Snow shoe walking

3 by Jane Mann 3

There may be one more snow shoe walk this winter. Watch this space!
On Tuesday Mike Rhodes led his group onto the chairlift at Formiguères, a wonderful cheating way to gain altitude. It was a blisteringly wonderful day. Sparkling snow, clear blue sky, a group of almost twenty people in good spirits. As usual we were given fascinating snippets of nature talk by Ian, mainly on the eating habits of squirrels and woodpeckers and how they share the pine cones with mice. Tracks were spotted. The scenery got grander and grander as we climbed. Our snow shoes came off for a bit of near mountaineering after which coffee was drunk and the Perics admired. The 360 view was superb. A fun descent through powdery snow brought us to the Refuge of Camporells. Sheltered tables in full sun seduced some members of the group into an early apero while the rest did a tour of the frozen lake.
A stout lunch of Tartiflette, salad, red wine and fruit salad was all the more appreciated by the knowledge that our hosts had carried every bit of it up on skis in large and heavy back packs. The coffee that finished the meal set us up for the walk back. A slightly gentler route but we were all pretty ready to stop by the time we were back at the bottom of the chairlift in Formiguères.
Camporells refuge is open from June to Septmber and during school holidays in winter. Ring Viviane or Jean-Brice to book in. A more beautiful high mountain spot would be hard to imagine.