Statistics: mileage 12.5 miles ascent 2936′ descent 4626′ 6 1/2 hours
We were heartened to not have rain and even had a little blue sky as our day began. The staff at Rifugio Bonatti packed a fine lunch for us to eat along the trail. Our path would traverse the side of the mountain with views of the massif directly across the Val Ferret.
Although enjoying the panorama immensely, we did pay attention to the path so as to not take a quick trip down the mountain!
Life in the alps is hard and it appears that not everyone made a success of it.
The view back down the trail revealed a wonderful sight all the way to Col de la Seigne, the Vals Veni and Ferret and, in the middle left, Rif. Bonatti.
The alpenrose was in abundance as we skirted the hillside.
Continuing to traverse across pastureland, we had a short reprieve from the climb.
Big chunks of stratified rock adorned the trail.
Just about the time that we were seriously thinking about lunch, we arrived at Rifugio Elena, an attractive refuge which replaced one leveled by an avalanche in the
After enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and our packed lunch from the Bonatti staff, we were on the trail again.
Now the real work began as we climbed for about 1.5 hours from Rif. Elena to the Grand Col Ferret.
The icy wind drove us off the Col; we did not stay long there.
We had enjoyed a commanding view behind us, but once on the Col, in the direction we were headed, we met a wall of cloud that remained with us for the rest of the day. Welcome to Switzerland!
Halfway down the mountain to La Fouly (our destination for the night), we came upon La Peule, a delightful little spot to warm up with a hot drink and a pastry! On a clear day, I am sure this would be a great place to pause and take in the mountains.
We happily arrived at Hotel Edelweiss in LaFouly, a very comfortable, clean hotel with a nice restaurant, but one of the rare places where we saw no one we knew.
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