Domodossola - just a train ride away

Domodossola

Just an hour's train ride from Sierre and you're in Italy and the beautiful historic town of Domodossola. The old town dates back to the C14th and wandering around you'll definitley come into the Piazza Mercato - an irregular shaped square surrounded by elegant medieval town houses with beautiful balconies and loggias.

Wander the medieval street and churches

Domodossola has long been a hub town which became more important in the early 1800's when Napolean finished the building of the road across the Simplon pass, one hundred year's later the railway tunnel was opened allowing even easier connections with Switzerland.

It's a great day out - topped off with a coffee and a delicious Italian ice-cream at 1/3 of the price.  PK

Tele-marking time

You don't need much snow to have knee deep powder.

After some promising snow in November, we had virtually nothing in December. In fact, it was the third driest month recorded in the last 150 years, and the level 4 hazard was for fire not avalanche. However, there was enough cold for the resort to make snow and so, as we waited for the season to really begin, we took up our telemark skis and started to practice.

Last April we decided to give tele-marking a go, and spent four days with Nicko of Telemark Tracks (www.telemarktracks.com) over in Val d'Isere. (You can read how we got on in the follow feature in the Financial Times )

When conditions require you to stay on the groomed stuff, this is certainly one way to not get bored with the piste. We've moved from blues to red and (with a bit of fresh snow) to some gentle off piste. More practice required but things are slowly getting better - as are the snow conditions. PK

Sky at night

Looking south towards the Besso

Last night was a beautiful, warm and moonless night. You didn't need to go far from the village to get the most amazing sky-scape. No telescopes required it was all just there - layer upon layer, from the bright to the milky way 'cloud'. A mind boggling look back in time.  PK

Looking west

Giant ice maker - Zinal Glacier

The perfect G n T made with glacial ice and a slice

How far will you go to put some ice in your drink? Well the other day we headed off to search for the most perfect lump of frozen water we could find -  layers of snow, crushed over hundreds of years into a beautifully clear lump of turquoise ice. This natural ice maker was the snout of the Zinal Glacier.

A 5km walk from Zinal following the Navisence towards the Pointe de Zinal 

The ice caves at the snout of the Zinal Glacier

Inside the ice caves

Five icy masses - the Glacier du Cornier, Bouquetins, Durand, L'Obergabelorn and Mountet - creep down from the head of the valley and merge together to become the Zinal glacier. From the village, it's a 5 km walk south, following the Navisence river to its source - the turquoise blue ice caves at the snout of the glacier. These days it's 1.7 km further than it was 120 years ago, but the extra walk is definitely worth it.

Fifty shades of blue

The most perfect lump of ice

Turning the clock back

Inside Zinal's 'Peasant-House' Museum

The villages of the Val d'Anniviers contain buildings dating back to the 16th century. Until 50 years ago life was lived in much the same way as it had been for hundreds of years. This film was shot in Zinal in 1967 but it could have been 200 years earlier.

Main living and sleeping room 

Part of the valley's charm lies in the old wooden buildings whose beams have been blackened by the weather over the years. Several houses in the valley have been preserved as museums and display collections of furniture, tools and photographs which show how life in the valley once was.

Cuttlery and wooden platters

Zinal's museum, pictured here, dates back to 1768. There's an outer store/workshop and kitchen area with steps that lead up to the main living room where the whole family slept in 3 truckle beds stacked one above the other by day. You can see daylight through some of the walls and even with the soapstone stove going, it must have been chilly in winter. You can imagine people living under those conditions in the middle ages but the fact that the last inhabitants lived here into the 1960s seems quite extraordinary.

Milking stools

Straw bonnet fixed to the mould awaiting final ribbon

Outside and downstairs is the cellar which was shared with the neighbour who lived above, and where the family stored their food and wine. Now it displays old photographs and a collection of agricultural tools.

Cooking corner

Tools, skis and workbench stand in the opposite corner to the hearth

Pebbles cover the floor of the 'cave' where more old tools are displayed 

Many thanks to l'Association des Amis du Vieux Zinal who look after  the 'Ancienne Maison d’Habitation, Musée'.  

In Vissoie and Ayer there are similar houses that can also be visited during the summer months: www.valdanniviers.ch/tourism/museums-exhibitions.html

Moiry Via Ferrata

Wonderful views across to the Moiry Dam

We finally got to try our local via ferrata route on the crag next to the Moiry dam. It's a 230m piece of cliff which looks insignificant from afar but once up on the rock gives a sense of airiness along with great views.

