Moucherotte 29-03-2014

Why everytime I go for a hike, there must always be snow. It can be just a coincidence, but the hiking trip this time was no exception. The goal of this trip was Moucherotte, the easternmost peak of Vercors massif. Eugene and his two coursemates, Fabio and Alessandro, and me took the transisere bus 5110 from Grenoble to St Nizier. Once we reached, we headed to the tourism office for details of the hike. Then it began.

We took the bus at bus stop Pérrières-Vouillands because
it was nearer than going to Grenoble main bus station

It was the end of March, although the sun was pretty bright, there was snow even in St Nizier, sitting merely at 1000m above sea level. So basically the whole journey was hiking on snow, which made the hike really tiring. Since Moucherotte is very frequented, so there are sign posts and indications all the way. It is very difficult to be lost. Plus on that day, there were many people going there too. Many people were carrying skis along them, hiked up and then skied down, which made us quite a noob, especially me with my pair of jeans.

The peak Moucherotte is very easily recognizable. There is some sort of a weather station and an orientation table up there, the table which we used to have our lunch. The view up there was magnificent. The rocky peak of Moucherotte with Grenoble city at the background can make any sloppy photos epic. It was just impossible to take bad photos with that beautiful view. The only thing that spoiled the view on that day was the haze. 

The starting point at St Nizier

Fabio

Walk on snow is just like walking on loose sand,
add some gradient and it becomes extremely tiring

Me and Alessandro

Eugene and unexpected companion for lunch.

Lunch on the orientation table

Grenoble city down there, and Belledone Massif at far

Chartreuse Massif at the background

Me trying to camouflage in rocks

The whole range of Vercors Massif,
if there is enough resolution and zoomed in enough,
We should able to see the Lans en Vercors ski resort
in this photo. 

The way down was pure fun. We went down through the exact same way we went up, and we decided to slide down. We tried many styles, penguin style with head down first, typical luge style, and we even tried four men train just like bobsled but without the vehicle. We used 2 and half hours to go up, while the way down was just within an hour. The other three were wearing ski pants, of course no problem for them. But me and my jeans sliding down, my jeans were all wet when we were back to St Nizier.  

The aftermath of the failed bobsled formation

Back to St Nizier, waiting for the bus to Grenoble