Photos from July
Natural bonsai: a cotoneaster at 2200m, hugging a south-facing boulder. 28 July 07
Looking out on the Champsaur, meaning fields of gold, so true at harvest time. 28 July 07
At 2900m, a bouquetin nibbles at scant vegetation. 28 July 07
Senecio Incanus: little grows up here, but what does is often brightly coloured. 28 July 07
All that remains of the glacier of the Vieux Chaillol, a lake of startling blue. 28 July 07
View of the high mountains of the Ecrins from the summit of the Vieux Chaillol. 28 July 07
A Nummulus fossil, embedded in the sedimentary rock. 28 July 07
Weird rock shapes and pinnacles. 27 July 07
At last, the colour of shot silk, I've tried so many times to photograph this butterfly. 27 July 07
Inside the cave, and close to the resurgence of the torrent. 27 July 07
Inside the refuge, about to sink a slice of blueberry pie - mmmm! 27 July 07
Sign forbidding fishing - in the loo. 27 July 07
The French call this butterfly 'demi deuil' or half in mourning, a reference to its black patches. 27 July 07
There are no shepherds in this area, and the sheep are seeking independence. Here is their leader ... 27 July 07
... 'No God, No war, No bosses' - always a mistake teaching sheep to read and write. 27 July 07
The river Drac, just a trickle in high Summer, leads the eye down the valley of Champoleon. 26 July 07
Somehow, somewhere, the path threads a route through this forbidding rock wall. 26 July 07
A little splash of colour in the scree: linaria alpina. 26 July 07
A wild mountain landscape, just over the col. The GR54 'Tour des Ecrins' passes in front of the higher mountains. 26 July 07
The gorge supposedly jumped by the thief Hilaire to evade the customs men in the days of the salt tax. 25 July 07
Shepherds huts instinctively placed in response to the landscape. 25 July 07
Marmot on guard next to the path. The yellow strip facilitates studies of their behaviour. 25 July 07
Pastures were cleared of stones by hand at great effort: here right the way up to the base of scree slopes. 25 July 07
Each house in Prapic had its own fountain, used for drinking and washing. Often the mouths were in the form of dolphins, wolves and bears. 25 July 07
This house tucked below the cliff has a thriving vegetable garden. 25 July 07
The 'reine des alpes' used to be so widespread that some hillsides were spread with patches of blue. Unfortunately, when dried, its blue colour remains, so it has been picked almost to extinction. 25 July 07
Traditional features remain in this house, including a first floor barn, with access by cart. 25 July 07
Below the Aiguille, the river Drac wends its way past fields. 23 July 07
Having a bad hair day ? Well, it could be worse; look at this! 23 July 07
The legs of this beautiful money spider span the width of my palm. 23 July 07
Peasants lined their clogs with Verbascum leaves in Winter to keep their feet warm, and the thick stems, when dried and soaked in pork fat or other grease were used as tapers. 23 July 07
Bunk beds in a gite; a nice thick foam mattress is very welcome after camping. 21 July 07
The pretty little valley of Souliers. 21 July 07
The round window in the gable wall of this chapel is a sundial. 21 July 07
The little lac de Souliers. 21 July 07
The civilised way to wander around mountains ! 21 July 07
The Casse Deserte, a huge scree slope, crossed by a road, and also by a hundred or so Tour de France cyclists. 21 July 07
Below the Casse Deserte, it felt like rattlesnake gulch; harsh and mineral, heat vibrating from the cliffs. 21 July 07
Families lived in 3 storey houses in the Queyras, the gable ends of the top two storeys open to the winds to dry grain and hay. This house has been carefully converted using the original framework. 20 July 07
With friends Ivan and Sue Godfrey, and Pete, walking the GR5 for charity: www.godfreytreks.co.uk My stuff, including sleeping bag, thermarest and tent outer fits in the 30L grey daypack with room to spare. 20 July 07
This family are on holiday with a donkey carrying their belongings. The children enjoy caring for the donkey. 20 July 07
Chateau Queyras, perched on a rock outcrop, guards the entrance to the Queyras. 20 July 07
White water rafting on the river Guil, and via ferrata above the gorge. 20 July 07
Strange toothy limestone pinnacles on the ridge above Arvieux. 19 July 07
Sheep tracks in the scree form a pleasing abstract. 19 July 07
The impressive crete de Croseras reminded me of the Dolomites. 19 July 07
The inside of a snow cave, cool on a hot day, and wet, standing in a stream, and with rivulets falling from the ceiling. 17 July 07
This beasty is as long as my index finger. Concentrating on laying eggs with her black ovipositor, she was quite oblivious of my camera. 17 July 07
The spectacular cascade de Confolens leaps into the gorge. 17 July 07
An old butterfly killed by recent snows, still hanging onto a flower head, desperate for nectar and warmth. 16 July 07
I liked the symmetry of this view, showing the Lac Gary and the Olan; the sky rapidly covering as a depression moves in. 16 July 07
These little butterflies have a patch of clear cyan blue on the top of their wings ... 15 July 07
... and this one opens and closes its wings gently while sipping nectar. 15 July 07
A fine group of mares with foals. Seeing horses roaming free reminded me of the Pyrenees. 15 July 07
The Grand Taillefer, centre and Petit Taillefer, right. 14 July 07
The little lakes near the lac Fourchu, in beautifully clear conditions. 14 July 07
These dudes breezed past me on the climb, despite my having six months walking in my legs. Oh well, at least they didn't run past! 14 July 07
