This was the third time Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival was organized in Annecy, and the third time we attended. This year’s lineups for both biathlon and cross-country sprint races were quite impressive. There was supposed to be two Finnish biathlets, but on the race day we heard that one of them couldn’t compete because of the food poisoning he got on his way to Annecy. Unfortunately, the performance of the other one was not brilliant either — she came last like last year. Anyway, it is fair race that counts, and the atmosphere and the audiences in the MFNF have always been great — all athletes are cheered equally no matter how  they are doing.  The weather was very favorable, too.  The forecast promised thunderstorms and heavy rains for the whole day Saturday — and there were dark clouds around the town, which eventually dissipated — but we enjoyed a full day of (at times too hot) sunshine.

On our way back home from Annecy we made a detour via Le Revard on Bauges mountains for a relaxed Sunday hike (10.3K in 4h, D+/D- 500m). The first half of the hike traveled in a forest that hadn’t suffered from the same dry spell we’ve witnessed elsewhere — quite the contrary, the trail was rather muddy at places and the vegetation lush.  Luckily the slope was very gentle, and we kept wondering why the level of difficulty of this hike had been marked intermediate. We found out when we reached the final three kilometers of the hike: the narrow, rocky trail followed a steep ridge downhill, and it was tricky at places, especially with the hiking poles.