A few months ago, I went on a hike below Mont Baret and Mont Veyrier and visited a few caves there, including Grotte des Sarrazins (below Mont Baret) and Grotte de la Cheminée (below Chapeau de Napoléon).
A few weeks ago, the Vidange du Rhône (or Chasses du Rhône, meaning Flushing of the Rhône) took place between Barrage de Génissiat (Genissiat Dam) in France and Barrage de Verbois (Verbois Dam) in Geneva. Both the CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhône), which manage the dams on the French side, and the SIG (Services Industriels de Genève) cooperate on this operation: It is performed every few years in order to purge sediments brought into the Rhône river by the Arve, which accumulate and increase the risk of floods.
For a few days, the dams in the area are opened and their reservoirs emptied, in order to increase the discharge rate with the goal of flushing the sediments from the river bed. The river then turns gray, just like the Arve. Another side effect is that the level of the Rhône is lowered, almost as low as before dams were built along the river so it becomes quite the view. One other, less happy, consequence is that it is a bit of a fish apocalypse, with many of them dying because of the increase in solids suspended in the water.
I went to see this phenomenon in the area around Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, first in Éloise near Pont de Grésin, as part of a hike. Then a few days later, I visited Bellegarde itself just for this purpose and walked along the Rhône. Because of the the Corona restrictions on border crossings, unfortunately, I couldn’t visit the area upstream of the Verbois Dam in Geneva.
In the winter of 2020, I went on a hike from Pont de la Caille to Mésigny, crossing the Usses river using a smaller bridge.
In the winter of 2020, I visited yet another ski resort near Annecy. This time, I headed to Le Grand-Bornand in the Bornes mountains. I first walked a trail in Vallée du Bouchet then took a cable car and walked below Roc des Arces between the stations of Télécabine du Rosay and Télécabine de la Joyère.
In winter 2020, I went on a hike to Mont de Corsuet and Pointe de l’Ardre (a cape on Lac du Bourget). I had already been to Mont de Corsuet, coming from Col de la Chambotte. This time, I started from Grésy-sur-Aix on the east side.
In winter 2020, I went on a hike in Pays de l’Albanais: I walked from Rumilly to Lovagny through Hauteville-sur-Fier.
During winter 2020, I went on a hike to Mont de Boisy, a small mountain next to Lake Geneva between Annemasse and Thonon.
In winter 2020, starting in Annecy-le-Vieux, I went on a hike on the other side of the Fier river to Nâves-Parmelan, Villaz and Argonay.
During winter 2020, I went on a short walk from Cran-Gevrier to the center of Annecy.
