Refuge d'Entre le Lac to Val d'Isère: E2 Day 184

A shorter day with visits to the tourist resort of Tignes-Le-Lac and the older, and more famous resort of Val d'Isère.

The refuge only had "squat toilets" which I rather struggle with, although at least these had an old person's type handle on the door which I grabbed onto, making stable squatting easier. Most of those walking the GR5 today were taking a deviation along the GR55 as far as Moderne. A higher level route and according to my guidebook more exciting and scenic. However I was seeing plenty of high mountains so I stuck with my plan to continue on the GR5 as I had never visited the town of Val d'Isère. Saying goodbye to those I had met at the refuge, I climbed rapidly out of the bowl in which the refuge and its lake were located, and re-joined the GR5. Further climbing led me to the Col du Palet and its nearby refuge, the highest point on my path today.

Flat, marshy plains sometimes appear, surrounded by mountains.

This high pass marked a sudden change in the use of the landscape. I had been walking through the Vanoise National Park where little was allowed and humans were tolerated only if they kept to the paths and refuge. After the pass, everything was allowed. Ski lifts were strung out down the mountains with the associated booms to spread fake snow. Dogs ran free. Light aircraft droned in the air disturbing the quiet, practicing take offs and landings on two grass strips (not entirely flat). Helmeted Mountain Bikers raced down specially prepared tracks. All this activity was centred around Tignes-le-Lac and its twin town Val Claret. Modern towns of tall apartments, with towering cranes adding yet more buildings. Between the two towns was a lake on which paddleboarders played, beside which the GR5 led me through neatly cut grass and flowerbeds. There were cafés, shops, many hotels, a waterpark for children, a cable car station, and clean public toilets of the type you could sit down on (much appreciated). Despite all the development, the marmots still ran around on the slopes and the wild flowers were just as beautiful with massed yellows, blues, pinks and purples.

Tignes le Lac.

Despite having looked at a map yesterday, I missed the steep climb out of Tignes-Le-Lac which zig-zags up the hillside. In compensation it led me to a green valley, then dropped me into woodland, the path crossed by mountain bike tracks. The valley floor made by the River Isère was sprinkled with grey buildings and included a silent cable car station, with two horses sheltering in its shade, and a stationary funicular, maybe waiting for the winter skiing season. I followed a track along the riverside until the strip development reached Val d'Isère itself. I was told that the town is one of the classier resorts, and it certainly looked pretty smart. My campsite was at the far end of it and despite the relatively short day, I was glad to reach it. As the sun was beating down my shower was very welcome and I retreated to a cluster of trees to phone my wife in some shade.

My path among the flowers.

Later I caught a free bus to the town centre and ate a meal of a galette and crêpe while watching some kind of relay race by mountain bikes, which followed a circuit through the streets.