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Tour of Monte Rosa
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Tour of Monte Rosa

Kim and Bob are trekking around Monte Rosa in 2018 Read more
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  • Trip start
    April 14, 2018
  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Kim and Myles at White Spot
    Our 7871Crew cleaning up fuel spill by our plane

    Depart for Paris

    July 22, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    I (Bob) flew to Vancouver on the 6 am Air Canada flight from Whitehorse. Met Kim and Myles at White Spot for breakfast. Said bye to Myles and then got thru security and we are now waiting for our Paris flight. It’s supposed to get in at 7 am Paris time. We’re reading about things to do in Paris.
    Postscript: The flight was two hours delayed because of a fuel spill. We had no connections though so it was fine.    Read more

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    Concorde at airport1At CitizenMMarionettes in windowIn CitizenM hotelNotre Dame

    Arrive in Paris

    July 23, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We arrived in Paris around 8:30 am. Caught a bus for de Gaulle aerogare to Gare de Lyon and walked to our hotel - the Citizen M - which is nearby. Left our bags there as it was too early to check in and walked back to the Gare de Lyon and bought our train tickets to Lausanne for Thursday.
    We walked into the Latin Quarter for an early dinner and had salads. Vegged out back at our hotel in the evening as we’re pretty jet lagged.    Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Pyramid at the Louvre
    Kim at the TuileriesMounted police at the LouvreSomeone having a bad day at the LouvreNice condo for saleNapoleon's tomb at les Invalides1Painting of French and German soldiers1Café in Saint GermaineBob with ice creamPlace de la Bastille

    Wandering around Paris

    July 24, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and then headed out into the heat. We walked a long way today, past the Louvre and over to Les Invalides. There we toured the war museum and saw Napoleon’s tomb. The museum had some amazing displays and paintings of France’s wars since the 1700’s. We then walked through Saint Germaine where we stopped for crepes and ice cream. We then walked to the Sorbonne and the Latin Quarter. We then crossed Isle St Louis to the Place de la Bastille and then stopped for dinner. We’re resting in our air conditioned hotel now.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Eglise Saint Eustache
    A virtual beating heart at the churchThe Louvre entrance in the hot sunMilos of Croton being bitten by a LionVenus teaching cupid to shoot a bowHercules capturing Erymanthian boarWinged victory of SamothraceCrowds in front of Mona LisaA tired visitorThe Jardin de la Palais Royale

    Another Day in Paris

    July 25, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We had a long day in the heat today. We got a metro pass which was on sale for only 7 € because of the heat. We went to visit the Victor Hugo apartment near Place des Vogues. I recall being in this spot when Russ brought us to Paris years ago. Then we went to St Eustache church and then had a drink and croissant nearby at a café. We then spent 3 hours wandering around in the Louvre. It was crowded but surprisingly not too hot. There were lots of people taking selfies or crowded around tour guides. The audio guide was frustrating to figure out and when you could get it to work it went on way too long. The Mona Lisa room when we got to it was mobbed. The Louvre was amazing but really exhausting to try and take too much in. After that we walked over to the Jardin de la Palais Royale and walked through the trees. Then we caught the metro back to our room. The Paris metro is cool, unlike the London tube which can be really hot.Read more

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    1Kim, Bob and Anne on the rooftop
    Porte Saint Denis

    Dinnner with Anne and Dominique

    July 26, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We were invited to have dinner with Anne and Dominique who live just off Rue Saint Denis. We spent a wonderful evening with them enjoying their drinks and food and hospitality on their rooftop deck. From the deck, we could see the top part of the Eiffel tower. During dinner we saw the tower all lit up. At 10pm the lights on the tower began flashing. We took the metro there and back and on the way passed the Porte Saint Denis which was built in one of the gates in the old fortifications of Paris.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Kim at Lake Léman at Lausanne
    Kim on train to Lausanne1The Montreux built in 1904. Oldest boat in operationBoat heading out from Lausanne

    Train to Lausanne

    July 26, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We checked out of our hotel and walked over to Gare de Lyon. We caught the train to Lausanne at 12:10. The train was fast and smooth. We sat across from an American couple from Boston who were heading to a wedding in France. They knew the names the town but not where it was or anything in between. We arrived in Lausanne around 4:15 and made our way to our hotel (the Carlton Lausanne) and checked in. Then we caught the metro back to the station and bought our remaining train and bus tickets. After that we ate at MacDonalds. It was 24 francs for two Big Mac meals which is about 30$. Things here are on average 30% higher than home but sometimes seem as high as 50% higher after you do the conversion; except beer which is about the same. We took the metro to the Lake and walked a bit and had a drink in a bar outside. The two big boats (la Suisse and the Montreux) were berthed in harbour). They ply the lake and have been in service over 100 years. We then took the metro back to the hotel.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Lausanne Cathedral
    View of Lausanne from CathedralL'Hermitage above LausanneKim by large Pine Tree at l'HermitagePalais de Rumine1Kim looking at collection in Palais de RumineStanding by Great White Shark at museum1Bob looking like a tourist by a FountainLa Suisse sailing on Lake GenevaKim with Friend at Olympic Museum

