ALPINE GUIDING

There is an alpine kit list on the blog, which you can see if you follow the link here.

You will need to get yourself good travel and rescue insurance. The BMC insurance is very comprehensive and covers both travel and rescue, The Austrian Alpine Club do a basic rescue insurance. Both of these will also get you a club membership discount in the huts. We strongly recommend that you have insurance that will cover any costs in the event that you cannot attend the trip due to injury or illness.

The Alps have a unique network of refuges which often have a great atmosphere, delicious food and allow easy access to the climbing. We will spend several nights staying in these huts with a few nights in valley accommodation too.

The daily rate for Alpine guiding starts at £530. All the guides expenses such as accommodation, food, lifts and transport costs will also have to be covered on top of this.

The guide will have a vehicle and will meet you at the start of the week at an agreed location, you may need to get public transport to that location. The guide will then provide any transport during the week.

The summer alpine season extends from mid June to mid September with the first six weeks being best for routes relying on snow or complex glacial approaches. Later in the summer rock routes are better.

Hut costs for yourself and the guide which are often around £70 pp for half board.

Any valley accommodation and food costs for yourself and the guide.

Uplift for yourself and the guide, this can be up to £150 pp for a lift like the Jungfrau lift or there may be none at all.

Fuel and car parking costs.

All guiding is carried out at a max ratio of 1:2, but any long and technical routes are guided at 1:1, such as The Matterhorn and The Eiger. If you have a larger team, then more guides will be required.