A problem with gas

A standard VW California (like Fred) has the stove in the middle of the vehicle, behind the driver. This connects to a gas pipe that runs down the side of the van, to the bottle at the back.

As a consequence, you need to open the back door every time you stop for the night or drive off to turn the gas on or off from the bottle - unless you want a live channel of gas running down the side of the vehicle, which probably wouldn't be great in the event of an accident. Not that we have accidents. But this isn't exactly handy - and with the rather heavy Fiamma box on the back, it's even more unhandy.

Secondly, when it's cold, the gas bottle has a tendency to freeze up because it's tucked away, far from the heat of the cabin. This usually happens half way through cooking dinner. The bottle gets colder and colder, and the stream of gas gets thinner and thinner ... and your pasta won't boil anymore. We've tried insulating it, but in the Alps in winter, that only delays the problem. The only cure is to open the heavy back door, get the bottle out and warm it in front of the heater, then put it back in its box. Again, pretty unhandy.

Is it possible to connect the bottle straight to the stove, so the bottle is in the cabin of the van, where it's always quite warm? NO! Some bright spark at Westfalia has put different types of connections on each the end of the pipe in the van. Nice work, buddy.

Stove to pipe: press valve connection. Pipe to bottle: screw connection.

Is it possible to just get a connector from one to the other? A simple adapter? NO! Well, not in France. In France they have a different system of gas connections than they do in Germany, or the Netherlands. You thought Europe was one big happy union, didn't you?

We spent today visiting almost every single handware store in the greater Grenoble area. Each time a very helpful assistant would explain they didn't have the part - it being a German part - but perhaps this other place would. And off we'd drive.

Eventually we ended up at a camping / caravanning store (the name of which, ironically, we had had all along). Again, he couldn't help us ... but he gave us the name and address of his mechanic, who might be able to import a VW part into France for us. The mechanic also couldn't help us, but asked us to follow his young apprentice down the road, to yet another place that might perhaps have the appropriate bits.

By this stage, we had been driving between hardware stores for 5 hours. Yes really.

The apprentice took us to a building supplies shop, and walked in as if he owned the place. Before any business was discussed, he greeted and shook the hands of every staff member there. We felt quite informal, nodding and smiling and pretending we spoke French.

The issue was explained, again in French, and we were told that it would be really no problem. Easy, in fact. Particularly as he had one of the two connectors, the screw connection, in stock - success at last! We just had to cut the pipe from the stove, removing the press valve, and replacing it with a screw connection. Then it could go straight to the bottle, which we could put under the stove in the warmth of the cabin - hurrah!

But that would mean we could never again connect the stove to the pipe in the van ... Which one day, in summer, we might want to do. So, the man took the discarded press valve and its short section of hose, and added another screw connection onto it. Too easy. Well, when you have the right bits!

So we now have a short section of hose, with the press valve on one end and the screw connection on the other. An adapter at last - double hurrah!

... and the cost? Free. Nada, nothing, happy to be of service. Smiles and thanks all round. Brilliant. :)

2011: A New Year

Happy New Year!

For us, it has started slowly ... we are onto our third rest day, using time to sort photos, do laundry, eat and drink, watch a movie or two, and so on. A bit of a hangover on the 1st didn't help, after an incredible night out at the local party. We didn't have high hopes for the event, as it was organised by the tourist information centre, but there was hot wine and fireworks to start, then great food, cheap booze and a dancefloor filled with locals of all ages. Before midnight, the party hats, peashooters and whistles were handed out, and the countdown to midnight in French made it a New Year's Eve to remember.

But tomorrow ... tomorrow we'll shake off our 2011 lassitude, grab the ice tools from the drying room and hit those falls again. The fall nearby, which over Christmas was water, is now looking solid ... it's great to see the ice keep getting better and better!

It's climbing time.

When we first arrived here in the Oisans valley, we were a bit concerned about the ice - or rather, the water. But the temperature obligingly dropped on Christmas Day, meaning we had some fantastic days out climbing.

On Boxing Day, we headed up to Vallon de la Selle (or, Vallon du Diable - depending on who you ask!) for very cold temperatures, clear blue skies and - after a stunning but long walk in - a short and mildly disappointing pitch of ice. This was merely a reconnaissance mission though!

Looking back down the valley ...

... and up the other way.

We were also joined by a mate from Amsterdam, Dan, who was keen to get out there on ice for the first time. So we headed with him back to La Grave, for more of the falls up the north side of the valley ...

Jen starting off on Croupe de la Poufiasse, in La Grave

... and then up to falls near the small villages of Notre-Dame and Reymond, too. The drives to these places were adventures in themselves, consisting of steep, narrow roads that cling to the sides of the mountain and sometimes tunnel through, with large chandeliers of ice dangling above (and sometimes smashed onto the tarmac).

Villard Notre-Dame

Each village, perched so high above the valley, has its stone church tower and a small cluster of oddly-shaped old buildings, and of course spectacular views to the mountains. Not bad, eh?!

A great way to round off the year - and lead into 2011: The Year of the Holiday.

A White Christmas

Merry Christmas!

We hope you had a wonderful day with friends and family, celebrating, giving, eating and drinking. 

Christmas morning in the Ecrins

We elebrated on Christmas Eve with some steaks, a bottle of pinot noir and phone calls home. And then woke up late on Christmas morning, here in Venosc in the Ecrins. There had been snow overnight, making it a classic image of a white Christmas morning. Jen may have been brought up with the hot Australian summer Christmas, but for her snow somehow feels appropriate at this time of year.

Being cool and crisp, we headed out for a walk towards a nearby ice fall that afternoon... with our gear, just in case. But sadly, the icefall is still a waterfall (although a rather pretty one).

We saw animal tracks on the fresh snow - deer, wild pig, and maybe a fox or feral cat? - and came across a ramshackle hiking hut, with an incredible purple woodstove, an eclectic but vast array of cooking equipment and a few candles in old wine bottles. Although it had recently been fitted out with new windows, even with the stove going it would be chilly overnight to stay there ... but we can't say it wasn't a little tempting.

Le Pylon

Le Pylon - a stunning line, of a low grade, within view of La Grave. No wonder it gets three stars!

And it looks pretty great from afar ...

... but sadly it was more water than ice up close, when we popped by on the 23rd December. It would probably have been okay on the steeper right hand side, but the left had quite a few fountains running out of it, and we weren't in the mood to get soaked. So, we left it for another day, and instead drank tea and ate stinky French cheese. Yum.

(Edit to add: the temperature has since dropped. We'll be back!)

Snow time ...

Oh the weather outside's delightful,

But the icefalls look quite frightful,

Oh don't be such a tease,

LET IT FREEZE, LET IT FREEZE, LET IT FREEZE!

Although it's hard to imagine, having just arrived in the Alps from the sunny Costa Blanca, we are slightly distressed by the warm temperatures. Today was almost 10degrees! And overnight, we don't think it really froze at all.


This is not good news if you want to climb ice. Not good news at all.


However ... we did manage to climb a beautiful line today. Perhaps a little damp in patches, but nevertheless three pitches of easy axe-swinging fun in a great location. Jen tried out her much improved axes, now with extra horn, thanks to Mark's early Christmas gift (which included installation, too).

Ooooh! Check out the horn!

AND more snow is on its way, and then winds from the north to follow. Many of the icefalls have formed, others are getting there, and hopefully the refreezing cycle will kick in. A little bit of melt that then refreezes can make the ice more solid (as long as the melt doesn't destroy it completely, of course...)

The Millau Viaduct

We saw a program about this engineering marvel once ... it didn't quite prepare us for the stunning drive across it.