Tour of the Grand-st-bernard

We had already heard that the Tour of the Grand-St-Bernard is well off the beaten track and we couldn’t have hoped for a better start. We strive to find secluded places and this 5-day trek through the Swiss and Italian Alps offers just that, combined with a bit of history and a spice of floral extravaganza.



Being the oldest of Alpine pass routes, the Grand-St-Bernard pass is in use at least since the Bronze Age. Armies and travellers have used it for millennia. Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps in the 218 BC was, supposedly, through this pass, although there isn’t any clear evidence. Julius Cesar, in one of the campaigns of the Gallic Wars, crossed the Grand-St-Bernard pass in 58 BC to fight the Helvetians, in what today is Switzerland. More recently, in May 1800, Napoleon led 40,000 troops over the pass into Italy.



This is a high altitude trek: 6 mountain passes bordering 3000 m prove me right. The landscape is harsh with no sign of vegetation; the rocky walls are severe in their beauty. The very few hikers we encounter increase the sense of isolation.



Sitting on top of the Grand-St-Bernard pass, the hospice greets us on our first day of hike. Inside its imposing walls, the sense of history is inspiring, and it’s only surpassed by the warm welcome given by the monks which, by the way, have inhabited the hospice for almost 1,000 years. But one has to “qualify” to spend the night in the hospice: come walking and you’ll be allowed in; come by car and you’ll have to attune yourself in the only hotel of the pass. The hospice is also responsible for the breeding and preservation of the St. Bernard dog. Since the XVIII century, the St. Bernard dogs have been used to assist and save travellers and they have come to stand as icons of the mountains.



The edelweiss, for some reason, has become renowned above all other mountain plants and, together with the Matterhorn, it’s a Swiss symbols per se. Maybe because its white colour is considered a symbol of purity, or maybe because it was the favourite alpine flower of Empress Elizabeth “Sisi”. The truth is that, since time immemorial, the edelweiss has been considered a powerful talisman to ward off evil and the ultimate love charms of the mountains. Very much cited but rarely seeing, we are lucky enough to enjoy this flower while ascending to Col du Basset. It’s a tough ascent but worth every drop of sweat. This woolly flower makes a great entry at about 2100 m and is present during the rest of the ascent until we almost reach the col. And, by the way, the views from here are simply staggering: the summits of Mont Dolent, Tour Noir, Aiguilles de Chardonnet, and Grandes Jorasses elevate themselves, proudly, above the clouds.



There are those who like popular and crowed places because they feel reassured. And there are those that prefer off the beaten track and avoid all sorts of crowds. If you are among the first class of people, here goes a piece of advice: forget about this trek if you want to keep your mental equilibrium.