Today’s Photo
Every weekday during winter, and occasionally the rest of the year
21 July 2021
When you’re skiing in Val d’Isère, on packed snow five feet deep, it is hard to imagine that there is a whole world of nature beneath your feet, just waiting for the summer.
By July there are wild flowers everywhere, with several species of gentian:
including the giant yellow gentian:
There are acres of rose bay willowherb:
the very rare astragale de lienz spotted by mountain guide Chris Souillac:
and false helleborines:
There are marmots, who sleep for six months beneath our skis:
and vipers, who survive the bitter winters for the same reason our water mains do: the thick duvet of snow means that the ground beneath never really freezes…
Some animals here don’t hibernate, such as France’s largest population of ibex:
the squirrels:
or the snow voles:
who spend the winter scurrying through little tunnels between the snow and the soil:
trying to avoid the stoats:
Even the trees are unrecognisable. The bare sticks of the winter larches are vivid green now:
Val d’Isère is marvellous in the summer. But we still can’t wait for winter!
