The mountain clothing you’ll need for treking the Tour de Mont Blanc
October 30, 2011 by HeatherCowper
Filed under France, Leisure, Misc, Nature, Tour de Mont Blanc, Travel products, video, Walking
Forgive me if you’re a seasoned long distance walker who already has all the gear to set off on a mountain trek like the Tour de Mont Blanc. If you’re an occasional walker like me, however, you may find it useful to know which pieces of mountain clothing are worth the investment and which will only get worn once or twice.
Having walked part of the Tour de Mont Blanc two years running, I had a much better idea this second year of what I should pack for my trek in the mountains. Bearing in mind that you’ll need to carry everything with you (no Sherpas in the Alps), the trick is to take just the right things and no more. Here are the things that earned their keep in my backpack;
Dressed for the start of our walk on the Tour de Mont Blanc
Essential clothing for walking the Tour de Mont Blanc
Walking Boots – It goes without saying that you’ll need a comfortable pair of walking boots with good ankle support. So long as you’ve worn these in and are sure they won’t give you any trouble, this could be all the footwear that you need while you’re up on the mountain trails, although when you come down to the valley you might want some lightweight trainer style shoes. All the refuges that we stayed at provided slippers or plastic clogs to wear inside the refuge. If not you can pad around in your…
Walking socks – I always treat myself to a couple of new pairs for a trip like this. I found 2 pairs was enough for the 3 days we were walking, I might stretch it to 3 if I was doing the whole 12 day trail but the trick is not to over-pack but to rinse out and dry overnight if they’re getting too smelly. I also had some lightweight cotton socks for wearing in the refuge at night. And of course for the changeable mountain weather you’ll need a good…
Waterproof Jacket – Mine was a rather fetching cream Gore Tex jacket which I got from Ellis Brigham who specialise in mountain and outdoor clothing including womens waterproof jackets like mine. It packed up quite small but was substantial enough to keep off the morning and evening chill when you get up to altitude. I loved the cream colour, although my husband urged me to choose a more practical colour and I’ve found that you can easily wash it when it gets grubby. My jacket has plenty of zip pockets and a hood with visor that zips away into the neck when not in use. My last waterproof jacket saw me through a trip into the rain-forest of Ecuador 3 years ago and has been earning it’s keep ever since, so I have high hopes that this new one will last me a few years until I can finish the whole Tour de Mont Blanc.
I hope you enjoy the video below about what to wear for a walk in the Mountains on the Tour de Mont Blanc
If you can’t see the video above, please view it on my blog
Walking trousers – I took one pair of walking trousers, also from Ellis Brigham that were made of a quick-drying, lightweight fabric with a comfortable waist and zips on the legs to make them into shorts. I wore the same pair every day, only changing on arrival at the mountain huts in the evening. You should avoid heavy cotton trousers or (God forbid) jeans what will mark you out as a fair-weather walker, leave you soggy if there’s any rain and take ages to dry. Like my jacket, the trousers had lots of useful pockets for lip salve, maps and cameras. And on your top half you’ll need…
Walking t-shirts – I walked in a stretchy running t-shirt that I already owned, but if you’re buying anything specially, look for the lightweight, quick-drying fabric or specially treated Merino wool that is ideal for walking as it wicks away sweat and keeps you cool. I did alternate with a running vest but it’s probably preferable to wear t-shirts that cover your shoulders to avoid any painful sunburn if the sun is out, or you’ll spend all your time slapping on the sun cream. Of course if you’re not so lucky with the weather and it pours with rain you’ll need some…
Waterproof trousers – on both my trips, these were the least used item in my backpack, but then we were walking in August and were blessed with sunshine for most of the time. I did, however, hear tales of walkers who had bad weather for several days in a row and in this case your waterproof trousers will keep you comfortable and dry. Unless you do a lot of walking, I personally wouldn’t invest a lot of money in waterproof trousers, but would buy something inexpensive that will pack up small, but still do the job of keeping you dry.
Walking the Tour de Mont Blanc
Clothes to wear in the mountain huts on the Tour de Mont Blanc
When you arrive at your mountain refuge, the etiquette is to remove your boots at the door and you will normally be offered some slippers or plastic clogs to wear inside. Typically you would shower before dinner (if the refuge has a shower – some of the more remote ones don’t) and then change into your refuge wear which for me was….
