Snow Shoe Hike, Lillaz, Near Cogne 2009

Last weekend I escaped to the mountains to stay with a couple of friends in a dinky little apartment they have rented in a tiny little village called Lillaz in the Valle d’Aosta area of Italy.

Lillaz, which sits at around 5000 feet above sea level, is just down the road from another somewhat larger mountain village known as Cogne, to which I’d been about four years before.

Cogne is a charming place, even if when I was first there what most struck me the most was the extreme cold which descended on the place after the sun hid itself behind the surrounding mountains.  My ‘reward’ for having underestimated the cold on that occasion was a two day stay in bed with something resembling bronchitis.

This time though, the cold was nowhere near as intense, and I was better prepared.  Winter in this area is now starting, albeit a little reluctantly, to give way to spring.  Not that you would think so initially, for the area is still covered by five feet of snow.

We spent our time drinking wine and a few other mountain brews, sampling the local cuisine, and going for a snow shoe equipped stroll in the mountains.  I took my camera, and came back with more than a few shots, some of which you will see if you read on. Read more

Bardonecchia

We’re off the Italian alpine resort of Bardonecchia shortly!  I’m looking forward to this weekend in the mountains, and after seeing this brief You Tube video presentation of the area, I’m even more keen on being there!

I know it is a little dated, but it’s the video used to send up the place before the 2006 Turin winter Olympics.  It’s only 30 seconds or so long.  Have a look and see what you think: Read more