The great crossing of the Alps, at your own rhythm

Whether you are a great walker or a supporter of least effort, with its 800 partners and its 6 different itineraries, the GTA (Grande Traversée des Alpes – Great Alps Crossing) will offer you an experience of touring at your own measure in the heart of the Alps! Explanations and decrypting by its director, Guy Chaumereuil.

The Association of the “Grande Traversée des Alpes” was created in 1971, by Philippe Lamour, then mayor of Ceillac (Hautes Alpes). The starting point of the adventure, an idea which could seem very simple 40 years later, was quite revolutionary at the time. With the concern of preserving areas which were being deserted at the time of the rural depopulation, Philippe Lamour had the idea of associating old houses which would become accommodation with the existing paths. He therefore created a concept which corresponded perfectly to the needs of the walkers.

As Guy Chaumereuil summarises “Philippe Lamour invented sustainable development in the mountains! He created the GR5 and the association with the same name: the GTA”.  Since, the circuits and the public have evolved quite a bit but the initial spirit remains: making walking and routing through the Alps accessible to a greater public. After having been a specialised journalist for over 30 years on Radio France, editor in chief of Montagne Magazine and General Director of the Club Alpin Français, Guy Chaumereuil is director of the GTA since 2007. Meeting with an emblematic personality of the French mountains.

FranceMontagne: 40 years after its creation, how could one define the GTA?
Guy Chaumereuil: it’s an operator service which offers 6 royal paths to mountain lovers wanting to discover the Alps. The Great Alps route, the Via Alpina, the Lavender route, the paths of the Sun, the GTA/GR5 and the Sentinelle des Alpes. What characterises the GTA is the idea of discovering the Alps whilst touring, without it being reserved exclusively to great travellers. Touring starts when one decides to go off for a couple of days and spend a night outside home!

FM: six royal paths and multiple approaches, depending on one wishes, possibilities or time…
GC: It is travelling in the Alps, in four different ways on six different itineraries. If one is looking for a panoramic view without too much walking and effort involved, the Great Alps route is the way to go. 700 km in the car or on motorbike, between Thonon-les-Bains and Menton. This route enables you to discover sixteen mythical passes and the most emblematic views. From Leman to the Mediteranean, Vanoise, Mercantour, Ecrins… It is ideal for a family trip, with young children. One can also follow this route by bicycle for a more sporty approach. The fans of cultural heritage will maybe choose the Sentinelle des Alpes circuit and its 40 fortifications. For the more “nature” approach, on foot, one will have to follow the GR5 or the Via Alpina. The circuits are adapted to serious walkers and also to families wishing to travel over two or three days.

FM: Walking paths, bicycle paths, car circuits or motorbike routes, always with adapted accommodation?
GC: That’s it. But be careful, we are no travel agency, we take no reservations. We just put things together, help organise, and we cover the whole of the Alps. We deal with six routes, together with our 800 partners. The communes, the Tourist Offices, the guides, the refuges of the CAF (Club Alpins Français), and two hundred different accommodations. We make each route a real trip, in such a way everything is coherent and organised from the beginning to the end of the chosen itinerary. It is possible to make it up on the spot, by visiting the tourist offices or by consulting our website before you leave.

FM: Should it be reminded that these propositions are addressed to a large public…
GC: We do realise the routing is not an obvious approach for everyone. Of course we propose routes and solutions to people who have been routing for a while already, and who are looking for new experiences in the Alps. For those who are planning a 15 day walk or a week cycling. But we do also try to propose routes more adapted to a larger public, more urban maybe. Paris is only 3 hours away from Grenoble or Chambéry! Going from one refuge to the other on the GR4, on a circuit with beautiful views and without too much change in altitude is already routing. Taking the car to visit a fort, then visiting a cheese dairy the following day is also routing!

FM: Is there one date which you would qualify as representative of this ‘accessible to all’ discovery of the Alps?
GC: Of course. This summer, over six weekends, we are organising once more the “Route des Alpes en Fête”, in collaboration with the tourist offices of the various resorts. At the top of 6 passes, one can park the car and meet up with a mountain guide, follow him along an easy path for twenty or thirty minutes and discover a chapel, a different view point, a biotope… It is quite representative of what routing is to us. It isn’t simply going from A to B. It is taking advantage of the trip to discover new territories, landscapes, and people. Routing is very much to do with knowing how to make a stop.

For any further information, visit the website of the GTA.