19th of July 2021. I’d obviously been misinformed by some app about sunrise so missed that but still a glorious start to the video. Later it’s a day of bright sun, bubbling cumulus and blue sky until a lovely sunset from around 4.00. Definitely 4/5! This time I’m going to use embedding:
20th of July 2021. Hm, when I looked yesterday I thought there was nothing recorded at all and it was clear that the timelapse program had aborted because the ‘phone overheated. I had forgotten that that happens and it has been a roasting day. However, looking today I found that 38 seconds (in timelapse) had been caught and it’s glorious: 5/5.
21st of July 2021. Stunning colours in the sunrise into an almost cloudless sky. That gives way to high cloud and contrails softening the intense sun up here and cumulus bubbling off the peaks sometimes in the classic “smoke signal” way. The sunset is almost as good as the sunrise. Funny to see Club Med moving into disco mode at the end ready to party, party the night away! 4/5
22nd of July 2021. Did the Club Med people really party all night?! Apart from their light pollution, it’s a lovely sunrise with mist in the valley. As the sun gets up it’s a largely cloud free day until about 2’44” when a mix of the usual puffy cumulus starts up on Mont Blanc and the far peaks but with very different horizontal streams of cloud. Gentle sunset about from the party animals firing up again! (3/5)
23rd of July 2021. Not really an exciting or particularly beautiful day. There’s a heat haze (that’s what I instinctively call it, what does that mean?) through the entire day filtering and muting colours a bit. The sunrise is very grey with quite thick layers of cloud scudding across from the West. It’s more aesthetically pleasing than the day of cumulus that follows. Interestingly, it felt like a hot and clear day at the time. (Oh, and I’m an idiot: the disco lights in Club Med are downlighters on their terrace which slowly phase through different colours out of synch with the 8 second gap between the timelapse snaps!) 2/5?
24th of July 2021. First 50 seconds or so are a fairly turbulent cloud covered sunrise that is not uninteresting. Then a less interesting day of sun alternating with lots of cloud that scuds up from behind us almost to the sunset but the sunset itself is a rather nice, washed out watercolour one. 2/5
25th of July 2021. Somehow I’d silenced the alarm on the ‘phone so this starts late but with a rather fine passage of turbulent cloud. From about 1’20” there are a sequence of small cumulus clouds that form straight ahead and move L to R as we look out, almost at right angles to all other cloud movement. I think they’re forming on an updraft coming up the “little valley” coming up to Plagne Centre (just off stage to our R). Illustrates nicely how local some cloud formation is. Day finishes with a long evening phase of lowering, rather darkly threatening waves of cloud. 3/5
26th of July 2021. Cloudy day. Around 40″ in the sun rises behind Mont St. Jacques with nice sunbursts across the valley followed by a common pattern of it seeming as if that sun boils cumulus up out of the valley to seethe up and over us here. Then we have lots of cumulus and quite a lot of sun. Around 3’40” the cloud darkens and lowers for a bit (that must have been when I went for my cycle ride!) and after that things darken out. 2/5
27th of July 2021. A rather clear sunrise but things cloud over rapdily. Lovely sunbursts like tracking searchlights as the sun cuts through that early on. Then high white cloud (light stratus?) and high cumulus below it turning dark at times in the afternoon. Around 3’20” there’s that phenomenon of little puffs of cumulus coming up the lateral valley at right angles to the main stream above them and from about 4’0″ there’s a fine dark sunset. 3/5?
29th of July 2021. About 28 seconds in Mont Blanc rises majestically above the cloud in the early morning sun: lovely. After that there is a long period in which the only cloud is a rather nice patch of very low cumulus just bubbling up and reforming low above the (high) pasture across the valley. Then a another long period completely cloud free until about 3’10” when high rolling cumulus comes in and thickens to a dark sunset. (3/5)
30th of July 2021. Nice pale wash colours of sunrise then a day of constantly moving cloud until about 3’20” when things get dramatic. Watch from there on which is glorious: 5/5. I let it run for a bit to see if chance would catch the intense lightning we had after dark but it’s only caught a few afterflashes.
