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

Cycling fan or in search of spectacle? 2009's Tour de France route gives lots of scope for viewing while on one of our trips to the Alps, as follows. Come and see it...

... on a chalet holiday in the French Tarentaise
The Tour de France spends the night of 21 July in Bourg Saint Maurice, having dropped down from Col du Petit Saint Bernard and before heading off over the Cormet de Roselend. Bourg Saint Maurice is a pleasant town local to our chalet holiday in the Tarentaise. There's plenty to do in the area as it is, as well as our easy Alpine walks, but the added bonus of the Tour will make this a special week.

French Alps Multi-Activity

... on a break in Chamonix
Chamonix is not visited by this year's TdF, but is handily placed on the train line between two viewing places. Take the Mont Blanc Express in one direction on 19 or 21 July to see the riders at Martigny; take it in the other direction on the 22nd to see them pass through Sallanches.

Chamonix Mountain Walking

... on the Tour du Mont Blanc
As in 2007, the Tours coincide near les Chapieux. This time they're riding from Bourg Saint Maurice to Beaufort rather than the other way round. So, with a bit of spare time on 22 July you can catch the riders as they labour up the slopes to the Cormet de Roselend.

Tour du Mont Blanc

... on the Walker's Haute Route - in Switzerland!
Unusually for the TdF, two nights will be spent in Switzerland. On 19 July this gives a chance for Haute Route trekkers to follow the race in the valley between Sembrancher and Le Chable before its uphill finish in Verbier. The race rests in this resort on the 20th before restarting from Martigny on 21 July, again passing Sembrancher on the way to Col du Grand Saint Bernard.

Walker's Haute Route

Please contact us for greater detail. Timings are key, both of your start dates and of your walking times, and we can advise on the ins and outs.

We're thrilled to be offering a new trip for summer 2009: the Walker's Haute Route. This is one of the classic treks of Europe, taking about a fortnight. It's distinct from the original or 'Classic' Haute Route which is a ski tour or high-mountain expedition. The Walker's version sticks to walker's trails, often challenging, but nevertheless a walker's domain.

The route runs from Chamonix to Zermatt. Along the way, a series of passes need to be crossed; these passes are on the North-South mountain ridges that run up to the main Pennine chain of this part of the Alps. Passes are typically 2,800m or 2,900m. Stages are broken up by villages and huts, for the most part handily placed.

We are offering the whole route, plus each half of the route. It splits quite neatly into two at Arolla.

Please see our pages and let us know any time if you'd like to discuss options or book yourselves in:

Walker's Haute Route
Walker's Haute Route West
Walker's Haute Route East

We've updated our Swiss Valais trips for 2009 to include time in two extra valleys: Val d'Anniviers and the Mattertal. The village of Zinal will be our base in Val d'Anniviers and buzzing Zermatt will be our base in the Mattertal. Over the course of a week, instead of the previous long weekend or mid-week break, there is much more scope for our clients to get to know the stunning Valais scenery.

Of course, our standard trip is just one of many itineraries that we can book. Shorter trips will still be very feasible, as will trips based entirely in one valley. As ever, please contact us for more information and to chat about your ideal trip. Please see our new pages as follows:

Swiss Valais (Self-Guided)
Swiss Valais (Guided)

There's a new way to contact us to chat about walking holidays: calling for free over the internet. Use Skype and call us at our name "alpineexploratory".

This could be helpful for our overseas clients. If you prefer to ask questions over the phone rather than by email, please call us any time and we'll be delighted to give you more information.