- 63 guided days
- 39 clients
- 3 countries
- 27 different summits reached
- Handful of alpine routes ticked
- A bunch of new alpine skills learned
- Roughly 200 cold beers enjoyed (a collective effort, not just myself and Charlie)
This summer was like none I have experienced before.
With the unpredictability of the pandemic in spring, we decided to offer all of our booked clients the option to postpone to a later date or receive a refund. I think it was so important for us to be clear in our messaging from the beginning to make our clients feel reassured that a) their money is safe with us and b) we’d be ready to welcome them when they are able to travel again.
As restrictions eased in July we were so pleased to see many of our clients hungry for adventure and head out to the Alps at the earliest opportunity. In July we welcomed Josh, Rebecca, Doug, Mark and Nathan for some fun mountaineering routes around Chamonix and our popular Mont Blanc trip. We wanted to ease ourselves into the season and not over promise our offering, given things were still a bit uncertain with travel.
Kenton and Fabio with our first Mont Blanc group of the summer
In August we welcomed Gary and David for two days of alpine skills and progression, Jackson and Chris over in Switzerland in the Monte Rosa range and the two Henry’s, Beth and Petra on our re-jigged Matterhorn trip. Some local restrictions in place in France meant that we focused our attention on the Swiss Alps, thanks to the flexibility of our clients and guides. I mean, who doesn’t want to spend a few extra nights in Zermatt?
Chris and Jackson on our Monte Rosa trip
September was our busiest month, all things considered, as restrictions eased and we ran back to back Mont Blanc trips as well as a Tour du Mont Blanc trek with Mark and his friends to celebrate his 40th birthday, and we had Mike and Penny out on a re-jigged Monte Rosa trip with some stunning summits reached. We finished the month with our superstar Beth who was back for more mountaineering in the Swiss Alps. We lost count of the summits she bagged with our guide Pablo, and she’s now got her eye on all 82 4000m peaks in the Alps. What a champ!
Beth summit bagging in Switzerland
Considering we thought all our trips this year would need to be scrapped, I’m super proud of our team, our guides and all of our amazing clients, for the patience, understanding and flexibility shown to salvage a good portion of the summer alpine season.
Hope you all stay safe during these current lockdowns and we’re looking forward to many more adventures in 2021.
See you in the mountains soon.
Olly