Another of my longstanding dreams was to spend time hiking through the European Alpine Region. That dream came to fruition in June 2015. The trip comprised of two stages…four days in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy followed by ten days on a well established hiking route from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland. This walk is also known as the Mont Blanc to Matterhorn hike or the Walker’s Haute Route which runs parallel to the Swiss-Italy border for the most part. The full walk is about 185km in distance. The Alpine region is another wonderful part of planet earth with pristine mountains, crystal clear streams, pretty villages and great hiking.

The Dolomites area is known as South Tyrol as it used to be part of the Hapsburg Empire in days gone by. The people mostly speak German although Italian is also quite common – not surprising given that the region has been part of Italy since the end of World War 1. There is interesting war history in the Dolomites region where the Italian and German troops battled over the border in WW1. With good friend Chris, I spent three days exploring the upper Val di Funes area which turned out to be a great hiking destination. Our base was a small hotel called Gasthaus Edelweiss in a pretty hamlet called Santa Magdalena.

After the Dolomites, I returned to Zurich for a night to catch up with an old hiking friend and to prepare for the Walker’s Haute Route which was an unknown quantity in many respects. On Friday 5 June, I made my way to Chamonix by train which turned out to be an all day trip due to my inexperience with the efficient Swiss rail system. I decided to stay in Chamonix for two nights to experience this scenic and historic destination (highly recommend it to anyone who loves mountain climbing, hiking, skiing and just about any other adventure activity you can imagine).

On Sunday 7 June, I commenced the Walker’s Haute Route with some trepidation as I had never walked in the Alps on my own previously. Anyway all my concerns soon evaporated as my guide book (Walker’s Haute Route by Trailblazer) proved quite accurate and the route was well marked at every turn and crossing. As it turned out, I could only complete about half of the walk as I was too early for the higher areas (above 2500m) due to heavy snow and ice. Officially the Haute Route is only open from start of July so I was about three weeks too early. However, what I covered was still wonderful walking and a good first experience in the Alps. I will go back another day (probably September 2017) to finish off the high areas and immerse myself again in magnificent Alpine scenery and history.

Below is a selection of photos showing typical scenery and experiences from both the Dolomites region and the Walker’s Haute Route.