Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

So much of the trip was inspirational hard to pick, however the optional climbs and challenges that the group leader Graham Hickman allowed us to do must be among the best! Completing them with trip members Ovi and Kamal added so much, they were excellent company!The Col du Tricot climb plus the views from the Tete Nord des Fours must have a special mention and will live with me for a long time! The whole group of people on the trip were an inspiration too! 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Graham Hickman and Lewis were a tremendous team, Graham being the excellent mountain leader and motivator for "extra challenges" and Lewis the wonderful camp  organiser and cook.I enjoyed their company and knowledge of the area immensely.Would join another of their trips!  

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do not hesitate to go on the camping tour, the group dynamics and camaraderie is priceless! Great spread of ages and backgrounds among group.The sites were good too and certainly no hardships even at the two "basic" ones.  We were lucky with the weather any significant rain being overnight, however be prepared for some wet weather, as well as sun, it is mountainous after all! 

Suggestions

One of the very best holidays I have experienced, what more is there to say!

Most Inspirational Moment

Dad and I had a great time. Dad has never completed a physical challenge as daunting as this trip and he did not think he could make it almost until the very end when he made it to the top of Col de Voza on Day 12. His smile that day was definitely an inspirational moment for me. The group became really close and supportive of each other during the trip and certainly helped my Dad achieve his aim, with people from all walks of life with ages ranging from their twenties to their seventies lending a hand... Encouragement from the group definitely helped pull him and up and down some pretty steep terrain. Seeing Dad overcome his fears and doubts was really something quite awesome.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Graham was superb. I believe that his greatest skill is closely observing people in the first couple of days, figuring out how to motivate each individual and working with each person to help them achieve what they are trying to get out of the trip. For example, after 5 days my 67 year old dad (who accompanied me on the trip) was struggling with the descents (of which there are many). Graham took Dad under his wing and worked with him, focusing on improving his descending technique using walking poles for several hours. Dad responded to Graham's patient instruction, learned a new skill and increased his confidence. This not only reduced his discomfort but also meant he could complete the trip with a smile on his face. Without Graham's assistance I am not sure he could have made it.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Two pieces of advice: 1. Do the camping trip. There is nothing like 2 weeks under canvas to get to know a diverse bunch of people and really experience the great outdoors. 2. Some training makes a huge difference to your enjoyment of the trip. If you come from London like me, make the effort to do dome big descents and ascents (like in Scotland) before you go. If you can't organise that, then an hour on the stepping machine at the gym really helps.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting on to the top of mountains with Ovi and Kevin. Many thanks to our guide/group leader "Grahem" to motivate us to make an extra effort to conquer the peak which was not even a part of the TMB route. Simply SUPERB!!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader "Grahem" was amazing throughout the trip. He was taking care of everybody, briefing us in the morning and providing us a lot of information on our way. I was amazed by his knowledge about all the surrounding mountains and the valleys. One of the things which I'll remember all my life about him is organizing a few uphill challenges. After his inspirational speech, everyone would jump into the challenge and enjoy it. Another great thing about him was that he was taking care of every single person. If someone would feel less motivated to walk, he would walk with him/her, talk to him/her and make him/her comfortable. He really made the whole group to walk together. It was fantastic! I also liked the fact that he did a good effort to organize a small party in a pub to celebrate Lewis' birthday. We had a great time there. We danced on Punjabi beats. We also went on to wear Punjabi turbans and danced. Amazing experience!GREAT WORK Grahem. I would love to go for any trip guided by him.One more thing: I really loved Lewis' cooking and his organization. Really a great great cook, and what a person! Awesome!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Many people do not bring walking poles with them. I think it is wise to buy a pair, as they are very helpful, especially walking downhill without putting extra pressure/load on your knees.

Suggestions

ENJOY ENJOY & ENJOY!!!

Most Inspirational Moment

The climb to the top of "The Col De Tricot" was really tough but satisfying.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Graham Hickman is a splendid chap and very knowledgeable. He has a great sense of humour and nothing was too much to organise. His support worker Lewis Bates (Doc) was excellent throughout the trip. He made some fantastic food and even picks up some excellent wine on his shopping trips for provisions.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Book it now why wait?

Suggestions

I am going back to Chamonix later this year to climb Mont Blanc....can't wait!

Most Inspirational Moment

Looking at le Grand Jorasses from our camping site with fresh snow on top eary in the morning. Brevent /Grand Balcon trail: breathtaking views of Aigille du Midi and le Mt. Blanc Massif to feed mountain addicted eyes, the retina retains more echoes than the slackliner...

Thoughts on Group Leader

Simon:Competent mountain skills (safety, ability, enjoyment), good communicator (briefing/debriefing of day) and excellent manager of interpersonal group dynamics.Ben:Good food and provision of special needs clients. Tents up and hot water without fail after a day of hiking...Thank you Simon and Ben

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be sure to check out grading/difficulty degree. Realistic estimate of own abilities to trip or any other EXODUS trip.Other than that you are in safe hands...

Suggestions

Yes, have been going nuts already. Believe you got my review on grading and group photo etc. Enjoyabel trip, moderate yes, will be looking for some more challenging options...Thank you for all the info before trip,Keep up the good team work!

