Crossing of the Alps

I did once on a bicycle.

>>813876
THANK YOU ANON
Finally a real /out/ thread.

I haven't done any of these so can't help you.
How high do these routs get? How high do you expect to sleep?
By later this summer do you mean August or September? also how long do you think this kind of hike would take?

>>813882
Altitude depends on the route, my favourite the L1 goes up to 3360meters, here is more info if you speak german (you probably understand enough even if you dont)

sleeping probably depends on how warm/cold its gonna get and weather, but generallly up to 2500-3000.

Yeah around that timeframe.

I plan a month as most info would recommend, but I think I can be faster, maybe in 25 days.

You wanna go one yourself?

>>813889
forgot link
http://www.alpenquerung.info/Alpenueberquerung

We did the white line (Meran - Stubai Valley) a few years back and will do the red line (Zwieselstein - Passo del Rombo/Timmelsjoch - Gries i. Sellrain) in a few weeks.
It's not so much a complete crossing but the interesting parts with glacial crossings.

You won't have any problems with any of the routes. A normal alpine sleeping bag/pad and any 3-season tent will do. The time/day estimates are pretty casual, so if you have decent experience and endurance with alpine hiking, you shouldn't have any problems doing a 2-day tour on one day from time to time.

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>>813898
Forgot my image, duh.

Ask any questions, I'll monitor the thread for a few days.
Don't hesitate to deviate from the route and plan your own variants.
I recommend getting the Austrian Alpine Club maps, they're great. No idea about the Italian part.

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>>813876
I can recommend a Ferrino Lightent 1. Ferrino does quality products and it has a very good weight/price ratio, especially if you're a manlet like me that can fir in a tiny volume.

http://www.ferrino.it/en/catalog/tents/91144-lightent-1-tent

The only downside is that it's not self-supporting so you can't set it up on purely rocky ground.

>>813876
I always cross the alps on elephants.

>>813898
oh nice,
what time of the year did you go and what temperatures do I have to expect when camping on the higher parts, did you sleep in a tent? The things I'm not sure about yet are things like where and how often to resupply, tho I asume you didnt have to do that for your trip. Do you think most villages have some sort of shop where I can get food?

>>813901
Looks good, but I'm not sure if 3000mm is enough for the groundmaterial during possible longer periods of rain

>>813889
>sleeping probably depends on how warm/cold its gonna get and weather, but generallly up to 2500-3000.

Sounds like pretty much any 3 season tent would do, which one to choose depends on your budget and how much do you care about weight vs robustness.

>I plan a month as most info would recommend, but I think I can be faster, maybe in 25 days.
Woah, didn't think it's that long just by looking at the map. I do plan to go to the Alps in September so I'll have a better clue of what that place is then.

Sounds like a lot of fun mate.

>>813924
>The things I'm not sure about yet are things like where and how often to resupply, tho I asume you didnt have to do that for your trip. Do you think most villages have some sort of shop where I can get food?

better good this shit online. Alps have a lot of villages, so if you pre-plan your re-supply stops in places with decent supermarkets it would be both cheaper and your diet more diverse.

Try to get bread and veggies in the smaller places.

>>813924
I use it with a 55 grams survival foil blanket underneath so rain isn't a problem.

>>813924
>what time of the year did you go
late August/September, I don't remember.
>and what temperatures do I have to expect when camping on the higher parts
Hard to say because it depends on a lot of factors: exposure to wind/how much sun the spot gets, if there's snow/ice in the vicinity, altitude and weather.
You should equip yourself for -10 °C I'd say.

>did you sleep in a tent?
Yes, tent, biwakschachteln, and once we asked some farmer near belpatro if we can sleep in a firewood cabin.

>The things I'm not sure about yet are things like where and how often to resupply, tho I asume you didnt have to do that for your trip.

It took us 6 days and we carried all food ourselves without resupplying- together with the rest of the equipment it was about 15kg. This time with ice axes, rope, harnesses, crampons, etc we expect ~20kg, so we limit ourselves to 800m ascent per day.

>Do you think most villages have some sort of shop where I can get food?
Usually they have, but not food that is specifically nutritious per gram per €. You'll fare better if you take care of that before, but you'll have to carry it all from the beginning. Another option is to eat on the Alpine Club cabins. But that will cost you, of course.
In either case, pre-plan your supply stops, research local holidays/opening hours and include a few alternatives.

