Alpine Logistics

After several days of heavy snow the skies cleared and Sunday’s forcast was good. We got out our maps and identified a snow-shoe itinerary were the avalanche risk would be low. We found Punta della Pierre, a relativly low but very panoramic peak above the small village of Ozein in the valley of Cogne.

Getting up when it’s cold and dark outside is not my favourite way to start the day but as we drove into the snow-covered mountains of Valle d’Aosta with the sun rising behind them I remembered why I do it.

 ”I hope we don’t lose our way with all this snow” I said to Manuel as we approached Ozein but just a few minutes later we discovered that if anything we might lose each other in the crowd; there was a long line of cars parked and a great bustling of people kitting up on the road-side where the our trail began. Some had snow shoes and others skis with skins.

Fortunately the crowd thinned out further up and we were able to enjoy the scenery. The first half of the itinerary zigzagged up through a beautiful pine forest whose trees were laden with fresh snow. There was no wind and it was silent, something I very much appreciate as you rarely hear it in everyday life.

The going would have been a lot tougher had the trail not already been broken by those ahead of us but as it was we made good time and were soon above the tree line. From here a gentle ridge leads to the top of the mountain and offers fantastic views along the whole length of Valle d’Aosta. Although there was a thin layer of clouds hanging at about two-thirds height up the mountains, we could see the massif bulk of Monte Bianco at the north end of the valley and countless other peaks inbetween.

On the summit the ski-mountaineers peeled off their skins and disappeared down the side of the mountain in no time, leaving us to enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine as we descended, enthused and invigorated by our day-trip.