It was a gloomy start to the day in the Trient valley with a steep uphill plod to warm us up… Made it up to the Col du Forclaz in good time, for a brief stop and a swift cup of cafè au lait… Then it was onwards and upwards into the mists… We continued… Read more

The summer season in the Alps is starting to get underway, and the meadows are all in bloom with some fantastic colours… After a very nice breakfast, we (almost reluctantly), left our humble mountain lodgings… And headed for the hills… The main Tour du Mt Blanc (TMB) route, takes a high level path over the… Read more

I’m off again… This time I’m in ‘International Mountain Leader’ mode, to the French Alps for some trekking with a group of students to hike a section of the world famous ‘Tour du Mt Blanc’ trail.  It was a typically smooth journey, with only a few small hiccups along the way. These included some missing… Read more

Rain has been forecast all day and the threat has been around since this morning, but it didn’t materialise…. until later…. We decided that we might just have time to sneak a route in late this afternoon, so headed into the quarries under overcast skies. We got the ropes out in the ‘Serengetti Area’, just… Read more

I found a little friend today who seemed to have jumped the nest a little early! He was walking around outside, looking a little disorientated, so I gave him a drink and somewhere to shelter for a bit. Hopefully, his parents will come and find him, or he’ll give the flying another go after a… Read more

The threat of rain has loomed large for most of the day, but it has amazingly remained dry. Last night’s heavy rain has been evaporating hard, causing thick mists – I needed the lights on driving in the van in the afternoon! But the moisture has at least sent the leaves and flowers into bloom.… Read more