UKC

Anyone have any good places to offload gear when playing in the mountains? - something tells me I won't appreciate the extra weight of dossing clothes, surplus fodder, small children etc above 4000m.

Reckon a gite or hostel might let you leave some stuff for a few days?

Is it worth taking a car? Can you leave it anywhere where it's not clocking up a wopping rent?

More questions, oooh it's all coming out now, what's the legality of camping above the snow-line? I know quite a few camp near to the refuges but I've heard plenty of stories about nasty french policemen who frighten little children and steal your tent if you leave it up.
Presumably they're never going to stop you snow-holing?

Oh, and another question, jeez I should feed each question to you in small thread-sized bites, but nevermind - how expensive are the refuges on mont blanc (Cosmiques, Gouter etc) in comparison to other refuges in the alps? Are they Club Alpin?

If you've read eto this line you've got stamina.

Cheers.

In reply to Reassuringly_Badgers:

Offloading small children above 4000m is never a good idea even if you tie their legs together.

Slug

In reply to Reassuringly_Badgers:


Several hotels or "gites" allows for storages of extra stuff while you're away climbing. It's worth checking out beforehand, as some may ask you a small fee for that. However, I'm definitely not a specialist on Chamonix's strange customs...


If you're staying in Cham not really, as most of the destinations are reachable via public trasport. It may be handy however if you decide to cross the tunnel and come to this side, as the climbing areas in VdA (like Grand Paradiso, etc.) are more far flung - still reachable via public transportation.

For all practical purposes any car left on the roadside in Cham is likely (even is is not creating any trouble) to be removed after a few days. You can however leave it at one of the official car parks, it will cost you around 8€ per day (don't know if this means whooping to you)


Let's get this one right:

In France wild camping is forbidden in the valleys - it's however "tolerated" in medium and high mountains, but only from dusk to dawn.

The (negative) exceptions to this are, under certain circumstances:

1) The Valleè Blanche
2) The area right behind the Gouter Hut

In these two areas, free camping may be prohibited by the local Gendarmerie in case of problem related to hygiene or "disturbances" (an euphemism for the nearby hut warden complaining)

In Italy all free camping is prohibited below 2500m and unrestricted above.

BTW - in Switzerland all free camping is forbidden, whatever the altitude.


All (guarded) huts of the Mt. Blanc massif have rates more or less comparable to those of other areas of the Alps. These are (more or lesse)

With French/Italian Alpine Club card or equivalent:
10€ night
17€ night + breakfast
35€ 1/2 pension


Without any kind of card
21€ night
30€ per night + breakfast
47€ 1/2 pension

These huts are property of CAF (the French Alpine Club)
Argentiere, Albert I°, Grand Mulets, Conscrits, Couvercle, Durier, Envers Des Aiguilles, Gouter, Grand Mulets, Leschaux, Requin, Tete Rousse

These are property of CAI (the Italian Alpine Club)
Boccalatte, Borelli, Dalmazzi, Gonella, Elisabetta, Torino

Cosmiques, Plan De L'Aiguille, Trelatete, Trient, Monzino, Elena and Robert Blanc are all privates. However, they tend to apply rates somehow similar to those above. In general, half board treatment will be around 46€, in some case 30€ if you skip lunch (that may be mandatory!!!)

Hope this has been of help

In reply to Luca Signorelli:
technically then Fabio Valseschini who just soloed Piz Badile over 6 days was breaking the law.

it's an interesting one esp as someone who's grown up in australia where free camping is as accepted as huts are in europe.

i wonder if it is possible to insist that one's human rights require the close contact with nature free-camping provides...i feel a test case coming on!

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Well, he got down in helicopter (sent by friends who apparently were beginning to be worried), so "technically" he got rescued while in difficulty...


I've mixed feelings for that. The problem is that mountains in the Alps are extremely anthropized, so it's somehow difficult to draw a clear line between what's "close contact with nature" and what is "creating a disturbance".

Personally I think that common sense and flexibility are (as usual) the best answer to this. In other words, one week of permanence in a remote alpine backwood is not the same thing as a full tent-town in the middle of Valleè Blanche.

In reply to Luca Signorelli:

Splendid!

Thanks for the info.

In reply to Reassuringly_Badgers: hide in the woods

In reply to Reassuringly_Badgers
if you're in a town with a railway station (eg Chamonix or Zermatt) you can stick your gear in left luggage.