Exploratory blog: News and happenings from Alpine Exploratory

This blog has moved

2010-04-29T21:37:00.001+01:00

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We have moved to the Yorkshire Dales!

2010-04-06T20:53:00.002+01:00

Alpine Exploratory has moved to the Yorkshire Dales, or to the edge of the National Park at any rate. The market town of Settle is our new base. Here are the new contact details:

Alpine Exploratory
7 Victoria Street
Settle
BD24 9HD
United Kingdom

Tel +44 (0)1729 823 197
Fax +44 (0)1729 822 679

This is Three Peaks country and it will be a pleasure to continue our recces in the Yorkshire Dales from Settle.

Contact us

Recces in the Yorkshire Dales

2009-12-22T22:21:00.005Z

For our forthcoming trip, the Yorkshire Dales Explorer, we spent an enjoyable few days in mid-December researching more walking routes.

A frost near Buckden in Wharfedale

At Hubberholme's church

Semer Water above Wensleydale

In the bottom of Arkengarthdale

Above Thwaite is a superb view down Swaledale

A close-up on the sheep

We'll be putting up full details of this trip in the coming weeks, ready for its first season in 2010.

In the pipeline

Great Glen Way ready for 2010

2009-11-18T20:44:00.002Z

Our research on the Great Glen Way is complete. This is the long-distance path from Fort William to Inverness that roughly follows the Great Glen, the obvious geological fault in the Highlands. The trek is 111km or 70 miles long, runs generally over easy terrain and has limited ascent, and takes roughly 5 or 6 days. Full details will appear on a holiday page in the next few days. In the meantime please contact us to chat about the route for 2010.

A beautiful cow beside the Caledonian Canal, November 2009

Autumn on the Haute Route

2009-10-16T10:52:00.004+01:00

It is decidedly Autumnal in the Alps. A week of research in Switzerland brought all types of weather, as is common at this type of year: some sun but also some rain, cloud, wind and snow.

At the Meidpass, one of the passes on the way to Gruben

The wintry scene at Lac de Moiry after snowfall overnight

Gruben in the quiet Turtmanntal

The lower part of Gasenreid, above St Niklaus

For our 2010 season we will offer the routes via St Luc and Hotel Weisshorn as alternatives, giving possibilities for more atmospheric or more gentle crossings to Gruben in addition to the normal route from Zinal. Details will be on the holiday pages below, plus our forthcoming Walking Guides page to the Haute Route. Please contact us at any point to discuss the trek.

Walker's Haute Route
Walker's Haute Route (Guided)

Guided trek dates in 2010

2009-10-02T13:42:00.003+01:00

For 2010 we will be offering three scheduled guided treks each on the Tour du Mont Blanc and Walker's Haute Route. Here are the dates:

Tour du Mont Blanc (Guided)

3-17 July 2010
31 July to 14 August 2010
4-18 September 2010

Walker's Haute Route (Guided)

17 to 31 July 2010
14 to 28 August 2010
31 August to 14 September 2010

Please contact us for more info or to book in. We are looking forward to summer 2010 already!

Exploration in the Dales borders

2009-09-15T21:25:00.005+01:00

Here are three photos from recent explorations in the rolling landscape between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. This is an agreeable area crossed by the Coast to Coast but otherwise overlooked in favour of the national parks on either side.

Horses above Great Asby

A lime kiln near Orton: on the Coast to Coast

A barn and sheep near the River Eden at Mallerstang

Ennerdale in the rain

2009-08-24T00:19:00.005+01:00

Life on the Coast to Coast is not all fun in the sun. Here's the section along Ennerdale Water yesterday, a wet and windy day in late August 2009.

Coast to Coasters in the Lakes yesterday will have met it all: rain from all angles, tricky navigation in mist and wet paths underfoot. All part of the experience!

Coast to Coast

A spin around Staveley

2009-08-17T00:35:00.003+01:00

Apologies to Buster for the unflattering, if cute, photo. Here is the beast in the rolling hinterland of Staveley, Cumbria, enjoying a good shake in the early-morning sunshine.

New feature: trip reports with photos

2009-08-17T00:25:00.003+01:00

In order to show what we and our clients are getting up to, we tentatively introduce a new type of page. This will be a page of photos for a client's trip or for a recce of ours. Please see the Images page for links. There are two pages for starters and let's see how this goes!

A recce in Italy

2009-07-04T00:07:00.003+01:00

Simon looked over part of the TMB in Italy this June as part of our annual pre-season recces. Here are 3 photos:

A quiet Courmayeur, distinctly early season

Mont Chetif and Monte Bianco from the climb to friendly Rifugio Bertone

A peaceful barn tucked away in the Armina valley

Three good options exist on the stage from Courmayeur. Each suits different people and weather. All are of course highly scenic... how could they fail to be?

Tour du Mont Blanc

A canine client finishes the WHW

2009-07-03T23:58:00.007+01:00

Here is Corrie the dog pictured in June 2009 on the Devil's Staircase, West Highland Way. It's no mean feat for a dog to walk 100 miles in a week. Well done!

West Highland Way

New hats and caps

2009-05-31T15:21:00.003+01:00

Please take a look at our kit page for our new merchandise, now readily available:

Alpine Exploratory kit

Pennine Way complete

2009-04-15T11:07:00.003+01:00

Our research on the Pennine Way is complete. For spring and summer 2009 we are now offering the whole route from Edale to Kirk Yetholm.

The PW is magnificent. It is frustrating, challenging, at times bleak and wet, but it's magnificent.

