Alpen-Panoramen, Panorama der Alpen

The Arpelin is a truly unconspicuous summit above the Col d'Izoard, and can be classified more as a hill than as a mountain. It has a certain importance only for me, because it was maybe the first summit that I climbed during a bicycle tour of several days - namely, an Aosta-Nizza, which then ended up in Corsica.
The plan, last summer, was to finally climb the Gran Pic de Rochebrune, which should be an exquisite viewpoint, isolated as it is. But, as can be seen from the image, I reached the col too late for this task, not least because that one had alredy been the day of the Galibier, where I had spent a lot of time (in vain...) waiting for the wheather to clear aroud the Meije and surroundings.
It was an emotion, climbing the steep ridge from the Col Perdu to the Arpelin, to see the Meije appearing in the background. But, even before the Meije, the first profiles that I told apart from the clouds were those, unmistakable, of the Aiguilles d'Arves. I did not notice the Barre, which I single out only now with Udeuschle at hand, since it is nearly completely covered by a close mountain.
Consider that the reality was much darker than the present rendition, in which i lavishly lifted the shadows. Thnk of barely seeing anything outside the sunset region, and you will get the grasp of the true atmosphere... The feeling of isolation was also enhanced by the col being totally empty: due to works in progress, the restaurant was closed. The only signs of life (not many, to be honest) came from the nearby Refuge Napoleon.