Day 6: Champoluc to Gressoney: The power of caffeine

Having spent the night at the fabulous hotel Frantze le Rascard at Champoluc our spirits were high. Fortified with a championship breakfast

Well rested

And having had a lovely send off from our wonderful hostess, Francesca

We were all set. Unfortunately mind and spirit are two parts of a trinity and our bodies hadn't caught up. Yesterday had been considerably more taxing that the half ironman race I did last year and as a result our calves were Vitello macinata.

Sunday being a day of rest we decided on a lazy day. A more or less horizontal hike along route 1 for 90 minutes through small hamlets each with their own mini chapel.

On a pleasant path.

We promised ourselves we would take every ski lift we could and stop at every available restaurant.

At the first pit stop Archie had his first ever coffee against a backdrop of the valley we had hiked down yesterday. In the distance you can just see the peak we went the wrong side of: the site of the great Teutonic rescue. Here Archie had his first ever coffee - a velvety cappuccino.

Moments later he was bouncing off the the walls.

https://vimeo.com/226692465

And off we set for the lift. Dammit, dammit, dammit. The lift was closed and we were confronted with a rather daunting 700m vertical climb.

With his caffeine-virgin advantage, Archie scampered up there like a greyhound with a mustard booster leaving Felix and I behind like drug free cyclists. 10 minutes before we reached the top the lift started running: apparently lunch break was over. Lesson: ski lifts around here seem to take a lunch break from 12.15pm to 2pm which is a good excuse to have a proper lunch in one of the many mountain restaurants.

Nevertheless, after an hour or so climb we made it to the top and got our first sight of Monte Rosa, the mountain we have apparently been skirting for the last 6 days.

A few EUR10 pizzas later and the world was good again.

Fortunately the lifts down the 1200m to Staffal were running and for EUR11.50 each we sailed down to town snapping pictures along the way.

We checked into the very economical and pleasant Ellex Hotel with stunning Monte Rosa views from our balcony

Tested the spa, which was rather more Catholic than its Swiss equivalent, snatched a cheap meal at the local eatery (that is pork lard and chestnuts with butter and rosemary just in case you couldn't tell).

Admired the peaks one more time.

And went to bed somewhat satisfied to have achieved more than we planned.

Today's learning:

6 days into this hike and it is clear that while we can have a splendid tour around Monte Rosa, any wishful thinking that it would be possible for a normal person to actually walk all the way carrying a backpack is just foolery. We need the lifts to help us along the way, and why not? It is fantastic! We are still doing the TMR, just not walking every step of the way.

Another learning:

The Swiss map of the whole of Tour Monte Rosa is not adequate for the Italian side of this walk and not really good enough for trail following anywhere. It is great for planning the whole route but it doesn't show the path numbers, which you need. There are plenty of locally available free or cheap hiking maps, but the full Tour Monte Rosa map is not enough on its own and nor is Google Maps.