although mountain rescue in the Alps is highly efficient, it is not a free service. The cost of rescue and subsequent hospital treatment can be extremely high; it is therefore essential to be adequately insured. Specialist companies offering insurance for trekking in the Alps include the BMC (www.thebmc.co.uk) – members only – and Snowcard Insurance Services (www.snowcard.co.uk). As mentioned earlier, membership of the Austrian Alpine Club (UK branch) gives automatic mountain rescue cover.
WORDS OF GREETING
Trekking in the Alps is a sociable activity. Whether you trek alone, with friends or with a group, you’ll find that meeting or passing others on the trail will inevitably inspire a word or two of greeting – a recognition of shared experience. So, what do you say in response? It depends where you are:
| France | bonjour |
| Italy | buon giorno |
| Switzerland | grüetzi |
| Austria & Germany | grüss Gott |
| Slovenia | dober dan |
The unmistakable Matterhorn (Tour of the Matterhorn) (photo: Hilary Sharp)
THE TREKS
TREK 1
Grande Traversata delle Alpi: GTA by Gillian Price
| Start | Viozene near Ormea |
| Finish | Molini di Calasca in Val Anzasca near Monte Rosa |
| Distance | 633km |
| Grade | Strenuous |
| Time | 47 days |
| Terrain | Western Alps, Piemonte, Italy |
| Max Altitude | 2804m |
| Guidebooks | Through the Italian Alps: GTA by Gillian Price (Cicerone Press, 2005) |
| Accommodation | Walkers’ hostels, village guesthouses and mountain huts |
For many who go trekking in the mountains, the Italian Alps mean the Gran Paradiso, the Pennines crowned by Monte Rosa, or perhaps the exotic Dolomites. But there’s so much more than these justifiably popular districts, and on the GTA the Ligurian, Maritime and Cottian Alps will surprise and reward with scenes as unforgettable as those further north. This epic trek climbs and descends around 44,000 metres on its way from the Mediterranean to Monte Rosa, which gives a clue to the nature of the journey. Day after day arduous passes have to be crossed that reveal horizons of rugged rock and gleaming snowscapes and, in the opening stages, more than a hint of the sea. Marguareis, Monte Gelàs, Argentera, Monviso, Rocciamelone – each one becomes a milestone on the way north. Then there’s the Gran Paradiso at last, and Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa to underscore the route’s pedigree.
Grande traversata delle alpi: GTA
The Argentera is the highest peak in the Maritime Alps
This route had been hovering at the back of my mind for a long time. It just wouldn’t go away. I’d read in an Italian Alpine Club magazine about a long-distance trail in Piemonte stretching over the arc of valleys and mountains that lay beyond the grand regional capital of Torino. But it was a hint from my publisher, Cicerone Press, that prompted me to set out. I found the idea of travelling across the Alps on foot hugely attractive, and spent hours poring over large-scale maps tracing the route and dreaming of the panoramas that my eyes would be treated to. The Grande Traversata delle Alpi – what an inspiring title! The distance was not to be underrated: a mere 200km as the crow flies but a huge 633km on the ground, in terms of paths and actual walking, accounting for a mind-boggling third (yes, a third!) of the immense Alpine curve.
It was a terribly exciting prospect that would take me across the Western Alps on the very far side of Italy from my home in Venice. It also meant navigating across five of Italy’s Alpine regions – the Ligurian, Maritime, Cottian, Graian and Pennine Alps – past a procession of legendary stone giants from the Argentera, Monviso (Monte Viso) and Gran Paradiso, before the final crowning queen Monte Rosa. Brand new Alpine landscapes were to be revealed, along with captivating tales of the life of men and animals on the mountain slopes.
The first year I managed to slip in a quick trip late September when the huts were beginning to shutter up as the season drew to an end. Contacts in the regional capital Cuneo suggested that I’d find comforting similarities with my beloved Dolomites in the limestone landscapes of the Ligurian Alps. This definitely proved true, but they omitted to warn me of the marvels of the adjoining Maritimes that took my breath away. That winter I found myself counting the months until I could go back, and the following summer ranks as one of the most memorable in the whole of my Alpine life as I wandered on for 36 blissful days, only a single short interruption due to inclement weather – zero visibility caused by dense fog and blinding rain.
All I needed was on my back in my rucksack, and by my side in the shape of my companions, whose importance I never underrated. A motley crew of friends swept up by my enthusiasm joined me on holiday windows of opportunity, meeting up at strategic railway stations and bus stops along the way. I dubbed them my ‘shift walkers’.
Lovely Piano di Valasco in the Maritime Alps
The GTA became something of a cheese trail for me. Piemonte is a prime producer for Italy, much credit going to the tiny mountain communities that cling on, specialising in unique flavours. The fact is that each valley has different conditions, exposure of pasture slopes, variety of fodder, and individual time-tested techniques for concocting cheeses from cow, sheep and goat milk. For storage, rudimentary sheds half-excavated, half-built into the mountainside are lined with shelves of rounds laid down for ageing. In the Gran Paradiso area I even discovered dwarf fridges – tiny stone cabinets set over running streams which keep the temperature at a constant low. Who needs electricity! When farms close up at the end of summer and herds and herders return to the valley, the treasure is packed in straw and loaded onto horseback, but not before gourmet walkers have appreciated the likes of Brüs and Maccagno.
The Ligurian Alps: from Viozene to Limonetto
Low profile yet splendid, the Ligurian Alps host the opening section of the trek. Modest limestone reliefs that launch the eastward sweep of the mighty Alpine arc, they lie a mere 40km from the Mediterranean; not surprising then that hints of the sea can be perceived, first and foremost in the vegetation with aromatic herbs and even lavender and broom that drench the air with their perfume.
From the tiny hamlet of Viozene,
