Mont Pele Vsn 2

From Brother Turner

About a year ago the Elders and Sisters on Martinique decided to climb Mont Pele on a P-day and I went along. Not a simple thing to do but we all survived – you can see Vsn 1 and get a little history of Mont Pele here

Mont Pele from the south west - the top is in the clouds

Elders Ehlert, Sejournet and Peterson checking out the map

The offiicial beginning of the trail

The edge of the crater in the mists

The good part of the trail

The ridgeline that we climbed to get to the original crater wall

Part of the 1902 eruption crater wall

Looking down the crater wall and over to the first inner cone

A better shot of that "excellent" trail up the first cone

But first we have to go down the crater wall

and then up the first cone - you can see the path down the wall on the right of the picture

And this is the path up the first cone - not the best developed trail, but nicely foliaged

And part way up you get to see the face of Mont Pele

In the center of the top between the 3 new cones there is a shelter - designed to protect against lightning, not eruptions

Elder Rowley and Savard on their way up the 2nd cone

Near the top of the second cone

And the top of the second cone

and the two Canadians on it eh? the younger Elder Savard and the elder Elder Turner

Elders Turner and Rowley looking over the edge

And St Pierre comes into view

St Pierre was the original capital of Martinique and was destroyed in the 1902 eruption. Parts of it have not been changed since, other parts have been rebuilt. It is an interesting place to visit.

The successful Zone of climbers all at the upper shelter

and the successful Zone of climbers all back safely at the starting point.