Lac de Taney

(All images below are in full format and can be opened in a separate window just right click the image and select the appropriate option. In the newly opened window you can magnify and zoom in.)

From Vouvry in the Rhone Valley I drove up the steep serpentine Rte de Miex towards Miex-Vouvry. If you are so inclined, you can, at the half way mark, take a right to visit the remnants of the Chavalon Power Station. The location while spectacular is equally absurd. Sure the high altitude helped dispersing the emissions but construction, supply and maintenance must have been prohibitive.

Before reaching the little village of Miex-Vouvry I parked at the Parking du Flon (1050m). This is the starting point for a short steep ascent to the Lac de Taney (1425m). At the lake you have Taney, a little village of vacation cottages good for summer tourism only. Surprisingly one little restaurant was still open, which was much appreciated because it allowed me, on my way back, to warm up my hands with an excellent Chocolat Viennois.

Having passed through Taney I walked on towards the Anciens Chalets de Loz (1750m). Shortly after leaving Taney I was rewarded with a spectacular view of Le Tâche in the foreground and the Berneuse in the background.

Zooming in a little gives you this:

Moving on and looking ahead the twin peaks of Les Jumelles (2215m)

and the Le Grammont (2172m) to the east motivated me to go on.

Once I reached the Anciens Chalets de Loz I was admittedly a little disappointed to not get the grand view of the French Alps and Lake Geneva , but instead I found a wonderful, high altitude alpine plateau. In the picture below you can spot the new Cabine Loz (1828m).

It was at this point that my lack of preparation caught up with me and forced me to retreat. The wind picked up and the temperatures had dropped materially. Not to worry, I shall return, better prepared.

On the way down into the Rhone valley clouds started to move in from the north east over the Berneuse, precursor of the predicted weather change to colder, cloudier winter days.

This was it for the day.

Except for those who care about equipment. All images were taken with Leica M and R series lenses on Hasselblad C100 digital back. This worked very well, and reduced the weight and volume materially. In particular the Leica 180mm Elmarit R was a great option to have, because Hasselblad does not yet offer longer lenses for its digital back. The 90mm Summicron M-series lens is phantastic, its small, there iss no vignetting and it is super sharp, even on a 100C sensor.