Pre-Trek nerves
Just 6 days from departure and I still don't feel completely ready. On the 29th July I will be flying from Heathrow to Geneva, picking up whatever shuttle I can to take me to Chamonix. From Chamonix I plan on undertaking a 170km trek, through three countries, of which I speak none of the languages, crossing ridges and mountain passes in excess of 2500m, circling around Europe's largest mountain, Mont Blanc. Oh, did I mention I'm going alone?
Though, being in good physical condition, with sound knowledge of navigation and basic expedition experience I hope to return unscathed. However, a dismemberment would leave me £10,000 richer thanks to the generous guys at BMC insurance!
With regards to equipment, I am attempting to do the trek as self sufficient as possible, with a few exceptions. I am planning to camp, both wild and in campsites and thus have all the associated equipment which I will detail at a later point.
I will be bringing a solar charger so electricity to keep my phone charged should not be an issue.
Clothing wise, I am planning on bringing roughly 3 sets of all the basics; shorts, underwear, socks, t-shirts and washing the dirty clothes every few days. I hope this will reduce weight carried.
In terms of food, I have fairly substantial reserves in my rucksack for breakfast, snacks and dinner.
At this moment in time I have not packed my rucksack and so depending on the weight some food may be dropped so as to not ruin my spine. Again, I will detail the meal plans at a later stage.
For navigation I will be using the Cicerone guide, 1:50,000 IGN map and a basic Silva compass.
From my research it would appear that navigation is not complicated on the TMB however the Cicerone's maps are drawings and the IGN french version of the OS map is truly awful as a navigational tool.
So at this stage the plan is to be fairly self-sufficient with only the occasional registered campsite or refuge and buying only food for lunch and relying on supplies to account for the rest of my food needs.
So that underpins all the general information regarding my Tour du Mont Blanc. As it is my first "longer" distance trek, with previous experiences only being 80km over 4 days I hope to learn a great deal from this experience and determine what changes I need to make in the future.
Bon Voyage, Ciao, Tschüss!
Though, being in good physical condition, with sound knowledge of navigation and basic expedition experience I hope to return unscathed. However, a dismemberment would leave me £10,000 richer thanks to the generous guys at BMC insurance!
With regards to equipment, I am attempting to do the trek as self sufficient as possible, with a few exceptions. I am planning to camp, both wild and in campsites and thus have all the associated equipment which I will detail at a later point.
I will be bringing a solar charger so electricity to keep my phone charged should not be an issue.
Clothing wise, I am planning on bringing roughly 3 sets of all the basics; shorts, underwear, socks, t-shirts and washing the dirty clothes every few days. I hope this will reduce weight carried.
In terms of food, I have fairly substantial reserves in my rucksack for breakfast, snacks and dinner.
At this moment in time I have not packed my rucksack and so depending on the weight some food may be dropped so as to not ruin my spine. Again, I will detail the meal plans at a later stage.
For navigation I will be using the Cicerone guide, 1:50,000 IGN map and a basic Silva compass.
From my research it would appear that navigation is not complicated on the TMB however the Cicerone's maps are drawings and the IGN french version of the OS map is truly awful as a navigational tool.
So at this stage the plan is to be fairly self-sufficient with only the occasional registered campsite or refuge and buying only food for lunch and relying on supplies to account for the rest of my food needs.
So that underpins all the general information regarding my Tour du Mont Blanc. As it is my first "longer" distance trek, with previous experiences only being 80km over 4 days I hope to learn a great deal from this experience and determine what changes I need to make in the future.
Bon Voyage, Ciao, Tschüss!
No comments:
Post a Comment