It’s late evening, early July, and walking along the Col des Annes mountain pass just around the valley from the village of Le Grand Bornand, my guide Victor chats away, two baguettes poking out of his backpack like an archer’s arrows. In place of a hiker’s standard fare (half-chewed trail bar, sweaty sandwich) this 5km sunset walk comes with a promise of something more enticing: mountaintop fondue.
Competing with a tuneful clank of cowbells, Victor shares his knowledge of the French Alps. Up there, Mont Lachat de Châtillon, the highest point of the winter ski area. All along there, his arm sweeps right to left, the Aravis range, the majestic Pointe Percée its 2,750m pinnacle. Teasingly out of sight, is Mont Blanc, all we can see of it the hat-like cloud that famously hovers atop.
At the mid-point of our walk, the business of stirring begins. We’re aptly just metres from a cow whose slow swivel of head, fast flick of tail tells me she senses we’re talking about her.
Normally Haute Savoie fondues blend Beaufort, Comté and Emmental cheeses but tonight it’s neat Reblochon, the fromage of local udders.
Twirling hunks of baguette into the rich goo, I discover that Reblochon is as delicious as its origin story is legendary.
Centuries ago, landowners taxed farmers according to the amount of milk their herds produced. But they weren’t accounting for wily farmers – instead of fully milking their ladies, they waited for the boss to skedaddle before commencing the second, creamier milking (“reblocher” means to re-squeeze).
The seasons really do pivot on cows, I’m thinking, as I watch the Aravis peaks turn sunset pink; from the late spring day they’re herded up to their grassy summertime pastures (the practice known as transhumance) to the day they’re herded down again. I picture the cows lugging their heavy heads downhill like children on la rentrée – back-to-school day.
Cheese or no cheese, I’m already loving Le Grand Bornand’s summer vibe. Firstly, there’s the comfortable climate. Compared with the Mediterranean sweltering away today at 37°C, here at 1,000m above sea level it’s a manageable 27°C.
Then there’s the fact that Le Grand Bornand eschews the flashiness of many Alpine resorts.
“We’ve a former mayor to thank for that,” says the tourist office’s Julien-Gabriel Perbellini showing me around. “This,” he says gesturing towards the traditional, shuttered, floral farmhouses characterising the valley “was nearly lost in the 60s. There was a threat to make way for a more modern resort. His efforts overturned it.
“That’s not to say it’s sleepy. There’s actually a very young all-year-round population here. It’s just tranquil. Laid-back,” he says, a cuckoo clock chiming the hour at 5.04pm.
“In summer we get roughly the same number of visitors as in winter. It’s just that in the summer you don’t see them. Everyone has dispersed.”
To clap eyes on Mont Blanc proper, I’ve also scheduled in time in Les Contamines Montjoie, a village 72km away also enjoying nature’s own air-con at 1,200m above sea level. While thousands walk the five-day Tour du Mont Blanc every summer, mine’s a 15km one-day hike via Col de la Fenêtre – all swoony views over the 4,800m icon, nature reserve, lunch stop in a beautiful refuge, and Italianate chapel.
It kicks off with two gondola ascents; the Gorge followed by Le Signal, the combined ticket just €11 (£9.43). Walking holidays, it seems are a lot less spenny than skiing.
The walk’s quite “sportif” for me (a word French people seem unable to say without the double-punch hand gesture to affirm something means business) but I’m all set. I’ve walked 5km daily for years. I can handle a hill.
On the mental prep side, I spent some time before breakfast yesterday with Masala Yoga in the Nant du Chinaillon river, teaching me that breathwork and meditation can generate enough inner fire not just to enter parky 11°C waters but to show that, really, one can set one’s mind to anything.
It’s a hike of 500m elevation and 1,180m elevation loss. There are a couple of challenging stretches (inner fire, inner fire, I chant), but accompanied by two trekking poles as well as my guide Laetitia who entertains me with anecdotes about her other job of goat farming, it’s an uplifting, inspiring and informative day to remember.
Gazing up at Mont Blanc’s snow-topped dome, my mind wanders back to landscapes and the seasons.
How implausible it is that somewhere with the same co-ordinates is a pristine world of white in winter, yet this scene of serene green come summer.
How skiers plot the fastest way down yet for hikers it’s the slowest. For me it’s summertime Alps, every step.
Getting there
By car Calais to Le Grand Bornand takes 8.5 hours
By train To Annecy by TGV (onward public transport available)
By air To Geneva (onward public transport available)Where to stay
Chalet Valora in Le Grand Bornand with pool (from €112 per night for two people). Chalets Laska in Les Contamines Montjoie (from €1,129 per night for six people) with pool/spa.
Where to eat
Comptoir-des-Alpes in Le Grand Bornand is a smart foodhall with local produce.
Ô-à-la-Bouche in In Les Contamines Montjoie is a ‘bistronomique’ restaurant denoting top gastronomy minus formal ambiance.More information
Visit legrandbornand.com and lescontamines.com
Lucy Shrimpton was a guest of France Montagnes