All posts filed under: Travel

Day Eight – Champex-Lac to Col De La Forclaz

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(6 hours – 18kms) Well, Hotel Spendide was just that, comfy beds, lovely meals and stupendous balcony views; we could have stayed for ever…but the trail waits for no man, or woman! The weather was fine and quite warm as we stroll around the lake, trout safely resting from vigilant fisher persons Through the forest lanes till encountering the obligatory hill to our beautiful lunch spot looking down on the Rhône Valley. We haven’t got tired of the luncheon views, that’s for sure. Another corner, another outrageous vista! Fuel for winter Morning tea! 45 minutes digesting baguettes and views, then downhill to our finish point today at Col De La Forclaz, which would normally be our pit stop for the night at the roadside refuge, but our number is too large, so we are being bussed down to the large town of Martigny, which nestles in the heart of the Swiss Rhône Valley. Martigny if famous for its local wines, the vines of which cling precariously to the side of the steep hills, winding roads …

Day Seven – La Fouly – Champex-Lac

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(4 hours – 14kms) Today is the shortest walk of the tour, only 4 hours, mainly following the valley, with a short sharp 450 metre climb to our hotel next to Champex Lac. Breakfast in the boarding house dining room, a team photo on the hotel steps and off at precisely 8.19! We are nothing if not prompt! Ismael has never seen such attention to detail. All jokes aside, the Hotel was really good, serving up a different experience to what we have experienced to date, and very comfortable and accommodating. Shrugging off the ghosts of boarding houses passed, we strolled down the valley, setting a leisurely pace as we have become accustomed to the gentle cadence of the days walk, following our gliding guide, Ismael. Through Swiss villages featuring brillant wooden doors, and wonderful shutters framed with flower boxes flowing with red geraniums. Probably the highlight was the gnome garden, which from all accounts has being growing year by year. More pine forest wandering, then up the hill to Champex-Lac, and our wonderful accommodation, …

Day Six – Val Ferret – La Fouly

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(6 hours – 20kms) We finally leave the Hotel Crampon this morning after three lovely nights with tremendous hosts. The highlight of breakfast was Leeanne’s statement that she was contemplating an AFD (Alcohol Free Day) today! Once the giggles stopped we settled back to our breakfast of fruit, muesli & croissants. After yesterdays shambles with the bus, Ismael organised a mini bus transfer back to the same starting point. Tick! Our route today takes us slowly up the valley and onto the ridge which climbs gradually, and consistently, up towards the saddle which marks, invisibly, the border between Italy and Switzerland. Once again, excited Australians straddling the two countries for a photo opportunity. Ismael then took us into Switzerland and up the top of a nearby hill which offered great views down the valley to our nights destination, la Fouly. After another photo opportunity, Ismael noticed the crowd of walkers strolling down towards our lunch stop at a small farm, and declared a state of emergency. We needed to hoof it down the hill, passing …

Day Five – Val Ferret back to Courmayeur

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(7 hours…20kms) Today has a slightly different format as we are catching the bus up the valley to the Val Ferret, and walking back to Courmayeur. The bus ride itself was crazy, Italian style, with demand outstripping supply by a factor of about three! It’s a narrow windy road up to the Val Ferret stop so the bus isn’t big, but that didn’t deter about 80 people cramming into it, the driver pushing everyone further down the back. Talk about stacks on! Plus it was a stopping all stations, as the driver willed more passengers on, sardine style. We were pretty happy to get to the pit stop and rediscover limbs seemingly crushed by the weight of humanity!! And what a day it turns out to be! The views before us are breathtaking! Ismael stated that this was his most favourite day of the walk because of the stupendous views which astound at every turn. About an hour of meandering uphill, surprisingly not too taxing, especially after the shenanigans of the previous night! The rest …

