Traverse of the Gran Paradiso

Fancy a new challenge?

We have many clients who complete the Tour du Mont Blanc and Walkers Haute Route with us and then ask the question what's next? Therefore we have for some time been looking for a new challenge within this area of the Alps.

There are lots on offer, Tour of the Matterhorn, Tour of the Monte Rosa but one that stood out for a number of reasons was the Traverse of the Gran Paradiso. Why? In 2014 we recced the route to find out....

This amazing trek takes you through the Gran Paradiso National Park high in the mountains to the west of the Aosta Valley from Champorcher in the south to Courmayeur in the North.

The trail is amazing, remote and quiet. Some days we trekked all day and only cam across a couple of other fellow walkers. The scenery is stunning, wildlife in abundance as we passed great herds of Ibex, watched marmots play and enjoyed the sights of Eagles gliding above the rock faces and over the high valleys.

Challenging is an appropriate word to describe the route, the ascents and descents are steep and tough so a great deal of good mountain fitness is required and its not for the faint hearted as you gain some incredibly lofty positions well over 3000m with the highest col being Col Loson at 3300m!

One important factor that we mustn't overlook... This trek is in Italy for its entirety, which means fantastic food, wine and coffee at every rest stop. The accommodation is friendly and welcoming as only the Italians know hoe to do.

So if you are looking for a new challenge for summer 2015 look no further, the Traverse of the Gran Paradiso is a fantastic gem. We offer this trek Self- guided and we also have a bespoke guided trek running in August 2015 with bag transfer support.

For more information on Guided or Self-guided trekking on the Traverse of the Gran Paradiso, Tour du Mont Blanc, Walkers Haute Route and any of our treks see: http://www.montblanctreks.com/gran-paradiso

Summer 2014 on the Tour du Mont Blanc & Walkers Haute Route

Another busy summer season comes to an end in the Chamonix valley and ends on a high with superb weather throughout September & October however this wasn't always the case!

After a warm spring the trails were relatively free of snow in time for the arrival of our first clients at the end of June. Our first guided and self guided clients enjoyed good weather on the Tour du Mont Blanc but this was soon to change with the arrival of July!

Generally July is a great time to do the TMB we have settled warm weather the trails are not mad busy however this year July was a test! The western Alps experienced some horrendous weather lots of rain and cold temperatures and snow on the high ground. It seems our Haute Route treks from Chamonix to Zermatt faired better as they were trekking further east they seemed to miss out on most of the poorer weather, lucky for them!

August brought improvement but still unsettled at times with one of our August TMB groups experiencing high winds, rain & snow on the first section, fortunately for the group the weather changed and for the second half of the trip they enjoyed magnificent views.

We hoped and prayed for an Indian summer & boy did we get it with amazing clear & sunny weather for all our groups on the TMB and Chamonix to Zermatt in. September.

We are always asked the question which is the best month to do the Tour du Mont Blanc and Haute Route however there really isn't an answer to that question. Every year is totally different. Everybody who has mountain experience knows that weather can be fickle and temperatures can change rapidly with good weather an be replaced with bad fairly quickly but on average you would expect to have one or two day poor weather for the duration of your trek. 

With that in mind this year certainly wasn't the norm and don't let it out you off, the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Walkers Haute Route are without a shadow of a doubt two of the best multi day treks worldwide.

For more information on Guided or Self-guided trekking on the Tour du Mont Blanc, Walkers Haute Route and any of our treks see: www.montblanctreks.com

Summer 2013 continued

August, good weather continues

August brought continued good weather which was fantastic for our Augusts treks. We saw one half day of rain for the full duration on the Tour du Mont Blanc and likewise on the Haute Route.

This year we have used the Refuge Mottets for our guided and self guided TMB treks, this proved to be a very popular and clients really enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, great food and the evenings entertainment after dinner by the accordion playing host. Excellent evenings were also to be had with great accommodation and food along the way at the Hotel du Bois, Les Houches, Refuge Bonatti, Val Ferret, Hotel du Glacier, Champex.

On the Walkers Haute Route accommodation can be as varied as on the Tour du Mont Blanc, we had made some changes to that used in 2013 and these proved to be enjoyable. Using Grachen as a stopping point rather than Gasenreid gave us more options in terms of accommodation with the lovely Hotel Wallister and Hannigralp, The Hotel Antika in Zermatt was also fantastic.

September and back to snow!

Generally speaking September is usually a quieter time to undertake any of our treks however that didn't seem to be the case for us during the first half of the month with at one point with guided and self guided we had 46 folk trekking along the routes at any one time.

After just one month without snow on the routes September brought some much cooler weather with snow down to 1600m for one or two days. Although when it snows at this time of year it doesn't last it still caused a few minor problems but on the plus side it allowed folk to test out their warm weather kit! What was lost view wise the groups made up for in commaradery with our September guided group. 

Our self guided clients had a fabulous time with some fabulous days of pristine views with cooler air and the freshening of new snow.

And now for a little reprieve before the next season arrives, 2014 winter and summer bring it on!