Day 10 - Tuesday 1st September 2015 - Cabane de Moiry to Zinal

Total distance walked:	14.00 km	8.70 miles
Total hours walked including stops	6 hrs 17 mins
Total hours walked excluding stops	5 hrs 45 mins
Height at start	2825 metres	9268 feet
Height at finish	1675 metres	5495 feet
Total Height Gain	748 metres	2454 feet
Total Height Loss	1892 metres	6207 feet
Maximum Height	2831 metres	9288 feet
Average speed excluding stops	2.43 km/hr	1.51 miles/hr

Up at 6.00 am, dressed, washed, packed and down to breakfast at 6.30 am.  Muesli, yoghurt, hot milk, orange juice, bread, butter, jam and café au lait.  I left the refuge at 7.05 am, the first to leave the refuge.  I was quickly down the steep and rocky path that we had climbed the previous afternoon and on reaching the bottom of the slope saw a long trail of blood on the path and then came across a hunter with a dead Bouquetin – one shot at 100 yards and apparently about 8 years old with a life expectancy of 10 years – this I heard from Patrick who had left the refuge after me and had helped the hunter drag the dead Bouquetin for a while.  The patron at our auberge said that the hunting season didn’t start until 20^th September but Patrick was assured that the hunter had a license – the hunting season in Switzerland varies from Canton to Canton.

The path continued on an occasionally undulating path high above the Lac de Moiry.  I stopped for a short break at around 8.30 am and then again above the Barrage before starting the climb to the Col de Sorebois (2847m) at around 9.30 am.  A relatively easy although occasionally steep climb up to the col which I reached before 11 o’clock.  I saw two groups of Chamoix, the first above the car park at the head of the Lac de Moiry, about 12 of them which quickly disappeared before I could photograph them and a second group above the Barrage, about 20 of them and I managed to get a couple of photographs before they ran off further up the mountain side.  I also saw and photographed some Edelweis. 

By the time that I reached the col, the mist and cloud was beginning to obscure the views and by the time, after a short rest on the col, that I had reached Sorebois (2438m) it had started to rain.  I donned my anorak and put on my rucksack cover above Sorebois but once below the cable car station, it started to rain even harder and I stopped to put on my waterproof trousers.  I continued down across grassy slopes with a lot of cattle and electric fences and reached the forest at about 12.30 pm.  The guide book says that “soon enter forest” after taking the turn below Sorebois but this is rubbish as you don’t enter the forest for at least 30 minutes or more.  The “knee-jerking” descent was not nearly as bad as suggested in the guide book and there was only about 15 to 30 minutes of steep descent through the forest, made worse by the rain.  I soon joined a gentle slope heading down towards Zinal and I arrived in the centre of the village at around 1.30 pm.  I went to the nearest café, the Café-Restaurant Le Bessu, it was still raining and I stopped for a beer, salad, glass of red wine and coffee whilst my anorak and waterproof trousers drip dried!

It had stopped raining at 2.30 pm and even a little sun so I headed down the village to find the Auberge Alpina where I checked in and was shown to my dormitory – just one bed.  I went downstairs and hung up some of my wet clothing in the boiler room together with my boots and rucksack. I found Chandresh, Himan and Lucy in the bar and sat chatting to them.  Lucy had arrived by bus catching one at the car park at the head of Lac de Moiry.  I had a glass of wine with them and sorted out my phone messages and phoned Pam – I couldn’t get either Skype or Smartcall to work – we decided later that there were so many people trying to use the Wifi because of the rain that there wasn’t much strength left in the signal.  I then had a shower and shaved before going back to the bar and writing my diary with a second glass of red wine.  I also tried to sort out my phone with the help of Himan, as the Calendar had disappeared.

Dinner was at 6.30 pm and I had another glass of red wine.  Dinner of green salad, Risotto and then ice cream, all with another glass of red wine and finished off with a Genepi.  Then up to bed in my one bed dortoir.  Read for a while and then slept extremely well and managed to charge all of my mobile phone batteries during the night.  Total bill for dinner, bed, breakfast and four glasses of red wine was CHF 77.30.