It's a long way down and I've only just started...

The route starts with a D+ (difficult +) grade but then branches - you can continue along the same grade, or opt for a harder TD (very difficult) or easier options - AD (fairly difficult) or F (easy). The climbing is almost entirely done using metal staples for hand and foot holds - a system used a lot on the via ferrata routes in France. No one's pretending to climb the rock here.

Most of the route uses staples for hand and foot holds

In addition to the main climbing routes there are options to cross a 70m bridge suspended 100m above the ground, or (new this year) climb a 30m metal scrambling net; if you're with a guide who has the key for it, you can do the massive tyrolienne zip-line.

View from the bridge

For more information visit the following sites:
www.valdanniviers.ch/tourism/moiry-ferrata.html
www.sites.google.com/site/viaferratatrail/moiry

Yes, there really is a picnic table on a ledge at point 10....

The various routes and levels of difficulty 

Top 100

This is the 100th post on this blog so it seems appropriate to list (in no particular order) some of our favourite things to see, do and experience in and around the Val d'Anniviers

Things to see: 

Black-nosed sheep, gentians and edelweiss.

• Patch of gentians
• Black-nosed sheep
• Ptarmigan
• Edelweiss
• Sunset on the Besso
• Crocus poking up through the snow as spring arrives
• Meadows of summer flowers
• Marmotts running across the fields
• Ibex on the cliffs
• Waterfalls beyond Zinal in spring
• Golden Eagles

Walking routes:

Tour lac de Moiry, Lac Noir and up to Cabane d'Arpitettaz

• Up to Cabane d'Arpitettaz 
• Wiesshorn hotel to Zinal
• From top of Sorebois lift to Cabane Petit Mountet 
• Tour lac de Moiry
• Bisse walk in Vercorin
• Descent of Vallon de Rechy
• Crete de Midi
• Up to Cabane Grand Mountet
• From Bendolla south to the dam
• Chandolin along the cliffs
• Lac noir above St Luc

Best events:

Feeries Christmas Market, Sierre-Zinal race

• 1st August fireworks in Zinal
• Feeries Christmas market Grimentz
• Friday markets in August Grimentz
• Sierre Zinal mountain marathon
• Vercorin jazz festival
• Grimentz three day classical music festival 
• Marche des Cepages, wine and walking tour though the vin-yards
• Desalps
• Grand Raid – Verbier to Grimentz mountain bike race 

Food & Wine:

Locally cured sausages, home-made redcurrant jelly

• Fresh serac cheese from the alpine diary
• Vin de glacier from Bourgeois Grimentz
• Myrtle tart at Hotel Wiesshorn
• Wild alpine strawberries 
• Multi-grain bread from Salamin bakery
• Local cured dried sausages
• Redcurrant jelly made from the wild berries around the house
• Glass of white wine from the caves of Sierre

Favorite pistes to ski:

Illhorn red piste, Chandolin

• Chamois, Zinal
• Pas de Beouf to Prillet, St Luc
• Vercorin blue, from top station to the village
• Blue from Grands Plans chair past Etable du Marais, Grimentz
• Illhorn red piste, Chandolin

Things to do and visit:

Grimentz old town, moon light walk in winter, Hotel Weisshorn

• Histoic house, Zinal
• Walk through Zinal old town
• Centre of Grimentz
• Moon light walk in winter
• Sleep out under the stars on a summer's night
• Visit old flour mill in Grimentz
• See cheese being made in the mountain dairies
• Star gaze from the St Luc observatory
• Visit hotel Weisshorn – even better stay overnight
• Visit Tzoucdana cafe and see the farm animals
• Overnight in a mountain hut 
• Via ferrata below Moiry dam
• Snow shoe to the snout of the Zinal glacier and discover the ice-cave

Best off piste:

Down to the dam

• Down to the dam from Zinal
• Orzival
• Vallon de Rechy
• Variants around Chamois
• Off back of St Luc into Turtmann valley
• Zinal free-ride zone
• Vercorin trees
• Lona
• Pylon route 
• Middle bowl, Zinal
• Abondance
• Trees to Chiesso Blanc

Views to see:

