Tour of the Great St Bernard
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| Swiss & Italian Alps | |
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| Key Facts | |
| Dates : 10 - 15 July 2012 Or, book a private departure Price : 960 € Group : 4-8 persons Meeting : Geneva. More details upon booking. Difficulty :  |
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The Tour of the Great St Bernard is a demanding and spectacular trek along the Swiss and Italian Alps. A clear incentive of the trek is to keep in mind that we are following the route of Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon, who with an army of 46,000 men crossed to Italy in 1800 while the Great San Bernardo Pass was still covered with snow.
Itinerary
Day 1 – From Geneva to Bourg-St-Pierre
Greeting at Geneva Airport. From here we go to the Swiss Canton of Valais. Soon we leave the Rhone valley behind and start gaining altitude quickly. In little more than 1h30, we arrive at Bourg-St-Pierre.
Day 2 – From Bourg-St-Pierre to the Great St Bernard Pass
It is a 5-hour walk and a mountain pass at 2700 meters until we reach the hospice. History accompanies us once we reach the Hospice of the Great St Bernard. Here the monks have trained during centuries the St Bernard dogs to guide and to rescue travelers and pilgrims during the long, hard winters of the region.
Day 3 – From Switzerland to Italy
A few minutes' walk from the hospice, and we leave Switzerland to enter in Italy. Today’s hike is demanding: ahead of us we have three mountain passes at high altitude: 2450, 2800, and 2930 meters. It is the hardest stage of the entire route, but equally filled with spectacular and wild landscapes. We have clear views of the Italian and Swiss Alps, and we will see, in the distance, some four thousands peaks, such as the Great Paradiso and the Grand Combin. We have more spectacular views upon arrival at the refuge: in front of us, the Grandes Jorasses and the Mont Blanc reveal themselves.
Day 4 – A stage of the Tour du Mont Blanc
We have spectacular views of the glaciers that run down to the valley and of eternal snow-covered tops like the Dolent, which borders three countries: France, Switzerland, and Italy. Today, we must take on only one mountain pass at 2500 meters and, on the other side, we return to Switzerland, leaving Italy behind. We spend the night in a pleasant refuge, down in the valley. From the hut, we can examine the impressive ascent that awaits for us tomorrow.
Day 5 – Hiking among edelweiss
Today we attack with conviction the 1200-meter climb to the Col of Basset. The intense effort of the ascent is mitigated thanks to the aerial views of the Alps. As we gain altitude, several mountain chains will appear one after the other: the Mont Blanc, the Great Combin, Grandes Jorasses, the Dents du Midi, and the Muverans. In addition, this ascent has the prize of seeing edelweiss. This small flower is one of the symbols of Switzerland, and because of their fragility and the specific environmental conditions they need, to find them in nature is an event by itself. We spend the night in an isolated and cozy mountain refuge.
Day 6 – Hiking with animals
We wake up early. Our destination is Bourg-St-Pierre and to arrive there we take a barely used path; it is so rarely used that in some parts we have to make the path ourselves. Indeed, due to the infrequent passage of people, the animals consider this area a true paradise, and with a bit of luck we'll see wild goats, red deer, marmots, and even foxes.
Our adventure finishes when arriving at Bourg-St-Pierre. From there we set off to the airport of Geneva, arriving on 14h, where we bid farewell until our next adventure together.
Recommend this trip to a friend
The price includes
• Meeting/assisting at Geneva airport
• Airport transfer from and to Geneva
• 5 nights in mountain huts, half board
• Professional mountain guide
The price does not include
• Airfare (for recommendations, click here)
• Travel insurance
• Beverages and meals not specified