31st of July 2021. Sorry, missed the daybreak. Lovely sunrise with a cap of cloud tumbling over Mont Blanc. Then a phase when the cloud bubbles and seethes in the valley. Then what had been a sunny morning up here changes and the skyis covered with grey cloud streams over with only occasional breaks. Around 2’40” there’s a lovely passage of rain over the high pastures across the valley. Then we’re into a very dark and damp sunset. 3/5Sorry, missed the daybreak. Lovely sunrise with a cap of cloud tumbling over Mont Blanc. Then a phase when the cloud bubbles and seethes in the valley. Then what had been a sunny morning up here changes and the skyis covered with grey cloud streams over with only occasional breaks. Around 2’40” there’s a lovely passage of rain over the high pastures across the valley. Then we’re into a very dark and damp sunset. 3/5
1st of August 2021. Starts late into a lovely sunrise and then cloud swirls in from below and behind and that’s how it continues for a while. Later there are flashes of sun and blue sky while rather lovely thin curtains of rain run across the valley. The sunset is also rather lovely with low, warm sun punching through the cloud. 3/5
2nd of August 2021. Only 1’14” because google authentication continued to interrupt things even though I’ve transferred it to the new ‘phone. Purged everything now so this shouldn’t happen again. Glorious 74 seconds 5/5?!
3rd of August 2021. Great sunrise with glorious flush of colour after 0’20” then low cloud steams off the peaks and high pasture across the valley but by about 1’40” things have gone grey and completely overcast. By 3’0″ rain washes in and from there damn swishes and swashes across until the light disappears completely in a rather unusual fade to black. 3/5
4th of August 2021. Long dark dawn and then into a ceiling of cloud rushing over and cloud down in the valleys fading and reforming then thickening and swashing up the Plagne side valley to reach us and at times blot everything out. I have no idea why the recording stopped early. 2/5
5th of August 2021. Lovely bubbling and seething cloud down in the valley as the sun rises. After that a nice day of quite fast moving (in timelapse) brightly white cumulus, blue sky beyond and between and sun. Lovely sunset from about 3’50”. (3/5)
6th of August 2021. Sunrise onto quite thick scudding cloud but by 1’05” there is lots of blue sky and very little cloud. What there is is moving fast and the lower cloud thins out to very little as do the high skeins of cirrus. Around 3’15” the high cloud changes again and thickens and that’s what there is until sunset as a simple blackout. 2/5
7th of August 2021. Quite an interesting sunrise with scudding cloud and colour changes following into searchlight sunbeams raking across the valley and unusual churning cloud on the far peaks below Mont Blanc. Rain comes in about 2’29” and cloud and rain swash around from there on. Quite a fine blue sunset. 3/5
8th of August 2021. Had failed to set the alarm so missed sunrise but the video comes in on a wonderful seething sea of cloud in the valley with a clear blue sky and rising sun above it … then the sea seethes up to smother us! It then sweeps up and down, in and out, from about 1’30” to 2’10” when it really recedes up the valley and leaves a beautiful sunny day. Late on, just before sunset, there’s a funny little cloud bubbling below Mont Blanc. 4/5
9th of August 2021. Nice sunrise with shelves of high cloud over the peaks across the valley that slowly thin to a very sunny morning of mostly blue sky. Later the cirrus thickens slowly through rather fine sculpted shapes and that phases into a lovely sunset. 3/5
10th of August 2021. Nice sunrise with a progression of colours and streaming clouds then a dappling of light on the other side of the valley as high, small cumulus speeds across. By about 1’30” that has gone and it’s a mostly sunny, blue sky sort of day. At about 3’16” there’s a brief bit of lovely standing wave sort of cloud but that reverts back to the usual cloud streams and an almost cloud free sunset. 3/5
11th of August 2021. Yellow to orange glows as sun rises to clouds scudding across. They create a long sequence roving sunbeams and dappled cloud shadows moving across the opposite side of the valley and over us. The clouds slow and thin and by about 3’30” they are gone leaving clear sky as the sun sets. 2/5?
12th of August 2021. Sun rises with lovely sequence of orange colours and hardly any cloud. Apart from a parapente and the birds almost nothing happens in the sky until about 1’40” when some cloud reappears and slowly builds. By 3’25” the cloud has covered the sky and we’re in for a storm which sweeps in gloriously. There was a lot of thunder and lightning but only one afterflash is caught just before the recording stops. Perhaps I should have let it run! 3/5
13th of August 2021. Lovely static “standing wave” cloud dominating the sky ahead as the sun rises. I love that mix of flow and static leading edge and it’s beautiful as the colours change. That gives way to a long phase of thin high cloud filtering the sun. About two minutes in the cumulus develops underneath that high cover and that fades out again by about 3’30” and is replaced by a sepia sequence sunset. 3/5 mostly for the sunrise which is 4/5!
