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