We had a relaxing morning in camp before heading off to meet up with Dad & Tan in Lanslebourg, about 2 hours away. Once we started driving, Anoop mentioned that he would like us to drive to the top of the Col du Petit St. Bernard to check out the view. He had seen it mentioned in a brochure and was quite keen to head up. A "col" is a mountain pass and a word that will figure prominently in the next several posts! We figured we had enough time and the map showed it as a scenic route so we slowly started making our way up the switchbacks. The road was very windy but straightened out a bit towards the end which was nice. The Col du Petit St. Bernard is right on the France/Italy border. You are supposed to be able to see Mont Blanc from there (just the top), but of course it was clouded in. The view was great and we got a fun picture of Anoop standing in between the French and Italian border signs. We then headed right back down the same road and continued on our way.

We drove through Iseran, the ski resort which was quite dead, and up to the Col de l'Iseran. It was a stunning drive and much more beautiful than the Petit St. Bernard in terms of scenery on the way up. We then drove down the other side of the col which was the side everyone was riding the next day, to Lanslebourg, stopping every so often to take pictures. I also checked out all the pull-outs to see where the optimum photo vantage points were for the next day. As we drove down there were sheep and cows grazing everywhere, cute mountain huts with stone roofs and a beautiful waterfall and stream. The scenery was incredible and we were both already looking forward to returning the next day for more views.

We arrived in camp much later than our ETA and found Dad & Tan and their friends Mägge and Hille already well set up. We pulled in beside them in a beautiful little campsite beside a river and only a short walk from town. We decided that since it was their first night there that we would head in to town to find something to eat rather than cooking in camp. We found a nice little pizzeria which was packed, but they managed to squeeze us in. We all ordered various pizzas and Anoop chose one that had an egg on top! When we asked if the egg was cooked or raw, the server thought that was a very funny question and said of course it is cooked. The reason we asked was because when me, Mom and Braed were travelling before, Braed had the misfortune of a rather uncooked egg in the middle of his pizza! The pizza was delicious and well worth the wait. 

The next morning, once everyone was organized and had their cool weather gear loaded into the van for the trip back down the mountain, we started out. The plan was for me to drive all the gear and lunch to the top and stop and take pictures of everyone along the way. They gave me an ETA of when they would be at the top and an estimated riding speed so that I wouldn’t be waiting around too long. I stopped off on the way at the biathlon training centre to check it out and take a few pics. There were lots of people training on their summer skis, but I didn’t get to see anyone shoot at the targets. I decided I should head off and made another quick stop in Bonneval-sur-Arc which was rated as a “plus beau village”. It had incredible stone houses with amazing roofs. It was a really pretty spot to walk through even though I didn’t have much time. I continued up to a great pull-out with an excellent background and got out my binoculars to spot them on the road below. After about 10 minutes I figured they should have passed by, but no sign of them yet. They definitely should not have passed me by their estimate yet, but I headed up towards the col for a while figuring I would pass them on the way. About 5 km from the top I still hadn’t seen them and by their calculations, they should definitely not have been that far up yet. So I drove all the way back down and was sure that I would pass by them this time. Still no luck. At this point, I decided that they were way ahead of schedule and that I should just drive all the way to the top. Sure enough, there they were! They had stopped for a quick coffee and bathroom break in Bonneval, thought they saw the van parked there, but continued on anyhow without double checking. We decided that if they passed the van again on another ride that they should stick my windshield wiper up as a sign that they were ahead of me. Anyhow, glad that we had finally met up, we unloaded cold weather gear and had a tasty lunch at the top. They then rode back down while I drove back with everything. We stopped in Bonneval for a café au lait and then carried on back to camp. Even though I didn’t get any pictures of them, the drive was beautiful (all 4 times up/down!). I can see why the local drivers know the corners so well and can drive at the speeds they do!