14th of August 2021. Lovely sunrise and the first clouds don’t appear until about 35″ in and then there are few of them and thin. From 1’30” little high cumulus, if you can call them that, little wisps really, start to form and disappear rapidly and mostly fairly stationary though it’s clear there is a westerly wind at altitude. By about 2’40” they have changed to ones that sweep across with that wind an they thicken. Almost colourless sunset. 2/5
15th of August 2021. Another gentle sunrise with very little cloud around. Through the first minute or so light cloud streams off Mont Blanc and then little puffs of semi-stationary cumulus form and reform above the valley. From is it 2’30” an interesting steady bank of distant cloud forms beyond Mont Blanc and I thought it might build to more but it doesn’t, just fades away and there’s a gentle sunset mirroring the sunrise. 3/5
16th of August 2021. One of those mornings where sunrise reveals us looking out between two layers of cloud and this is a particularly good churning away above and below which doesn’t really open up until about 1’30”. After that it’s a constant movement of cumulus above and at the end of the valley towards Mont Blanc. Sunset is from grey to black. 3/5?
17th of August 2021. Quite a nice sunrise with the clouds thinning out rapidly to glorious blue sky and thin and evanescent clouds feathering up from the lateral valley. By about 1’40” there is more contrail striation than I’ve seen in ages (we really are keen on killing this planet). Around 2’40” you can really see the aerial highway with a bend in its way taken by four different planes. This is not what I wanted to be observing! Things fade out through a warm glowing sunset. 2/5
18th of August 2021. Interesting sunrise with a wall of cloud seeming to rush towards us at one point and it progresses to a rather unusual pattern of cumulus above the high pastures and lower peaks. That settles into a very stable pattern later (c. 2’0″) and the cloud thins very slowly from there through to a rather nice sunset. 3/5?
19th of August 2021. You can jump to 1’01” as there’s nothing but cotton wool unti then … and it’s another 30″ until much sky appears. After that it’s churning cumulus just to our right and on the opposing and distant heights and pure blue sky above. Around 3’30” the cloud thickens up and I think a flurry of rain sweeps up the valley before another mostly blue sunset. 2/5
20th of August 2021. Vividly coloured sunrise above with only high haze but thick cloud down in the valley. Then cloud really starts to bubble off the peaks just as it evaporates down in the valley. That thickens and thins as the day goes on and a nice glowing sunset fades to black. 2/5
21st of August 2021. Almost cloud free sunrise. Later there is some cumulus above the far peaks against a lovely blue sky. About 3’10” a contrail (was it?) seems to pull in some high cirrus that quickly covers the sky and itself signals a sunset with dark blue turning black.
22nd of August 2021. Fine streaming clouds as the sun rises: tumbling cumulus above the peaks, later descends to scrape them. Cloud cover thickens later as wind direction shifts a bit, then largely back again. Light rain scuds across the valley about 3’0″ but then blue sky emerges more but disappears as sunsets to black. 2/5
23rd of August 2021. Interesting layers of cloud seething in various directions under initially clear sky as sun rises. After that fascinating sequence of changes with much bubbling and seething of low cumulus with high stratus (?contrails?) way above. That in turn settles to cumulus on the peaks and blue sky above. I do like what I call “standing wave” clouds: the ones that are clearly continuously reforming themselves but stay pretty stationary in relation to whatever peak is causing their formative eddies. Nice sunset with the setting sun brushing the undersides of the clouds. 3/5
24th of August 2021. Nice sunrise with bubbling edge of cloud first thing to become visible then rapid sequence of really marked changes in the clouds. From about 1’0″” things change to an interesting pattern with tall pillars of cumulus puffing upwards off pretty much all the peaks. That feels unfamiliar. About 2’30” things change again with lovely light cutting through by then thicker cover and that moves steadily to rain by 3’30” which sweeps in until the cloud enveloped us and I stopped recording early. 4/5
25th of August 2021. Another lovely sunrise with a river of cloud down in the valley. That river finally vanishes around 1’30”. After that things swirl and bubble through to a lovely pale sunset. 2/5
26th of August 2021. Lovely slowly lightening sunrise with very little cloud around. The cloud population grows a bit as the day goes on but all on the peaks and that’s pretty much how it stays for therest of the day through to a fade out sunset. 1/5
27th of August 2021. Interesting start to the day as a lot of high initial cumulus changes to very different patterns both in height and distribution with a lot swirling around me in Aime2000. By two minutes in that has settled to small cumulus bubbling on the peaks. The cloud cover thickens again shortly before a sunset with one lovely flash of orange. 2/5
28th of August 2021. At first the sun was invisible behind thick cloud. That parts and layers rather beautifully to reveal Mont Blanc but cloud keeps boiling up from below and eclipsing everything from time to time. For most of the late morning and afternoon the cloud stays just cloaking the peaks but early evening it thickens again and catches rather lovely sequences of colours as the sun sets. 3/5
