Heading abroad for the first time since the pandemic, I took a long weekend in Switzerland to visit Alex and Ausma, who relocated from the Black Forest a couple of years ago. They are now based in Yverden-les-Bains, at the south end of Lac de Neuchâtel. I flew with easyJet from Manchester to Geneva, taking the Thursday afternoon off work to drive up to the airport. I was pleased that, despite the airline’s suggestion to get to the airport two and half hours early to clear security, I was through in 30 minutes leaving plenty of time for an early dinner before boarding. The flight was also on time, arriving around 9pm, and with no queues for passport control I was soon on the train. With typical Swiss efficiency, the short connections in Geneva and Renens went smoothly, and I made it to Yverdon by 11pm. Alex and Ausma met me at the station, from where it was only a few minutes’ walk to their flat near the lake.

Friday was a fairly leisurely day spent in and around Yverdon. We started by cycling around the lake shore to Grandson, where Alex and Ausma went for a short swim in the lake, as they often do. Then we went for a coffee at the café at the castle. Ausma headed home while Alex and I continued our bike ride through a few neighbouring villages to call in at a few farm shops to pick up provisions for the week. We rode through a few spots of rain, and just made it back to Yverdon before a lunchtime downpour.

In the afternoon, Alex had to dial into a meeting for a bit, so Ausma took me on a tour of the local nature reserve and along the lakeside, where there were lots of water birds and good views over to Grandson. In the evening, we enjoyed a barbecue with local chicken and sausages on the balcony.

Saturday was forecast to be a much sunnier day, so Alex and I took a train trip to the bigger mountains near Martigny. A rack railway leads from the town over a pass to Chamonix and beyond. We just went up a few stops to the village of Les Marécottes, from where we took the gondola up to the hamlet of La Creusaz, saving ourselves around 800m of ascent through the forest. Our objective for the day was the scrambly peak of Le Luisin, at a lofty 2786m. An alpine path, marked in blue on the map and signs, leads directly up the ridge from La Creusaz, initially zigzagging up through forest and brush. As we gained height, we soon gained excellent views of the Mont Blanc massif, as well as down into the valley at Martigny.

The path gradually got rockier further up, with short sections of easy scrambling protected by fixed ropes and cables, and very dramatic views down huge gullies both sides of the ridge. The views over Vallon d’Emaney were particularly fine. The final section to the summit was steeper, slightly trickier scrambling with the aid of a couple of short fixed ladders.

The summit was actually in mist as we arrived, so we settled down for lunch a short distance along the ridge in hope that it would clear to reveal the full view. We were in luck, and the mist gradually lifted off so that we could see Mont Blanc again, as well as the nearby peaks of Dents du Midi, Tour Salière and Fontanabran.

After lunch, we descended by the easier, red-signed path to Col d’Emaney and then down into the head of Vallon d’Emaney, with the impressive strata of Pointes d’Aboillon above. Once in the valley, the walking was easier for a while, on larger tracks. We paused at a ‘buvette’ (mountain café) for a drink, before continuing down the valley. A long, steep descent through the forest eventually brought us down to the railway station at Trétien, just a couple of stops up from Les Marécottes,. A couple of hours of travelling brought us back to Yverdon, where Ausma had prepared burgers to barbecue for a well-earned dinner!
Route map for the day: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1990073

Sunday was another sunny day. Alex and I headed to a ridge with distant views over Yverdon and the lake, close to Montreux. Today’s mountain railway wasn’t quite steep enough to need rack propulsion, but still took an impressive route with zigzags and tunnels under the Col de Jaman to the hamlet of Allières. We headed steeply uphill on quiet footpaths through pasture land and patches of forest to the farmstead at Orgevau and on up to the head of the valley at L’Urqui. There were good views down the valley towards the adjacent mountain group of Vanil Noir.

At L’Urqui, we left the path and headed up through rough grass to reach the col between Le Pila and Vanil des Artses – a knife-edge grassy arête! Alex led me on a route he’d taken previously, up the crest of the very dramatic ridge to the summit of Vanil des Artses (1992m). I was glad of his local knowledge to reassure that it was actually easier in descent, and locate the fixed cables that protect the most exposed section, traversing along a grassy ledge above cliffs just off the crest of the ridge.

Having admired the view from the summit for a few minutes, we retreated the way we’d come until we were past all difficulties, then paused for lunch while contemplating the route up Le Pila the other side of the col, where the guidebook advertised ‘practically vertical vegetation’! A few lines looked plausible, but it was very hard to judge the gradients and the sizes of the rocky steps from a distance.

Once we’d moved closer, a steepening grassy ramp on the right hand side seemed promising, but after a while we reached some very steep and exposed steps that we were not convinced we’d be comfortable to descend, and turned back. It looked like another rake a little further left might be easier, so we gave that a try too, getting slightly higher up and tantalisingly close to the ridge line, but again decided it was too risky to continue. Perhaps Alex will feel braver or find a better line another day and be able to lead me next time!

To make a circular walk, we contoured around below the crags of Le Pila to cross the col to Joux des Heures. Easy paths led us down the valley from there to the station at Les Cases, where we got ice cream at another buvette as we waited 45 minutes or so for the train. Once back in Yverdon, today’s culinary treat prepared for the barbecue by Ausma was salmon and prawns, with chips and salad – delicious!
Route map for the day: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1990084

Monday was my final day of the visit, and was a public holiday in Switzerland, Swiss National Day. After two fairly long train trips into the mountains at the weekend, and with a long journey for me at the end of the day, we opted for a more leisurely start and a day spent nearer to Yverdon. The Jura mountains run west of the town and lake, and Alex suggested we go for a trail run up the highest nearby peak, Le Chasseron. We caught the rail-replacement bus up to the small town of Sainte-Croix, from where it was about 5km and 600m climb on pleasant footpaths, initially steep enough to merit walking as we ascended the forest, but then more runnable on the gentler open ridge to the subsidiary peak of Petites Roches, then a little down and back up to the main summit at 1607m.

After a pause for photographs and water, we continued a little further north along the ridge before dropping down west to Chalet des Roches Eboulées. From there, undulating footpaths led us back through the forest to Sainte-Croix, for a total run of around 15km and 750m ascent.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1990096

After salad for lunch back in Yverdon, we went for another short bike ride to the lakeside for the Tucks to swim, and then it was time for me to head to the station to start the journey home. This time I caught the express intercity train directly to Geneva Airport, where I again had a smooth passage through security. Not so lucky with the flight this time, with an advertised delay of 60 minutes that gradually increased to 90 and, by time we took off, 120. That meant I wasn’t back in Manchester until just after midnight. I finally made it home around 1:45am and was glad to get to bed.

It was fantastic to get away to some larger mountains again after three years in the UK, and to spend time with Alex and Ausma again and catch up on all the developments in their lives – the new location, jobs, Swiss Birman cats, and a baby on the way! Now for a few days at home, before heading back out to Switzerland by car for my main summer holiday!

My full photo album is available on Google Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nTYXpwQrFTZ6Nkgv9