Snow in Provence (Mont Ventoux)

On the night of Friday, the 23^rd of May, we had our first significant rain event while in Uzes.  In fact, it was quite a spectacular storm, with regular thunder claps and forked lightning, and including a short burst of hail.  William and Grace were very excited by the event, but Xavier slept through it.

None of Andrew’s efforts to capture this dramatic event are worthy of reproducing, but the photo below from Grace and William’s bedroom window shows the cloud front rolling over the town just prior to the action commencing.

The next morning we awoke to a beautiful day, notable for the exceptionally clear blue sky; we could see distant hills much more clearly than ever before.  Noting these conditions, Andrew's eyes lit up with inspiration: this might be the perfect day to visit Mont Ventoux, a one-and-a-half hour drive from Uzès!

Since becoming fans of the Tour de France about eight years ago (consolidated by our three years in Perth, where the two-hour time difference makes a huge difference to television-viewing convenience), we have become increasingly familiar with Mont Ventoux, and we had it on our list of potential day trips.

The only event scheduled for the day was a morning Skype call with our friends the Johnson family.  This was quite fortuitous, as Mark is an avid cyclist, and had climbed Ventoux - by bike - in 2011, while Helen, Evelyn, Frances and George joined him using their (and our) preferred method .... la voiture.  Mark encouraged us to drive to the summit, passionately selling the merits of a world-class souvenir shop, and also mentioning something about views over Provence and the Alps.

William skyping best friend George

The day was so clear that (once we figured it out) we realised we could clearly see Mont Ventoux soon after we left Uzès.  The fact that it has no significant neighbouring mountains meant that we watched it looming larger and larger for the entire journey.  As we approached its base at the village of Bédoin we decided to take a photo including some of the local vines, and noting the billboard in the image below, wondered whether Mark had another local interest.

The drive to the summit is very interesting, with a significant number of cyclists undertaking the climb and descent, making for: (a) challenging driving conditions, and (b) an enhanced appreciation of tour racing conditions.  The photo below approaching the summit includes 3 modes of transportation, and left us wondering whether the elderly man was planning to descend all the way to Bedoin on foot.

Once parked near the summit we were entertained for about half an hour by an expected attraction (the view north-east  towards the Alps), and two unexpected attractions.  The first of these was a glider pilot using thermals alongside and above Ventoux to provide lift, resulting in some very close views (on one run past he was at the same elevation as us and about 30 metres away waving hello).

The second was the presence of snow.  There wasn’t much, but it was enough for Grace and William to have snowball fights, and for Xavier to touch and feel it for the first ever time.  We expect the locals were amused at how such a small quantity of snow could result in so many loud shrieks of joy and fear.

Note the glider above Grace and Xavier

We then walked to the summit and admired the views south over Provence, took some photos, threw a few more snowballs and made some modest purchases in the gift shop (as instructed by Mark).

The descent via the road to Malaucène was easier than the ascent, with far less cyclists, and we enjoyed some stunning views over vineyards and olive groves around Carpentras.