29th of August 2021. Nice sequence of pale colours as the sun rises on an almost cloudless scene. Some low cumulus starts to form hugging the high pasture across the valley and then it starts to bubble up on the peaks on this side as well. Then the pattern across the valley itself shifts up to walls of cumulus on the peaks. From abouit 2’30” this darkens and comes to look quite louring at times. It gets caught with a brief splash of orange as the sun sets. 2/5
30th of August 2021. Lovely ghostly veils of cloud/mist in the valley as the sun rises and then catches them and they rapidly burn away and the sun clearly steams low cumulus off the sun facing slopes after that (and then above and around us). A lot of paragliding around 1’20” and some I think later but not getting such long flights so perhaps that’s birds! As the day before, the cumulus builds but differently today: more upward into aspiring pillars pillars of cloud toppling with the wind rather than spreading slabs of cloud. Lovely sunset on it from about 3’40”. 3/5
31st of August 2021. Sunrise has bubbling horizon of cloud emerging but is immediately followed by cloud completely sweeping across and covering everything and the new minute is a fight for blue sky to come through. The next minute has some interesting layers of cloud early on. A bit before two minutes things stabilise into cumulus boiling on the peaks all round. That continues with Rognais (the peak on the left across the valley) at times like a chimney and at other times like cauldron or cooking pot of cloud. Calm sunset with little colour. 2/5
1st of September 2021. Nice sunrise of washed out colours in an almost cloudless sky. About 1’05” Rognais starts to smoke up a little cumulus and soon most of the peaks are doing the same but it’s quite small puffs, not large clouds. Around 2’0″ the painter arrives outside the window but doesn’t stay for long! By 3’40” the day seems to be reversing out very symmetrically through a small cloud on Rognais and out to darkness! 2/5
2nd of September 2021. Nice sunrise with a blaze of yellow at one point that gives way to a blue sky with only a little bit of cloud bubbling in the pass at the head of the valley. That builds slowly and is joined by little bubbles of cumulus on the peaks by 1’30”. That grows a bit then thins again and around 2’30” the sky is nicely dappling the ground with shadows and there’s a nice sunset around 3’40”. 3/5
3rd of September 2021. Nice sunrise with the illusion (I think) of clouds at very similar levels moving in opposite directions (I think they are moving in different directions but not actually opposite ones.) Then a cloudy day with a slow moving pretty complete layer of cloud above and smoke signals of low cumulus puffing up below (and a painter and his ropes making appearances!) There’s a fine flood of cloud towards us at 3’0″” which brought rain and a decidedly damp sunset. 3/5
4th of September 2021. Unusual sunrise was rather beautiful though it does reveal that one of the painters’ ropes was right in front of the lens. By 1’15” there is much blue sky and rather wonderful boiling up of cumulus developing. By 2’0″ that is almost covered by a ceiling of cloud above it. Not sure how to dassify that. I think it’s a sheet of cumulus really. Around 3’23” rain sweeps the head of the valley and gets caught in the setting sun as it drops. 3/5
5th of September 2021. I slept through the alarm and had forgotten about the rope. I did manage to move it later when I remembered. Nice enough sunrise into an almost cloud free scene. Some cumulus bubbles up on the peaks and high pastures from about 40″. The cows are back and the paragliders are out in numbers. It’s another day when the cumulus thickens as the day goes on. In the afternoon small rain showers run across Bourg St. Maurice and the head of the valley but by 3’30” the sky clears to a rather lovely sunset. 3/5
6th of September 2021. Another nice, pallid sunrise with very little cloud just bubbling on the horizon. 50 seconds in cloud is starting to bubble on all the peaks and builds upward, I assume indicating relatively little wind at that level and a fair amount of warmth from the sun coming through largely unfiltered. That thickens as the day goes on then thins again but becomes more linear and less upwardly mobile. There’s a lovely pile of cloud beyond Rognais catching the dropping sun and a quiet sunset. 3/5
7th of September 2021. Lovely phases of colour as the sun rises. Very little early cloud and the first phase is marked by the contrails. One minute in there is a haze of cloud in the far distance and cumulus bubbling on the peaks across the valley. Slowly but steadily the haze on the horizon becomes a cover of cloud with contrails punching through it. and it then breaks up into cirrus. Was it dense cirrus earlier? That fades back to a haze on the horizon and the wind (jetstream?) direction clearly swings around three minutes in and it’s a largely blue to dark sunset. 2/5
8th of September 2021. Surreal video as, unbeknown to me, the phone was slowly detaching from the window at the top so the view changes and gets messy and eventually you see the phone fall to the window sill! Putting that aside, if you can: lovely sunrise with stunning progression of colours … and then the phone’s slide commences as the sky is mostly contrails and a bubbling of cumulus at the head of the valley and at about 1’46”: bang, it’s all gone. 3/5
