OWPG AWARD WINNERS 2017
to Lago Miserin. It is a lake, situated at 2600m and has a
special significance in my love of mountains because my
early desires to visit it were thwarted by my parents, due
to my being “too young”. Consequently this unassuming
mountain lake took on a significance well beyond its
modest altitude and indeed the ease of reaching it, coming
to symbolise the essence of the unattainable; a holy grail of
wild mountain environments.
Anyway, I subsequently went there a few times but not
for a good 10 years at the very least. So, nostalgia having
got the better of me, I resolved to walk up there once more.
After deciding my hire car was not entirely suitable for
the dirt track I was rocking and rolling over I parked up and
set off up to Dondena on foot. Its a pleasant gradient and I
was fortunate to get some sunshine. Beautiful walking. The
colors of autumn washed liberally across the landscape
with the broadest strokes. Bright yellow larches, bleached,
rusty grasses and dark, dank earth, wet from an early
snowfall, now melting in the mid morning sun. An constantly
changing sky; action, clouds, mist, sun - everything one
could want from mother nature’s ample palette.
Before long it was tough going in a pair of North Face
low cut boots and I soon hit enough snow to put on my
gaiters. Then, instead of continuing to head up the valley
towards Lago Miserin in the direction of the Finestra di
Champorcher, I took a left and headed up Mont Rascias
(2784m) which overlooks the lake. I don’t know why.
Perhaps a boyish enthusiasm for a clean snow slope.
Perhaps it just felt right. It felt as if part of this mini-
adventure was going to be to do something different.
Ultimately about 50m from the top I decided to turn
back. The snow was deep and getting wetter and heavier
and the mist encroached on my view down the valley. When
it came to the level of M. Dondena (2548m) I figured it was
time to call it a day. It just felt like I wasn’t prepared for
these kind of conditions even though the snow was not very
deep. I took a long drink and forced myself to eat a peanut
bar as fast as the mist rose.
I charged back down, thrashing through the snow;
sliding, glissading and occasionally stumbling. I was soon
in the mist and next to zero visibility so I retraced my
footmarks until the terrain became mixed and the snow
gave way to dark rock and earth and I was once again able
to pick up the path markers.
So I failed to reach Lake Miserin, I failed to reach the
top of M. Rascias and, despite gaiters, I failed to keep my
feet dry but I did succeed in finding something out about
myself. When it comes to my enjoyment of the outdoors
the journey is much more important than the destination. In
a 2.5hr round trip I gained 850m of elevation and covered
12.5km. What I really wanted was not to reach the lake or
the summit I had pivoted towards, but rather to revel in the
splendour and quiet solitude of the mountains and internal
triumph of physical activity.
Highly Commended
John and Anne Nuttall
for www.nuttalls.com
winter 2017 | Outdoor focus 27