I should say mostly of the southern French Alps. Above is Punta Maladecia (2745m /9006ft), part of Mercantour range that straddles the French-Italian border but whose peak jabs the sky just across the border in Italy. And below Monte Viso, at 3841m (12,602ft) the highest peak in the Cottian Alps which lie in Piedmont, also just across the border.
Isola 2000 is a ski area in southern France, just 90km north of Nice – but as the name implies, at an elevation that’s 2000m higher. And on this particular weekend, blanketed in quite a bit of snow. It’s the most snow we’ve experienced in the five years we’ve lived in the area and the most I’ve seen since moving to Europe 22 years ago. I love mountains and thrive in mountain settings – climate change is battering the Alps, and the southern French Alps in particular, so we savored it, sub-freezing temperatures and all.
Many of these photos were take from the Cime de Sistron (2603m), where a lookout point affords very nice views in all directions, towards the Mediterranean to the south and the peak of Matterhorn (Cervin, Cervino) to the north. Any and all help with helping to identify any of these peaks will be greatly appreciated.
Photos from 31 January and 1 February 2026.
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Love these snowy mountain shots! Makes me want to go back into my archive. But also, as I sold off the full-frame and long-glass, I now look at all long-zoom shots with a little bit of nostalgia.
I only got my 150-600 in July. Getting a handle on it but still learning. What made you give up on the long lenses? Shifting interests?
I’m travelling a lot lighter; I didn’t want to carry “bricks”. I had a 70-300 which was fun; I can imagine what 600 would feel and look like through the viewfinder.