We have this crazy tradition at work, where we do a moonlight snow shoe walk. Two years ago, we did one at Audibergue, a small ski resort near Grasse. This year, we decided to tempt Cheiron, at Greolieres-les-Neiges, another ski resort, not too far from Sophia Antipolis.
So a brave group of us set off (me, Daniel, Lionel, Alain, Michel, and a couple of guys I didn't know), after stocking up on provisions on the way from work. Things didn't start very well for me, since I managed to break one of my ski sticks even before starting the trek. I'm pretty good at that sort of thing... And then, to make things worse, I had problems with my snow shoe bindings, and as a cherry on top of the cake, I got side tracked right at the start of the walk.
Thankfully, I was able to join the others, so off we went for the ascent. This time around, we had a cloudless sky, so we were treated to quite a spectacle, as the moonlight lit up the snow-covered landscapes in a rather atmospheric way... It was all pretty hard work, especially since I continued to make things difficult for myself by breaking my second walking stick! But in spite of these difficulties, I managed to join the others at the summit of the Cheiron, at the not-to-be-frowned-upon altitude of 1778 meters, where we enjoyed some extremely well-deserved drinks!
I was expecting the downhill hike back to our cars to be a breeze after the hassle I had on the way up. But alas, now it was time for my snow shoes to start acting up (looks like I hadn't tightened the bindings well enough after all). So my descent was rather undignified, more akin to sliding down than walking down. But, I certainly had a good time, which is what's most important, right !?
I'm looking forward to doing the same thing again next year!
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