hiking in alps in august

European Alps: anywhere from +35 C to -10 C in the middle of the SUMMER. With snow of course.

Mind you, at the southern end, near the Med, the hot end is more likely!

You might fine the following of some use. GR10 rather than GR5, but similar.
https://backpackinglight.com/caffins_4_month_gear_list/

Cheers

thank you for your reply – unfortunately, as a non-premium member i can’t view the material you linked.

i’m basically asking – what extra clothes should we have to pack to be walking around in the mountains (not trying technical stuff, or particularly high summits) in the two weeks of august?

No-one in Europe goes up into the mountains without a waterproof jacket (or poncho) and some warm clothing. This is why:

Mid-summer ! ! Tour du Mont Blanc, Col du Croix de Bonhomme. The TMB can be part of the GR5.

Cheers

that goes to show that a picture can be worth a thousand words – offsets the heat here nicely in deciding what to pack.

South of Modan the weather did get hotter. The last day to the Med was very hot – so hot that we got up at 4 am for a really early start from Sospel, and we were up on the ridge at dawn. Worth it too.

But at the northern end – ah well.

Cheers

I’ve hiked it 4 yrs ago in summer, as well as the Italian alps during recent years. As @rcaffin mentioned it can get occasionally cold, with snow. Personally therefore I always carried a lightweight down jacket, lightweight fleece base layer (top & bottom), and the usual rain gear. And I’ve used it on every trip there.

Have fun, it’s a great trail.

it all depends on the altitude.
from what you described, you will probably not go much higher than 2500m. you might see snow there, but it won’t be too cold. Rogers estimate of temperatures between -10 and +35°C sound quite accurate, if your confidence interval has a very small alpha.

In my estimate, 90 % of the time baselayer, windshirt and hiking pants will be enough.

for the other 10%, most people bring the following: raingear (jacket and pants), light down/synthetic jacket, fleece, baselayer (top and long bottom), light beanie, light gloves.

this will also cover an occasional 3000m-peak at noon. But if you spend a lot of time higer than 3000m, i would first add (or substitute the hiking pants for) some wind resistant pants. I really like softshell pants in higher altitude, as the air is usually cold and dry.

the larger paths (like the GR5) up to 2500m are usually very well maintained and marked, and compared to other parts of the world, there are many serviced huts.

(maybe off topic, but if you go even higher than that you need constant wind protection: multiple beefy gloves, beefy hat, balaclava with neoprene around mouth and face and a thicker down jacket as well as gaiters and all the technical gear will bring you to the highest peaks)
the bigger trails will probably not encounter snow-fields or at least have a walk-around, so gaiters will not be necessary.

In addition to the temperature, consider the UV exposure.  Florida and NYC are at sea level and there is a LOT more UV at 2000 and 3000m.  While SPF50, blah, blah, blah lotion is available and some of the “waterproof” stuff actually stays on for a while, nothing works as well as a hat and long sleeves (except a roof!).

So have an outfit that covers your head, neck, and arms, and possibly your legs (depending on your ethnicity) while not being too warm.  There will be mid-day uphill climbs when you want to be cool but protected from the sun exactly when you’d be sweating off the sunscreen most quickly.

They’re a little bothersome to transport, but I really like to use a Chrome Dome of any of the variants of 8-ounce, silvered umbrellas.  In the high Sierra, it feels about 15F cooler underneath and when it rains, it lets me use my glasses and is a much more comfortable “hood” than the hood on my parka – 360 visibility and far better ventilation.   I transport mine in a cardboard shipping tube like you’d mail maps or posters in.  If you can’t find or don’t want to pack a Chrome Dome, then consider a cheap folding travel umbrella.  You can’t use them in high winds, but for much of day, it does a lot to keep the temps down and sun off.

Edit to add: I transport them in tube **on airplanes**.  While on the trail, I just slip the Chrome Dome along the side of my pack like trekking poles or tent poles would be.

Speaking of the High Sierra – The alps have a very similar climate and elevation, so any of the extensive US articles, blogs, and youtubes about high Sierra or PCT clothing would be applicable.

