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Alps End to End Traverse - a 1850km mountaineering journey

Release date: 08 June 2015

On Thursday 11 June, ultra distance runner John Fleetwood will celebrate his 50th year by embarking on a journey on foot from one end of the European Alps to the other -  from Slovenia to Monaco, with no mechanical assistance. On this epic of around 1850km he aims to stick to the high ground as much as possible, including - weather permitting - via ferrata link-ups and ascents of some major peaks along the way. John starts his adventure on 11th June and is aiming to arrive in Nice in August ....
 
John Fleetwood
John Fleetwood

Taken from UKHillwalking.com - here is an overview of John's plans.  To see the full interview, please click HERE. 

John has been mulling over the idea of the trip now for around 5 years and has spent the last 6 months planning in earnest.  Inspired by a combination of Conway's 19th Century journey through the Alps and the 5000km Via Alpina trail network, he is looking forward to experiencing the Alps as a whole in one long trip.  He is keen to link up as many via ferratas as possible as well as climbing lesser known peaks - which as far as he is aware - has not been done before.

All very weather dependent, John is hoping to travel around 30km per day with around 2600m of ascent.

Raising money for 2 charities along the way:  Manna House, which works with the homeless and
Amazon Savers, which tackles deforestation and the poverty that lies behind it, in the Bolivian Amazon, John is also keen to raise awareness of EOCA along the way! 

 

 
Tracks in the snow
Tracks in the snow

Keep up to date with the journey so far by reading John's blog HERE.

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Both the Breathe Foundation and the Atlantic Rainforest Institute would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank EOCA for its support of this project, and its ongoing support of projects like ours across the wide spectrum that it engages in.  Without the commitment and funding from the European outdoor industry ...to assist established or start-up initiatives, many would never make it off the ground... and this [particular]  project and its roll out may never have been possible.
Drew Stevenson, General Manager, Breathe Foundation