The end of my 20th Anniversary and a great year for Trekking in the Alps

I've just finished  my last week, and reached the end of a superb year of work. Both winter and summer seasons were full, with some great groups, wonderful hiking and lots of celebration of those 20 years.

The last two weeks were in Italy. The first one was my Italian Summits week when we achieved 6 summits in 6 days! Then I had a week in the Dolomites based in Cortina d'Ampezzo which proved to be a perfect base for discovering those stunning limestone mountains.

 



 The photos tell it all really, we've had some really good hikes and enjoyed generally excellent weather. Whilst we didn't see masses of wildlife, on both trips we got really good sightings later in the week: ibex and chamois were abundant in the Gran Paradiso National Park, and in the Dolomites we were lucky to see a sizeable herd of chamois and lots of very fat marmots.

Now it's time for me to catch up on admin, take some holiday and to organise next year - the snowshoeing weeks are already filling up and the summer treks are taking shape. If it's anything like as good as this year I'll be happy.

Sun and Showers but the show goes on

Memories have been flooding back to me during this rather damp summer season of summers spent in Chamonix years ago. Rain lashing against the tent, hours spent mooching around town wondering what to do, hopeful forays through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to see if the sun was shining on The Other Side.

Unsettled weather used to be the norm in the Alps in the '80s and routes and hikes were grabbed whenever a good weather window presented itself.

Then came the '90s when every day was sunny and it was like living in California. We all became rather blasé.

This year we're back to normal and the raingear has certainly been out many days. But there's also been plenty of sun and, once out on the hill, what looked like a bad forecast has generally proved to be great trekking weather - not too hot, reasonable views, with just the odd shower or threat of.

The Tour of Mont Blanc last week proved to be as spectacular as ever, although each time I do it I am struck by the diminishing size of certain glaicers. Having taken photos of the views for the past 20 years I have an interesting record of the regression of the glaciers in this region.

Nonetheless the scenery remains fabulous, the flowers this year are incredible, and the changeable weather gives the high peaks a regular fresh coat of paint keeping them sparkly white and gleaming. 

Crazy Summer Weather

It's supposed to be July but the last 2 weeks have seen rain and snow every day. Sounds awful? It depends who you go with. I was lucky enough to have a group of 5 incredibly enthusiastic people with me for my second Chamonix Zermatt trek of the season.and they appreciated everything the trek threw at them. After all, when it's cloudy you look at the flowers more; when it snows the glaciers get a fresh coat of paint; when it clears you are grateful for every view you get; and when it's cold it isn't hot for hiking uphill.

For these guys there was no bad weather they were just really happy to be in the mountains. So we had a great trek and made it to Zermatt against the odds and very proud of ourselves.

Thanks folks!

Non-stop trekking leaves no time to post!

It's been a busy time here in the Alps with 3 trips back to back, in generally great conditions. The lack of snow last winter meant that the trails were snow-free earlier than normal which was good for summer walking.

Annecy Summits was a new spring trip last year but this year we went later and were lucky enough to have beautiful weather. The summits aound the lake provide challenging hiking and amazing views Add to that very luxurious acommodation and evening swims in the lake and you get a wondeful hiking holiday - definitely one to repeat in the future.

The came then first of my Creaky Knees Specials, this one the Swiss based gentle week, which featured lots of pleasant flowery walks with a minimum of descent.

Finally, I am just back from theChamonix Zermatt trek which I did with return clients whose enthusiasm and dress sense made this one of the best treks ever.

Great days in the Alps

It doesn't get much better than this - sunshine, views, flowers, mountains, wildlife and great companions.

During a week of unstable weather we were lucky to get dry sunny conditions for our walks. This is a fabulous time to be in the Alps, with the flowers just coming into bloom (notably the Alpenrose), the trees in full greenery and the high mountains perfectly coated in snow.

Our first walk was a long day taking in the Aiguillettes de Posettes summit, followed by a slightly shorter day in the Aiguilles Rouges, where we saw mlore wildlife than you sometimes do in a week - marmots, ibex, vultures (big surprise that!), golden eagles.....I guess if you've come all the way from Massachussets for your 50th birthday then you deserve something special...

and it's always nice for me to start my summer season with a fun group - thanks guys!!

So now the bar has been set high for the rest of the summer - coming up, Annecy Summits, Creaky Knees Specials and then some hard treks across the peaks and passes.

It's summer time so let's talk snowshoeing!

It's hot and sunny and the summer trekking season starts in a few weeks. But as ever we're thinking about the next season.
Winter 2012 will see some new trips, notably the Queyras region.
Having relocated to northern Provence we're going to be offering areas further south than the Alps, as well as the classic trips in the Mont Blanc region, Aosta, and Swiss Valais.
The calendar will be posted soon on the website but meanwhile take a look at these snowshoe shots from this last winter. For a "lean snow" season, it was pretty good!!

http://www.trekkinginthealps.com/snowshoeing_2011.htm

Springtime in the Drome

Trekking in the Alps is branching out and will be offering hiking in northern Provence next spring.

What a beautiful area: rocky valleys and rounded summits, beautiful old Provençal villages and clear fast flowing rivers. Already people are bronzing on the rocks and bathing in the water.

Spring burst upon us in April and each week sees new flowers blooming.

The vines are green and leafy and the cherries almost ripe.

And the very best thing about hiking in this region? The vultures!

In certain areas you only have to look up and there will be at least a couple of beautiful huge graceful Griffin vultures circling overhead.

Then of course there's also the biking - Mont Ventoux, the "Giant of Provence" is visible everytime you climb a hill so it's hard to ignore it. But here's more to biking here than that huge climb, good though it is. Small roads anbd passes abound and along the way you're sure to find a nice village café for a cold beer and a cake.

So watch this space for the dates for next spring, and of course for the 2012 Snowshoeing schedule.