Europe

Your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:

• less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’)

• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

For the latest details on visiting countries within the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), please check the UK Government website

The information that we provide is for UK passport holders. A passport with 6 months remaining validity at the end of your stay is generally required, and you should have at least 2 blank pages for each country that you visit.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documents and visas for your holiday. Please ensure that you check for the latest advice before travel. For the most up to date information on entry requirements, please visit the UK Government website.

If you have a severe allergy please inform the KE office before you travel. We will do all we can to help, but we cannot guarantee an allergy free environment on KE trips. You will need to carry your own treatment for the allergy with you, as 'adrenaline auto-injectors' are not carried as standard by KE leaders and staff. You should inform your leader on arrival of your allergy, and let them know where you keep your adrenaline pen.

Vaccinations

You should contact your doctor or travel clinic to check whether you require any specific vaccinations.

GHIC / Medical cover

UK residents should carry a free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). This entitles you to state provided medical treatment when you're visiting an EU country or Switzerland. This is not a substitute for medical travel insurance which is vital when travelling overseas.

It makes a lot of sense to spend some time before coming on a trekking or climbing trip getting some additional exercise. The fitter you are, after all, the more enjoyable you will find the experience. We would suggest that you adopt a weekly exercise regime leading up to your trip. Jogging, squash and swimming are good for developing better stamina. Before departure, we suggest that you try to fit in a number of long walks in hilly country. For this trip you will need to be competent in the use of an ice axe and crampons. This means you will be an experienced winter hill-walker or will have attended a basic snow skills course before coming on the trip. 

Winter Skills Courses These courses are extremely helpful if you are undertaking one of our mountaineering trips. For information about available courses, please contact: Glenmore Lodge. (Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre). Tel. 01479 861 256 email. enquiries@glenmorelodge.org.uk

The temperatures that we can expect to encounter during the day will vary considerably. In the heat of the day on the glacier, it can be quite hot, up to 25°C / 77°F. By contrast, high on Monte Rosa in the chill of the early morning, it may be as cold as minus 20°C / minus 4°F or even colder. The weather is usually stable throughout the summer season. But, mountainous areas do generate their own weather systems and occasional rain and even stormy weather cannot be ruled out.

As a reputable tour operator, KE supports the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's ‘Travel Aware’ campaign to enable British citizens to prepare for their journeys overseas. The 'Travel Aware' website provides a single, authoritative source of advice for all kinds of travellers and we recommend that before travel, all KE clients visit the official UK Government website at travelaware.campaign.gov.uk and read the FCDO Travel Advice for their chosen destination. North Americans can also check out the U.S. Department of State website: www.travel.state.gov for essential travel advice and tips.

KE treat the safety and security of all clients as the most important aspect of any trip we organise. We would not run any trip that we did not consider reasonably safe.  Should the FCDO advise against travel for any reason, we will contact everyone booked to travel to discuss the situation.  We receive regular updates directly from the FCDO and are in constant touch with our contacts on the ground.  If you have any questions about government travel advice, please call our office.

KE do not encourage the use of single use plastic items. We are ensuring that our agents all over the world are working together to reduce the problem and educate those around them. We are leading by example in our KE office by reducing our plastic use.

• Walking in The Valais Kev Reynolds. Cicerone Press: Cicerone Press are one of the UK`s most well known and respected publishers of guidebooks for the outdoor enthusiast. Easily distinguished by their convenient pocket size, these books have been a favourite amongst walkers, climbers and cyclists for many years.

Swiss Topo 1:50,000 Special Edition Hiking Maps

Swiss survey maps are highly regarded for their superb use of graphic relief and hill shading, presenting an almost 3-D picture of the terrain. These are 'special edition' maps from the Switzerland Topographic Survey at 1:50,000 which have the same excellent cartography as the general network which covers the entire country in 78 sheets, but are specifically designed for hikers and are centred on particular tourist regions. They also cover a larger area than the normal sheets. For this holiday you will need the following sheet: 5028T - Monterosa-Matterhorn 1:50 000

It is an essential condition of joining a holiday with KE Adventure Travel that you have a valid travel insurance policy to cover the cost of medical treatment and to protect the value of your holiday in the event of cancellation.  When taking out insurance please ensure the policy you choose covers you for the activities and altitude included in your itinerary.

