Cruel Crossing

In November 2011 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a programme (in 2 parts) called The Freedom Trail. In it we follow Edward Stourton as he makes the crossing from France into Spain following the route of an old WW II escape route called Le Chemin de la Liberté or Freedom Trail.

The programme, narrated by Edward Stourton, is an account of his 4 day journey as he walks the most dangerous WWII escape route over the Pyrenees. As well as a travelogue of his own crossing, Stourton uses this a jumping off point and broadens the picture to include escape routes over the whole of the Pyrenees. There are the remarkable stories of those who escaped to freedom but also of those who risked their lives to help those attempting to escape Nazi occupied France.

Edward Stourton has now turned the radio programme into a book which will appear in April 2013. It is called Cruel Crossing: Escaping Hitler Across the Pyrenees.

The book is based on his own experiences of crossing the Pyrenees and first hand accounts from those who made the journey during  WW II. As well as interviews with survivors from the time, Stourton also had access to diaries and journals. Relatives were also a precious source of information.

It is obvious from the book that tremendous courage and determination was shown by those attempting to escape and all those in the support network that helped so many to succeed. Exhaustion, malnutrition and sickness had to be contended with and there was the constant fear of capture, torture and death. Many of those in the Allied forces who successfully crossed into Spain, later returned to fight or to gather intelligence and work with the French. 

We also learn that  it was not only forces personel who wanted to escape. A large number of Jews and communists made the crossing to escape persecution and the Death Camps. Young French also crossed to escape the STO (Service du travail obligatoire) or Compulsory Work Service/Forced Labour.

Bear Naming

 

The 3 bear cubs born in the Pyrenees in 2011 have just been named. Over 20 000 suggestions were made to the organisers of the naming operation Pay de l'Ours - Adet. Pay de l'Ours - Adet is an orgaisation campaigning for a viable brown bear population in the Pyrenees.

The names chosen were Callisto et Soulane for the 2 females and Pépite for the 3rd bear cub whose sex is not yet known.

Callisto :
A Nymphe in Greek mythology, Callisto on her death was transformed into the constellation The Big Bear by Zeus.

Soulane :
The name in the Pyrenees given to the sunny side of a valley

Pépite :
Nugget as in nugget of gold.Pyrénées : Les oursons de 2011 ont un nom et un parrain

 

Does mountain accommodation get any better than this?

Looking for holiday accommodation in the Eastern Pyrenees? Chalet Ana in Les Angles would appear to have all that you could possibly want.

Chalet Ana is run by Nathalie and Laurent a friendly, happy French/German couple. They named  it after their daughter. A lot of love and care has gone into creating the place that feels more like a stylish home than a hotel.  In the winter you can spend the day on the Les Angles ski slopes or snowshoe into the backcountry. In the summer, the beautiful mountains that surround the chalet are waiting to be explored. At the end of the day whether in summer or winter, there is always the sauna or roof top jacuzzi to help you unwind and relax. 
 

Summer Walking

Winter Snowshoeing

Located in a natural setting with views over the old village of Les Angles towards Pic Madres, natural materials like wood and slate are in abundance. There are 8 prestige apartments, all finished to a very high standard and as well as the roof top spa and sauna there is a garden that is available for guests. 

Chalet Ana is beautiful, luxurious and peaceful but also respectful of the environment. It is the first accommodation in the Pyrenees to gain the prestigious European Ecolabel.

Not only have natural materials been used in its construction, but the building has been designed and is managed so that energy used is  from renewable sources and  water consumption and waste production are minimised. The owners commitment to reducing the environmental footprint  of Chalet Ana is such that hair dryers are not supplied in rooms but can be requested.

How To Find The Brightest Star in the Northern Night Sky.

In the night sky, there are about 2000 to 2500 stars that can be seen with the eye alone. The exact number visible will depend on a number of conditions including the quality of your eyesight, whether you have allowed sufficient time for your eyes to adjust to the dark, the amount of light from the moon and other 'light pollution' from things like streetlights and the quality of the air.

The mountain environment provides an ideal place to view the night sky because there is much less 'light pollution' and the air is clearer. Once you are able to see stars, you can begin to find the constellations they have been arranged into like Orion.

