This year, Star Trekk launched its new winter event: the Winter PaRaidise. What was the idea beyond it? To have a week-end that offers all the joys of the mountain: hiking and feasts with lots of cheese! All of that in the a sustainable fashion. This year, this event took place in the Haut-Jura, in the East of France
Soon after getting out of the train, participants were welcomed with a homemade croziflette, a typical dish from Savoy, another French region famous for its mountain dishes. After the desert, rules for waste sorting were explained: 4 different dustbins were used in order to separate organic stuff from glass, paper and plastics from ordinary waste. Some, tired from the trip, went straight to bed, while some others enjoyed the launching party for Winter PaRaidise.
The following morning, things got serious. After the breakfast, the participants took part in a musical warm-up with Pauline, our warming-up expert and everybody put on their snowshoes. While some have more balance on the snow than others, nothing could stop our participants once the hiking started. The bliss of being in the wilderness can be seen of the participants faces who fill their lungs with fresh mountain air. And soon enough the inevitable happens…. A huge snowball fight caught all of us in the middle of our lunch - a healthy and hearty shaker of Vitaline, our new sponsor. The sun shines on the snowy landscape, and on the smiles of the happy, albeit tired, trekkers.
As soon as they got back, the snowshoes off their feet, they gathered in around the large tables to enjoy a hot chocolate and have a rest while playing cards. They were right to do so because at 6pm, they were back in their snowshoes in order to go for a night trek in groups of 15. Three mountain guides made them discover every secret of the region: what does the footprint of hair look like ? and what about that of a lynx ? Who is going to be the first to find a branch of pine tree (and not spruce). The headlamps of our participants pierced the night as they answered brightly.
The groups regrouped outside the forest, where a surprise was awaiting them : they let dozens of huge biodegradable flying lanterns move up into away the starry sky. After this silent firework, they got back to the chalet to eat a well-deserved “croute savoyarde” and a warm zucchini soup. The more courageous had the strength to party all night long…
On Sunday morning, we could see tired but motivated-looking faces during breakfast. No time to lose: a new hike was scheduled. At the top of the mountain, they all took part to a snowy version of a game capture the flag. After all this effort, all sorts of cheese are welcomed : goat cheese, “tome de Savoie”, “morbier” and many others from our sponsor Savencia. When going back to the chalet, we could feel the exhaustion of our participants and a large welcomed bowl of hot chocolate warmed them up, The Winter PaRaidise was already over. They dragged their feet back to the bus that would drive them to the train, their heads full of snowy memories of our beloved mountains..