9th of September 2021. Dawn breaks in a sort of slit between moutains and cloud and the rise of the sun after that is rather wet and beautiful. Rather German romantic painting stuff. From about one minute in it is more a contrast of blue sky and white cloud but that doesn’t last and things turn back to greys and, as the clouds swirl around with a number of direction changes, rain sweeping acorss again. From about three minutes in clouds sweep up at us from the valley and things fade out via a dark and rather fine blue curtain call. 4/5
10th of September 2021. Overcast blue sunrise turns to grey and waves of low cloud form and reform down in the valley and little rain squalls move over the valley from time to time. By 1’14” a little blue sky is visible but it doesn’t last and cloud surges up from the valley and white cloud goes back to grey. Cloud swirls and bubbles on as teh day turns to dusk with a brief flash of light down the valley. 3/5
11th of September 2021. Day begins with cirrus clearing rapidly and then lovely hazy blue scky and puffy cloud in the valley and on the pasure opposite. Then cloud bubbles on all the high ground (including around me!) and that pattern of blue sky and bubbling cumulus continues but builds more coverage late on just before the sun disappears. 2/5
12th of Setpember 2021. Nice waves of colour in an almost completely cloud free sunrise with Mont Blanc majestic in the distance catching the sun. About 50″ in little smoke signals of cumulus start off Rognais and are joined by bubbling cumulus on all the peaks. To me it’s a bit depressing that from perhaps 40″ in the high “cloud” is all dispersing contrails I think. As seems typical of late, the cumulus thickens and darkens as the sun sets. 2/5
13th of September 2021. Glorious sunrise with haze and many contrails catching the changing light and then cauldrons start bubbling up low cloud. It stays lower and smaller than in recent days so it was a pretty nice sunny day up here but a bit of a boring timelapse! As seems a common pattern now what I think highish cirrus comes in and then fades before the sunset which was understated but nice. 2/5 (but great sunrise!)
14th of September 2021. Another pleasnt sunrise with high cloud initially breaking up but then settling into a pretty complete coverage by 1’15” and that continues for most of the day. The sunset is mostly blue with a moment where the high cloud is clearly backlit by the sun above it. 2/5
15th of September 2021. Quite a nice sunrise with solid cloud cover scudding overhead quite fast and bringing in waves of rain. The first sun and blue sky appear after about 40 seconds but the rain comes and goes afer that in rahter watchable fashion and there are only occasional breaks through to blue sky then until about 3’05” when blue sky emerges and night falls soon after. 3/5
16th of September 2021. Rather fine blue sunrise moment and then the valley full of thick white cloud seething away but dissipating over the first minute as the sky above changes rapidly with waves of high cloud coming and going and changing from white through shades of grey. Later the valley cloud foams up towards us and drops away in waves. Around 3’15” to 3’19” there’s a lovely rainbow and at 3’25” the cloud parts wonderfully and then things shut down for the night! 4/5
17th of September 2021. Why are they using those coloured lights again?! As enough sun rises to show it there is an apparently heavy ceiling of grey cloud and many strands of while low cloud in the valley. However, from about 22″ in things change dramatically and the ceiling of cloud parts to reveal blue sky and the rising sun seems to boil thick cloud up in the valley and show it brightly whtie and that cloud bubbles and seethes up as the day goes on sort of dancing in front of me by one minute in. Gradually it burns out of the valley but stays on the heights and casts nice shadows on the ground below. Around 3’0″ in things change again as a ceiling builds again and catches pink and orange tints from the setting sun. 3/5
18th of September 2021. Rather fine sunrise with orange light rapidly replaced as a huge swell of cloud seems to rise up from the valley and completely encase us in cloud until about 58″ in when it abruptly disappears to leave only little cumulus on the high pasture opposite and on the peaks. Pretty dramatic transformations! Around 2’10” contrails appear. What changed in the upper layers to mean they form then? They are followed by thin high cloud and lovely colours as the sun sets. 3/5
19th of September 2021. A grey start to the day opens up nicely about 17″ in to show the snow that settled on the heights over night (see blog post!) Then there’s white rapidly chaning cloud until about 1’40” when we have a brief snow shower. Later there are rain showers in the valley and later some lovely sun up here and when it reappears Mont St. Jacques has lost all its snow. Nice cloud and colours as the sun sets. 3/5
20th of September 2021. Lovely sun rise with some amazing twisted cloud shapes and then the cloud in the valley moving a right angles to the cloud above. As the day moves on the upper cloud layer closes over completely and darkens and one can see how cloud production in the valley builds and washes up toward us as the temperature drops. A pretty cloudy, grey day! 2/5
21st of September 2021. Valley full of rolling and seething cloud below sky without a single cloud that moves through lovely colours as the sun rises. As the day warms up you can see the valley cloud part in the middle and disappear leaving only the regular smoke signals from the peaks and little low cloud on the pasture slopes. Around 3’0″” the clouds in the distance make some nice shapes and Mont Blanc catches the dying light above then in the last seconds of the video. 3/5 and a glorious sunrise!
