I tested the summer festivals in the villages of the Massif des Bauges for you

The inter-Bauges

A plunge
in the adventure
of the Inter-Bauges

In July 2024, I was lucky enough to attend the Inter-Bauges games to produce a report for Chambéry Montagnes. The day, organised by Bauges tes Fêtes, left an imprint on me far beyond anything I had imagined.

I didn’t know a soul. I’d hardly arrived in Le Châtelard and had barely started chatting to a few people when I was whisked away as a member of a games team from the commune of Saint-François-de-Sales. So off I went to experience the 6 events from the inside, in happy company. The start of a great adventure!

Throughout the afternoon, 14 teams, each from a village in the heart of the Bauges region, competed in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

The programme included 6 events:

Relay nail-driving,
The stretcher race,
5-man giant ski race,
Wheelbarrow race,
Round-boot rolling,
Tug-of-war.

Everything you need to ensure a festive and joyful competition, with a distinctly agricultural flavour. I’ll leave you to imagine the laughter, the goodwill and the conviviality…

A medal,
concerts and
memories to last a lifetime

With the challenges over, the day continued with the presentation of the trophy to the winning team: the Saint-François-de-Sales team (who will be presenting it again next year), the team that had welcomed me and that I had been lucky enough to follow throughout the afternoon!

We were so happy! Benoît, president of the Bauges tes Fêtes association, presented us with our medals. They had all been made by his dad, Patrick. The wooden medals were beautiful, touching and authentic, just like the day itself! Today, this medal has found its way into my home. I love the energy it sends me. Lovely memories!

At dinner time, our little group could have split up, but there was this great atmosphere and the bonds we had forged. We shared the traditional matouille (tome des Bauges), created a WhatsApp group to share our “Forever” memories 🙂 … Two concerts followed: we sang with 2 Pixies and Red Ballon… I promise, next year we’ll meet again for the 2nd edition of the Inter-Bauges!

The little extra

I was blown away by the work put in by the volunteers to build this event. There’s all the organisation, of course, but I’ll also remember the benches, the stretchers, the wheelbarrows, the trophy and the medals. All made of wood… all the result of the touching work of Patrick, Benoît’s father. I can only imagine the work involved and the evenings spent to achieve such a touching result!

A huge thank you to the Saint-François-de-Sales team! The unexpected makes life beautiful!

To extend your weekend in the Bauges...

©Hiking Orgeval|Alpigraphie / Kröll Matthias - Grand Chambéry Alpes Tourisme

All walking routes

Meetings at the farm

Outdoor activities

The lumberjack competition

Try your hand at
lumberjack competition

The following weekend, full of enthusiasm, I went to another village festival: the lumberjack competition at Les Aillons-Margériaz 1000 (Aillon-le-Jeune). This competition, organised by Aillons-Margériaz Événements, celebrates traditional woodworking skills and attracts a large number of enthusiasts every year.

In the same spirit of welcoming and sharing, the 34th edition of the competition begins with an event open to the public: a passe-partout competition. A passe-partout is a long saw with two handles, one at each end. This event is played in pairs. You have to be quick and skilful to saw a log 18 cm in diameter! The children compete against each other, followed by mixed teams of men and women.

Of course, my friend Randa and I had a go! Once we find the right coordination and rhythm, we become efficient. Still, what a test for the arms! We imagine the work of the lumberjacks of yesteryear, before the arrival of chainsaws… We encourage each other, we laugh while remaining concentrated and connected (It is possible, yes!) … Sometimes, we get stuck… “Pull! but pull! One knee to the ground, and I’m thinking how much fun we must both be, city girls that we are!

We finished second in the competition, having never touched a master key before! Well, second out of two women’s teams… OK! But second place all the same! That’s what you have to remember!

We were very touched by the gifts we received… We weren’t expecting them at all! Imagine two little girls discovering presents!

Refuges and unusual accommodation

Admire the strength
and the feast of wood

Afterwards, teams of professional lumberjacks, men and women, competed against each other. What strength! What precision, what skill! The tests consisted of chopping the logs with an axe along the trunk, horizontally and then vertically (for the grand final), at the marks indicated. You need to be skilful, quick and in good physical shape. This competition brings back the history of logging before the arrival of chainsaws. I was blown away by the physical ability of these lumberjacks, especially the women. I can still see them giving it their all to knock down those logs… Logs that were getting bigger and bigger, up to 30 cm in diameter. I vacillate between admiration for the precision of their movements and fear that they might hurt themselves… Yet everything seems so fluid, their movements could be like a dance.his day was devoted to wood: lumberjacking, wood carving, wooden games and wooden objects at the creators’ market. Of course, there were also other designers and craftspeople, as well as food and drink, including the famous matafans, a traditional Savoyard dish with a rich, sweet taste that “curbs hunger”!

The little extra

Once again, I admire the work of the volunteers. There’s the big day, of course, and all the preparatory work. Imagine the gigantic logs (20 m long) that had to be found in the Morbié forest: 11 identical trees in terms of height, diameter and quality of wood to give the woodcutters a fair chance at the competition. I can just imagine the transport and then the work of arranging them at the competition site. Of course, all the wood will then be used by the local authority (and, as luck would have it, it will all have already been cut)!