    A Hot Day in Lausanne

    July 27, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Another very hot day today. I think it got to 33 and humid. After breakfast we took the metro and walked to the Lausanne Cathedral which started construction about 850 years ago. It was nice and cool wandering around in there. After we walked uphill to l’Hermitage which is a foundation that supports art and has a museum in an old mansion. The grounds were nice with huge cedar and pine trees. Then we walked down to the Palais de Rumine which is a large Renaissance style building hosting a great museum of geology, archaeology and the natural world. They had an amazing and slightly eerie zoology exhibit with hundreds of preserved animals from different regions of the world. They had a preserved coelacanth which was neat to see. They also had a huge Great White Shark caught in the 50’s by fisherman off Spain in the Mediterranean. After that we walked into the old part of town and looked in shops. We then headed to the waterfront and stuck our feet in the lake to cool off. We walked over to the Olympic museum, which is here because Lausanne is where the IOC is based. We didn’t go in though as the admission price was high. We then went back into the shopping area and had a nice dinner and drinks in an outdoor café. We are now back in the hotel. The air conditioning isn’t working but they are apparently still working on it and the desk girl said there is light at the end of the tunnel.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Street market in Lausanne
    Rondini in the market1Kim on trainBob at St Niklaus bus stopGrachen and cable carsGrachenScene in GrachenKim in front of our hotel in Grachen

    Meeting our hiking group in Grachen

    July 28, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We woke up to thunder and lightening and rain. We had breakfast and then went into town to look around. There was a nice market going on in the town centre. We then headed back and got ready to go. We took the train from Lausanne to Visp. Then we switched to the train to Zermatt and got off halfway up the line at Saint Niklaus. We then caught a bus to Grächen which climbed high above the valley to this small town. We checked in and then got our lunch for tomorrow. At 7 we met with five of our group in the hotel bar. There’s Hilary Sharp our guide, Geoff Armstrong from Oxford, Anne Méalhie from Paris and myself and Kim. We will meet with three other people at Saas-Grund tomorrow. We talked about the trip and then had a nice dinner with four courses. The hotel owner is a stern Swiss German woman named Mrs Fuchs. She came over to our table to say hello. The weather promises to be better tomorrow.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    On the Höhenweg trail
    AnneAn IbexHilary11Saastal summits across valleyBob with his Tilley hat above Saas GrundSaas Grund in the valleyAnne and Geoff

    In Saas Grund

    July 29, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We took the cable car up from Grächen to Hanigalp (2121m) and spent the day hiking to Saas Grund. It was over seven hours and got a little hotter as the day went on. We found water in the streams so we weren’t short. There were a couple of rock slides with boulders to carefully navigate. The trail overhung steep valley walls and there was a tunnel in one place. When we reached Saas Grund we met up with our three other hikers who had walked down the trail to meet us. There’s Gwilym Rees-Jones and Severine (his daughter) and Hamish Calder (her husband). We had a drink outside at the inn and then Kim and I walked into town to grab something for lunch tomorrow. There were lots of larch trees which are used for the traditional buildings and turn a dark chocolate brown over time.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Steep slabs and ledges towards Monte Moro pass
    At Monte Moro passGolden Madonna guarding Monte Moro pass

    To Monte Moro Pass

    July 30, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    We left Saas Grund and hiked along a large dammed reservoir. Then we climbed up a steep trail with large blocky boulders and ramps along the fractures of the rocks. We got to the golden Madonna at the Monte Moro pass (2853 m) and had lunch there. Then it was a steep down climb to the Rifugio Oberto Maroli (2796 m). We had a drink there and the Hilary, Geoff, Hamish and Bob hiked up Joderhorn mountain (3035). It was a boulder scramble where you needed to be careful. We had a nice dinner and headed to bed early.Read more

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    1Scene in Maacugnaga
    Lago di QuarazzaSteep switchbacks to Colle del TurloTowards the ColleMonte Rosa from Refugio Pastore

    Refugio Pastore

    July 31, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    We took the gondola down from The Rifugio Oberto Maroli to Macugnaga and then started walking from the village down the valley. We then turned up the Valle Quarazza. It was a long approach to the start of a very steep switchback trail built by the Italian Alpini. This is the part of the trail where a Gwilym had so much difficulty last year. He did it a month earlier and it was snow covered. We had lunch and had a herd of cows come by and pestered us for food. We saw several groups of cows during our ascent. We could hear the bells around their necks as we were approaching from a distance. Farmers here keep their cows in the villages during the winter months and then bring them to higher grounds in the summer months. It is common to see groups of cows up at 2000m in the summer months. We had lunch near a group of cows. They were curious and approached us. Hilary stuck out her pole as one approached her and it seemed to get a bit aggressive in response to this. One cow then approached Hamish, bringing his face inches away from Hamish. Hamish then rubbed the cow's face. The cow seemed really affectionate like a dog!! We had a long gruelling hike to the Colle del Turlo (2737 m) and it began to rain near the top, so we put on our rain gear. It was then a steep switchback downhill 1000 m to Refugio Pastore, with the sun coming out again. We had a shower and beers and nice dinner. It was a very long and hard day today.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Resting at Orestes Hut
    Having coffee and waiting out the storm1All of us on a bridge1HilaryFrom Orestes Hut