Stretchy running trousers – these were comfortable, quick to dry and could double up for walking if necessary and I also wore a…
Lightweight cotton t-shirt that I kept just for the refuge and only put on after I had showered, so it didn’t get too sweaty.
My refuge outfit doubled up as pyjamas as I discovered that the sleeping arrangements were mostly communal with men and women sleeping together, sometimes in large dorms, so it was a bit pointless to pack your pretty nightwear. To keep warm I also had…
2 fleece tops – One was a zip front mid-weight fleece that I also wore when walking if I was cold, the other a lightweight long sleeve fleece t-shirt that would go over a short sleeve t-shirt. I found last year that I under-estimated how cold it could be in the evening at altitude in the mountain refuges, so I found that 2 fleeces that could be layered kept me cosy.
What I packed for our Tour de Mont Blanc Walk
You can see the contents of my rucksack laid on the bed in the photo above and the list of what I packed below (bearing in mind that we were only walking for 3 days, rather than the whole 12 day tour)
Clothing
Walking boots, 1 pair Walking trousers, 1 pair jogging bottoms, 2 quick drying t-shirts, 1 light cotton t-shirt, 1 long sleeve fleece t-shirt, 1 mid weight zip front fleece, 2 pairs walking socks, 1 pair light cotton socks, 1 pair waterproof trousers, sunhat, underwear
Other stuff
TMB walking guide, TMB map, miniature medical kit, small size toiletries, tissues, wet wipes, suncream, camping towel, silk sheet sleeping bag, camera, video recorder, audio recorder, mobile, enough cash for our whole walk, walking poles.
My thanks to Ellis Brigham for providing some of the clothing I used for this year’s walk. I highly recommend them for mountain and outdoor clothing, with shops in the UK and an online store. You can follow them on Twitter @ellis_brigham and on the Ellis Brigham Facebook Page with Videos on Youtube and on the Ellis Brigham blog.
More tales from the Tour de Mont Blanc
What I packed for my mini Tour de Mont Blanc 2010 – video
My second year on the Tour de Mont Blanc – video diary 2011
Tour de Mont Blanc 2011 Day 2 – Col de Balme to Champex
www.flickr.com
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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home
You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey
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Capturing the journey – a beginner’s guide to travel photography – e-book review
September 20, 2011 by Heather
Filed under featured, Media, Misc, Travel products
If you love to take travel photos and want to improve your shots without getting bogged down in technical details or weighed down with heavy camera equipment, then this e-book – Capturing the journey, a Beginner’s guide to the Basics of Travel Photography could be for you. Read on for my review;
If you’re a regular at Heather on her travels, you’ll know that I love to use photos from my travels to add some colour and bring my travel tales to life. Even though I’m an avid travel photographer, I wouldn’t consider myself to be a very technically advanced one and my trusty Panasonic Lumix is invariably set on auto as I don’t really know what to do with the other settings. It turns out that this e-book from Darin Rogers on Capturing the journey, a Beginner’s guide to the Basics of Travel Photography, is perfect for enthusiasts like me who don’t want to be baffled by f-stops and exposure settings.
First impressions are of this e-book are good – the wonderful images hit you in the eye before you’ve even started reading the text and this e-book is gorgeous to look at, beautifully designed and full of colourful and inspirational images. If this book can get me taking photos only half as good as Darin’s then I’m sold!
In his introduction, Darin sets out his belief that great photography is more about technique and vision than about fancy camera equipment and as someone working without the benefit of an expensive camera and ten different lenses, this is music to my ears. This e-book is not for the budding professional but for those who want to take great pictures to share with family and friends, whatever camera you have.
The book covers a number of key photography topics such as;
- Composition – how to effectively compose an image
- Subjects – how to capture more than the everyday tourist shots
- Light – how and when to find good lighting
- After the photo – editing, sharing and what to do with your photos once you get back home
- Links and resources to help you find the inspiration, information and equipment you need to take better photos
Photography Composition
In this section, you’ll cover the basics of composition, such as the rule of thirds where you divide your photo frame into thirds, both vertically and horizontally and then place the focal point of your composition at the intersection point of these thirds. Put simply it means placing your subject a bit off centre, which is somehow more satisfying to the eye. Another technique is to frame your subject within the surroundings and provide interest in both the foreground and the distance of the shot, such as the ice cave framing climbers roping up for the ascent.
