Le Carbonéral

Dense Montagne Noire
When the Autan wind (familiarly called the Marin) rises and sweeps across the Languedoc plain, it invariably hits a dark mountain barrier whose name leaves no doubt. The Montagne Noire, a mid-altitude mountain whose peak (Pic de Nore) rises to 1,211 m, a shady and dense forest massif, indeed represents a physical and climatic obstacle between the Atlantic and Mediterranean zones. The heavy clouds carried by the Autan fray upon the ridges of this southern end of the Massif Central. The Montagne Noire often appears as a backdrop to Tarn landscapes visible toward the south. Narrow and steep valleys provide access. Small causses open the first heights for some views over the plain. Then, it’s the forest, composed indifferently of conifers and deciduous trees. Deep and dense, it swallows and engulfs the relief. The softness of the peaks is composite: moors, forests, and meadows share the encounter with the sky.
Subtle traces of human presence
The sight of the lumberjack wielding the chainsaw all year round is only today's reality, where economic dictatorship leads man to behave indifferently. No more seasonal rhythms, sap rises and falls… Different times, different images. Under the cover of the Montagne Noire, formerly, man managed a marriage of reason with the forest. Marriages of charcoal burners, blacksmiths, and glassmakers notably. Then a shared life nourished by intelligent and reciprocal concessions, to the rhythm of springs and autumns, of the axe and the skeleton key, the transports and the neighing. Discreet before life, charcoal burners, blacksmiths, and glassmakers of the Montagne Noire have left few traces. The smoke from the charcoal kilns has dissipated. Glass fragments, slags, ruined walls, and old dams bear modest witness to intense and convivial activities. In 1826, a forge operated at the Prise d’Alzeau. Now, the spruce casts its shadow.