    To Orestes Hut

    August 1, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    There was thunder and lightening when we were ready to leave in the morning. We made a decision to head into the town of Alagna Valsesia and halfway there the storm hit and we got caught in torrential rains. Luckily we came across a taxi van that took all of us to the town where we had coffee. When the storm lifted we got three cable cars (2 to Corno del Camoscio 3024 m and 1 down to Refugio Gabiet) and then had a short one hour walk to our next refuge, the Orestes hut. It serves vegetarian food. We wanted to do a short walk but it rained in the afternoon and we got more lightening so we just stayed in the refuge. Anne led a yoga session for those of us who wanted it. We had a nice dinner and went to bed early.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Monte Rosa
    From Colle de Salza1Walking towards Stafal1

    To Resy

    August 2, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We had a very nice morning with brilliant skies and very clear air. The mountains looked really close. We spent the morning walking up to Col della Salza (2890 m) and then down to Stafal where we had drinks and lunch. We then took two lifts up to Colle di Bettaforca at 2672 meters. We then walked down to the Resy hut. There was some ugly construction of a reservoir along this portion. The hut was crowded but we were able to have showers. Some mosquitos appeared and a few people were a little bitten sitting outside.Read more

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    To the Refugio Guide del Cervino

    August 3, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    We left Refugio Ferraro at 6 am as Hilary needed to get home. We walked up through a beautiful valley and over Alpe Mase (2400 m). After a lot of climbing we came to a view of the Matterhorn from the Italian side. Cervinia the townsite was far below in the valley. We caught the gondola to the Refugio Guide del Cervino and will be staying here tonight. Tomorrow we go down the mountain to Zermatt.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Windy conditions
    Roping upKim and AnneTheodule PassTheodule GlacierBreithorn from glacierBreithorn and Klein Matterhorn

    Down to Zermatt

    August 4, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    We left our hut at 8:30 am when Livio our guide arrived. We had lightening last night but no thunder and teeming rain. We roped up and walked down a snowmachine track which is built on the Theodule Glacier. There were crevasses but safely away from us. The snow was slushy and lots of water was running. The Theodule glacier and pass was used as a route in the past when there was no ice present. We unroped at the bottom and hiked towards the Matterhorn with spectacular views of it and Monte Rosa. Kim collected some rocks at the bottom of the Theodule glacier to bring home as souvenirs. As we were walking towards the Matterhorn we had flashbacks to the time we were there previously. The glacier that Val had touched on our previous visit (7-8 years ago) seemed to have retreated several metres. When we arrived at the gondola lift we headed down to Zermatt and checked into our hotel. At the museum in Zermatt we saw an old sword that archaeologists had discovered at the Theodule glacier from a traveller passing many years ago. At the museum we also saw old hiking equipment artifacts. It was neat seeing the advancements in this equipment (water containers, boots, crampons, ice axes, and hats). Tonight we are eating together. Anne left to go back to Paris and Severine and Hamish are leaving tomorrow to go back to the UK.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Kim in Zermatt with trail signs
    Zermatt looking backStones on posts to keep rodents outLike the name11

    Back to Grächen

    August 5, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We stayed at the Hotel Tannenhof last night. Kim recognized the hotel that our family stayed at years ago and had a flashback at breakfast. We had breakfast in Zermatt and said bye to Severine and Hamish who were heading home today. Geoff, Gwilym, Kim and Bob then started walking towards St Niklaus. It was a long walk and very hot. We stopped along the way at several places. While walking through a village we saw a bin of free apples that had been left out for travellers. It was nice as we were tired and thirsty. Eventually we reached St Niklaus and then caught the bus up to Grächen where this whole trip started nine days ago. The four of us had a nice dinner and are getting ready to leave for Zurich tomorrow.Read more

  • Holmes TravelsTour of Monte RosaHolmes Travels
    Grächen from our hotel
    Cemetary in Grächen

    On to Zurich

    August 6, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We woke to the sound of bells which ring loudly every 15 minutes here. We had a nice breakfast in Grächen and said goodbye to Gwilym and Geoff who were driving out that morning. We walked around a little and came across a neat little cemetery with everything in rows behind the church. Lots of things are very well maintained, organized and well laid out in Switzerland. Kim bought a souvenir Grächen shirt. We then caught our bus and trains and got to Zurich around 2 pm. We found our hotel and then walked around the downtown streets and railway station. Everything is too expensive here. We are back in our hotel now and will just hang out til bedtime. We leave tomorrow on the 7 am flight.Read more

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    Over Greenland

    Arrive home

    August 7, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We had a very long day. Caught our plane in Zurich at 7am after getting up at 4:30 am. Kim and Bob went to Steamworks in Vancouver for lunch and then to the Mountain Equipment Coop to look around. Kim left for home on the 99 bus and Bob hung out at YVR. Bob was home and in bed around midnight.Read more

    Trip end
    August 7, 2018
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