The great white snow dome of Mont Blanc, 75 miles away. On the left, the chaine de Belledonne. 14 July 07
Mountains of the Ecrins, from the summit of the Taillefer. 14 July 07
The lakes, seen from the col. This gives some idea of the steepness. 14 July 07
With friendly walkers from Lyons. This is the communal bread oven at Les Siauds, where villagers would bake their loaves. 13 July 07
Help, Aliens are stealing my hat! Grasshoppers warming themselves on its dark surface. 13 July 07
Young 'Patou' or Pyrennean sheepdog, who protects the herd from wolves. The electric fence in foreground keeps sheep in, but wouldn't keep wolves out, as they have a triple coat. 13 July 07
French mountain villages, such as La Chalp, here, are tightly packed to use as little precious pasture as possible. 13 July 07
A day of water, usually falling steeply ! 12 July 07
Astonishing twisting of the slate strata on the Sommet des Clottous. 12 July 07
I met the shepherd who stays in this hut. He sleeps on the floor which is cooler, while his dog sleeps on the bed. 12 July 07
The outflow of the lac du vallon pours over a rocky sill. 12 July 07
The lac du Vallon often carries ice late into July. 12 July 07
More water tumbling down the long rock terraces. 12 July 07
Butterflies float over the path, and are a constant delight. 11 July 07
A long and joyful day ahead, climbing to the snowline. 11 July 07
Beautiful orchids, with intricate little flowers. 11 July 07
These chamois had been licking mineral salts lower down. They were still here a few days later. 11 July 07
Water courses down rock strata tilted to the angle of the slope, falling 180m. Kayaks anyone ?! 11 July 07
Last nights snow on the pass. 11 July 07
The lake de plan Vianney on the other side, deep, dark and green. 11 July 07
The Col du Paletas is, err, airy. 11 July 07
Twisted, tortured slate below the Sommet des Clottous. 11 July 07
Pic des Souffles emerges from cloud above the narrow glacial valley. 10 July 07
Trail magic! frozen spray forms shapes like spaghetti. 10 July 07
Navigating by altimeter and compass, I had to wait for a break in the cloud to find the first col. 10 July 07
High on the ridge above, the Aiguilles des Arias (3402m) briefly show their faces. 10 July 07
The imprint (bottom right) of the tongue of the glacier of Font Turbat, sadly all melted away. 10 July 07
Fresh snow in July, from inside the refuge! 10 July 07
The north face of the Olan (3564m). 10 July 07
Aiguilles emerge from the gloom, on the ridge below Pointe Swan (3294m). 10 July 07
In memory of Charles Buisson, a local guide who fell from Pic des Souffles in 1929. Mountains do not pardon. 10 July 07
Clouds dispersing on the wind, like a scene from a Chinese painting. 9 July 07
Legend has it that a monk, sleeping off a bottle or two in a meadow of campanulas, heard celestial music issuing from their trumpets, giving him the idea of casting bells in the shape of a campanula ... Hmm !. 9 July 07
Some rocks have to be fenced in to stop them from moving around. 9 July 07
How beautiful flowers are covered with raindrops. 9 July 07
Pinnacles emerge from cloud above the second terrace. 9 July 07
Downwind and uphill of a chamois that hadn't noticed me. 9 July 07
A fine view of cloud from the summit ... 9 July 07
As long as my index finger, this grasshopper is warming himself on a car bonnet. 9 July 07
Big view up towards the head of the Valjouffrey. 8 July 07
A splash of colour: surely and escapee from a garden?. 8 July 07
Looking south west over the Lac du Sautet to the cliffs of the Devoluy. 8 July 07
Sometimes four dramatically cloured Zygaena crowd on a bloom. 8 July 07
Farmers are experts at "making do". Leaving us such treasures as this much mended stable door. 8 July 07
A refreshing waterfall on the way up to the refuge, with the Olan on the skyline. 7 July 07
A long view up the valley opposite to the Pic de Mal Cros (3116m). 7 July 07
The path leaves the cirque below the Olan via the "pas de L'Olan', a col in the side ridge.... 7 July 07
...and continues below Pic Turbat (3028m). The col is visible in the centre. 7 July 07
The Lac Lautier is a popular destination, tucked away beneath the col. 7 July 07
The huge south cirque of teh Pic des Souffles. 7 July 07
Mt Globerney (3352m) towers above the valley. For scale, a tiny red dot on the zigzag is a walker. 6 July 07
The Martagon lily grows in awkward places. For this picture I jammed my leg in a cleft and leaned out.... 6 July 07
The Sirac (3441m) is visible from many of the higher mountains of the Southern Ecrins. 6 July 07
The Aupillous (3505m) looks down on a wild flower meadow. 6 July 07
Like a postcard, a balcony covered in azaleas at the end of the valley contrast with the Sirac (3441m). 6 July 07
The glacier here ground away at it's side walls, leaving distinctive horizontal grooves. It must have been at least 20m deep. 6 July 07
The "veil of the bride" owes it's name to the spray blowing in plumes below the outfall. 6 July 07
For the sports shop, pleased see the newsagent... 6 July 07
..and for the newsagent, please see the sports shop!. 6 July 07
Enormous wood ants nest: walking poles for size!. 5 July 07
Clouds clear from Lake Petarel. 5 July 07
Weasel hunting for birds eggs in the scree, angrily pursued by birds. 5 July 07
Pic Petarel towers above the Sebeyras lakes. 5 July 07
A bird chose to build it's nest bang next to the path. 5 July 07
More than 40 "Gaze" butterflies at a salt lick. 5 July 07
The Pic de L'Homme and the Crete des Cuches, seen from the Tete du Luazarot. 4 July 07
Butterfly resting, waiting for some warmth. 4 July 07
Spartan accomodation in the shepherds cabin. 4 July 07