One day of sun!

Some of you will be regular viewers of Dutchman, Martijn Doolaard's YouTube channel, where he posts weekly videos of his renovation work on two stone huts in the Cottian Alps, south-west of Turin, he bought back in October 2021. His last video a few days ago (#152) entitled “Cold, Fog and Ice Crystals” coincided with my first visit of 2025 to A Little Cabin in the Alps.

And boy was it cold! Due to a temperature inversion across most of the western Alps, the valleys were cold and foggy whilst higher altitudes saw clear skies and sunshine. Although this shifted during the week, and there were brief periods of sun (like this one day for the Biellese Alps where the cabin is), the still air temperatures hovered between +1 in the day to -5 at night (Celsius).

This is the 3rd winter I’ve locked up the cabin in early December and prepared it for being left alone for a couple of months by, e.g. turning off the water and draining the pipes given the probability of sub-zero temperatures; making sure there was no enticing food around for mice(!); and moving all outdoor furniture inside.

There is no direct sun on the cabin during the months of December and January (see post Sunlight and Shadows) and it's generally a time for nature to rest, hibernate and sit it out until February when the sun appears over the mountain - or at least should do… But not last week nor this (as I write).

Last year the winter up to March was pretty dry, cold and devoid of snow. Then a couple of big dumps of wet heavy snow saw the mountains still covered in reasonable snow up to early summer. This year the opposite. Snow (but not that much really) came in late November and since then small amounts have kept north and eastern facing slopes white above 1500m whilst southern and western facing resemble leopard spots…

Flowers are slowly slowly showing signs of life and I’m hoping that come the end of March the daffodils will be starting to flower and there will be many more primula around. May is the month where the Gentians are vibrant and you really get the feel of nature bursting all around with colour and growth.

If you’re interested in taking a short break in the cabin, whether alone, as a couple or with your family, take a look at the calendar which shows availability and then write me a message from the Find Out More page for further details.

Until next time, enjoy the early days of Spring - when the weather allows!