Favourite countries I’ve visited
I’ve been to about sixty five countries to date, a respectable number, if far short of a number of people I’ve met on my travels who have been to more…
Tag: Switzerland
Tour du Mont Blanc v Walker’s Haute Route
The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) and the Haute Route are two of the best known multi day walks in the Alps. They both start from Chamonix, with the TMB…
Highlights of the Walker’s Haute Route
The Haute Route is one of the most spectacular multi day walks in the Alps, ~200km through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Longer, harder and more…
Walker’s Haute Route accommodation
One of the highlights of walking in the Alps is the quality and variety of accommodation available, quite different to my usual experience in the New Zealand backcountry. On the…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stage 14 Europa Hut to Zermatt
Final day walking the Haute Route, which I had mixed feelings about. After nine days it was getting a bit routine, though there were a few nice surprises today, but…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 12a & 13 St Niklaus to Europa Hut
For it’s final two stages the Haute Route follows the Europaweg, a 31km high altitude mountain path running along the Mattertal Valley. In places this is the most dangerous part…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 11 & 12 Cabane Bella Tola to St Niklaus
My seventh day on the Haute Route, not the most enjoyable but the scenery still continued to surprise and impress. It was also the last of my double stage days.…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 10 & 11 Cabane de Moiry to Cabae Bella Tola
The quietest day walking the Haute Route, other than a truely memorable start. I woke at dawn in the Cabane de Moiry to find that six inches of snow had…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 7, 8 & 9 Cabane des Dix to Cabane de Moiry
A hugely varied day, it’s amazing how much adjacent valleys in the Alps can differ. I started the day crossing a rocky glacier, then explored a lush green valley, before…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 6 & 7 Cabane du Mont Fort to Cabane des Dix
An absolutely epic day, possibly the most spectacular I’ve ever walked, and certainly the most technically demanding. There were narrow tracks with sizeable drops offs, fields of boulders to navigate,…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stage 5 Le Chable to Cabane du Mont Fort
The shortest day I had walking the Haute Route, though it still involved walking 15km and up over 1,800m. It was meant to be 9km but I took a few…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 3 & 4 Le Peuty to Le Chable
It was a long second day walking the Haute Route, lacking the spectacular scenery and sunshine of the first day. There was still plenty of interest though, particularly in the…
Walker’s Haute Route – Stages 1 & 2 Chamonix to Le Peuty
The Walker’s Haute Route is a ~200km, 9-14 day walk between Chamonix in France and Zermatt In Switzerland, from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn. Along the way it passes by…
Tour du Mont Blanc – Stages 10 & 11 Charamillon to Le Brevent via Refuge Flegere
The final two stages of the quite incredible Tour du Mont Blanc were the two shortest days I walked. I could have fitted them into one day but had deliberately…
Tour du Mont Blanc – Stages 8 & 9 Relais d’Arpette to Charamillon
Another day of spectacular scenery and steep walking up and down hills in the Alps, finishing the day crossing the border from Switzerland back into France. From here I could…
Tour du Mont Blanc – Stages 6 & 7 La Peule to Relais d’Arpette
A very different day on the Tour du Mont Blanc, with almost no glaciers, epic mountain views, or ridiculous ascents (though there was still a decent hill at the end…
Tour du Mont Blanc – Stages 5 & 6 Rifugio Monte Bianco to La Peule
Day four of the TMB was probably the furthest I’ve walked in a day. I booked my accommodation two months ago, but this was leaving it too late, even at…