FRENCH JOURNEY - PROGRAMME 2

MONT PILAT - ORIENTEERING
 
South of Lyon lies the wild region of Pilat. The name comes from Pontius Pilat, who is said to have committed suicide here, full of remorse after ordering the execution of Christ. Connotations in our time are more cheerful. Pilat has become a paradise for leisure activities. Orienteering is one of the sports that's developing quickest. And Chloé Manissole - national champion - has offered to guide David..

David:  Is this a map?

Chloé Manissole:  Yes, it's a special map, for orienteering.  It's a lot more detailed than an ordinary map.  It uses different colours. The yellow is meadows.  You can run easily here.  Then there's green, that's where you can't run at all...

David:  I thought we were going for a stroll, but we're going to run!

Chloé Manissole:  You can walk or run.  The aim of the game is to reach the finishing point as quickly as possible, passing the compulsory markers which are shown by the circles.

David:  How do they know you've passed the markers?

Chloé Manissole:  You have a control card, and at each marker, you punch the card.

David:  So where are we now?

Chloé Manissole:  We're here, the cross represents the Madonna and the marker is just by the corner of the barbed wire fence.

David:  Is it competitive?

Chloé Manissole:  You can do an orienteering course competitively or for fun.

David:  And today?

Chloé Manissole:  Today we are in competition with the Devrieux family.

David:  Are we going to win?

Chloé Manissole:  We'll try

The Devrieux children set the pace. Chloé and David followed as best they could.

David:  So it's straight on?

Chloé Manissole:  We'll go up to the top and then take the path.

David:  I've got a problem here. How do you get your bearings?  There are trees everywhere!

Chloé Manissole:  So we use the compass. You see  on the map you have blue lines.  These blue lines indicate north.  So we put the blue lines in the same direction as north on the compass.

David:  I'm the wrong way round

Chloé Manissole:  Yes, you're the wrong way round.  So we use the compass and the surroundings to help us.

David:  So the marker should be over here?

Chloé Manissole:  No, over there. Look at your map.  Let's hurry or we won't win.

Chloé Manissole:  OK, let's stop.  The marker can't be far away.  Look, it's there.

David:   I can see it.

Chloé Manissole:    That's it, it's there.

At the last checkpoint, David didn't have any idea whether Chloé and him had won or not. Whichever way, the view was definitely the best possible reward!

Chloé Manissole:  We're at the highest point of Pilat.  It's called Partridge Crest. When it's clear you can see a panorama  of 18 'départements'.  These 'départements' make up a quarter of France.

David:  A quarter of France!

Chloé Manissole:  When it's clear…and you can see Mont Blanc  in the distance - that's a bad sign, it means it's going to rain.  

David:  And when you can't see it, it means it's raining already.

Chloé Manissole:  That's right.

But as night fell, David had one single idea in his mind - to get rid of his load. The Auberge de la Jasserie was the ideal mountain refuge. Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau used to stay there. Comforts haven't really changed since.

David:  Good night

Copyright BBC 2000