2007 was Michael’s 50th birthday and our 25th anniversary. Our family likes to celebrate in grand style whenever the celebratory year is divisible by 5, and since both 50 and 25 are divisible by 5, there was no other excuse but to comply with tradition. The Great Alpine Traverse fitted neatly into the plan. This was our extended 19 days hiking trip in Europe, visiting 5 countries (France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany) hiking in the Alps. Some of the trip’s highlights included witnessing our first ever alpenglow in Switzerland (see picture above), traversing a huge glacier next to the Matterhorn, and sampled many fine European cuisine.

Major Destination Points over 19 days

The Great Alpine Traverse is actually the name of an outfitter tour run by Wilderness Travel (www.wildernesstravel.com). The company made all arrangements ahead of time, including all transportation and meals. We hiked between 5 to 10 miles a day, and our overnight lodging ranged from staying in remote mountain huts and Michelin 3 star hotels. Transportation consisted mainly of trains (e.g. the famous Glacier Express crossing Switzerland), buses and networks of gondola rides. The map above shows the clusters of locations we visited, the journey went from west to east, concentrating in three major areas: the high Italian and Swiss Alps, the Engadin Valley and the Austrian Alps. The best part about this arrangement was the use of a shuttle van to take care of our luggage. When we hiked from one town to another, the luggage would be transported by one of the guides, waiting for us at the arrival destination. If we had to do this on our own, we would have to go back to point of origin to retrieve our luggage before moving on. The guides also had to make alternate plans to account for rain out days. The Wilderness Travel arrangement saved days off the itinerary.