“Down”, it seems, is in all other directions too. Then you notice all the millions of other stars, with their billions of other planets, each one with gravity to make a “down” of its own. “Down”, if anything, is towards the centre of the Earth, and all other directions are “up”. People stand all round the surface - or at least, wherever there’s land. Zoom out a bit, and you’ll see that the Earth is nothing but a giant ball. Then came cartography and astronomy (not to mention artificial potato-cultivation), and things became much more complicated. The Earth seemed like a neat, flat place, with humans always “up” and potatoes always “down”. Or, should I say, that’s all there was to it. Down is the way you fall, and up is the way you don’t: that’s all there is to it. It’s nearly as easy as telling front from back, and certainly easier than telling left from right. Sitting here on Earth, it’s easy to tell up from down. The planets move anticlockwise round the Sun, when seen from above.īut what is “above”? How do you decide which is the “top view” of the Solar System, and which the bottom? The walking is more immediately harder, but access may be easier".At first glance, the answer seems simple. Argentière is an alternative starting-point. Details of how to reach the start of the walk – whichever direction you choose are found in the book. It would be better to start at Champex in order to be mountain- fit before the first of the challenging ascents appears. However, if tackling the Tour du Mont Blanc as a clockwise circuit, it is not advisable to begin at the traditional starting point of Les Houches, for being faced with the very steep 1500m ascent to Le Brévent on the very first day would be enough to intimidate most recreational walkers. The latest edition hopefully, will entice you to do just that, but in a different direction. After all, the Tour of Mont Blanc makes such a splendid two-week holiday that there are bound to be readers who, having walked it once, will dream of doing it again. The four editions of his guidebook deservedly sold in large numbers and thereby encouraged tens of thousands of English-speaking mountain walkers to follow his preferred circuit.īut having walked the TMB in both directions, and seen at first hand the merits of both options, the present guidebook contains directions for anti-clockwise and clockwise routings. The first Cicerone guide to the Tour of Mont Blanc was written by the late Andrew Harper, who naturally described the route in the traditional anti-clockwise direction. As for the steepness or otherwise of ascents and descents, there’s little to choose between the two options. This can be either comforting or distracting, depending on your outlook. On the other hand, when following the anti-clockwise trend there are nearly always other walkers in view. “Although the Tour of Mont Blanc route is well established as an anti-clockwise circuit, there are arguments in favour of walking the TMB in a clockwise direction, the most persuasive being that by travelling ‘against the flow’ one meets different people at each night’s rest, while during the first hour or two of the walking day the path is virtually empty, then comes a wave of trekkers followed by another period of calm. Recognised as one of the best of the world’s classic walks, it has all the excitement of a high mountain trek, with few of the worries.Īuthor Kev Reynolds describes both the classic anti-clockwise route as well as the clockwise route in his guidebook – so, should I go clockwise or anti-clockwise? I caught up with Kev to find out more: Following the Sella Ronda MTB Tour Anti-Clockwise there is a total height. The start of the Sella Ronda MTB Tour can be chosen from one of the 4 valleys surrounding the Sella massif: from Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba or Val di Fassa. Cicerone's latest edition of Tour of Mont Blanc has just arrived in the warehouse. SELLA RONDA MTB Track TOUR Anti-Clockwise The tour is for those who enjoy more uphill climbs on your bike.
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