October in the Valais is a beautiful month, the autumn colours march down the mountain as the Larch turn golden and shed their needles whilst in the valley the vineyards turn into a patchwork of reds and golds. Big bonus is that most visitors have left so it is quieter but the cable cars are still running. Our goal was to do a moderate amount of hiking, however this was challenged a bit by the amount of cycling we did instead! Some of our highlights were:
Fall hike up to the Barrage de Cleuson
An hike early in our holiday (Oct 5) up to the Barrage de Cleuson. Very little wind when we got up to the lake so we had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains reflected in the water. We took a small footpath up through the right side of the valley which is my favourite route, and then decided to hike anticlockwise round the lake before heading down the road. To be honest the road hike down is a bit of a slog and with all the switchbacks it seemed we were getting nowhere slowly! I kept saying to Mike we are nearly opposite the Tepee (a winter café on the ski slopes), only to find we had gone backwards and were further away. Played a guessing game to see how long our hike would be which Mike won. His reward was to treat me to a coffee at Siviez.
Snowy hike up to the Barrage
A total contrast a month later when I did this hike on our final Sunday (6 Nov) after a light fall of snow. Beautiful crisp winters day. Warm in the sun as I walked up the ski slopes to the footpath through the trees but chilly in the shade. Returned via the footpath which I had a slow run down, I needed to warm up. Lots of fun especially as the snow had filled in the gravel path, without being too deep or icy and was a great surface. At the bottom I noticed one of the picnic tables had been turned into a giant snakes and ladders game for kids profiling the farming activities in the area by month. A small wooden tumbler was built into the table at one end that is rolled to give the dice throw. Ingenious. Mike’s knee was still inflamed after his cycling injury so he stayed at home and watched England get through to the T20 semi finals. As a postscript he then listened to the semi’s on our journey back to Wales and then we both watched them win the final a week later. Exciting game
Click on play below to see some photos from both hikes
Dent du Nendaz plus ridge walk
Another favourite hike of ours is the Dent du Nendaz from the top of Tracouet lift. This time we decided to do it with a twist and we hiked there and back along the ridge, getting the ski lift up and down. Normally we hike the ridge one way and then descend to either Siviez and walk back along the Bisse to Nendaz or hike down directly to Nendaz via the Plan du Fou ski run. We much preferred the ridge option as the hike down is a bit brutal on my knees. The ridge is stunning in both directions.
Local bisse walks
We also managed a couple of bisse walks. A favourite is the Bisse de Vex from Planchouet towards Iserables. We tend to turn off before we get there and head up towards Verrey (where there is an excellent summer café) and then take a path through the woods back to the bisse and Planchouet. This year however when we got to the woods we found the path was shut as some major logging was going on. The foresters had constructed a ‘zip wire’ down which they were hauling tree trunks. Quite naturally they were not too keen on pedestrians being in the area. So we retraced our footsteps and kept each other amused by telling jokes to pass the time.
There are more hikes that we would both like to have done but the mountains will still be there next year. What was good is that Mike’s knee has recovered really well from his knee op in August and so hopefully we will be in good shape for our ski holiday in the States this winter.