Those refuges are fabulous – a roof, mattress, meals, sometimes laundry.  If you can string together enough reservations, you can potentially do it all with a day pack holding a warm layer, enough food for lunch, and your credit card.  I’ve been in some that served 5-course dinners, had a full bar and latte machine.

In addition to the advice above, you need to be prepared for afternoons/evenings on the deck of the hut. My wife and I did the AV1 (Italian Dolomite’s) in early Sept 2015.  Hiking was comfortable with long pants and shirt, with a fleece and windshirt at the worst, although most of the hiking was done in shorts and a long sleeve shirt.  However, my wife was always cold when we got to the hut.  She did not bring her down jacket, and it was needed in the afternoon after hiking.

When the sun goes down …
so does the temperature.

Cheers

ok, we’re bringing down jackets also and my friend will also bring an extra vest.

definitely on guard against the sun, once the first cancer is removed it’s not hard to remember that point.  took the chrome dome advice and will be trying that out in addition to all the other sungear.

where would you recommend as a starting place for a 5-6 day section hike of the gr5 – around 100km – most nights with a tent?  thanks much for sharing your expertise and/or experience.

Well … anywhere on the northern end, really.
Start at Chamonix and keep walking? (Transport to Chamonix is not that hard.)

Cheers

Hi there,

hiked the gr5 and alot of other long distance hikes in the alps including the Via Alpina.

the southern alps – the french and Italian part of the western alps(Ligurian alps, Mercantour national park,Ecrins national park ,Queyras Regional Natural Park )  could get extremely sunny  and hot. i got so sunburned there when i started the via alpina that i had to go to the doctor .. so a long sleeved and long pants are a must for me when i go hiking , the other option would be to always put on sunscreen and i don’t want that. although sometimes i will.  the weather during day time in the southern part could get into the 30C .
when you get to the northern part of the GR5 which is the  Vanoise and the Mt. blanc region it’s a bit colder although its still plenty warm in the valleys the mountain passes and ridge walks – which are now higher – could be colder. weather between 25-30 C in the valleys during day time and 15c in the night. in the mountains it can get down to 0C or even colder if its the end of august or mid September.
it’s really a question of the dynamic weather in the Alps. i do think tough that cold weather is in short spells and snow could fall but only for a brief storm and it will melt in couple of days in july and august .

my system while hiking in the alps:
1. light weight base layers – for sleeping in my tent or walking around the huts
2. light weight fleece pullover or jacket – for early starts or night time walking – i do it alot
3. medium or light weight down jacket – for those rare cold fronts or sleeping outside in late September. the down jacket is too warm to walk around in the mountains but it’s great for camps and huts.
4. waterproof jacket and pants – no poncho if you want to do some technical variants. you need to stay agile and compact.

5. light weight fleece gloves and hat.

6. very good sunglasses – i use the photocromic lenses and mountaineering style sunglasses .

“…most nights with a tent?…”

Perhaps you could consider staying more in huts. For no other reason than that hut culture is so much part of hiking in the Alps that I believe you should try to experience it to the fullest. Especially since I assume that, coming over from the States, you won’t get to experience too many nights in the Alps. Bring earplugs though when sleeping in huts.

Eins

See the GR as the main trail but try to look also for other, more interesting sections outside the GR. Don’t forget that the GR-5 leeds from Lac Leman to the Mediterranean Sea, tries to do it in a rather logic way and thus misses out often/sometimes on scenery you actually want to see. Variants of the main GR or even trailsections outside the GR can run through breathtaking scenery you otherwise would just miss. For me, a GR is a good starting line when looking on a map because you know what its goal is, but then I also start to look for variants or other trails with interesting scenery. So the main GR as the backbone and variants and other trails sometimes for things I just want to see.

The ‘refuge’-system: nice and sometimes handy, but also expensive, smelly and possibly cold. It’s certainly possible that you have to sleep in dormitories with lots of other people that can smell (imagine you’re already in bed and try to sleep when suddenly you start to smell something bad. When you open your eyes, inches from your face is a smelly boxer/brief with someone in it). We prefer a tent. Even then you can enjoy the hut-systen. If you pass one around lunch time, perhaps youcan drink something there. Or, if you pass one at the end of the day, you can drink or eat something there after which you still walk for 15/30 minutes to find a spot for your tent.

