Walking in the Haute Savoie: North - Janette Norton

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when mountain walking, and are especially useful in helping with balance on rough terrain and taking stress off the knees on steep descents. The lightest available are made of carbon fibre, and lever-lock adjustments are the easiest to use.

      A whistle and a good-quality compass are essential in the mountains, and an altimeter and GPS are useful in bad weather or if you get lost. A mobile phone can be life-saving if you have an accident. Unfortunately, the more remote mountain areas are often out of network coverage.

      There has been no let-up in the evolution of GPS technology over the past 20 years, with increased power of sophisticated hand-held units, including custom maps for downloading, and access to more satellites (including Russian ones). Although you should always carry a quality compass, many GPS units now incorporate a compass and an altimeter, based on barometric pressure and/or satellite trigonometry.

      It is worth checking the market carefully before purchasing a GPS unit, putting the accent on good signal reception and battery life, good screen visibility in bright light, easy operation, robust and not too large and heavy. There is also a learning curve, but the effort is well-rewarded and Pete Hawkin’s Cicerone guide Navigating with a GPS gives a useful introduction.

      Manufacturers’ maps for GPS download are usually very expensive, and the French IGN 1:25,000 products are no exception. However, there are open software products that are surprising effective and versatile, with special mention for openmtbmap.org (‘mtb’ covers mountain biking and hiking).

      EQUIPMENT LIST

      The following is a suggested list for your rucksack on a day walk:

       the route description from this walking guide

       the IGN 1:25,000 map recommended in the walk information box

       waterproof anorak

       cape or poncho to cover everything, including your rucksack – useful when it is really pouring, and for sitting on

       lightweight fleece or sweater

       warm hat, gloves and scarf (in cold weather)

       spare socks

       sun hat, sunglasses, high factor sun cream and lipsalve

       basic first-aid kit, including insect repellent and moleskin for blisters

       survival blanket

       picnic and snacks (sweets, chocolate, high energy bars, dried fruit and nuts)

       water bottle – it is essential to take plenty of water; avoid drinking from mountain streams or dubious drinking troughs and fountains

       mobile phone, whistle, torch, penknife, compass, altimeter

       optional extras: GPS, camera, binoculars, reference books (for flowers or birds)

      If you are staying overnight in a refuge, add the following:

       wash gear and small towel

       change of clothes

       sheet sleeping bag (silk ones are the lightest); all the refuges in the Haute Savoie provide blankets

       a head torch is very useful (especially if there is only an outside toilet)

       tracksuit for relaxing in the evening and for sleeping in

       lightweight trainers (most refuges provide hut shoes but this is not guaranteed)

       playing cards and/or book – in case you are holed up by bad weather

       small repair kit with needles, thread, string, buttons, etc.

      Most of the walks in the Haute Savoie, as in other areas in France, have been newly waymarked with pale yellow plastic signposts. These have a heading specifying the location of the signpost and/or an altitude, and clearly show the various destinations and times taken to get there. These are used as points of reference in the route descriptions. There are also green plastic squares with yellow arrows, either nailed to posts or on trees. In some places the original wooden signposts remain, and you will still find some faded coloured paint splashes, mostly yellow.

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      An example of a new signpost (Walk 26)

      Quite a number of walks in the Haute Savoie are partly along sections of long-distance Grande Randonnée (GR) footpaths, which are linear, and on the walks in this guide you will come across the GR5, the GR65 and the GR Balcon du Léman. These are marked by red and white horizontal stripes on posts, rocks or trees, as well as on signposts, with a red and white cross to indicate the wrong direction.

      The GR5 starts from the small town of St Gingolph on Lake Geneva, with an alternative start at Thonon-les-Bains, and goes all the way to Nice. After skirting Mont d’Hermone from Thonon and Dent d’Oche from St Gingolph, the two branches converge to pass through the Val d’Abondance and Val de Morzine, continue into the Vallée du Haut Giffre to the Lac d’Anterne, and then head south to Chamonix and on to the Mediterranean.

      The GR65 follows the ancient pilgrimage route from Geneva and the Salève to le Puy and on to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

      The GR Balcon du Léman follows the mountain crests round the French part of Lake Geneva, passing through the Vuache, Salève, Vallée Verte and Pré-Alpes du Léman.

      In addition to the GR footpaths, there are Grande Randonnée de Pays (GRP or GR de Pays) footpaths, which are long circuits marked by red and yellow horizontal stripes. You will come across two of them in this guide: the Tour de la Vallée Verte and the Tour des Crêtes de Bellevaux.

      Where the route for a walk is on a GR or a GRP footpath, this is clearly indicated in both the text and on the accompanying sketch map.

      At the start of many walks the local tourist offices have erected large information boards, which are mentioned in the text of individual walks. These usually show a map of walks; a panorama of peaks; pictures of animals, birds and flowers; and anything of historical or geological interest in the area. They are often in English as well as French, and it is worth taking the time to read them before setting off.

      Each walk is accompanied by a sketch map with coloured contours, showing key places and numbered waypoints that are highlighted in the route description. For additional features and detailed navigation, the relevant 1:25,000 IGN paper map is specified in the information box at the beginning of each walk. However, bear in mind that things are still changing in this region, and you may discover new ski lifts, roads or jeep tracks that are not yet on the maps.

      A good map that gives an overall picture of the Haute Savoie walking areas is the IGN Top 100 Tourisme et Découverte No.144 Annecy/Thonon-les-Bains, 1:100,000.

      A complete list of IGN maps can be found in Appendix B, together with details of where to buy or order them in the UK. Otherwise, it is usually easy to buy them in the region and they are sometimes cheaper in local supermarkets.

      For pre-walk planning and post-analysis, all the 1:25,000 and 1:100,000 IGN maps for the whole of France are available on the internet for a very small annual subscription from www.sitytrail.com. This is the best way to be sure you have the latest editions, and is accompanied by a powerful set of tools to choose the magnification, print selected areas, superimpose recorded GPS trails and record your favourite routes online. The sitytrail subscription includes access to the same maps with a tablet or smartphone App. For offline use, especially along walking trails, it is possible to download a set of map tiles for a local area. Note that sitytrail maps are also available for Switzerland with a separate subscription.

      There are numerous Apps on the market that offer GPS tracking with open software maps. On the iPhone or iPad, MOTIONX-GPS is particularly convenient and flexible.

      GPX

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