22nd of September 2021. Sun rose with just a layer of cloud in the far distance and a fair bit of atmospheric haze. Little wisps of cloud start up from the pastures opposite from around 50″ and thin cloud also forms high up (is that very thin cirrus? Stratus? I must sort ot the higher clouds again!) Lovely orange light on Mont St. Jacques and the peaks around Mont Blanc as the sun sets. 2/5
23rd of September 2021. Gentle sequence of colours as the sun rises and the from about 30″ in thre’s a lovely phase as the cirrus melts through a series of ripples that really are like mackerel scales or ripples of water on a beach. Then it’s over to contrails on a clear blue sky. Around 1’30” a contrail above the head of the valley seems to show a plan douing a U turn! From about 2’0″ Rognais really does look to be puffing smoke bubbles that I love. It’s one of those clear days when the shadows of the peaks creap across the other side of the valley and the shade of Aime2000 itself crawls up Mont St. Jacques with a sort of attractive calm. 3/5 for all it’s an undramatic day!
24th of September 2021. I do wish they wouldn’t leave those lights on down in what is now mmv. Otherwise lovely cloudless sunrise and cloudless through to 1’10” when little puffs rise from the upper pastures and, a bit later, the peaks across the valley. By 3’0″ even they have gone again and shadows creep across and we fade out to black. In a very quiet way, I’d give this 3/5 for the sheer calm of it all.
25th of September 2021. A lot of atmospheric haze as the sun rises and high clouds scud over shaping and reshaping as does a cap on Mont Blanc. That mix of clear sky, moving high cloud, hat on Mont Blanc and general haze continues until about 2’0″ when the higher cloud thickens, darkens and I think there’s a fire down on the lower slopes the other side of the valley. From 2’29” to 2’32” there’s a lovely rainbow and the rain doesn’t come back until 3’15” when it shepherds in a fine sunset. That was followed by some thunder and lightning but after I’d stopped the recording. 4/5
26th of September 2021. Evneloped in cloud as the day starts and it soon ecomes clear that a lot of it is sweeping over and another, much lesser amount is down in the valley. By about 1’35” enough clears to show that it has snowed on the slopes of Mont Blanc but by 2’15” some sun is coming through and a little blue sky showing. That’s how it continues through to a muted sunset. 2/5
27th of September 2021. Lovely colours on the contrails and high as the sun rises (SO many contrails). Then it’s a long period of hazy air to the distance, more contrails and slowy but steadily thickening higher cloud to about 1’45” when the high cloud thins a bit again. From about 2’20” we get one of those phenomena that fascinate me of fixed clouds despite a clear high wind pushing things across fast. They’re clearly standing waves and presumably there’s a critical wind speed for the shapes of the mountains creating waves as the wind is forced up by them. Lovely colours as the sun sets. 3/5
28th of September 2021. Lovely colours as the sun rises, the haze in the valley make it look almost under water. Then we’re into a day of think high cloud and many contrails, blud sky and a small amount of cumulus puffing up off the high pasture across the valley. Nice dappled shadow from the cirrus on the pasture around two minutes in. Rather nice reaching fingers of cloud shortly before the sun sets. 2/5
29th of September 2021. Nice sunrise with cloud swinging around and pink tinges. From about 35″ there’s a fine roll or ridge of cloud from Mont St. Jacques into the distance. And from one minute in low cumulus is really bubbling across the valley but that thins and disappears as the higher cumulus thickens and rolls steadily across until there’s a brief burst of orange followed by a bit of rain as the sun sets. (2/5)
30th of September 2021. Fine sunrise with only contrails and haze and it’s not until 1’10” that a tiny wisp of cumulus is visible on the high pastures opposite and then there’s more high cirrus and contrails as the day goes on. That all disappears by about 3’0″ and the sun sets gently (2/5).