The refuge system – well our experience has been a bit different.

We are/were members of the Austrian Alpine Club (OAV), and accommodation as a member was never expensive in the Refuges. Somewhat dearer in the small hotels in the valleys – but they have big fluffy towels and unlimited hot showers …

You pay the Club for the bed – it is cheap. You pay the Guardian for the food. What you eat is up to you. Bear in mind the difficulties they have with transport and facilities. We watched a bread delivery (bread!) in a howling storm by helicopter up by a glacier one time. That pilot was very, very experienced, but delivering bread that way has got to be $$.

We do not remember any refuge ever being smelly, in Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria or Slovakia. Most Refuges are owned by a Club, and the Guardian works for the Club and keeps it clean. Or he is reported by a Club member and …

I don’t even remember any smelly sleepers beside us. OK, as Club members and of a mature age, perhaps we got good treatment? Not particularly. But nights are cool enough inside the Refuges, and everyone was deep in their bedding. Not ‘cold’ per se – not with the kitchen downstairs and lots of walkers sleeping.

We have tented and we have hutted. Both are good.

Cheers

About the ‘refuge’-system: oh, the refuges itself are not smelly but people can be, Difficult to say now where and when. The system is good but can come sometimes with aspects that you experience as negative (mind you, every refuge is different and your experience with one refuge may be completely irrelevant compared to others).

You pay this year ± $28 for the night (or ± half if you are a member of one of the recognised alpine clubs)  and between $20 and $35 for dinner and breakfast. Mind you, that is for the easier reached ‘walker’-refuges. At ‘climber’-refuges you pay perhaps $10 more for the night and there’s no food at all.

Oh yes, before I forget, some refuges are privately owned and they can charge you what they want. And even as a member of one of those alpine clubs, you don’t get a discount.

It is recommended that if you want to sleep in a refuge, you contact them the day before to reserve your spot. Well, certainly in the more popular refuges. In the not so popular it is usually not necessary. But they can be complete/fully booked. Now, if you arrive their without reservation and they’re fully booked, they still should offer you a place to sleep (for the usual price) but that can be the floor or even perhaps worse.

Booking a day ahead is always wise.
I remember at one Refuge a girl turned up at the door seeking a bed – after we had eaten dinner. Well, the place was full, but Club Refuges do not turn you away, not up in the mountains.

The Guardian asked how many with the girl. She replied 14! He was not amused. But 14 mattresses were hauled out onto the dining room floor, with blankets and pillows. The Refuges do have ‘reserves’. They were packed away before breakfast.

We did find that having a Club Membership Card was very helpful in getting a bed.

Cheers

If you sleep in those refuges every night, you can do that. But if you camp and the next night you want to sleep in a refuge, it is not that simple.

Oh, in every refuge their should be be a hutbook. While most people write in it what they thought of their night their or about the food they got, the actuall purpose of it is you write in it where you go to that day, what trail you will follow, what excursions you plan to do, … That way, if you didn’t arrive at the next refuge at a certain time, they can contact the rescue services who will know then by what you wrote in which direction they need to look for you.

thanks for these additional perspectives.  i believe we’ll probably do a mix of the two forms of shelter.

we did 5 days of hiking – starting the GR5 from Thonon-les-Bains and made it into Switzerland.

we ended up using the tent for all the nights we were on the trail, which worked well, except for one night where we had a not really flat place and i pitched at the wrong angle and it rained really hard.  flat areas free of cows and well off the trail were not always easy to find.

one major lesson was that all participants should be well-fed, rested, and fully geographically oriented.  we did much better after we took a few days off in Chatel (nice hostel there, 1861 Hostel, right on several trails that connect up to the GR5).   used an app called komoot to trace our route on the the trail with a map i downloaded from a dutch site.

the alps were really beautiful and it was fun. thanks for the help and encouragement.