Seven weeks completed

Today I celebrated seven weeks of walking by climbing the Dent Parachée in cool but good weather.  Fortunately I managed to overtake two parties before ascending a couloir to the col - a frightful 50 degree slope of very loose stones and a most unpleasant and fairly dangerous place, most definitely demanding a helmet.  It was impossible to avoid dislodging stones, so it was good not to be in the firing line from anyone above me.  Once on the col, a nice ridge led up to the summit, from where there were sensational views of Mont Blanc, the Grandes Jurasses and, south of me, Monte Viso.  The couloir was no more pleasant on the way down, but I got back to the hut in time for lunch; then a pleasant 13 km walk to Modane.  The first hotel I tried was full and Modane is a drab place centred on the station, so after a pizza and ice cream (still staple items of my diet) I decided to press on and bivouac.  It's one of the pleasures of the trip to go by instinct and change plans.  I did remember passing through Modane in the middle of the night years ago while inter-railing, so twice I've not seen fit to stop there.