The viewer’s eye can be drawn into the photo by the using lines such as architectural elements in buildings or other objects that create patterns in the photos – for example, the lines of a bridge running at an angle to the decorative iron railings underneath. Other trick is to vary the viewpoint – get down and look up or get up and point the camera down, such as Darin’s colourful shot of revellers, shot from above, enjoying a water fight at the Sonkran festival in Thailand.
Photography Subjects
Photographer’s Light
The best time for photographing landscapes or cityscapes is the golden hour of early morning or late afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky and the light not as harsh. Mid-day is not the best time generally as the sun overhead will cast harsh shadows which are unflattering for people although there may be opportunities to capture contrasts of light and dark in the shot which could give interesting results. Cloudy days can also give soft light that produces great photographs as long as you can take shots that don’t need to have that blue sky in them.
Other tips to get a better shot
Darin gives advice about camera support that might help you avoid the shaky or blurry shot from a lightweight tripod, to a tripod that wraps around objects such as a pole or railing, or just a small bean bag that can help you get the right camera position. There are some other useful tips, such as taking a second to move away from any unwanted items that will distract the eye, like the rubbish bin or lone tree branch. Other useful tips are to make sure that your horizon is straight and change your camera orientation to suit the subject – although I for one can’t ever see myself reading the camera manual, however useful it might prove.
When you get home
The final sections of this e-book cover what you might do with your photos once taken and the importance of editing down your collection. In these days of digital photography we have the luxury of taking literally thousands of photos and then picking the best 50 for your album. I do this myself by choosing around 1 in 3 of my photos to upload to my Flickr account and then choosing 1 in 3 of those to upload to my Facebook or Google + photo albums.
There is advice on photo hosting sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and Smugmug which have both free and professional options for uploading your photos. From sites such as these, it’s easy to create slide shows and products and there are other online resources that enable you to make books and other products from your photos. Darin also includes a section with links to recommended photography websites for inspiration, reviews and camera equipment.
My recommendation
With plenty of jargon free tips and advice to improve your photography, illustrated by 50 pages of inspirational photos, I think this e-book is worth the $10 that Darin is charging. Capturing the journey – a Beginner’s Guide to the Basics of Travel Photography, is aimed at the beginner to intermediate photographer who doesn’t want to be dazzled with technical details and settings but wants to get better photos without having to invest in lots of expensive camera equipment.
However, if you are the sort of person who’s already read the camera manual, owns a camera with more than one lens or want to get more into the technical aspects of improving your photographs, then you’ve probably gone beyond what this book can offer.
I found this book offers loads of ideas that I’d like to put into practice in my travel photos; the idea of getting up close to the subject to capture interesting textures and shapes or of getting up high to get a different angle, as well as finding ways to make familiar landmarks look fresh again. Above all I love the colour in Darin’s photography which zings out and makes me want to get out there and travel the world.
If you are interested in Darin’s photography e-book, Capturing the journey – a Beginner’s Guide to the Basics of Travel Photography, you can purchase it here. The cost is $10 and for any books that you buy through the links on this page, I will receive a commission which will help support this blog.
You can also connect with Darin Rogers at his website, Darin Rogers Photography
Happy snapping!
This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home
You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey
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My trip to Alexandria & Siwa with My Vacation iPhone app
May 29, 2011 by HeatherCowper
Filed under Africa, Egypt, Misc, Travel products, video, World
I’ll admit to being a late starter where iPhones are concerned. While every blogger in the world seemed to have one, I dithered at the expense, until one day my husband took matters into his own hands and just bought me one. Now my iPhone is my constant companion, we’ve been on holiday together and although it wasn’t love at first sight, I think it’ll be a long term relationship.
Since an iPhone is nothing without a few apps to play with, when I was asked to review the My Vacation iPhone app from Jasper apps I decided to give it a go on my recent trip to Egypt.
The My Vacation iPhone app allows you to create a mini blog of your journey and share it with your friends and family. You choose your theme, set up your trip, and then each day you can write a mini journal on your iPhone. Add some photos that you’ve just taken on the iPhone, or maybe even some audio if you’re feeling daring. Behind the scenes a map is created from the location of the photo, so that you can see where you where you took it and later see the whole map of your journey.
If you take the time to build up the record each day, by the end you have a cool record of your trip that you can show friends in a slide show with commentary on your phone.
All that is fun to share at the end of the trip, but to be honest I wouldn’t be making the effort if it weren’t for the fact that there are multiple ways to share the record that you’ve created. For instance you can e-mail the record of each day or several days to friends and family, send one of the photos as a cute email ‘postcard’, export the whole set of photos to your Flickr account, or send the photos as Tweets. If you have a WordPress or Blogger blog you can also send the journal to create a new post, and you can see the results at the bottom of this article.
I haven’t covered the features exhaustively, for instance you can also use the app to make lists before you go, but these are the features that I found useful and enjoyed. It was fun to e-mail my husband & kids a visual account of what I’d done that day, or to send friends a ‘postcard’, and just this weekend I was showing my parents the slideshow on my iPhone.
I also think the map feature is really cool – if you click on the map links in the blog post at the bottom you’ll see what I mean. It’s a bit spooky to get the close-up satellite view of the place I was standing when I took the shots - better make sure you don’t mind revealing your whereabouts or you’d be found out big time.
Downsides? Obviously if you’re in the middle of the desert in Western Egypt the free wifi is not on every street corner, and with my roaming switched off I couldn’t be quite as spontaneous as I might have liked, but had to wait until I got back to the hotel to do my sharing. Also I noticed that when I took a few new pictures, the app didn’t access them until I turned the phone off and on again.
On the blogging front, the way that the content was imported into my site wasn’t that attractive, but there would be nothing to stop me doing a quick bit of editing to make it pretty before publication. Take a look below and see what you think.
Still for £1.79 I’m hardly complaining. If you’re really skint you can download the free lite version and give it a try first, and this will allow you to set up one trip with up to 15 photos, then upgrade if you like it.
As a blogger, who’s already photographing, audio recording, shooting video and scribbling notes in between, I did find it was a bit arduous to remember to do it all again on the iPhone app. But then I don’t represent most travellers, for whom this could become their mini blog of the trip. That said I’ll definitely use the app on future trips as a way to send updates to friends and family and the ability to upload photos directly to my Flickr account without any wires is alone worth it’s weight in gold to me.
My Vacation apps to giveway
JasperApps kindly gave me a couple of free apps to give a way, so if you’d like one please leave a comment at the bottom and in a week or so I’ll choose 2 of you at random to send a free download code and give the app a try. If you can’t wait then it’ll only cost you £1.79 anyway.
I was not paid to do this review but Jasper Apps kindly gave me a free app to try & a couple to give away.
Where you can get the My Vacation iPhone App
My Vacation iPhone app on iTunes
Jasper Apps website
Take a look at the video below covering the My Vacation iPhone app features
And here’s how it came out as a blog post
Alexandria, Matrouh , Siwa, El Alamein
Sat 07 May – Sat 14 May
Day 1 – Off To The Airport
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Just off to the airport
Flying Egyptair from Heathrow to Cairo and on to Alexandria. Will get there after midnight.
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On the coach to Heathrow [Map] |
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Egyptair through Cairo to Alexandria [Map] |
Day 2 – Arrived In Alexandria
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Had a relaxing morning staying with my friend who works and lives in Alexandria.
Then I went downtown to meet a fascinating English gentleman called Gordon who knows everything about the architecture and history of Alexandria.
He took me around the old Italian and Turkish quarters where all the buildings are crumbling and through the different areas of the market with each street selling something different, from stationary to party decorations to fruit and finally the jewellery street. Most of the shops were closed on Sunday but I still managed to find one that was open and chose a pretty necklace.
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The Majestic Hotel where the we’re E.M.Forster sta [Map] |
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Into the part of the souk where they sell everythi [Map] |
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A lunch of Meze and kebabs in Tahir square [Map] |
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This dried root is made into a drink that gives wo [Map] |
Day 3 – On the coast at Matrouh
Matrouh
Monday, 9 May 2011
Set off early for the 3 hour drive along the coast west to Matrouh, a resort that’s a very popular holiday resort for Egyptians, especially those from Alexandria.
On the way we passed many separate developments of holiday houses, each with slightly different designs but all built closely together between the busy main coast road and the sea. Every so often there was a gap where you could see what the desert was like before the building boom.
We reached Matrouh in good time and checked into the Beau Rivage Hotel, a resort style hotel beside the sea on the edge of town. In high season it would be packed but in May it was pretty deserted even though the sun was hot, the pool inviting and the sea a clear turquoise.
Later we drove into town and found a fish restaurant where the fish was all laid out on ice for is to choose what looked most fresh – it was all locally caught. Then we finished the evening in a cafe catching up on the emails using the free wifi surrounded by men (not a woman in sight) sitting on pink and purple plastic chairs smoking shisha pipes. Most incongruous.
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On the private beach at our hotel [Map] |
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The pool at Beau Rivage Hotel [Map] |
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My room at Beau Rivage [Map] |
Day 4 – On To Siwa
Siwa
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Drove on through the desert to the oasis at Siwa where wells and springs have created a number of lakes and a green oasis in the middle of the desert.
We checked in to the Siwa Safari Gardens hotel which proved to be a mini oasis within the Oasis with palm trees in the garden and a swimming pool fed from the spring.
We took a drive around some of the sites and saw the temple that Alexander the great had visited and then on to Cleopatra’s spring, a round pool fed by a spring with gas bubbling up through the green water. We sat in the open air cafe beside the spring and drank hot sweet lemon grass tea served in a metal pot workbench glasses.
We met a local English lady who showed us the house in the old quarter that she was renovating, using traditional techniques of salt blocks and clay. What a labour of love!
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Siwa Safari Gardens Hotel [Map] |
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Oracle temple at Siwa [Map] |
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Oracle temple at Siwa [Map] |
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Cleopatra’s spring at Siwa [Map] |
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Tea at Cleopatra’s pool in Siwa [Map] |
Day 5 – Around Siwa
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
We enjoyed Siwa so much that we decided to stay an extra day and had a look around the Shali, once the fortified old town. The mud brick houses are all broken down leaving a somewhat lunar landscape and you can clamber up to the top for great views over the town.
In the evening we did the traditional thing and went to see the sunset from Fatnas island, sitting under the date palms sipping sweet mint tea.
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Mint tea at Fatnas island [Map] |
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Sunset at Fatnas island, Siwa [Map] |
Day 6 – Siwa to Marsa Matrouh
Matrouh
Thursday, 12 May 2011
A last look around Siwa and then drove 3 hours through the desert to arrive back at Marsa Matruh, this time staying at the Jaz Almaza Beach hotel just outside the town. The hotel is part of a resort complex with 3 other hotels and is 5 star luxurious but nothing much to see or do outside the hotel.
We had the place to ourselves as it would normally be full of Italian holidaymakers but the start of the holiday season had been postponed due to the Libyan crisis, but they were expecting to be full the following week.
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Jaz Almaza Beach hotel in Marsa Matruh [Map] |
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Beach at the Jaz Almaza beach hotel in Marsa Matru [Map] |
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Gardens at the Jaz Almaza beach hotel in Marsa Mat [Map] |
Day 7 – Al Alamein and Alexandria
El Alamein
Friday, 13 May 2011
On the way from Marsa Matruh to Alexandria we stopped at El Alamein, site of the famous Allied desert campaign in WW2. We looked at all the information and uniforms in the museum with a different room for each of the nations, German, Egyptian, Italian and British. There were plenty of different tanks and army vehicles on display outside.
Just down the road we stopped at the Commonwealth and British war ceremony, beautifully kept up by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Then onwards back to Alexandria
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The museum at El Alamein [Map] |
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Tanks at the museum at El Alamein [Map] |
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Tanks at the museum at El Alamein [Map] |
Day 8 – Holiday Ends, Home Again
Alexandria
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Early start from Alexandria airport and on to Cairo then home to the Uk
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Photo 1 [Map] |
Sent from my iPhone by My Vacation app (www.myvacationapp.com)
www.flickr.com
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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home
You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey
Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels
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