Another night spent, generally speaking, not asleep. I got up for the loo at 2:30 and the air temperature and breeze were just about perfect shorts and T-shirt weather. Not that the night was necessarily wasted - I listened to some worship music, prayed and let my imagination roam freely in anticipation of the move to Patchway in the autumn.
As I make a cup of tea for breakfast there is a cool breeze but the sun is up and the sky clear.
One of the things I had asked T to find when we were in the supermarket yesterday was a notebook so I could organise shopping lists and recipes more efficiently. He was proud of hoving found me a Clack book. As it is the premium version I wonder if it might not be thought of as a Clackbook Pro, but T rightly spots that the pages have hole punching already in, so it must therefore be a Clackbook Air.
We also got freezer blocks and a new coolbag, so I will be able to get milk and things from the Crai minimarket, but we opt to continue with the lemon scented tea which we drink black. T and I are also excited about the first operation of the new Bialetti espresso pot and espresso goblets.
Overnight my right hamstring has solidified so I have a stiff back as well. One of the main reasons for this will be announced tomorrow. We also get some sad news from home concerning a lovely man who used to live opposite our old house. I am thrilled to see T reading his Bible each morning. We had a really good chat about his Church in Leicester - he is mature and discerning over a lot of issues and a real treasure. It is such an awesome privilege to share this concentrated time with the boys and to give them this opportunity to go biking. T looks through the book of European Mountain Bike parks we bought four years ago and he thinks we have done 9 of the parks listed in there (plus one more not listed). We recall sitting flipping through these pages longingly, never imagining we would ever actually hit any of these runs.
Our near neighbours, the Swiss Baldy Bikers, have been and gone in one night. They are already packed and waiting to settle up at the office before it opens as I walk past on my way to the shop. In the shop is a queue of about a dozen people ahead of me. Assistant appears and sets about opening the second till, but she takes so long that by the time she asks her first customer across (me) there is only me in the queue.
Another chat over breakfast with the Danes. They are amazingly well travelled and their English is nigh on perfect. We get going promptly by 10:30 and head into Aosta for the cable car base station. We buy the 5 day passes, but E says he feels a little funny so T goes up for his first run on his own. It is 33C in the car park so I walk round to the supermarket to buy some water whilst T heads up. The cable car goes up as far as Pila, and from there is a chair lift up to Chamole at 1750mtrs. T texts to say he is coming all the way down on the 11km long run so I go into town to get a coffee.
Our guidebook allows 2/3 page plus a small map for Aosta town, which I find to be on the generous side. There is an enormous Cogne factory, something to do with metal working judging by the noise and state of the building. Also, to my irritation, the car park for the cable car is to the south of the railway station and there is no simple way around it, except to walk the length of the sidings.
I find a littel cafe/lottery shop off the main square and have a Doppio and panini (never normally my lunch of choice), take some photos and walk back to the car. To be fair to Aosta I was tired and the sun was pretty strong.
Aosta is apparently named after Ceasar Augustus, and there are some Roman remains. There is also a long walk back to the car around the railway sidings, and avoiding a couple in a passionate embrace under the viaduct.
T has also got back to the car having had a bit of an adventure. He was sitting on the back of the Landy, stripped to the waist and dripping with sweat. He did have a large grin on his face, though. The run had been worth it!
Pila from Howard Jameson on Vimeo.
The start at the top by the Chamole lift station is a little unclear, and T initially set off on the pedestrian only path, but soon turned round. As he began the run the starting ramp for the European Cup Downhill event which was to start the weekend after we left was already in place.
The run descends all the way back into Aosta for 11kms. We had been warned that the bottom of the run goes into the town itself (actually finishing at the car park) and that this wasn't well sign posted. The advice was to cross a garage forecourt and follow a path alongside the river, but this clip of the last section doesn't seem to show much in the way of clear trail marking.
Aosta from Howard Jameson on Vimeo.
T had loved it, but it was a long and exhausting trail especially in the heat and we didn't try this trail again.
Having had lunch and drunk a huge amount of water we were all ready to go up again. The cable car re-opens after lunch at around 2:15 so we went up promplty, T in one car and E and I in the next.
Looking back the car behind us contained a little old lady with her shopping trolley.
At the top it is much cooler, but still in the mid-20s. The boys went up the chair-lift (the Chamole) but my ticket wouldn't allow me to go with them, so I set off to find a track for walking, which I eventually do heading into the tree towards Eremo Di St. Grit. I was hoping to find some shade wit ha breeze and a flowing alpine stream. I got the first two but instead of the third I got a lot of flies. I thought I would sit and write my journal, but discovered for the second time that my Lamy cartridge had spewed its inky contents all over the pen. I was also getting low on water. As I made my way back to the telecabina the dark clouds over Mont Blanc were heading in our direction, just after 4om as predicted. I descended on the cable car and texted the boys to warn them. I got to the bottom with lightning flashing to the west and walked briskly round to the supermarket for the things I needed for tonight's chicken risotto.
As I paid I could see the torrential rain beating down. The boys texted to say they had seen the clouds coming and made it to the cable car, but it kept stopping because of gusting side winds.
Luckily we all managed to be under cover at the worst bit, but I still got wet walking back round to the car (having missed the English language option on the self-service check out, being distracted by the weather).
Back at camp the nice Dutch couple opposite had rescued our stove and washing and got them under cover. Getting wet wasn't a real problem, but there was a lot of dust being brought down by the storm and so we had some quite impressive muddy puddles on the Khyam roof.
I got the chicken risotto going for supper, but was delayed by some more Dutch Lany appreciation. The nice man from along also wanted to know if Bath was anywhere near Shrewsbury where he had friends.
Back in the tent we spread the map out and it is possible to confirm the mountains we had been in awe of today. Straight across the valley from Pila (at 12 o'clock, as it were) are Mt Velan and Grand Combin, with the Grand Col of St Bernard just to the left that we crossed last Friday. At about 10 o'clock is Mont Blanc looking impressive but deceptively gentle (some climbers had been killed in an avalanche only days before). At 3 o'clock is the Matterhorn, shrouded in cloud today.
The boys appear to be heading down for the night. I feel like old Arkwright on Open All Hours sitting here journalling and looking back on the day. I have been tucking receipts, tickets and leaflets into it and am looking for a big elstic band to keep them all together. There's never a Royal Mail red one lying around when you need it.
Miles today - 19.