Alpine Trip to The Ecrins 18th August – 8th September 2018
As part of our 60th birthday celebrations Solihull Mountaineering Club has organized an Alpine trip to the Ecrins, This area of the French Alps has something for everyone from mountain walking, 4,000m peaks, hundreds of other peaks above 3,000m to single pitch sport routes, long multi-pitch rock routes, and Via Ferrate routes.
Accommodation has been booked from 18th August to the 8th September – 3 weeks – 12 places per week. The idea is for folks to book for whatever period they like.
We welcome enquiries from members of SMC, both past and present. Plus from anyone who is not an SMC member but who is interested in coming along.
For more information please contact our Meets Secretary, Mark Hodson, or email
Current availability is as follows:
- Week 1 (18th August to 25th August) – 5 places available
- Week 2 (25th August to 1st September) – 8 places available
- Week 3 (1st September to 8th September) – NOW FULL
Links to the two chalets we have booked are:
https://www.alpbase.com/accommodation/chalet-chabrand
Sleeps up to 8 people
https://www.alpbase.com/accommodation/apt-meleze
Sleeps up to 4-5 people
The cost of the accommodation is £20 per night, plus a 1-off fee of £12 per week for bed linen and towels. To book a space you will need to pay a £50 deposit.
Travel Information to get to the Ecrins
It’s approximately 14 hours from Birmingham (plus stops). This option gives the most flexibility, and handy for visiting other places on the way there or back.
- Fly and Hire Car.
The nearest airport is Turin. KLM fly from Birmingham to Turin, via Amsterdam. EasyJet fly from Luton and Manchester directly to Geneva. These options are looking the best deal wise. Other airports to consider are Grenoble, Milan, Marseille, Lyon and Nice. Transfer time is approximately 2 to 4 hours. See this link: https://www.alpbase.com/travel/plane
France is blessed with high-speed trains, see this link: https://www.alpbase.com/travel/train
Ecrins Guidebook
A new mountaineering guidebook has just been published. It describes 80 routes focusing on climbs of moderate ability (from F to D), but encompass all styles of routes. This ranges from classic routes and peaks, to numerous less prestigious but equally beautiful summits and passes. Also included are variants and ideas for traverses and a selection of multi-day alpine circuits.
Available from all good climbing bookstores including: