I'm sure you've heard a good many of us talking about climbing in the Alps and the fun that entails...

As a club we don't actually run a trip, but if you are thinking of going then speak up! as it is possible to find people looking to go at the same sort of times as you.

Now the Alps are actually quite big and scary places, so if you are thinking of mountaineering then I definatly recommend you take a course - even if you have winter mountaineered/done some sort of mountaineering before.

As Martin and Starley have already mentioned, there is a course commonly used by this club .... Conville!
The conville course is an alpine mountaineering course put on by plas y brenin (the best), approved by the BMC, and subsidised for a number of students by the Conville trust.

The deadline for applications is April 18th
So if you are thinking of applying, or want more information go to this website - http://www.pyb.co.uk/courses/conville.php

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Mountain sec .... once upon a time

The Alps is a good laugh.

Conville is £60 (plus some lift passes) for three days instruction in a group of three with a mountain guide, and so terrific value compared to other courses. It should include an Alpine peak as well (as long as the weather isn't pants) which is pretty cool.

There is also a load of easily accessible sport climbing, and various longer rock routes both trad and sport at various altitudes.

Chamonix also has numerous bars, and wine is cheap in France. French language skills are not vital.

Unfortunatly inflation has even hit the alps.
conville is £68 this year!

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Mountain sec .... once upon a time

how much were flights and acomodation when you went before?

Sounds sexual, count me in for that.

As for mountaineering..ehh..not so much. Summer should = warmth!

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Developing Nicely.

there can be a lot of warmth involved in alpine mountaineering!

as for getting there, i havent flown, but looking at coaches it seems to be about £150 return - you will have to find a way of getting there that suits you, just remember that flying you have quite a weight restriction!
accomodation = camping which is pretty cheap
dont forget that insurance will be another cost as well though

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Mountain sec .... once upon a time

How feasible is driving?

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Developing Nicely.

petrol would be alot!

actually we are considering driving this year as petrol is cheaper in france. there are peage tolls to pay but it seems that it will cost the same amount as getting there any other way - just a v.long way to drive. its how i'v always got there.

gareth - you have to be 21 to drive in france im afraid!

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Mountain sec .... once upon a time

In a car of 4 of you it would probably work out cheaper, I went paddling nearby there last year, was 3000miles in total, but only 2000 of them where getting there and back. Tolls are around 80 euros (?) each way (to Briancon where we went) but you could avoid them if you didn't mind a couple of hours extra driving (we accidentally, due to a slight error in map reading, went through belgium and luxembourg instead which turned out not much longer and had no toll roads). Our ferry was £40 return with 4 of us in the car with norfolk line.

I was estimating a cost for going this year in my car at £130 each, as an overestimate, (inc: fuel, ferry, tolls, insurance for extra drivers, breakdown cover and a decent enough contribution to wear and tear), however to go climbing would be cheaper - you'd do not far off 1000 less miles I imagine (we where there for 3 weeks and paddling involves a lot of extra driving around) and obv not having boats on the roof would reduce the fuel costs.

My car is a diesel, which is what the above is worked out on, and is the better option - diesel is much cheaper in france whereas petrol is about the same price as it is over here.

Sorry about the long post... just trying to offer my experiance re driving there!

Petrol is the same price (unless it's dropped a lot in the last 8 months since I was there!), however diesel is a lot cheaper



This is a myth... you need to be over 18 with a driving license. Your own insurer may impose limits or something, but there's no legal over 21 requirement.

Again, sexual.

Was just thinking that a car would be useful for getting around once you're there rather than having to rely on buses or, shudder, walk.

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Developing Nicely.

a car would make life easier when you were there & would mean you could save money if you're up in the mountains for a few days by throwing your stuff in the car and not having to pay mad bernard for camping while you're not there. If the weather was rubbish it'd also be possible to run to somewhere sunny.

My flights last year cost about £50 i think, transfers arent that expensive and are quite frequent for geneva to cham

Theres a good arguement for and against cars. We had a fab time when we were in the Alps carless, the bus system is excellent (I also dont do buses, so that fact that I am saying this is quite something). There can be a bit of a hassle worrying about leaving the car etc.

That said we're driving this year, mainly for flexibility.

The weather when we were there was however fantastic, cars become fantastic if it rains and then you can drive to the dolomites etc.

Summer mountaineering is fabulous (if done with people other than Martin Lane), June and early July are excellent times for snow routes, after that you are starting to push it slightly!

Apparently easy jet is now flying from brum to geneva, so you wouldnt have to fly from london/bristol making travelling easier!

I paid about £60 for my flights 3 years ago transfer from geneva on the public bus is 42 swiss francs or somthing (£30 or so) but is open so easy, camping is about 5euros a night i think and you get a free bus pass for up and down the valley if you camp then its just cost of food and lift passes can be expensive but you dont use them everyday by any means so thats only a once/twice thing of about 25 euros or something.

alps is brilliant, but still havent made it back since 1st year