Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking up the trail to the Col de Tricot - it looked so steep at the bottom!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Frank was calm and laid back, but always watching out for everyone. A very competent leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is not an easy hike and you need to be an experienced hill walker in order to enjoy this. If you are unable to walk up and down very steep hills/mountains for 3 full, consecutive days at a good speed, then think twice about this trip or start your fitness training now!

Suggestions

There are no kettles or tea and coffee facilities in any of the hotel/auberge rooms. We found our travel kettle and cups invaluable.

Most Inspirational Moment

When the clouds cleared (at last) & the top of Mt Blanc came into full view (St Antoine to Les Houches). Arriving at Refuge Bovine to shelter from the rain & the most delicious baked apple. The great feeling of achievement on finishing the whole circuit,

Thoughts on Group Leader

Frank was ery well organised with excellent briefings about the walk each day. He was a calm, very capable leader who didn’t over fuss, quickly summed up our individual abilities & gave us a lot of freedom to walk at our own pace but then quietly brought us back together when it was necessary. Made you feel you could do the big days. Accent hard to understand (& hard of hearing) but he warned us & was only too happy to repeat things many times.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it but read the notes carefully.

Suggestions

I think the Hotel Richemond in Chamonix could invest in a new egg machine.

Most Inspirational Moment

It was when we reached Grand Col Ferret and saw the majestic Grandes Jorasses.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He had a keen sense of humour and did his best to answer our questions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Due to frequent rain, some routes are quite muddy and slippery.

Suggestions

If you could add some packed fruit juice to lunch sandwiches, it would be nice. In our former trekkings, we usually had it in the lunch pack.

Most Inspirational Moment

Several: Seeing the view into Italy from the Grand Col Ferret after the climb up. Arriving at the refuge at the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme having walked through the mist and snow. Seeing Mont Blanc across the valley in brilliant sunshine on the last walking day.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Frank, was excellent. He is extremely knowledgeable about the TMB and its environs and experienced in walking the circuit and he shared this information freely, highlighting points of interest as we walked. He was very well organised during the trip and provided good briefings each evening for the day ahead. He was also calm, quietly confident, approachable and friendly and contributed a lot to our overall enjoyment of the holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take warm and cool/wet weather gear - you may need both (possibly on the same day). The trek is graded Moderate/ Challenging but overall we thought it was Moderate in grade, since the walking days are paced quite moderately, are not too long, and are punctuated by reasonable length stops at refuges for coffee and/ or lunch on most days.

Most Inspirational Moment

Finding out that the Alps is great when you return in your 60s to match up with your memories from years pre children when you were in your 20s. Inspirational is not quite the word, more amazing as the rescue helicopter arrives after only a short while to sort out a broken wrist and winch me off the slopes where I had rolled to transfer me to hospital.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Calm, efficient and totally in control to summon help in what could have been a very serious situation.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have an in date EHIC card (I didn't realise they expired.) your national insurance number is the bit of information you then need to know. Check helicopter rescue higher than 2000metres is included. Mine did have and repatriation to UK was easy with a family member being flown out to escort me home.

Suggestions

I was thinking a review of a holiday which only lasted 24 hours would not be relevant but then I thought it is reassuring that in the unlikely event of things going wrong it's good to know that the travel company you're with will be supportive. I fell, rolling down a mountainside for 30 metres or so. This was a result of a stumble from me, very easy to do and there was nothing exodus or anyone could have done to prevent this simple accident. After the transfer to hospital via helicopter and care in A and E there was an exodus rep to offer support. During my 4 day stay in hospital exodus reps visitedu, sorting out my belongings from the hotel and retriving my rucksack from the helicopter garage and also rang from the London office. The purpose of this review is to say - when things go wrong you can trust exodus to be supportive.

