Reviews

Thoughts on Group Leader

the best, great jokes throughout our stay!

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many to list but special mention though for the beautiful woodland we passed through at the end of the long, long, long descent down from Lac Blanc (who needs ski lifts anyway?) and final 'off piste' climb up the Les Houches peak and seeing the best view in the Alps come up over the horizon.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver is a real gem of a group leader - awful jokes and the Spencer Tracy fan club aside, he's an excellent guide who did a great job of gauging the different levels of the group and getting us all safely up and down the cols with smiles all round.  Voila.  Elaine did a great job too with the hearty evening meals, sandwiches, and brilliant home made cakes.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip is rated a Moderate which I think is about right, albeit at the upper scale.  However while you don't need any trekking experience you do need to be reasonably fit as some of the 'up' sections are long and hard (900m plus, and often immediately followed by an equally long 'down' section).  I'm in decent shape and go to the gym a few times a week and I found the walks challenging but still enjoyable, so a bit of preparation pays off. Also, take a wide brimmed sun hat not just a peaked baseball cap, as the sun is strong, even at the end of September, and I have the sunburnt, blistered ears to prove it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the top at Brevent, it was a hard climb but the view made it worth it! I took the cable car up to Aiguille du Midi on the first day which gave the most amazing views across to Mont Blanc.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver certainly knows his stuff, he is very enthusiastic about his local environment, people, animals and plants. His jokes are truely terrible, but by the end of the week you are joining in with them too! :) Elaine's cooking is wonderful, you don't go hungry, and it is very impressive how she manages to cater for such a big group!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Try and practise climbing some hills before you go, the distances you cover each day are not that far - approx 10 miles, but the ascents and descents at altitute might not be what you are used to. And read the trip notes to get an accurate idea of the planned walks, accomodation and trip. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing France, Switzerland, and Italy at the same time from a mountain top.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was a great guide who had excellent knowledge of the history and culture of the region.  I was very safety conscious and did a good job arranging for evacuation of a member of our party who became ill at a mountain top.  His jokes received mixed reviews but overall he was great in setting a positive mood to the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Trekking poles are essential.

Most Inspirational Moment

Can't decide but possibly it was the pedalo on Annecy Lake chiiling out , resting muscles  in over 30C with ipod and superb views. Also the  last days descent to Chaminox which was breathtaking in more ways than one!  The food, the walks ..all of them so different ...Too many good bits to mention really!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was exellent source of local knowledge, had everything perfectly planned and was very mindful of everyone in the group without being pushy. Good company and what about those jokes....again for me...and the film never to be missed.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Not really except walks are challenging but certainly achievable and a flask if gets a wee bit cold on top. I said this in february but thought being the summer wouldn't need it but would have been nice to have. A walking pole also useful.

Most Inspirational Moment

Best sights for me were at Lac Blanc, where I would recommend you hike to the far side of the lake for photos, plus on the descent from the Brevent, especially the sights back into Chamonix on the short balcony walk before reaching the midpoint refuge. Oh, and the Billberry tart.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver knows how to run the group well. Very knowledgable and experienced guy, a sheer pleasure to be with. The first two hours on Day 1 seem a little slow, but then you realise that while he is hiking, he is also checking out the group, judging the pace and expertly finding a speed suitable for all. By Day 5, when your legs no longer work, you will realise that a) He is still in front of you and b) He will be doing all this again next week while you recover ! Have to also mention that if Elaine serves the ginger/honey cake for packed lunch, steal/bribe/beg for as much as you can get.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The meeting point for this trip is at Geneva Airport at about 10:30 am on Saturday morning. The Exodus group flight for this trip is the BA flight out of London City airport. This in my mind is quite hard to get to from most places in the UK for say, a 7 am check in.  It is also an expensive flight, plus if you want to drive to the airport, the car parking charges are huge.I flew out on the Friday night instead, Easyjet flight from Gatwick and stayed in the Holiday Inn near the airport. Flight was £105 return, hotel booked on Expedia was about £65 and the next morning my travel consisted of a five minute courtesy bus trip to the airport.  

Most Inspirational Moment

Suddenly seeing a colony of goldfinches flitting about the conifers...Waking up to the rugged snow capped peaks outside the chalet window with snow and sunlight sparkling on them.Lying in the hot tub after a long walk. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

A classic!Very funny, a master of puns, and a truly warm and sociable character. Lots of laughs all week, and some loud groans too. (We hope the nuns enjoy the Spencer Tracey moments). Elaine's cakes are legendary, and there were generous slices in the mega packed lunches. We were all sad to say goodbye to Oliver and Elaine

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have all the gear, weather can be changeable from cold to v.hot or simply pouring! The walks are great though, so don't be put off.Lose weight before you go, they feed you well and you will GAIN weight despite all the exercise. 

Most Inspirational Moment

The walk on the second day to Lac Blanc was probably the best and the weather was at its kindest then.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver did work hard considering that he met us from the airport, did all the driving, helped with evening meals and did the guiding of walks.  We were unlucky with weather.  I did find the pace too slow, particularly on the wet days, although I accept that on group holidays you need to adapt your pace to that of the group. Oliver made good recommendations about activities for the day off and for eating places. In particular Hotel Eden was a great place for dinner on the night off.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The walking is very leisurely, which would be fine in good weather.  On the whole the mountain refuges were good about us eating our packed lunches out of the rain in their premises and just buying a coffee. The Chalet Savoy is best described as adequate. Rooms are small and bathrooms tiny. The dining room is cramped.  Breakfast was disappointing with only a choice of 2 over sweet cereals and hard boiled eggs every day.  I would have liked the option of porridge or at least a sugar free museli and an alternetive to the hard boiled eggs such as cheese and continental meats.  The picnic lunches were good and the daily cakes were wonderful.  Evening meals were hearty rather than exciting, though the tarteflette on the last night was best I have tasted.  So food a bit mixed.  Considering our poor weather and need for hot showers, we never ran out of hot water (that has happened to me in the past)  Also the drying room was excellent.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every time we reached a new high point and stopped to take in the view and the cable car trip up L'Aiguille Du Midi when the clouds cleared for a view of the Chamonix valley

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was very knowledgeable about the whole area and added a lot to the walks with his snippets of local history, wildflowers and animals and his truly dreadful jokes, the sort you want to groan at but find yourself laughing anyway

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you take a swimming costume - the hot tub in the garden with the view of the mountains at sunset should not be missed

Most Inspirational Moment

On our first walk, out of a cloudy Switzerland onto the Col de Balme, when the cloud lifted and we had our first views of the Mont Blanc Massif and the Chamonix Valley. Thereafter, apart from one cloudy day, the chance to see the mountains, glaciers and valleys on all the walks was inspirational. The flower meadows were pretty spectacular as well.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oliver was an excellent guide and companion. He is very knowledgable and a fund of absolutely awful, but very funny, puns and jokes.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As Exodus warn, be prepared for all weathers in the hills. We had everything from 5 degrees in sleet to 28 degrees in bright sunshine, and used all our various layers on several occasions. If you are used to hotel accommodation, the chalet rooms are a little smaller - clean and comfortable, but smaller. We had previously done the walks on Classic Dolomites and White Villages of the Sierra Nevada, and this provided a similar degree of challenge, perhaps a little more challenging on the one day when the  temperature was 28 degrees - enough for us.