HAT's Off to the Alps

This year was the first Summer jaunt organised by How About This, with the aim of stretching ourselves through thought-provoking discussion, fun and stimulating activities, delicious cuisine and great company in a wonderful natural venue. So Off to the Alps we went!

The venue was the village of Venosc near Deux Alpes in the French Alps, an utterly, utterly gorgeous place in the Summer with waterfalls, forests and mountains on all sides, a river running through the middle of the valley and a charming village full of small shops, charming restaurants and bustling local life. More a place for local French holiday-makers than foreign tourists, the village makes the most of its location with a wealth of hiking and biking opportunities through the stunning country, as well as tree-top adventures, tennis courts, river rafting, camping, a swimming pool and local festivals designed to showcase the local artisans.  Ten intrepid adventurers joined How About This in our own chalet, Chalet Freeride, just outside the village, with catered breakfast, a first-class kitchen and amenities, a sauna, BBQ and even our own bar.  

And, as promised, we stretched pretty much everything:

First, we stretched our MUSCLES - as well as quite a few BOUNDARIES – in the fantastic natural surroundings. Hiking was foremost, including one day that started with a 700m trail straight up and ended with everyone ‘skiing’ down a blue run (they are surprisingly steep without snow), singing to the Sound of Music (click here for the official song for next year's jaunt!), and another day completing a 20km loop over one mountain and down into the next valley, visiting a ruined Roman Arch and following the Roman road back up and around another mountain, while evading the amorous attentions of a persistent goat.

There were several climbers among us so we all had a go at a Via Ferrata (see here for a similar Via Ferrata climb in the same valley), where you can safely try out climbing by following a route up a 500m cliff with permanent lines to clip onto (as well as helpful hand and foot holds drilled into the rock face on the trickier bits).

Then we all got wet with a bit of white water rafting down the glacier-melt river, with stops to walk under a waterfall and get chucked in the river.

After all the physical exertions we stretched our MINDS with guided discussions over aperitifs. The premise was simple; a cataclysmic event has cut us off from the outside world and we have no way of communicating or travelling outside the valley (and no way of knowing if anything outside is left). All that we have to work with in order to survive in the short and medium term are the resources and skills within the valley.

The first evening focussed on assessing what we had, especially in terms of our skills and talents, and defining our short- and medium-term goals. Not unexpectedly there were a lot of talents in the group, but there were several unexpected and interesting underlying aspects to the discussion, including the reluctance of many people to 'admit' to their skills (or indeed that they had any!), and the importance given to personnel skills over practical skills [check the ideas page of this website for a discussion on what these underlying aspects may mean].

The second evening was spent in a discussion about how we would organise ourselves; the form of government that we would prefer and why. Arguments were made for a surprisingly large number of different systems, and this led to a more wide-ranging debate about how we govern ourselves at the moment, with an interesting focus on whether our current form of government is still the most relevant and best form of government for us in a world which is quickly moving beyond nation boundaries.  

And of course, following all that discussion we stretched our STOMACHS with catered breakfasts, ice-cream breaks, fantastic aperitifs and yummy dinners - and a ridiculous amount of wine, Prosecco, Aperol spritzes, Gin and Tonics, weird fruity coconut drinks, and rum.

Some of us even stretched our WALLETS in the charming boutiques and shops in Venosc, though we sadly missed the artisan pottery fête this year, and didn't find time to try the restaurants or bars.

Not bad for four days playing in The Alps and we only just scratched the surface of things to do. Watch this space for next year’s adventure in the Alps!