Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25178
7 the haute route france, switzerland + italy The Haute (High] Route is the cradle of modern mountaineering, the 19th-centu- ry mountaineerin..Q testing qround where a few intrepid souls first ascended th e highest peaks.in europe ana invented the techniques whi ch would eventually con- que r eve ry m a J 0 r m 0 u nta In ra n g e In th e wo rld . Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. the mountains that guard each end of this 11 O-mile tra il between France and Switzerland, need no introduction. Crossing through the heart of the Alps, the route crests 11 mountain passes, gains 36,000 feet and drops 33,000 and passes under the shadows of gla - ciers and through meadows of wildflowers. Since the trail passes through countless little alpine vi llages, hikers who aren't into cooking and camping can enjoy dinner in a restaurant every night and sleep in the comfort of hikers' refuges. [The hos- pitality of the Swiss berghauses is legendary.1 While trekking purists might reject the notion of being able to return to some modicum of civilization every night, there is something to be said for being able to travel for two weeks with only a day pack. The restaurants along the way are pricey, so people on a budget should bring as much food as possible. There are many expensive guided tours, which are unnecessary despite the difficulties of the high alpine country [and , again for the purists, many of the tours opt for cable cars and cog railways to summit some of the more difficult passes!. Given all the intrusions of civilization , the Haute Route is obviously not a retreat into untamed wilderness. Still, though the condor circling overhead might in reality be a paraglider, the trail covers a wild landscape, with ibexes scampering across the talus fields and the thunder and echo of distant avalanches.