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The Southern French Alps - from Chamonix to Bousiéyas
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Click and drag on map above to see area around trail. Click here for large zoomable map. The fifth section of the H2H goes through a region that few people know. I’ve certainly never been there, and my guess is that, other than perhaps for a skiing vacation, most people reading this haven't either. It’s odd: if I think about the major parts of France, I don’t tend to think of the French Alps (at least not south of Mont Blanc). And if I think about the major areas of the Alps, then I tend not to think of the French / Italian border either. Before planning the H2H, I wouldn’t have been able to name any of the villages or towns there. It seems to be a forgotten area, much less developed for tourism than the rest of the Alps. And yet the southern French Alps have spectacular scenery and challenging hikes; they are at times almost as wild and empty as the Rockies; and they cover an immense expanse – it will take us as long to hike through them as it did to cross Switzerland… but at the end we will still be ten stages short of Monaco. I suspect that sooner or later they will attract the attention that they deserve, but for now they remain the emptiest and most isolated part of the H2H. And this naturally leads to the question of safety: if something goes wrong, what happens? And more generally, how dangerous is the H2H, and is there anything that one can do to minimize the dangers through preparation? In my (strongly held) opinion, hiking in the Alps is much less dangerous than mountain hiking pretty much anywhere else in the world. For one thing there is an efficient, professional, and well-equipped mountain rescue service (MRS) reachable by cell-phone from just about everywhere in the Alps. They aren’t cheap, unless you are insured (highly recommended), but if something does go wrong, there is no-one better at getting you out of trouble than the MRS. Further, the popularity of hiking in Europe means that there are more people on the trails, even along this stretch of the H2H, than is usual in most other places in the world, and fewer (i.e., almost no) dangerous wild animals. Lastly, the trails are in general well-marked and maintained, and the density of habitation high enough that you are rarely more than a couple of hours hike from a village, restaurant, hotel, or refuge. Nevertheless, hiking the Alps is by no means a walk in the park. Trails are usually unsecured, often steep and narrow, and frequently with plunging drops on one or both sides. Weather is unpredictable – bad weather can come up seemingly from nowhere, afternoon thunderstorms in the summer months are an almost daily occurrence, low clouds can from one second to the next reduce visibility to zero, temperatures can drop 20C (36F) in an hour, snow can fall in any month of the year, and so on. And lastly, hiking – particularly the sort of hiking required by the H2H – is physically challenging. The vast majority of calls to the MRS are due to people being unprepared for poor conditions and overestimating their own abilities. And this last point you can do something about. First, and most importantly: you should get in mountain hiking shape before you go on the H2H, whether you are planning on doing the whole thing or just a part of it. In my experience, the only way to do this is by hiking in the mountains – going to the gym or jogging or going for flat walks, even long ones, is not sufficient. The first rule of enjoying the H2H is: the fitter you are when you start, the more fun you’ll have… and the less pain. As preparation I recommend that you hike at least four full days (5+ hours not including rest / meal breaks) in the spring or early summer before the H2H. A critical added benefit: your feet and hiking boots will as a result be well accustomed to one another. For more detailed recommendations, see here. Second, get good gear, and minimize the weight of your pack. Given the density of accommodation in the Alps, and the relatively limited possibilities to camp out legally, there are several pieces of typical hiking equipment that you can safely leave out, such as a tent, ground-sheet, sleeping bag, and cooking gear. For similar reasons, you won't need to carry much food with you, and no more water than you will drink in one day. On the other hand, you can also overdo weight minimization... with consequent loss of safety, flexibility, comfort, or all of the above. I have put together a list of what I will be taking with me on the H2H, plus how much each item weighs and why I have included it, here. Third, if you are not hiking the whole of the H2H, choose a section to do based at least in part upon the difficulty of the hikes. If there are a lot of long days without alternative routes to shorten them, then, unless you are sure that you are in excellent shape, perhaps you should choose another stretch. Similarly, if you have even a little touch of vertigo, don't do the trails that are indicated as being "hard". You can get a good overview of the entire hike here. There are many other aspects to hiking safely in the Alps and I have summarized the key rules of thumb I try to follow, as well as what to do when in spite of everything something goes wrong, here. In conclusion, in case I have unduly scared anyone with the above cautions and suggestions, I’d like to emphasize that the H2H doesn’t require any special mountaineering or climbing skills, just for you to be fit and sensible. Repeat after me: be prepared not scared.... Stages
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H2H: The House to House Hike