1st of October 2021. Another sunrise with a gentle sequence of colours and the only cloud a bubbling layer way away on the horizon at the head of the valley. That builds up a little through the morning. One day I must go up there and perhaps understand why it seems that sometimes three is cloud there and none nearer. A day really of beautiful blue sky and only tiny bits of very white cumulus until, from about 3’0″ the high cloud thickens in lovely patterns as the sun sets. (2/5)
2nd of October 2021. Rather nice pallid sunrise with the cloud thinning by about 40″ in to a much brighter day than I had expected. A bit of cumulus bubbles on the peaks and varying amounts of cirrus drifts across but some blue sky remained visible most of the day. There’s a nice phase just before sunset where the high cloud and the not so high cloud are almost moving in opposite directions. 2/5
3rd of October 2021. Great sunrise with dramatic cloud and dramatic colours. Then there’s a standing swirl of cloude at the head of the valley that seems always to be pouring over the far peaks into the valley but never moving. The cloud above is changing continually and at times darkens and throws sunbeams through into the valley at times. Then it thickens to total cover of varying darkness until a deep blue sunset. 3/5
4th of October 2021. Definitely cloudy start to the day! Early on there is some sky and the cloud piles upward toward us from the valley while the high cloud above drives across in the opposite direction. Then we were pretty much enveloped in cloud for hours, in the video it breaks at about 1’45” leaving rather lovely cloud below and much high cloud (high cumulous, heavy cirrus?) piling across. From 2’40” there’s a sudden haziness that comes and goes fast and then things pile onwards to sunset as we’re enveloped again. 4/5
5th of October 2021. Completely enveloped in cloud as the sun rose but it starts to part about 16″ in and then there’s a solid but mostly white ceiling of cloud and a lot seething up and down from below. With the odd flash of blue that’s pretty much how the day continues until rain falls lightly from about 2’40” and then everything thickens and darkens until the sun has gone. 2/5
6th of October 2021. Cloud parts to reveal that snow had fallen overnight and small showers continue to fall at intervals through the day. Though it was melting instantly at my level you can see it settle and dust the trees toward the top of Mont St. Jacques but that is burned off as blue peeks through. 3/5
7th of October 2021. Nice sunrise with different layers of cloud catching the rising sun. The heating has been switched on in Haut Bois as it’s started up its steam engine puffing. AS the day goes on the cloud stretching towards the valley from the other side casts rather lovely shadow patterns on the high pature. I liked the whole of the sunset with the early warm orange light on Mont St. Jacques and the later touches of pink on the higher clouds. 3/5
8th of October 2021. Sun rises very gently with only tiny wisps of cloud over Les Arcs and some haze catching the sun. Then for a while there are only occasion cars on the road below and flashes of the crag martins. About 1’40” in tiny wisps of clud form in front of the high faces of Mont Blanc. In the later afternoon this is another of those days when the march of the shadows is so clear with almost nothing else happening and as the shadows creep to the top of Mont St. Jacques the light gets warmer and the fades out with a little low cloud forming down in the valley over Bourg St. Maurice. 3/5 for a calm day.
9th of October 2021. Gentle sunrise with the valley full of cloud. Lovely from 30″ as the rising sun hits that lake of cloud. From about 50″ there is some cumulus at the end of the valley and on the peaks across the valley. The cloud in the valley evaporates by 1’50”. Nice warm light on the underside of the cloud as the sun sets. 3/5
10th of October 2021. The cloud in the valley is right up to Plagne Centre as the sun rises beautifully. Then it surges up higher and for hours we were in it with little to see. It’s about 1’10” into the timelapse that things start to break and the blue sky becomes visible and the clouds become small, separate fluffinesses of cumulus about about our level. Nice fingers of cloud extend outwards from the local peaks and there are lovely blushes of pink on the clouds around or after 3’0″ as the sun sets. 3/5
11th of October 2021. Another morning with a lovely sunrise of colours above a deep lake of clude in the valley. This time the sun seems to burn and drive the cloud back across the valley and it pretty much disappears by 1’15” but a thin high cloud starts to form and skeins of it drift across as the day goes on and below that it’s another afternoon march of the shadows and a rather fine sunset with waves of colour. 3/5
12th of October 2021. Thin high cloud in the distance and haze and cloud in the valley dissipate as the sun rises and then the cloud and haze in the valley comes and goes as the day goes on undera blue sky with only a little thin cirrus higher. From about 1’10” there are lovely standing clouds downstream of Mont Blanc and a bit more cirrus higher up. Nice light as the sun sets. 3/5
13th of October 2021. As the sun rises we are in cloud but it parts rapidly into the two layers so common here: below in the valley and above and then the cloud above dissipates to reveal beautiful blue sky for a moment or two, and then cloud surges. up from the valley and engulfs us again. By about 1’30” that gives way to very thin, high cirrus (or is that all contrails?) and bubbling cumulus on the peaks all around. That thins as the shadows crawl up to leave Mont Blanc glorious as the sun disappears. 3/5
14th of October 2021. Clear sky and just haze patches of haze in the valley as the sun rises. They’re testing the lift on S’s little black run and around one minute in small wisps of cloud form on the high pastures across the valley, but they don’t last and it turns into a day of clear blue sky and the relentless march of the shadows below it. 2/5
15th of October 2021. Nice sunrise with few clouds vanishing as the sun rose through bright orange phase. Then mostly blue sky and contrails and later thin high cloud. The sunrise had that orange phase but the sunset has a pink one. 2/5
16th of October 2021. Nice sunrise with only tiny wisps of high cloud. Around 1’30” the peaks across the valley start puff small clouds in that way that always amuses me and reminds me of people blowing smoke rings or the (fantastical?) smoke signals in Westerns I vaguely remember from childhood. However, by about 2’50” they have gone and the sun sets in a gentle sequence of colours across a cloudless sky. (3/5)
17th of October 2021. A particularly nice sunrise then a aday of very, very quiet sky with just thin puff and wisps of high cloud until about 2’40” when that thickens in time to catch the sunset beautifully. 4/5 if you just watch the sunrise and jump to 3’0″ for the sunset!