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>>814035
>You should equip yourself for -10 °C I'd say.
Thats actually a bit colder than I thought, good to know

>It took us 6 days and we carried all food ourselves without resupplying- together with the rest of the equipment it was about 15kg. This time with ice axes, rope, harnesses, crampons, etc we expect ~20kg, so we limit ourselves to 800m ascent per day.
I read that I would only need small crampons as the glacier is easy without cravasses. did you really need all that equipment? maybe I'll just take an alternative route to save myself that weight.

>You'll fare better if you take care of that before, but you'll have to carry it all from the beginning.
My trip might might take up to 30 days, so carrying all from from the beginning is to heavy for me.
I think about trying to always get one week worth of food to carry (depending on the next resupply stop), I think that might be the least heavy option overall.

Also how was the weather for you if you still remember?

>>814685
>did you really need all that equipment?
We didn't at all on the white route. We will on the red route in a few weeks, which was specifically chosen by us because of all the glacier crossing.

Neither the red nor the white route has anything to do with the European long distance hiking trails you're thinking about doing.
The terrain is similar and it's next to each other, but if you follow the trails you outlined in the OP, you won't need glacier equipment.
I just mentioned it so you understand the conditions of my trip.

>My trip might might take up to 30 days, so carrying all from from the beginning is to heavy for me.

>how was the weather for you if you still remember?
A nice partly cloudy 25°C day
30°C sunshine at 3000m, to torrential rain until after dark,
Warm and fuzzy Sunshine again,
Exhausting 1700m in 35°C with clear skies to sleeping at -10°C and waking up in high fog
Nice day with dusk at a gentle ~15°C at 3400m, to ~5°C descent at night.

>>814696
whoops, forgot to reply to the second point
>My trip might might take up to 30 days, so carrying all from from the beginning is to heavy for me.
Yeah, that's definitely not feasible. I'd carry food for around 3 to max 5 days if I were you.
The less you carry, the more you have to go back down into the valleys and climb back up to the trail, losing time and energy.
The more you carry, the slower you will be and the more monotone your diet will be (as you will have to carry stuff that lasts long and weights less per calorie).

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I advise you to do the purple route I drew on pic related.
The purple part north of lake garda is really hilly though, but in my opinion much more beautiful, the black one is mostly flat and industrial tbqh


I'm from the region

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>>814696
>Nice day with dusk at a gentle ~15°C at 3400m

>>814696
Ok so I'll leave my climbing at home. What you are doing sounds fun, but I think my trip sounds hard enough and I have only limited high alpine experince. I think that wouldnt be the time to gather it.

>I'd carry food for around 3 to max 5 days if I were you.
That sounds like a good plan, I'll aim for that.

>Exhausting 1700m in 35°C with clear skies to sleeping at -10°C and waking up in high fog
What kind of sleeping bag did you carry? I have a -5°C Down (1kg) and a +10°C Synthetic (0,7kg), so I'll probably go for the down bag with liner and merino layer to add warmth if needed

>>814719
thanks I'll definitely consider that. Are you from that are/Did you do that part?

>>815281
This one:

https://www.amazon.at/Salewa-Schlafsack-DIADEM-MICRO-250/dp/B00260GKUG

>Tcomfort: +12° Tlimit: +8° Textreme: -4°
>ca. 800 g

I feel a bit cold some nights, but it's the only sleeping bag I have, so I just deal with it.

>I have a -5°C Down (1kg) and a +10°C Synthetic (0,7kg)
I'd carry the Down bag if I were you.

>>815281
I'm from northern lake garda

Also just a reminder that in Italy you can't camp, expecially in the park you will cross (but probably nobody will ever find you at night).

Also in September the rain/fog is very common, so prepare to be wet.

>>815590
Same thing in Austria and Germany, especially in the national parks.

But as it has been mentioned, it shouldn't be a problem if you'll act reasonable.
In either case, you should definitely try to camp above the treeline.

>>815602

No you should not, because weather is very dangerous above treeline in that area.
Nobody cares in austria or germany if you are just camping in the woods, as long as you don´t litter or start giant bonfires.
By the way OP should take the blue path.

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>>815602
>>816102
Yeah I thought below treeline is warmer, safer and easier to hide. I am a student so money is limited, but I'm working soon so I can afford some nights in a hut if necessary.

>By the way OP should take the blue path.
Have you done it? I heard its somewhat crowded during summer.

>>816520
Op, where are you from?

