Mont Ventoux

Driving up the Mont Ventoux

Last Saturday saw me drive up the Mont Ventoux, the highest mountain in the Provence. This photo was taken by one of the teachers and if you look carefully you can actually see me in the mirror, trying to negotiate all those tight bends. Shortly after this photo was taken, the group got off to walk the rest of their way up (about 5,5 km or 3 and a bit miles). I drove up to the top, which was good, since night would have fallen before I would have reached the top!

Looking down into the valley

Looking down into the valley you can see two things: snow (that's the white stuff) and very winding roads. I've been on worse roads in the past, but this was not an easy road to negotiate. The main problem with those roads is always the poor visibility, you can never see who will be tearing round the corner!

The summit

The summit of the Mont Ventoux changes on every sign. This one says 1910 meters, others claim 1909 or even 1912 meters.

The naked mountain

The Mont Ventoux does not mean windy mountain, but naked mountain. Apparently it's an old gallic word. The reason why it's called the naked mountain is quite simple: the top is above the treeline, meaning there are no trees growing on the top. This tree tried, but didn't make it.

Weatherstation?

I'm not quite sure what the function of this building is, but it's one of three or four on the summit. One is a proper weatherstation, one is a restaurant and one used to be a hotel. This tower-like structure is part of that former hotel, but it didn't really seem to have a function anymore. At least not as far as I could see.