Over the next few days we'll update our pages to include full details of our PW trip and of course the Pennine Way North for our clients who are completing it stage-wise. We'll also update our Walking Guide page on the PW:

The Pennine Way: A guide to the walk

Please contact us to chat about this superb route.

Looking to Hen Hole in the Cheviot hills

Kirk Yetholm on a warm evening, Easter 2009

Pennine Way
Pennine Way North

Pennine Way exploration

2009-03-17T22:43:00.003Z

Our research continues into the northern stages of the Pennine Way. There is a certain charm to the rolling, open landscape between the Pennine and the Cheviot Hills, even if there is none of the boldness of these two ranges.

Easy walking in Wark Forest

A sheep on the path, Wark Forest

Gentle terrain, much striding out

Bellingham, a major staging post on these northern legs

Pennine Way North

Wild flowers in the Julian Alps

2009-03-13T18:12:00.004Z

Our trip to the Julian Alps valleys is a way to walk in the Alps outside the main summer season. Spring and early summer, meaning May and June, are superb times to be out and about. Flowers can be abundant in meadows and on hillsides.

To make the most of these spring flowers, time your trip with us to match the International Wild Flower Festival run in the Bohinj area. This goes from 23 May to 6 June and is in its 3rd year. There will be tours, seminars, exhibitions and more. Ask us for more details and let us plan your trip.

Julian Alps Bohinj Valley
Flowers of the Julian Alps

Lake District exploration

2009-02-19T12:08:00.004Z

Here are photos from a recent series of walks in the Lake District, as part of our research into routes both new and current. In particular these are scenes from our South Lakes Circuit route, a gentle 4-day trek from Ambleside. The cold and grey weather will be gone before long... Spring is not far away.

At Blea Tarn on the way to Great Langdale

Sheep feeding in Great Langdale

An iced-over Tarn Hows

Striking colours on a wall above Coniston

South Lakes Circuit - join us from March to November

Plentiful snow in the Alps

2009-01-14T17:25:00.009Z

December saw snowfall in the Alps on a once-in-a-generation scale, giving a superb start to the season for skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers and other winter activists. For all concerned, the guarantee of snow down to village level has been welcome.

Here are a couple of pictures from our January explorations in the French regon of the Haute Maurienne, Savoie:

Snowshoeing: An introduction

Guided holidays, Summer 2009

2008-12-22T17:21:00.002Z

We've added a guided option on the Walker's Haute Route, for summer 2009. This is our 5th guided trip in our schedule and we hope it will prove good fun!

For 2009, across all 5 guided trips, we're offering scheduled trips - these are trips on set dates that are open to all-comers. So, if you're coming by yourself or as a couple, or in any small group, we hope this will be of interest. If you're a group of about 5 or more, and fancy different dates or going by yourselves, let us know and we'll plan a private guided trip for you.

So, here are the dates for the scheduled trips:

Swiss Valais: 27 June to 4 July 2009
Chamonix Mountain Walking: 11 to 18 July 2009
Julian Alps Hut-to-Hut: 25 July to 1 August 2009
Walker's Haute Route: 15-29 August 2009
Tour du Mont Blanc: 5-19 September 2009

Please contact us for more info about what these guided trips involve. Thank you.

Guided walking holidays in the Alps

Snowshoe dates for Winter 2010

2008-12-16T18:47:00.003Z

Our scheduled snowshoe trips are now available to book for 2010. It seems a long way off, but it'll soon come round... These are of course additional to our service of private trips for pre-formed groups of family and friends. So, here are the dates:

Chamonix Snowshoeing - 7 nights - 16-23 January 2010 Vaudoise Alps Snowshoeing - 5 nights - 13-18 March 2010

Chamonix Snowshoeing

Vaudoise Alps Snowshoeing

Chamonix Snowshoeing in 2010

2008-12-12T10:03:00.003Z

For Winter 2010 we are offering a scheduled Chamonix Snowshoeing trip, open to all. Join others to explore the winter hills around Chamonix, with an expert leader. This will run during January, with dates to be announced soon, and is in addition to our standard service of private group trips available at any time during this coming winter (2009) and winter 2010. Please see our updated page for more info:

Chamonix Snowshoeing

Welcome to the Exploratory blog

2008-12-03T19:51:00.003Z

Our News & Events page has today become the Exploratory blog. A blog is just an online diary; we'll use this blog to keep readers up to speed with what's going on at Alpine Exploratory. Thank you for reading, and we hope it's useful.

Pennine Way on Hadrian's Wall

2008-11-28T17:11:00.006Z

As part of our research for our Pennine Way North trip, planned for 2009, we visited Hadrian's Wall in November 2008. For the day's walk between Greenhead and a point just before Housesteads, the Pennine Way runs along the wall and thus follows the Hadrian's Wall Way.

The photo shows the open country into which the Pennine Way ventures as it leaves the Wall for its final journey North to the Cheviot Hills.

Pennine Way North

New trip to the Lake District

2008-11-28T16:56:00.002Z

We have introduced a new trip for 2009, to the Lake District in England. The intention is to give first-timers to the area a thorough introduction to the region and to give old hands a trip full of experiences different to the usual.

This is one of our most flexible trips. We suggest a schedule that takes in various parts of the Lakes over one week, but this is nothing more than a suggestion... we aim to discuss with clients what they'd like to do, then plan an itinerary just for them. Please see the new trip page for full details:

Lake District Explorer

Kendal Mountain Festival 2008

2008-10-28T17:16:00.002Z

The Kendal Mountain Festival will run from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 November 2009. Films, speakers, art and literature all vie for your attention. To combine thinking with doing, incorporate a short trek in the nearby Lake District into your trip:

South Lakes Circuit