Day Four – Aosta day trip

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A change of scenery today, being our rest day, so most of us are off to the Italian town of Aosta, 34kms down the valley by bus from our hotel. A leisurely breakfast then onto the 8.40 bus which wound its way down the valley, through picturesque villages, hillsides strewn with vines impressive Chateaux perched over the rock faces, and into city with the most preserved Roman ruins in Italy. We were met at the bus stop by our guide for the morning, Elizabeth, who proceeded to spend the next three hours delivering us to all the main historical sites, filling us with information about the Roman way of life, giving us a sense of how the village would have looked in ancient times. First to the Criptoportico Forense which is amongst the best preserved archaeological vestigial from the Roman era. Next the Museo Archeologico Regionale, exhibiting many pieces from the 8th millennium BC until the Middle Ages. Onwards through the old town, all the while being serenaded by the most beautiful hymn music, being …

Day Three – Les Chapieux to Courmayeur

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(19kms…6 hours) Another great start to the day, with a breakfast of muesli, the freshest croissants ever, home made yoghurt, and a multitude of different breads and fruits. We had time for a quick wander around town and a team photo by a wonderful two story stone barn before being bused up the narrow winding lane to our start. We had a slow steady climb in the morning which was meant to provide stunning views of Mont Blanc for the first time but with the weather slowly deteriorating we lost our views and discovered the variables of weather in the alps as the rain slowly built. After three false starts on whether to put on the wet weather gear or not, we were finally kitted out but not before a few of us got wet with our indecision, lesson learnt. With weather gear on, we continued up the hill till we reached a saddle in the mountain which was the border between France and Italy. Luckily the rain dissipated and we were able to see …

Day Two – Les Contamines to Les Chapieux

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(8.5 hours…21km’s) After a restful nights sleep, weary aching joints staggered down to a great breakfast, before heading off at 8am. Ismael claims today to be the most difficult day of the walk with over 1200 metres of ascent, and 900 metres of descent, food for thought as the body warms up. The Mont Blanc circuit is essentially 10 days of climbing from the valley up over mountain passes, and back towards the valley each day. Total ascent is about 10,000 metres, and the same descent. Basically we are going up and down big hills as we sort of circle the Mont Blanc Massif, the group of glacier fields surrounding Mont Blanc itself. From Les Contamines at 1170m we climbed slowly and steadily up to Croix du Bonhomme at 2443m, through beautiful pine forest, into low covered flooring all with breathtaking scenery to elevate the aches and groans of protesting muscles and joints. The path we are taking this morning is an old Roman road and the highlight of the morning was crossing an ancient …

Day One – Chamonix to Les Contamines

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Day One – (7 hours…16 km approx) Finally the day we start walking arrives, after two years in the making and many training sessions up and down hills, stairs and ramps! An early start with breakfast at 7.30, and on our way at 8am to Les Houches by mini bus, and the cable car to our much anticipated start at La Chalette, but not before plenty of photos to commemorate the moment. The morning was a mix of beautiful pine forest trails, short steep climbs and descents: fields of low shrubs with wild blueberry bushes carpeting the floor. A cable bridge crossing at the Passerelle du Glacier was a highlight, especially for Kate and Rach who may not like heights! More up and down, then a great lunch of potato omelette and green salad at the beautiful Refuge de Miage. Most agreed that the morning had been tougher than expected, with legs taking time to acclimatize to the steep terrain. The weather was mild to warm, producing buckets of sweat, as glutes hammies and quads …

Annecy to Chamonix

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We left stunning Annecy in mid afternoon by bus, arriving in Chamonix at about 5.30. We were met by a few of our crew and hiked out to our hotel which is a little out of town, as the biggest endurance event in Europe climaxes today. The UTMB ultra endurance races around the Mont Blanc region, including a 160km run around the same route we will be taking. Our walk takes 10 days, the winner of the ultra marathon took 20 hours! Lots of undernourished, skinny people staggering around town as our crew chowd down on pizza/pasta/hamburger & and or steak at a restaurant in the centre of the village. Chamonix is quite a large town, with a vibrant shopping/restaurant/cafe strip, and a typical holiday vibe. It was great to finally be all together, as we rounded out our walking crew with Gemma & Liz, who have been in Italy for a few days, and Denise & Dan straight from Oz. After a busy evening we only have one full day in Chamonix, spent wandering …