18th of October 2021. Rather pale colours as the sun rises then a completely cloudless sky about 1’52” when thin, high cloud sweeps in mixed with contrails. (I assume the temperature falls just enough to cause both as the angle of the sun’s rays drops.) By 2’50” there are rather nice striated high clouds and a sudden and glorious sunset with Mont Blanc splashed with pink. 3/5 for first and last 30 seconds!
19th of October 2021. More dawn cloud than in recent days and it flashes beautifully as the rising sun catches it and then forms lovely standing patterns particularly in the lee of Mont Blanc. By ab out 1’15” the cloud coverage is almost complete. Even then the are standing wave patterns. from 1’46” that ceiling of clud is swept away to leave blue sky and contrails and then mostly just blue sky with only very thin high cloud. As the air cools the contrails return and from about 3’0″ there is a lovely sunset with more rapid colour changes. 3/5
20th of October 2021. Nice sunrise followed by blue sky and many, many contrails and very thin high cloud. That, and the contrails continues with the shadows racing across the ground. From 2’07” Mont Blanc develops one of its hats of cloud that I love. That’s succeeded by thicker high cloud and we fade out to darkness with the silly lights on below. (2/5)
21st of October 2021. Qutie a dramatic start with rain and low cloud scudding across fast. By about 48″ in there is blue sky and the cloud thins and goes from grey to white and that’s how the day goes on with the cloud thinning and thickening but staying thin. It catches the setting sun nicely around 2’50”. 3/5
22nd of October 2021. Pale sunrise with the cloud on the peaks burnt away quckly. The Haut Bois boiler was clearly on overnight and it was cold this morning. From around one minute in cloud starts forming on the peaks across the valley the sky above remains crystal clear and blue (and no contrails). That pattern of cumulus forming on the peaks across and behind me continues until about 2’40” when I guess there was no longer enough warmth to be pushing water into the air at these heights. A little higher cloud as the sun sets calmly. 2/5
23rd of October 2021. Quite a dramatic dissipation of cloud as the sun rises then two layers of cloud for a bit in the valley which I don’t remember seeing before. The upper one melts fast and the lower one turns into wisps on the pastures across the valeey until they too, eventually, disappear. Then just a tiny bit of cloud in the far, far distance at the head of the valley and then none at all. One of those afternoons when so little is happening in the sky that the march of the shadows is particularly clear. The sunset is oddly pastel. 3/5
24th of October 2021. A cloudless dawn and as the sun rises the shadow of the mountains sweep away and the larches below the mmv (with its silly coloured lights) show their new yellow colour and, though more pallid, you can see the mix of the larches in with the evergreen conifers on the slopes of Mont St. Jacques and the ridge between us and it. From about 2’30” high cloud forms and from 2’50” a splendid cloud formation develops above Mont Blanc and catches the light beautifully as the sun sets. 3/5 for that last 30 seconds really!
25th of October 2021. [Last of the year!] Fairly grey initial sunrise but most of the high cloud burns away rapidly to leave wisps just below the summit of Mont Blanc and some high cloud way, way away beyond the head of the valley. After that, apart from occasional high wisps, there is no cloud at all and on the land mostly the steady march of the shadows of the buildings and the mountains through to a cloudless sunset. 1/5
Here’s the annotated framegrab again for some of the names I use for when, I hope, the list of videos/days gets long!