Hannibal Challenge 2008

by Jane Barry-Walsh

 
Another wonderful walk – with a twist. Just getting to the Queyras National Park proved to be more of a challenge than normal. Having organised coaches and greeters both British Airways and Ryanair decided to cancel the chosen flights. However it took more than that to disrupt our intrepid trekkers and by 11.00pm on the Friday night everyone had arrived, had their safety briefing and eaten a good supper.

Saturday morning started foggy but quickly became a wonderfully clear Alpine day. With a battalion of support staff everything went smoothly and no teams got lost – badly!

There were two innovations this year – a quiz was introduced at each checkpoint and Jean Paul the local guide had written notes explaining the local flora and fauna which proved fascinating. The larger and more wholesome portions of food proved popular though not quite as popular as the bar.

We woke early the next morning to a surprise – the mountains were white, convincingly so. Nearly the whole route was under snow and it was decided for safety reasons that we had to adapt the route to remain under the snow line. This did not prevent one team getting up to the upper lake and one team member Richard going for a swim and surviving to tell the tale!

At the end of the day tired legs could be massaged by a team of
4 physiotherapists followed by a delicious meal of local barbecued meats stuffed with calories which were consumed with a clear conscience.

Another successful Hannibal Challenge – completed safely..phew!