Most Inspirational Moment

One really cool moment for me was getting to walk around a Roman cryptoporticus in Aosta, Italy during one of the rest days. This was my first trip to Europe, so it was my first exposure to Roman ruins. I nerded out a bit.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Simon was our guide and leader, and Ben was our logistics coordinator and cook. They were both solid guys who did their jobs well. Simply put, if you're going for a guided walk in the mountains, these are the kind of people you want to go with you. Our group had a relatively broad distribution of preferred walking speeds, and Simon dealt with it perfectly using a combination of patience and flexibility, taking care of the people toiling away in back and letting the people in front go at their own pace without getting too far afield. There was also a diverse and fairly restrictive assortment of special dietary needs that Ben was constantly scrambling to address. As far as I’m concerned, they both deserve medals for putting up with us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Mountain trails involve elevation gain and loss, so it should almost go without saying that time you invest beforehand in physical conditioning will make you a happier camper on the trail. You do not need to be an iron man by any means, but physical distress can detract from enjoyment if it is experienced over the timescale of a couple weeks.

Suggestions

Do you like frequent hot chocolate, coffee, or tea stops while you're hiking? If so, this is your kind of trip. Many of the refuges also serve delicious cake and pie. If you want to gain weight while walking 100 miles, you can make that happen.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many! A favourite day involved a walk from the Val Ferret on a quiet but stunningly beautiful route over two cols and a summit back to Courmayeur. Great views and a profusion of alpine flowers. Another highlight was the impeccable timing with which Graham got us all to the summit of Bregent on the final walking day 10 minutes before the weather closed in. A real sense of achievement for the whole group.

Thoughts on Group Leader

See above - couldn't fault either Graham or Lewis, both of whom did a superb job in their respective roles.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don't be put off by the idea of camping - it was no hardship at all, in fact quite the reverse - would really recommend it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting to the final summit and having a glass of bubbly, just awsome.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I liked Mike but I did wish at times that he would let us at the back catch up a bit more often, quite sole destroying plodding along on your own, however I  do know that he had confidence in my ability or he would have waited and he certainly made sure I had his second pole every time we desended as he never forgot that my knee was giving me some grief. I certainly trusted him and would be pleased to have him as my guide again.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Train, train and train and don't underestimate how hard it it.

Suggestions

Jane was just amazing, she put so much effort into making sure us veggies were well catered for which is a rare and very welcome treat.

Most Inspirational Moment

Reaching the numerous cols and taking in the magnificent view's coupled with a remarkable sense of personal achievement made a 65 year old very happy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

As mentioned in the first section I wish Graham and Lewis all the best in their own future careers in the coming years, they made a wonderfull team.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Ensure you are as fit both physical and mental fit for this holiday, listen to your leaders and let them set the pace.The TMB is NOT a walk in the park but I believe I have proved that good preparation leads to sucessfull achievements.

Suggestions

I personally would trust Exodus to put together a holiday that would meet my requirements, they have for my last three breaks, and now I am planning a Iceland activity for next January,

Most Inspirational Moment

After crossing the Col de Balme on day two and teetering downhill on the snow high on the mountain and then zigzagging through the woodland, there was nothing more magical for our first camp in Switzerland than La Peuty. Located on the edge of the village the rough camp spot was quiet (thankfully not the one near the cement works which other reviews have complained about) and more importantly we could sit next to a field of wild flowers in the evening with a small campfire and a well earned beer.I was very surprised about the amount of snow still around having not walked in the Alps before, but it made the trip all the better; especially on the last day and after a tough ascent of Le Brevent we could slid on bums back down to Plan Praz.   

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader Simon had a relaxed style which was great and meant that we were able to walk at our own pace and meet at specific check points (usually refuges for food and drink stops). This meant that a trip that could have felt like bootcamp still felt like a holiday.Simon also had the unfortunate task of looking after some group members feet when they suffered from blisters which i though was over and above what i would have expected from a group leader.Ben our logistics coordinator was also really great. Being the only vegetarian i expected that i would be eating similar food every day, but i ate very well and was well catered for.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get fit and break in your boots! Most walking days have around 1000m of ascent and also descent which is often quite steep. The upside is that there is always a refuge somewhere enroute to treat yourself to a coffee/hot chocolate/ cake. The Refuge Bonatti has the best hot chocolate and well worth sampling!Also, make the most of the rest days. The cable cars, especially up the Auguille de Midi are well worth the money to get close to Mont Blanc and watch alpinists on the snow. It is also very easy to find somewhere to paraglide in Chamonix on the last day.  

Suggestions

The campsites are all very good, even the two rough camps aren't really wild in that there are facilities available, just no showers. Having group tasks on the camping option - like washing up, means that getting to know one another happens right way. I am usually a purist about walking the whole of a route. However when we had to endure a long road slog from the refuge after the Grand Col de Ferret (about 7 km of road) to the camp, even i would have been grateful if the buses hadn't still been on a 'winter' timetablen and were running up the valley. Yes there are some short sections where buses are used - for us this was only on two of the days due to the bus timetables at the start of the summer season. There is also a section from Cormayeur which is missed -but then this would have been walking up a ski road so not necessarily the most enjoyable walk i imagine.  Most people who organise this trip themselves would stay at the refuges which means that by camping you are covering extra distance every day anyway to get right down to the valley floor. As such this more than makes up for the odd bus trip. The second to last day walk involved 3 cols and over 1000m of ascent and the steepest zigzagged path I've ever walked. This is marked on the map as a variant path and is more challenging than the main route, and is therefore a very rewarding acheivement, and the chance to see the glacier so close up and to cross the rope bridge across the river made it worth the effort.