>>816672
About half an hour south of munich

>>813879
And Hannibal did it with Elephants...

>>816520

>Have you done it?

Not all of it, but parts, i do live in the area in austria. But taking this path will give you many different landscapes to hike through, that´s why i recommended it.

>crowded during summer

Depends on what you call crowded and where you are, but most of the time you will be alone. Best time is june to mid-july, weather gets bad and dangerous around beginning of august.

>money is limited

As long as you stay below tree line, you should not visit any hut, because they are there to make cash with the tourists, stay away, you will not like it. There are millions of places to camp everywhere. A medium sleeping bag or even a blanket and a tarp are enough, as long as you travel in june and stay below treeline.
As i already said noone cares, as long as you don´t litter or start giant bonfires.

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>>813876
Read a story about a guy who did once.

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>>818233
>But taking this path will give you many different landscapes to hike through
Yeah I guess there is a reason it is so popular, I heard it is beautiful

>Best time is june to mid-july, weather gets bad and dangerous around beginning of august.
I guess weather was shit up to this point, too. Do you think I should wait til september or late august rather than trying in the next 1-2 weeks?
>A medium sleeping bag or even a blanket and a tarp are enough
So you say this one is sufficient? https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0012K4XJQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

>>820230

>I heard it is beautiful

It is and even if you don´t follow the exact pass, it is beautiful all around.

>I guess weather was shit up to this point, too.

This year really was special, normally we have much less rain and higher temperatures.

>wait til september

Normally, the first two weeks of september are fine too, but this year i would not bet on that. August is in no way a month to consider for this area. You don´t need to take the whole trip at once, try september for two weeks and you can go on in june where you stopped. The mountains will still be there, so better not haste, because you would miss much of the beauty if you rush through.

>So you say this one is sufficient?

I am no expert in this kind of gear, i use a woolen blanket or two and an old cotton tarp. But i would not buy it because it seems to be real shitty quality and absolutely not suitable for the alps. Don´t take this trip lightly, better ask in a shop for proper gear. With medium i meant something that goes down to 0 degree, which you will need.
And buy proper shoes, that are padded and reach over the ankles, there will be many fields of rocks to cross. Shoes are the most important article for this trip.

Take a look at the alpenvereinaktiv.com App. It has all the paths that you could possible stumble upon and can also be used for navigation or rerouting and planning a stage. You can also use it via their website and synch it with the App if you are registered. (You can download the map sections so you don't need service)

-You should also wait for the end of the "Hundstage" because they bring thunderstorms with them and they're surely one of your main problems if you're sleeping in a tent.

-Supplies are rather easy to get. Every small village has a store where you can get food, if you're far away from the next village, go to a hut and ask if you can buy something off them. Some farmers also might be happy if you buy something directly off them.

-You'll not likely experience nights under 0°C when you plan your stages well.

You should really consider joining the DAV, as you can enjoy the many benefits of the mountain huts in the regions. AFAIK it also comes with insurance and only costs about 50€ if you join after July 1.

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>>820454
>You don´t need to take the whole trip at once, try september for two weeks and you can go on in june where you stopped.
I know, but its kind of a novelty thing and I will have a week of beach holiday down there with some friends, so I have to get down anyway.

>Shoes are the most important article for this trip.
Would you recommend gaiters? I have good broken in shoes.

>>822271
>You should also wait for the end of the "Hundstage"
Yeah looks like I have to anyway for different reasons.

>Supplies are rather easy to get.
Good to hear, thats kinda my only concern

>You'll not likely experience nights under 0°C when you plan your stages well.
I know its stupid, but I often prefer to just get out and go instead of preplanning everything to the last detail. Just makes it feel a lot more adventurous.

>>822337
>You should really consider joining the DAV
Yes, I did about three days ago, cost me 30€ for this year as I am only 21

>>822833
Gaiters are not needed. Are you going alone btw? I'd join you for a stage or 2 if I didn't have to work.

>>822841
Most likely alone, yeah. A friend who also joins the holiday later says he is interested, but I doubt he is capable or really wants to. Feel free to join for a few days, I probably have to arrange this trip on short notice tho. Uni, Work and the week after are still not really planned out yet.

Has anyone done it from Lake Geneva to Nice?
The GR5 route?

We are planning to do a week and not sure how much we can cover.

>>823651
haven't done it, but 7 days with around 15-20km depending on terrain and heightmeters should give you 100-150km