32.05 Vallorcine, Alpage De Loriaz: Great hike, stunning scenes. Viva La Francaise!
Some days, the positions are unbeatable. It seems that each hike is better than the previous one and the latter was great in of itself. There has to come a time when they cannot keep improving. This region, mountain focused, is beyond all our expectations. The French have a way with their trails that make them relatively easy for us to find, clearly marked, well graded but steep, rugged but good tests, many of them inter-linked and with views and atmosphere that cannot be matched easily. It helps that the mountain range, Mont-Blanc, is at high altitude, over 16,000 feet, wonderfully varied in shape and snow-covered. The trails are not busy but there are always people moving about the mountains. The etiquette is to offer greetings in the local language so unless one stops for a chat, it is not easy to gauge the different nationals. It has happened that we have communicated with people who spoke French to us at first but turned out to be English. This happens frequently. After ...