It is a great time for star gazing at the moment with Orion 'The Hunter' visible to the south. The two brightest stars of Orion are Betelgeuse (top left shoulder) and Rigel (bottom left leg).  3 stars make a belt around Orion's middle with another line of stars (and the Orion Nebula) descending from the belt, forming a sword.

The 3 stars that make up Orion's Belt can be used to find Sirius which is the brightest star in the Northern night sky. If you extend the line through the 3 belt stars downwards this will help you find Sirius in the constellation Canis Major (meaning Big Dog) which is why Sirius is sometimes called 'The Dog Star'. Once you have located Betelgeuse and Sirius it is not too difficult to find Procyon.

Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon (in the constellation Canis Minor - Little Dog) are 3 of the brightest stars in the Northern night sky and together they form a triangle called The Winter Triangle.

Happy New Year

Do you have any intentions for 2013?  W. H. Murray, the Scottish mountaineer and writer, once said  'Find beauty; be still.' This is a wonderful piece of advice and intention to hold at the start of a new year .

From my walking in the mountains I know that there is beauty to be found there. There is obvious beauty in the overview - the grand panorama from a summit or a distant view of a chain of mountains. Less obvious is the beauty to be found in the detail -  a mountain flower, an animal print in the snow.

Beauty in the detail....

As Colin Mortlock, the adventurer, outdoor education pioneer and writer says in 'The Spirit of Adventure', beauty can be found all around us and within us. We only have to look closer......

'Beauty in one's surroundings - from micro to macro,
Beauty in terms of human contact and relationships,
Beauty in terms of one's thoughts and actions.'

Good luck in your search for beauty during 2013.

Pic Fourcat Snowshoe

Pic Fourcat (1929m) snowshoe from the Col de Marmare (1361m) near Ax les Thermes. The snow was firm enough to walk on without snowshoes for most of the short circuit (9km).

Franck and Cécile on the descent

 Thanks to Franck and Cécile for the excellent company. Best views were on the descent looking towards Pic Tarbésou

Looking towards Pic Tarbésou (far left)

First Snow

Out recently investigating the route of a WWII escape route that I read about in 'La Résistance Audoise' that my father in law lent me.

Ernest Zaugg was in charge of a resistance group - the Maquis de Roc Blanc which was named after the peak that overlooks Lake Laurenti. The picture at the top of this blog is of Lake Laurenti and Roc Blanc. Their escape route began at Rouze in France and ended in Soldeu in Andorra.

Tha part of the route I walked began at the  Forestry Refuge where there is a commerative plaque.

'In honour of the French and Allied officers who crossed the Pyrenees on the paths to freedom with the help of the Donezan couriers and the Roc Blanc resistance fighters'

The route then climbs up to the beautiful Lake Laurenti and rather than turn away towards Roc Blanc, carries on up the Laurenti Valley. From the lake onwards the trail is not marked on the map. The weather was overcast and cold and at the head of the valley there was snow which slowed my progress. From the col I followed the trail down to the head of the Galbe Valley and then back up again to the Col de Terrers - the second col of the day. Descending from the col I could make out the faint line of the trail into the distance towards the D'en Beys Refuge, which was the traditional mid way halt.

I had reached my turn around time but decided to climb Pic de Terrers above the col which, from previous visits, I knew offered great views. I wasn't disappointed.

Looking South from Pic de Terrers

Looking North from Pic Terrers

It was very windy on the summit but the sunlight broke through the clouds for the first time that day for just 15 minutes or so, illuminating the ridge line I had crossed and the way I had come. The south facing slopes were without snow but in the other direction, the north facing slopes still held snow.

Two things during the day reinforced how hard the WWII crossings were. The autumn snow around me and the fact that the last hour and a half of the return route from Lake Laurenti back to my car, was finished in the dark because I had not stuck to my turn around time. The couriers and the escapees would have made the WWII crossings in winter and in the dark. Neither  would they have been properly equiped like I was with my modern clothing and boots.

“The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls, or martial laws, or secret police. Over time, and across the Earth, freedom will find a way.”  George W. Bush