Most Inspirational Moment

Every minute of every day was inspirational. Just being in the natural environment of the mountains, enjoying the fresh air and exercise with a fun-loving group of people. Particular highlights were soaking up the wonderful scenery from the alpine passes and the close view of the ibex on the final day.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Frank, was excellent in all respects. He was knowledgable about the geography, history and culture of the area and provided us with plenty of extra information. His daily briefings were concise and accurate so that we knew what to expect each day. Frank understood the needs, strengths and weaknesses of each person in the group and acted upon this information so that everyone could enjoy their holiday to the fullest extent. A great sense of humour!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Are you capable of completing this trek? Exodus grade the TMB as moderate/challenging; I would grade it as moderate for the following reasons: Although the average walking day length is about 8 hours we found that 2-3 hours per day was rest time. Morning and afternoon coffee stops are usually scheduled at mountain refuges and the lunch stop can be about one hour. (If you are on the slow side then these times may be reduced for you).There was no difficult walking terrain. All of the walking is on paths so no technical skills required beyond being careful in where to place your feet. The short chained and laddered sections of the paths present little difficulty for the typical walker.There is only one "long" day (Les Contamines to Les Houches) - about ten hours in total.In our mid fifties we found this walk to be quite easy and feel we have a few more treks ahead of us!If in doubt, go for it! 

Suggestions

We completed the Alpine Pass Route trek in 2011 and at the time thought that it could not be bettered. However, the TMB, although less strenuous was its equal in terms of scenery and interest.Although most of our previous trekking has been self-guided, going with a group on the TMB was the right thing to do. The social side of the trip made it so much more fun. We enjoyed the company of a great group of people from different countries and backgrounds.

Most Inspirational Moment

Border crossing at the col from Switzerland into Italy

Thoughts on Group Leader

Good as a team coach getting the best from us.Not so good at realiisng we wanted to enjot it, not go for records. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get fit,

Most Inspirational Moment

Every day had its inspirational moments. The views were stunning and the company fabulous. The group I traveled with were diverse and we all got on extremely well. I enjoyed the idea of moving from one place to another and exploring The Alps on this Trek. I was lucky enough to see the start of The Ultra Trail; the electric atmosphere will stay with me forever! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was excellent. He was knowledgable and led the group with care and consideation for the whole group. He did not make anyone feel that they were not up to the walking; infact we all worked at our own pace which made a very challenging holiday a relaxing one!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure that you are in good physical health before you embark on this trip. It is a very challenging trek but an immensly rewarding one. Invest in some walking poles and learn how to use them before you do the Trek; they proved to be an extremely useful tool.  If you are interetste in Alpine Flora; invest in an identification book; I really wished I had one with me to identify the beautiful flowers in bloom! 

Suggestions

The only negartive think I would like to add is that my flight details were not sent to me and I had to ask for them to be sent. The day before traveling, I noticed that the terminal was not written on the flight details and I had to call the emergency number to find this information.

Most Inspirational Moment

Our leader inspired us to be enthusiastic about the events of each day.  The opportunites for exellent photgraphy was something that cannot be understated.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Nick obviously loved his job and was always positive, no matter what challenges we faced.  Nick struck an excellent balance between keeping us safe and giving us enough freedom to please ourselves when it was appropriate.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This trip is very tough.  Be prepared to make a big effort, even on those days when the views may not be rewarding due to the cloud cover.

Suggestions

The absence of traffic and background noise together with the clear mountain air is very pleasant.

Most Inspirational Moment

Appreciating the distance we covered, the stunning views, visiting three countries, the fun people in our group, the places we stayed in, making it through all of the Cols despite the snow, the tram in St Gervais, the cable car in Chamonix, the flowers, the cow bells (now a ringtone), red wine, chocolate and the blue sky when it arrived!  Sorry had to list more than one J

Thoughts on Group Leader

We were very impressed with Group Leader Nick.   He took the time to answer all of our questions or find out the answer if he didn’t know.  Nick made sure we had enough lunch each day and that he bought what we would like to eat.  Nick made us feel confident in situations we were unused to such as walking in the snow and dealing with steep slopes.  Words to describe Nick would be; good fun, very experienced, confident, relaxed and considerate about the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip notes do explain that this is a moderate to challenging walk – the days can be quite long and you do ascend and descend some quite steep slopes.  We personally found a walking pole very useful especially when dealing with the snow on the side of a mountain.  Worth getting fit beforehand as a reasonable level of fitness is required.  For those that like gadgets that need charging up – Switzerland has a different adapter to France and Italy!

Suggestions

Book it, prepare for it physically and clothing / equipment wise, take camera and thoroughly enjoy every day.