Vosges Again. Getting Better.

Saturday, 7th of February: A Short, Classic Tour.
After a lack of snow, it came down in loads. Even on low lands! The High Vosges have now a decent amount of snow, so here we go again for a weekend in search of the white, magic stuff.
After the usual short night at Ibis Colmar, we drove into the Munster valley and up to the small ski resort of Le Gaschney. The road was clear but the lifts are still closed, making it more interesting for ski touring. There was indeed a lot of snow, although a bit worked by the wind, and it was sunny but very cold with a piercing NE wind.
First on skins up to Le Petit Hohneck, roughly following the ski lift.

Skinning-up towards Le Petit Hohneck. Plenty of snow, but the wind has worked on it.

Sometimes creating interesting effects.

From the summit, a short descent to the Col de Schaffenhausen and then up to the Hohneck summit. It was really cold, and it was only possible to have a tea-break in the sun and in the lee of the restaurant. The initial plan was to go to the top of Le Kastelberg and ski down for lunch at the Breitzhousen. After walking up to the Haut de Falimont almost being blown off our feet by the cold wind, we decided to cut across directly to the restaurant.

Traversing on wind-hardened snow, Le Hohneck on the background.

The restaurant was grossly crowded. The queue for food and drinks was at least 100 person long. On the other hand nobody objected that we sat at a table and took out our tea and cereal bars.
We returned the same way, with the highlight being the descent from Le Petit Hohneck. By roughly following the trace of the ski run we could find reasonable show with a base.
We arrived back to the car with wide grins on our faces.

Sunday, 8th of February: Le Tanet on Nordic Skis.
For the night we stayed at the modest Hotel de Gerardmer, which despite the name is in Soultzeren. Nice restaurant but the typical French breakfast (mostly sweet stuff) was not much to our taste. It was a good base for the start of our Sunday tour: drive up to the Col du Wettenstein and from there reach Le Tanet with the idea of checking the ascent to the Gazon du Faing, by the pistes or otherwise. The distance is rather long and until the Lac Vert not steep at all, so we opted for Nordic skis.
It was not so cold as the day before, but also very little sunshine to be seen.
The first bit was narrow, a bit steep and on snow pressed by skiers and snowshoers, forcing us to use skins. But soon it became mild undulating terrain, mostly following forest roads, and often pressed by  the snow scooters of the occupants of the houses scattered in the forest.

Easy going towards Lac Vert, perfect for our Nordic skis.

The ski resort of Le Tanet was very crowded and the restaurant fully reserved. Luckily the good people of the local ski club were selling soup and sausages outside, so we could have a break and some warm food. After that we thought it was a bit too late to try the ascent to the Gazon du Faing, especially since the visibility was poor and crowds were coming down the pistes. So we returned back, making an extra loop via the Lac du Forlet and Altenkraeh. On the way we came across a large group of alpine skiers, with a guide. They all had the most modern (and expensive) gear, which somehow seems a bit out of place in this terrain. Then we came across two kids on old fashioned Nordic skis and leather boots who seemed much more confident of what they were doing.
Talking about confidence, the descent from the Altenkraeh to the Col du Wettenstein was a bit of a struggle for me even if I was trying short, wide, profiled skis with full edges. Almost like alpine skis but with double camber. I really am not very good in hard snow. First-Mate on her Madshus Glittertind was fairing much better.