For appropriate insurance cover we recommend Campbell Irvine Direct.  Please go to our Travel Insurance page for further information and to get a quote.

The following checklist should help you with your packing. As a general rule, you should always try to keep the weight of your pack to a minimum.

You must bring the following items:

• Mountain Boots (see notes below)

• Crampons – MUST be fitted with anti-balling plates*

• Crampon bag* (when hiring crampons a bag is automatically included / can not be hired separately)

• Ice Axe*

• Mountaineering harness*

• Screw gate karabiner x 1*

• Helmet

• Trekking poles x 2 (with baskets)

• Gaiters

• Socks –  walking socks are best (2/3 pairs)

• Trekking Trousers (i.e. not cotton)

• Waterproof over trousers - with long leg zip designed to put on whilst wearing boots

• Underwear

• Thermal Base Layer x 2 (one long sleeved for glacier travel)

• Fleece jacket or pullover

• Waterproof jacket (with hood)

• Extra warm layer – (prima loft or lightweight down)

• Sunhat

• Warm hat

• Sunglasses – category 3 or 4.

• Thin gloves - thermal or leather

• Very warm winter type gloves or mittens

• Sleeping bag liner/sheet sleeping bag (silk is lightest)

• Rucksack (30 - 40 litres should be sufficient)

• Head torch and spare battery

• Sun Protection (high factor for skin)

• Lip salve – with sunscreen

• Water bottle - 1 litre x2 (we encourage re-filling water bottles rather than single use plastic)

• Water purification tablets

• Small, lightweight wash kit and pack towel

• Dry bags(s) for daypack/kitbag contents (to ensure they keep dry)

• Small hand sanitizer gel

• Basic First Aid Kit including: Antiseptic cream, throat lozenges, diarrhoea treatment (Imodium), painkillers, plasters, blister treatment (zinc oxide tape and ‘Compeed’), insect repellent, and re-hydration salts (Dioralite).

The following items are optional:

• Change of shirt and trousers

• Thermal baselayer - leggings

• Shorts (for non-glacial travel)

• Rain cover for Rucksack

• Earplugs (particularly if you are not the one snoring!)

• Repair kit – (eg. Pocket knife, needle, thread, duct tape etc.)

• Camera

• Travel Clothes (can be left at your hotel)

• Travel Shoes (can be left at your hotel)

• Reusable cloth bag for shopping (to avoid plastic bags)

Notes

Mountaineering Boots: Recommended boots should be comfortable, warm and sufficiently stiff to take a crampon securely. A B2 boot will be suitable, but NOT a B1. Plastic B3 boots are also not appropriate for this trip.

Crampons: Modern strap on crampons are perfectly acceptable for this trek and will fit any boot. All crampons MUST be fitted with anti-balling plates. Grivel Crampons - G10 or G12 with a strap system are excellent and they come fitted with anti-balling plates.  Aluminium crampons are not suitable for this trip (they are not strong enough over mixed terrain).

Equipment hire: Equipment marked with a *can be hired from KE. This can be reserved when you book your trip or closer to your departure but we advise booking hire equipment as soon as possible to ensure availability - equipment hire must be booked through the KE office prior to your departure. Any hired equipment will be collected on arrival from your guide, we do not hire mountaineering boots, but there are several shops in Chamonix renting boots that are suitable for this trip.

Sleeping bags are NOT required as bedding and hut shoes/slippers are provided at mountain refuges. However, you should bring a sheet sleeping bag.

Needle Sports (specialist mountaineering equipment shop)

Needle Sports is the English Lake District's foremost specialist climbing shop supplying mountaineering, rock, ice, alpine and expedition equipment worldwide. Internationally recognised as among the very best of the UK's top technical climbing gear retailers. They have a good range of equipment appropriate for this trip and offer knowledgeable advice both on their website and in store. View >>http://www.needlesports.com/

Many of the equipment items listed above are available from Cotswold Outdoor - our 'Official Recommended Outdoor Retailer'. When you book a holiday with KE you will receive a 12.5% discount with Cotswold Outdoor, Snow+Rock and Runners Need. The discount code can be downloaded from your MyKE account and you can use this code at the checkout, either in store or online.