." : )

I'm someone who's very tempted by 'grass is greener'-itis and have
followed it globally for decades...so the past few years I've worked
hard on screwing my eyes into good enough focus to see that here is
cool, too.

...The minimalls, pavement, pro-sports-fans, TVheads and salesmen don't
make it very easy, though.

...Neither does the frickin lack of hills and decent water.

It takes a lot of squinting to see the beauty in a drainage ditch. But I
did it growing up and am doing it now. A friend wrote a GREAT essay
called "Paddling the Ditches of Meridian Township" on my OYB site years
back. It's still there. I'm not the only one stuck in this boat. But I
do feel weird about forcing my kids to be exposed to it. So we bought
that little lot up in Idlewild. We'll see how that plays out. Next week
I plan to take the nippers down to the local muddy trickle to see if we
can find some crayfish. No trout, but crayfish can be heaven to a kid.




Yep. If a person wants to find the best an urban or suburban area has
to offer follow the kid trails. Every creek and railroad right of way
will be entwined with them. Here in Merrill generations of kids have
bushwhacked through a thicket called the "Indian Trails". While they
are hard for a grownup to negotiate, once inside them you have a good
chance of seeing dozens of different kinds of birds, rabbits (large
and small), squirrels (red, grey and flying) and, since they are next
to a river, mink. Kids need wild places and are lucky enough to be
able to recognize them in areas measured in square yards not square
miles (although having a few measured in square miles helps too).


g.c.
  #8  
Old April 6th 04, 01:29 AM
Jeff Potter
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Default prettiest view in the world?

J999w wrote:

Prettiest view in the world of XC?

How about from the top of the podium?


Maybe someday. If the right people don't show up, eh Jay? : )

Regarding the 19thC writer, how about Thoreau, who said he "traveled
widely in Concord." : )

I'm someone who's very tempted by 'grass is greener'-itis and have
followed it globally for decades...so the past few years I've worked
hard on screwing my eyes into good enough focus to see that here is
cool, too.

....The minimalls, pavement, pro-sports-fans, TVheads and salesmen don't
make it very easy, though.

....Neither does the frickin lack of hills and decent water.

It takes a lot of squinting to see the beauty in a drainage ditch. But I
did it growing up and am doing it now. A friend wrote a GREAT essay
called "Paddling the Ditches of Meridian Township" on my OYB site years
back. It's still there. I'm not the only one stuck in this boat. But I
do feel weird about forcing my kids to be exposed to it. So we bought
that little lot up in Idlewild. We'll see how that plays out. Next week
I plan to take the nippers down to the local muddy trickle to see if we
can find some crayfish. No trout, but crayfish can be heaven to a kid.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of do-it-yourself culture ... bikes, skis, boats & more! ...

... with radically relevant novels from the ULA &
LiteraryRevolution.com! ...
... free music! ... tons o' articles! ... travel forums! ... WOW!
800-763-6923


  #9  
Old April 6th 04, 01:33 AM
Jeff Potter
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Posts: n/a
Default prettiest view in the world?

PS: I've been taking photos of grey leafless forest scenes for the past
week. I'm seeing the beauty in the striated patterns of trunks. There
are lots of kinds of gray. I cheated and included a puffy cloud of tiny
red buds in one scene. I'll put em up at my site shortly.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
publisher of do-it-yourself culture ... bikes, skis, boats & more! ...

... with radically relevant novels from the ULA &
LiteraryRevolution.com! ...
... free music! ... tons o' articles! ... travel forums! ... WOW!
800-763-6923


  #10  
Old April 6th 04, 10:26 AM
Ken Roberts
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Default prettiest view in the world?

"La noire de Divonne" and La Vattay are on my list now -- thanks Laurent.

Looks like those less than 30 minutes from the Geneva airport. Very
interesting for Sharon and me, because we can leave work in New York on a
Friday afternoon, get on a non-stop airline flight, wake up in Geneva at
8:00 Saturday morning. With a little luck getting our skis out quickly thru
baggage, we could be skiing at La Vattay by 9:30 the next morning.

We almost did that a couple of weeks ago, but when we drove our rental car
up to Col de la Faucille, it was clouds and light rain, so we didn't see or
ski that day.

New York is turning into such a fine base for skiing.

Coming soon is the first scheduled non-stop flight to Oslo. Could leave
work in Manhattan on Friday afternoon, take the train to Liberty airport,
sleep on the flight, and wake up next morning by the road between Oslo and
Lillehammer. Start out before lunch skating the Nordseter - Pellestova -
Sjusjoen loop. Then drive to Salen that evening and do the Vasaloppot Oppet
Spar on Sunday.

Or perhaps more in keeping with the "prettiest view" in XC skiing theme,
drive west from the airport to Rjukan. (wonder if we could make it there in
time to ski the first day?)

Ken


 




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