A night in a mountain refuge

Last weekend I spent a night in a mountain refuge to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday.  Aside from the daunting fact that me and all my friends are all turning 40, it was only my second time staying in a refuge.  I don't feel that the first experience really counts as the refuge had a guardian.  Our meal was cooked for us, they had electricity and running water, and the rooms were cleaned.  The refuge that we stayed last weekend in was a different story.  Unguarded refuges have no electricity or running water.  In general there is a large room with fireplace, table and benches.  Above this, is a second floor with  matresses for sleeping.  Unguarded refuges are more or less well equipped depending on how popular they are.  They cannot be reserved and operate on a 'first come-first served' basis.  The door is never locked.
We left in mid- afternoon to try and be sure we would arrive before anyone else.  We were carrying all our food and drink.  We chose a refuge not too far from where we left our cars.  After a steep two hour walk, we arrived at our chosen chalet only to discover we had been beaten to it.  Luckily there were five refuges within a one kilometre radius.  However, the people who had bagged our chosen refuge told us that they had already had to move on from another which was full.  So with foreboding we headed off to the next refuge.
As we drew within sight, there was no sign of occupants, the chimney wasn't smoking.  We were in luck it was empty and surprisingly well equipped.  There were pots and pans, two axes and plenty of firewood.  There was a firepit in front of the building, a water source and nearby a toilet (although we only discovered the state of this the next morning).  We had a magnificent view of the mountains, with their first sprinkling of snow on the very summits, to our left, looking right the valley stretched down to the plain.
We settled in and got down to the blind wine tasting we had planned for the evening.  Each person had brought a different wine. These were decanted into bottles marked with letters of the alphabet.  We then tested and tried to guess which wine was which.  I am happy to say my score was two out of six, a hundred percent improvement on my first attempt a few years ago.
Then as darkness fell we heard voices and saw lights bobbing down the mountain.  Other people were on the way to our refuge.  We prepared ourselves to turn them away.  It was a group of young foreign students walking in the mountains, they had been turned away from another refuge higher up.  We began by telling them we were full, but their pleading and the gathering darkness weakened our hearts.  We warned them that our party would go on until late, they could have the sleeping platform but we would use the matresses to sleep down stairs.  After some discussion they agreed and moved in.
It was now totally dark and the lights were twinkling in the valley below.  Then we heard the roar of engines and lights appeared on the track.  Two camouflaged figures appeared on quad bikes.  Their arrival was the only black mark of the evening, as it became they were already drunk and were up to no good.  Luckily our superiority in numbers caused them to back down and move on.  The rest of the evening passed in much merry making, until a rain shower forced us inside and to bed.
I slept surprisingly well and the refuge was quite warm, despite my apprehensions my thermal underwear stayed in my bag.  The next morning, the first to wake, I watched the light gradually reveal the mountain as the cattle lowed.  I felt privileged to witness the mountain like this and made vow to repeat the experience.  Although next time I would choose a refuge inaccesible to quads!

Paragliding over the Alps

Paragliding, or 'Parapente' as its known here in France, is a very popular sport in around Grenoble.  The most popular site is St Hilaire de Touvet.  Almost every weekend paragliders can be seen circling over the valley, after having them hurled themselves off the cliff.  In late september a festival of flight (Coupe Icare) is held here, with all types of flying machines present.  The highlight, however, is the fancy dress days when paragliders dressed in fancy dress costume can be seen in the skies.
Another popular spot for this sport is the Collet d'Allevard, just ten minutes from my house.  I have often watched the paragliders as they drift over the mountains and imagined what it must feel like.  A couple of years ago, I paid for my wife to take a flight with an instructor and she loved it.  She then offered to pay for me to do a flight, but I always found a reason not to.
Then finally last weekend I decided to take the plunge.  The sky was clear blue, but it was a little windy.  While my family waited at the landing site, I jumped into a van and we roared off up the mountain.  My fellow passengers were all paragliding students who were beginning their solo flights.  I would have to wait while they all launched, before the instructor would strap himself to me and we could fly.  The first thing I noticed was that despite the sun everyone had a fleece jacket and I did not.
The van pulled up next to a field that contained a small windsock.  The paragliders jumped out and shouldered their paragliding bags.  They looked like turtles as they filed into the field.  The sails were laid out in arcs in the field and the process of separating the lines attaching the sails to the backpacks began.  I soon understood that waiting around was a big part of paragliding.  After equipment checks, the paragliders had to wait their turn to jump, and when their turn came they had to wait for the right moment when there was just enough wind, but not too much.  You have to be patient.
Unfortunately, after a 30 minute wait, the last two students were unable to fly as the wind had become too strong.  So I was a little surprised when the instructor told me to get ready, apparently despite the strong wind we would still be flying.  I was a little nervous but he told me as we would be heavier it shouldn't be a problem.  Once the sail was ready I stood in front of him and he attached me.  After a couple of instructions, we stepped forward the sail inflated then he shouted 'run'.  I took a couple of steps before we were airborne, we rose over the trees and I was able to sit back and admire the view.
I was surprised to discover my nerves had disappeared faced with the spectacle before me.
The instructor didn't say much, he just let me enjoy the fabulous view of my alpine home.  It was quite breathtaking and we were even able to see Mont Blanc.  I must have seemed too relaxed as my instructor decided to perfome some acrobatics, just to show me what was possible.  Never a fan of rollercosters I was glad when he stopped and we came in to land.
All in all it was a great expereince and interesting to see my home from another angle but I don't think I'll be taking up the sport.

Forum des associations

As I mentionned in my last post, it's 'La rentrée' and one feature of this period is the 'Forum des associations'.  Each village or commune organises a sort of salon where the different associations or clubs present their activity to potential participants.  There are clubs for every activity; football, tennis, climbing, painting, music, yoga, in fact almost any activity you can think of is represented.  There is so much choice that some people have to set themselves a limit, one sport and one artisitic club for example, if not the cost and time would be crippling.  Many clubs take place on Wednesdays as there is no school.   A lot of mothers don't work on Wednesday and spend the day ferrying their offspring to and from different clubs.  Others take place in the evenings or on Saturday mornings.  Most French people join at least one association and their kids often two or three.
In France the 'vie associative' is taken very seriously, so seriously in fact that in 1901 a law was passed governing the organisation of these clubs, you may well hear people talking about 'la loi mille neuf cent un'.  This law sets strict rules about the committee who runs the club and any paid employees.  In addition the role of the 'bénévole' (volunteer) in the association is very important, again most French people do some form of volunteering with associations.  They act as treasurer, secretary or just offer their time to help the association.  Associations are a part of life like school and work and help fill the time between the famous holidays.

La rentrée

It's 'rentrée' time again. After the long summer break, schoolchildren are getting ready to go back to school. However the 'rentrée' is not just for the kids, it's an integral part of French culture. After the 14th of July, the National holiday, it seems that the whole country shuts down until September. Forget trying to contact any part of the French administration, there is of course a skeleton staff, but you can guarantee the person you need is on holiday.  All political activity comes to a halt, as the politicians jet off to the sun.   Restaurants and shops all over Grenoble post signs informing you that they are closed for the annual holidays. Some companies even close down for the month of August. The motorways are clogged with parting and returning holidaymakers, and the most important news items are the traffic and weather reports. Then just as suddenly it's all over and the first week of September finds everyone back at work and the country grinds back to work.
Les vacannces (holidays) and la rentrée are the two most important moments in the French calendar.  This morning on the radio they were already telling us how many days there are until the next holiday!