After the past week of cold, wet and quite frankly miserable conditions, today was forecast as dry and relatively clear. Time to get out and check out the snow conditions! We opted to stay local as more weather was set to move in this afternoon. So we drove the 8km up the road to the Col de Port, stopping briefly to take a photo of the breathtakingly beautiful high mountains in the brilliant early morning light
Up at the Col de Port, I sought reassurance from the chasseurs (hunters) that were milling around that we would not get shot! Having received such reassurance, we headed up the hill in the direction of Pic d'Estibat
with the intention of tackling Pic de la Journalade (1945m). However, it soon became apparent that the fresh, deep powder was going to make for hard and slow progress
With dark, grey skies rapidly approaching we decided to play it safe, abandon the idea of Pic de la Journalade and pick up instead the route forestière which I ran the other week before winter arrived. Progress was easier and therefore more enjoyable as we passed through avenues of heavily-laden trees
Many trees have not yet lost their leaves thanks to the very mild autumn, and so, with the heavy snow fall this last week many are bent double and even broken by their heavy load, which made passage tricky in places
The snow was deep and soft for most of the 8km circuit which made for a real workout. We were out for 4 hours and I was quite pleased to return home to a nice mug of hot chocolate and a hot shower, just as the rain and sleet pushed in again. It had been good to get out!
Up at the Col de Port, I sought reassurance from the chasseurs (hunters) that were milling around that we would not get shot! Having received such reassurance, we headed up the hill in the direction of Pic d'Estibat 
with the intention of tackling Pic de la Journalade (1945m). However, it soon became apparent that the fresh, deep powder was going to make for hard and slow progress
With dark, grey skies rapidly approaching we decided to play it safe, abandon the idea of Pic de la Journalade and pick up instead the route forestière which I ran the other week before winter arrived. Progress was easier and therefore more enjoyable as we passed through avenues of heavily-laden trees
Many trees have not yet lost their leaves thanks to the very mild autumn, and so, with the heavy snow fall this last week many are bent double and even broken by their heavy load, which made passage tricky in places
The snow was deep and soft for most of the 8km circuit which made for a real workout. We were out for 4 hours and I was quite pleased to return home to a nice mug of hot chocolate and a hot shower, just as the rain and sleet pushed in again. It had been good to get out!
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