Weisshorn, glaciers above Grand Mountet, sunset from Tracuit

• Sunset from Cabane Tracuit
• Top of Ilhorn over Rhone valley
• Col des Arpettes into Turtmann valley
• Glaciers from Cabane du Grand Mountet 
• Besso from Lac d'Arpitettaz
• Glaciers from Cabane du Moiry
• From Niouc the 'Imperial Crown'
• Weisshorn from bridge above Zinal 
• South from Barneuza
• South into Vallon de Rechy from top of Vercorin

Day ski-tours:

Basset de Levron, Bec de Bosson, Col du Pigne

• Tourno, St Luc
• Basset de Lona, Grimentz
• Cabane d'Arpittetta and on to Glacier de Moming
• Basset de Levron, Grimentz
• Off back Grimentz and over to Nax
• Glacier de Moiry and Col du Pigne
• Off back of Bella Tola

Favourite time of year:

Autumn colours, Zinal

• January – low sun and wonderful light
• February – early on, good snow and no people
• March – warmer and longer ski days
• April – spring snow
• May – crocuses appear through the melting snow
• June – meadows around the house are full of flowers
• July – higher alpine meadows come into flower
• August – lots of music and other events in all the villages
• September – warm days, no people and great walking
• October – larches turn golden and first snow on the peaks
• November – Zinal opens for weekend skiing
• December – Feeries market in Grimentz

Seeing the wood for the trees.

Followers of our Facebook page will have noticed that I often take pictures of snowy trees. Snowy and cloudy days obscure the mountains and the forests around the chalet come to the fore. On these 'dull' days I love the natural monotone caste and the layers of snow and branches are great to photograph. Recently, we've had some pretty snowy days so I've put together the following collection of colour photos...

Paws for thought...

Chamois tracks

Go for a walk in the snowy woods and you'll see tracks of the animals you know live there but rarely meet. You can see where they've scampered up a bank, walked around in circles following good smells, and scraped away the snow to uncover something to eat.

Squirrel, lynx, deer, & chamois prints

With freezing temperatures and snow covering the vegetation for the next 5 months or so it's a tough time for these animals. Conserving energy is the name of the game and for this reason resorts restrict areas of the mountain as no go zones for walking, snow-shoeing and skiing.

Foot-print chart from www.mountainwilderness.ch

Whilst not wanting to scare any of these beasts into having to run and use energy, you'll often see animal tracks overlying old ski tracks. Using the route where the snow is firmest they use less energy, so we believe both can co-exist in the same spaces. These animals become habituated to man and that we (in winter) are not a threat. With no natural predators the larger animals are culled each September by hunters ie the winter doesn't threaten their numbers. Unlike the hunters, who take only the beautiful and strong, nature takes the weak and those less likely to survive.

For more information on how animals behave visit www.mountainwilderness.ch.

Since writing this the canton of Valais have introduced 142 no go (to people) zones. These zones have been designed by hunters! (hum...) Some of the best and most easily accessed off-piste terrain is affected by this ruling, areas close to the resorts. You can find out more about where they are on the following website -  www.respecter-cest-proteger.ch  - closest to here is off the back of the Bella Tola in St Luc, into the Turtmann valley.

Get fit for winter...

Winter is just around the corner and it's time to get fit for the coming ski season. Running is an easy choice and will improve your cardio, stamina and legs. Here are a few others we like...

- Lindsey Vonn knows a thing or two and there are some good exercises on this video - we particularly like the side to side sprints and knees up...

- For indoors, we've made our own wobble board which along with hours of fun is great for balance, knees and core - remember to look ahead...

- Finally this 'periodic table' has direct links to video clips on 'you tube' which show you how you should be doing each exercise. You can start easy and also select what area you want to work on...

What goes up must come down - the désalpe

Leading the cows down with a bag of bread

Today was the désalpe - the day when the cows officially come down from the high summer meadows where they've been grazing since June (see the inalpe). It perhaps marks the end of summer but more often the start of an Indian summer. Today was no exception with wonderful blue skies and warm sunshine.

Tying on the flower headdresses - not that easy

It's a great day of celebration with an early start on the mountain and a mass herding of the beasts down to the villages. Help is needed to try and keep them from stampeding - best left to the experts and to stay at the back with the slow ones...

A variety of flower headdresses

Once down headdresses of flowers are tied between the horns in true Valaisanne tradition. Then the parade can begin. Each cow led by it's proud owner through the village - there's clapping for best milker, cheese maker and then the bossiest one (the Queen) whose kept the herd in check. At the end of the village it's time to crack open a few bottles and sample some of the summer cheeses.

Parading through Ayer