"I went up from Colle dell'Agnello in fantastic , hot morning . Between the north and south summits, I jumped on the nearby Punta Alp . Wonderful panoramas from the twin peaks ." — daniele64 • Aug 27, 2018

"I went up from Grange del Rio ( Chianale ) in a good , cold morning . Wonderful views all around , especially on the great Monviso . In fact, I waited a long time at the summit to wait for the best light conditions for the photos ." — daniele64 • Aug 26, 2018

"Friday 10th August 2018. An ascent of l’Arpelin 2604m/125m, from Col d’Izoard (2360m), Cottian Alps, France. 2.6km, with 275m of ascent. 1hr 40mins. From Col d’Izoard, a road col frequently used in the Tour de France, a rugged serrated ridge called Crête des Oules runs eastward, forming a cirque, and culminating in the soaring peak of Pic de Rochebrune (3320m). On the western rim of this cirque is l’Arpelin, a subsidiary peak of the twin-topped Côte Belle (2914m). I had viewed this graceful mountain across Col d’Izoard on my ascent of Clot la Cime (2732m) four days earlier (see at https://peakery.com/clos-la-cime-france/summits/179264/), and was keen to make its ascent. Its sweeping ridges, plunging slopes of limestone scree, and sharp summit made it a challenge I was keen to accept. The north ridge was the obvious route to the top, starting from the Col d’Izoard. It would be a short outing, but in dramatic scenery. We parked the car at the col, taking a narrow path north-east towards le Col Perdu, the connecting col between l’Arpelin and Côte Belle. As we approached this point, my wife decided to turn back, as she was finding the plunging scree slopes to her..." — marktrengove • Aug 10, 2018

"Wednesday 8th August 2018. An ascent of le Chenaillet 2650m/496m, near Briançon, Cottian Alps, France. 11.0km, with 800m of ascent. 4hrs 55mins. Le Chenaillet, close to the Italian frontier, is the highest mountain in a ring of peaks lying east of the city of Briançon. Although surrounded by higher peaks, this massif is of special interest due to its geology. It is composed of volcanic rocks, while those in the vicinity are mainly of metamorphic and sedimentary types. The massif is the rim of a collapsed caldera of a volcano, once situated in the sea that divided the African and European tectonic plates. For more information, see at https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Chenaillet. A short car journey on a day of blue skies and high clouds from our gîte in le Laus, via the village of Cervières, brought my wife and me to the hamlet of la Chau, at 1900m, on the southern flank of le Chenaillet. Here a geological trail sets off from a car park north-east up the side of the valley of Peyre Moutte to the small reedy Lac des Sarailles. We did not have the trail to ourselves, as other hikers were ascending and descending the mountain. In the course of our ascent I had a long ..." — marktrengove • Aug 8, 2018

"Monday 6th August 2018. An ascent of Clot la Cime 2732m/312m, from Col d’Izoard, Cottian Alps, France. 12.7km, with 400m of ascent and 990m of descent. For the second week of our holiday in France, we moved to an apartment in a large old farm building in the tiny hamlet of le Laus, about 10km south-east of the town of Briançon in the Cottian Alps (see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottian_Alps). This was a very old building (the date 1768 was inscribed above the doorway), standing at an altitude of 1745m. The temperature dropped rapidly at night after the sun had set below the encircling mountains. For my first hike in the area, I chose the mountain at the head of our valley, which rose prominently above the settlement. The standard route was from the Col d’Izoard (2,360m), another of the famous cols frequently used as a stage in the Tour de France (see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_d%27Izoard). ALT dropped me off at the col at 9 o’clock in the morning. Heavy rain and a possible thunderstorm were forecast for the area in the early afternoon. By my estimate, I hoped to have completed my hike before this came in. The morning was bright, hot and sunny, altho..." — marktrengove • Aug 6, 2018