Most Inspirational Moment
Crossing the border from Switzerland into Italy. The views from the Col Ferret were outstanding. Having lunch on the top, enjoying the sunshine and eating toblerone - bliss.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader was Frank. He was hugely experienced, having done this some 60 times before. Frank set the pace and it was just right. He never went off at a ridiculous pace and I never felt that my safety was compromised at all. He was really helpful when I struggled to cross one pass with my short legs and had plenty of time to make a track through the snowfields when we had to descend through them.
Advice for Potential Travellers
I was a little concerned with undertaking this trip as I am in my late 50's and the maximum number of days hiking I have done before was 4. We did do quite a bit of training and I would recommend that anyone doing this does try to find some hills before. Having said that, we did not struggle at all. Frank's pace was great. The legs did ache for the first couple of days but after that they were fine. On the last day we did 1670m of ascent and I could have gone on and on! The downhills are definitely harder than the ascents. So pleased we chose the guided tour as it would have been very challenging trying to find some of the routes especially when you're in a storm with limited visibility and being hit with large hail stones.