Avrieux
7 – 12 September
Avrieux is a little village situated somewhere around 1100m in the Maurienne valley, 6km from Modane. This is called ‘sauvage’ by the locals but is still pretty developed in our terms. There I was, quite high above the valley, after walking for a couple of hours, and what do I see but a flag saying Welcome! Not only could I have had a beer there but a fantastic choice of meals and even stay in the dormitory for a reasonable price as well. (Fort Marie-Christine). It would be fair to admit that although I had got there the hard way, there was a road leading almost right to the restaurant. But still. Pity I was so well equipped. I bought a couple of postcards in compensation.
The views in all directions are just amazing and the walk had the added-value of 5 forts covering the entry to the valley, and a new explanatory museum on the route. The Forts of Esseillon. Not Vauban, either. These were for artillery beyond Vauban, quite a lot later (early 19th century) but also used in 1939-1945. On the Aussois side of the forts, plenty of ski-lifts in view but we are still at the end of summer. Shame I wasn’t here before the end of August, as I could have taken some of the big lifts up really high but they are July-August only in the summer and we are now September. 
La Norma is a ski and summer resort in the opposite direction. Completely closed now (early September) except for some workmen but the summer tracks are still usable and I managed to get up to 2000 metres where to my absolute surprise the restaurant was open. (Yes, there is a road…) This time I did have a beer, even if I didn’t need it (too well prepared again) and chatted to the young guy there (25), who after working 8 years at McDonalds bought the restaurant with a friend. With 3,000 gondola trips an hour, and more people passing by on the double chair, they have good patronage. He wants to come to NZ (
After two 8-hour walks, Sunday was deemed to be a day of rest and I strolled around the village, up to a waterfall and the chapel of St Benoit. And down to the river and the chapel of St Roch, which looks like a garage used for storage. There are 6 chapels in this area! Most very small and with special reasons for existing, for example to protect against the plague (which was rife here for over two centuries), avalanches, floods, crop failure and even sore throats. However, it was an English family who, for unknown reasons, founded the church of Saint Thomas-Beckett in 1214. Nowadays people come to see the baroque reconstruction of the 17th century, which is fairly overwhelming but amazing in such a small place. The chapel of Notre-Dame des Neiges is also in the village itself, not 500 metres from the church. Also worth seeing, it seems, but locked due to theft. 
My last big walk, also about 8 hours but much more leisurely, took me up to 2906 metres, to Lac du Génépy. I was absolutely elated, not just to get there but to find a family of marmots fairly near the top and an ibex (small horns, must be female?) nibbling what it could find on the terrain near the lake. On the way I had a cup of hot chocolate at the 2344m Refuge du Fond D’Aussois (because I could…) then was shouted a beer to eat with my (homemade) lunch at the Refuge du Dent Parrachée (2511 metres) by a fellow walker. On the way down from the lake I met up with two more walkers who offered to take me back to my village if I stayed with them. This would save me two hours and I was pleased to have the company. They had stayed the night at the Dent Parrachée and stopped off there to collect their things, have a drink and a chocolate crepe with cream. What else could I do? Delicious, fabulous view, lovely weather…
I totally recommend where I stayed (La Grange
Seen from everywhere I climbed is ONERA.
However, over time, came the closure of other industries, no longer needed. And ONERA was not taking on more people. An exodus began. La Norma was established in January 1972 to provide employment for locals and stop this exodus, to bring the villages back to life. Two communes, with revenue from hydro-electricity were able to finance almost all of the development and the first guys to start to set it up (mayors who worked at ONERA) did all the groundwork after they finished work.
For the skiers among you - La Norma is a family field (5000 beds), reasonably priced, limited compared with the big ski stations but still pretty extensive: 700 hectares from 1350m to 2750m, 65km of tracks, 17 lifts of various sorts, one of which is a gondola. The big bonus is that from La Norma there are shuttles (supplement payable 6€) which allow you to go to 3 other stations, either up or down the valley or over to the other side of the mountains, to the Val Thorens valley (gondola takes you there in 20 minutes from the base at Orelle). Val Thorens also links to the Trois Vallées for the ultimate in skiable area (domaine skiable) www.la-norma.com There are 24 ski stations in this valley of 120 km, all relatively small compared with the biggies. Which are enormous.
Modane is not very big or very interesting but it is where the train leaves from and I spent a night there. There is an interesting and free display of the Lyon-Turin high-speed train link which by 2020 will take 4000 trucks a day out of the Maurienne Valley Italy Lisbon to Budapest and later Kiev and also a north-south link from London and Amsterdam to Naples Luxembourg with Perpignan
For me, the high level walks and the fantastic views, the refuges, the alpine grass and the animals were all just wonderful. La vie est belle.
