The bus driver drops us off at the Observatoire, where we meet up with Olivier and Etienne, mountain guides from the Salève Mountain Office.
We strap on our snowshoes and set off for a small chalet near the top of the cable car. Along the way, we explore the magnificent snow-covered landscape around us and the guides explain how the flora and fauna adapt to the snow conditions.
In particular, we saw fox tracks, hare tracks and holes made by a green woodpecker.
After lunch, we build an igloo: we make a big pile of snow that we pack as we go, then Olivier digs an opening.
After that, it was time to head back. It's a long way back to the bus, which couldn't meet us near the chalet because of the snow. The children were particularly brave and made every effort to get to the end. The children's fondest memories: "I liked Etienne's short cut, which was a big extension"; "I loved it when the snow fell from the trees on top of us, it was like being under an avalanche".