I don't have the best sense of direction. Put me in a situation where I need to navigate and I will act confidently and proclaim that this is the best way to go. Mainly because I think confidence and decisiveness beats worry and indecision. Sadly is doesn't stop you getting lost or help you 're-locate' . So after deciding that I want to improve my trail running and being a solo walker/runner I need to know what I'm doing with a map and compass.
This being Scotland there are a huge number of courses available to choose from. In the end I settled upon a midweek evening course in the Pentland hills run by Steven Fallon. The course details and his website can be found here. His website was actually one of the reasons for using him as it was easy to navigate (boom boom). As it's a midweek evening course It's a little shorter than some other courses but is easier to fit into a busy schedule.
The day started with a late train through to Edinburgh (I absolutely had watch the last episode of Game of Thrones). I got through and caught the bus from Princes Street to the Midlothian Snow Sports Centre where the event was being held. It started at 17:00 until about 20:00(ish). A fairly simple if a little long winded journey (A car and being able to drive would make this outdoors lark infinitely easier).
The course started promptly and had 5 participants including myself. All of us having a very varied background and reason for doing the course. Steven took us through the different types of maps and the various benefits and draw backs of each, pointing out subtle features that could easily catch people out. We then went through the features of a compass, again showing us how to use them and how they can go wrong. At this point I was amazed at the huge variety in types and quality of compass. Ultimately research and spend a little extra on this.
After showing us how to take a bearing from a map we headed outside and started putting it all into practice. We spent 2 hours going over the 4 D's of navigation (if you want to know book onto his course) Using pacing and map and compass to follow a path that I'm sure Steven has done a thousand times before. The weather was clear, with a really cold wind that made me thankful I had some gloves with me.
Once the course was finished we got given some course material to take away including a very handy pacing chart. All that was left for me to do was head off to meet my lift from the Brother and Sister in-law where I would be given bed and Breakfast for the night.
On a really nice end note. Everyone of the course participants, and instructor offered me a lift as they saw me walking to the bottom car park without even knowing where I was going. Once again proving hill folk are friendly folk.
The course also made me appreciate the Pentland hills and I'll look to do some more running there in the future.
Finally, it seems navigation is a skill and you only get better at it by practicing so I'll be trying to put these skills to practice as regularly as possible.
N.B I'm sure there are other course but these were the ones I found quickly using google.
If you've been thinking of doing one of these courses or even just like walking I'd recommend giving it a go. You'll learn a lot and actually be able to use the compass that's sat in your backpack since you got it.
Weird disclaimer- I booked and paid for this course myself and didn't receive any money or any other nonsense to attend or review this course. Sad that this is actually needs to be said.
Yes it may be hard, and leave you blowing out of your arse but after spending the week in Chamonix I agree with Buff (other head wear available, and might do the same job cheaper). Flat is boring!
Chamonix is often said to be the outdoor sports capital of Europe and it's a place that leaves you aching to get outdoors and be active. In the south east of France based in the Rhone-Alpes region. It's primarily a ski resort but opens it's doors to walkers, climbers, runners, and adrenaline enthusiasts from across the world during the summer months. Huge amounts of accommodation mean that it's dirt cheap to hire an apartment in the late summer. We went for a week from the last weekend of August.
We arrived on the Saturday and it was the the last day of The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc. It was a really cool thing to stumble upon. The atmosphere was electric at the finish line with family, friends, support teams and well wishers all giving the finishers the cheers they deserve. came back later that evening to have a drink and support the runners coming in in the evening and if anything the atmosphere got better. Anyone that even qualifies for this is superhuman in my book but seeing some of the later finishers with their friends and family made you smile. Even though I didn't know anyone there Anna and I cheered away like the finishers were family, getting wrapped up in the festival atmosphere.
The race is the culmination of a week long festival containing 5 races. The UTMB is 166km long with over 9600m of ascent.Travelling through France, Switzerland and Italy, around the Mont Blanc Massif. As a partial explanation of just how hard that must be, I'm trying to convince Anna to walk it over 10 days as a holiday next year. 10 DAYS!!! The winner finishes it in a little over 20 hours, the last finishers in 46 hours.
If watching all the finishers cross the line and preparing for your own Mountain challenge of the Glen Clova eXtreme Duathlon doesn't get you excited and motivated in this sort of environment I don't know what will. However, I'm not an Ultra runner of the same capabilities so after some pastries (When in France) we decided to head for the hills with a walk up to the Cascade Du Dard, a wonderful waterfall with a mountain Chalet (hut) then on towards Chalet Du Cerro and get some views of the Glacier des Bossons. This was a red route and would let us see what we were letting ourselves in for on these none highland peaks. Starting from Chamonix town itself we climbed gently then very steeply. Having lunch at the Cascade Du Dard and then going on to play about at the edge of the Glacier (don't be stupid enough to walk on it unless you know what you are doing). The views over the valley are great and it was pretty cool to be warm enough to be wearing a T shirt but be sat next to a Glacier.
Cascade Du Dard
the mandatory selfie
the beautiful Chalet Du Cerro
Glacier du Bossons
After getting a taste for the Chamonix valley we decided to head across to the Aiguilles Rouges and did a loop from La Flegere up to Refuge Chalet Du Lac Blanc then down to the Grand Balcon Sud to get back to La Flegere. This is a great walk and has the benefit of Using a Cable or 'Telepherique' to gain most of the height. Because you jump from roughly 1000m to 1877m the views open right up and you really find it hard to get a rhythm because you find yourself staring at Mont Blanc from all sorts of funny angles. One word of warning, this is a popular walk and Lac Blanc can be really busy despite being there towards the end of the walking season.
For me the two best days of the holiday were the day we Walked from L' Index to Planpraz via Lac Noirs and Lac Cornu. and the day we ran from Refuge Du Plan De L'aiguille to Hotel Du Montenvers via Signal Forbes. The Lac Noirs walk starts really high and is one of the few walks without a refuge as a mid stop point so it felt much more like a 'proper' Scottish walk it also has the benefit of having 365' views as you top out at an unnamed summit. This walk is mainly scree path for the first half but becomes increasingly manicured paths towards the end with a little (very fun) Cable walking mid way.
The day we did the run we got up really early, well for being on holiday. We ran along the Grand Balcon Nord, interestingly it's on the south side but faces north. This is a beautiful route above the treeline and although it doesn't have views of Mont Blanc the sun was rising onto the AiguillesRouges. We didn't run it very quickly but it felt great to be moving quicker and a smile just creeps onto your face with such amazing views. As we were so early (9am) we only saw two other walkers, going the other way. The terrain was more technical than either of us were used to but when you're in Chamonix and have seen people run around the massiff you can't exactly stop and moan the going is a little hard.
The more I get through this blog post the more it looks like just an excuse to share some photo's but trying to pick out one or two is so hard I've just stuck a load in. It's really hard to take a bad photo in these surroundings.
Once we were at the Hotel Montenvers we had a look around and went exploring down the 420 steps to get to the Grotto, or Glacier cave that they build every year. It's fairly amazing to see in side but you can't help thinking maybe it's worsening the Glacier retreat. You can get the train down, or indeed up and it takes you back to the centre of Chamonix.
I thought Chamonix itself was very pretty and perfectly sized for everything we needed, plenty of good food, bars and cafes that meant you didn't need to eat anywhere twice though a big shout out to 'Cousin Albert's' which is a brilliant restaurant run by a husband and wife who cook some wonderful traditional french mountain food. Being so near Italy the Pizza was also of a really high standard. Also the Raclette is a thing, apparently its Swiss but see the photo below and experience it for yourself.
Cheese, lots and lots of cheese.
Another must for me was the beautiful oasis of Le Paradis. This is a beautiful chalet set in a forset clearing next to a river oozes relaxation. A great idea if you want a rest day as it is a short cycle or 30-40 minute walk from Chamonix town centre.
Playing about at Le Paradis
If all of this has done enough to convince you that a week in the
alps can be whatever you want it to be and that everyone should try it
once. Below are a few top tips in no particular order.
1.
Don't buy the 'Multi' pass for the cable cars straight away. It can
often be cheaper to buy tickets for the single or return trips you need
rather than a day multi pass. If you have wi-fi you can check online if they are running and what it costs.
2.
Try a little french, everyone is really helpful and just because most
leisure workers can speak English on the Continent doesn't mean you
shouldn't try the basics.
3. Take a comfy small back pack, I used this Holiday as an excuse to buy the OMM 32L and it's a great bag.
4. Self catering seems the best option in Chamonix and provides a lot of Flexibility
5. Despite the bad Trip advisor reviews the private buses from Geneva Airport seem to be the norm but leave plenty of time to get through passport control etc.
6. The cable cars are your friend, unless you want the workout take the cable cars down and save the quads for the next day.
7.There are plenty of books to help you plan these and we had bought the Cicerone Chamonix Mountain Adventures
which was a great around guide if you want to try a few different
things.
8. The summer hiking map from the tourist information office (who are also very helpful) provides walks in three grades, green
(easy), orange (medium) Red (hard) this seemed to qualify more for the
level of ascent and quality of the path more than anything else. If you
are used to walking in Scotland most of the classic walks wouldn't cause
you too much bother, Though we did make use of the excellent lift
system to gain the initial steep height, this means you can easily do
big walks on concurrent days without too much difficulty as the quads
don't get too much battering at the end on the way down.
Go to Chamonix, it's a wonderful place where you can do gentle to crazy exercise in any form you can imagine.
