Who?
8 RAFMA adventurers from across the UK.
What?
The northern portion of the Grande Randonnée (GR) 20, widely considered Europe’s toughest trek. A total of 105km trekked and 8,100m climbed over 9 days, starting in Calenzana and finishing in Vivvazona.
When?
8-20 September 2022 – the tail end of the summer season on Corsica. Delayed from 2021 due to C-19.
Where?
Corsica, France.
How?
Trek Day 1 – Calenzana to Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu (12.7km, 1,435m ascent, 6hrs)
Trek Day 2 – Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu to Refuge de Carozzu (8.6km, 720m ascent, 7hrs)
Trek Day 3 – Refuge de Carozzu to Ascu Stagnu (6.9km, 810m ascent, 5hrs)
Trek Day 4 – Ascu Stagnu to Auberge U Vallone (11.1km, 1,370m ascent, 10hrs)
Trek Day 5 – Auberge U Vallone to Hôtel Castel Di Vergio (16.1km, 800m ascent, 7.5hrs)
Trek Day 6 – Hôtel Castel Di Vergio to Refuge de Manganu (17.1km, 620m ascent, 5.5hrs)
Trek Day 7 – Refuge de Manganu to Refuge de Petra Piana (9.3km, 840m ascent, 6.5hrs)
Trek Day 8 – Refuge de Petra Piana to Refuge de I’Onda (10.5km, 450m ascent, 4.5hrs)
Trek Day 9 – Refuge de I’Onda to Vizzavona (13km, 1,040m ascent, 7.5hrs)
Selection
The journey to CV22 began back in late 2020 when Anna, the expedition leader, held a series of selection weekends within RAFMA meets to identify interested individuals and start building the team.
Training
Fast-forward to 2022 where CV21, as it was then, had become a casualty of the pandemic and was now planned for Sep 22. There were two training serials held over the summer to confirm that the participants would be physically ready to complete the trek: one over the RAFMA summer week in North Wales, and a second smaller scale weekend in the Lakes.
Travel days 1-2
The story starts, as many do, with a series of MT journeys to Heathrow airport: the longest, a two-day trip down from Scotland; the shortest, a quick walk from the arrivals lounge back into departures. The early morning flight meant one thing only – Weatherspoon’s breakfast. The bottomless tea and coffee helped to kill the time before we jetted off for part 1 of our journey, arriving mid-morning in Marseille. Here we had a seven and a half hour lay-over, so we took the bus into the city to sample the sites and stop for a spot of lunch down at the marina. Back up to the airport for a short hop across to the island of Corsica, we arrived in time to move into the Motel and enjoy an evening sampling Calvi on the north coast of the island.
Our first full day in Corsica was spent completing pre-departure admin and acclimatising to the weather, albeit very similar to what the UK was experiencing at the time. Full to bursting with sweets, tinned mackerel, and saucisson, the team spent the afternoon again exploring Calvi and the surrounding area, including its excellent beaches. Before heading out to dinner, the team congregated for a trek day 1 brief, accompanied with goat’s cheese and crisps. An early bedtime was in store for us so we could get away early the next morning and avoid the heat of the day.
Trek day 1
The thing about best laid plans is they never survive contact with the enemy, or French taxi drivers in this case. The team were up and ready to get to the start at 0630; already disappointed that a previously scouted pâtisserie hadn’t opened on time, the hungry trekkers waited in vain for the taxis to arrive. By 0631 the discussion had already turned to the contingency plan, and Anna was straight on the phone to another taxi company, putting her best French to practice: “Parlez-vous Anglais?” This second company had us in Calenzana in quick order, dropping us near to a pâtisserie so we could experience our last fresh pastries before heading off on the trail.
The GR20 start is an unassuming set of twisting back streets leading out of Calenzana and immediately into a fairly steep climb, which continued for the rest of the day with no real respite. We were rewarded with fantastic views out over the sea and the ever growing mountain range ahead of us. The terrain was mostly good quality footpaths, with some basic scrambles in the afternoon, as a taster for what was to come. The Refuge was an early spot, a sprawling site with good amenities sheltered in trees. It was here that we were introduced to the accommodation we would be using for the next 8 nights: the Decathlon Quechua pop-up 2-man tent. Bearing in mind these tents had seen new inhabitants every night for the past 4 months, the team deployed their bed-bug spray religiously. The Refuge provided our first experience of dinner on the mountain; bread, pasta and compôte. We stayed up to watch the sunset from the mountain side before bedding down for another early start.
Trek days 2-3
These two days were shorter than our first and gave us a chance to ease into a daily routine. A common theme was the spectacular views that the Corsican mountains provide; with so few roads into the mountains, there are untouched forests and massive exposed buttresses that photos don’t do justice, not for lack of trying. The Refuge for night two was more tents, but night three was long anticipated as it was situated within a ski resort, and the hotel next door was noted in the guidebook for its food, which the team greatly appreciated.
Trek day 4
The mission for today was the ascent of Monte Cinto, Corsica’s highest peak at 2,706m; it also proved to be our longest, with 10 hours spent on the trail. The main threat that day was the steep scree slopes on the ascent, as was demonstrated when another trekker climbed through the group with little regard for his foot placement and sent stones flying. To reach the peak, we had to digress from the route with an out-and-back of 2km with multiple false summits, all worth it for the final view. The climate was somewhat against us, with high temperatures and high altitude working against us. Once back down in the valley and around 1km short of the Refuge, we found a very attractive rock pool for a cool-off.
Trek day 5-6
A couple of easier days, covering long distances but with much less up and down. We began encountering Bergeries on these days, which are similar to Refuges but without the accommodation; they were welcome stops for food and chocolat chaud. Our first night was spent in another ski resort, where the adjacent hotel also doubled up as the Refuge, providing dinner and a room for two of the team. The Refuge also boasted a fairly well stocked supermarché so it was Camembert, baguette and fresh tomatoes for lunch the following day. The second day saw a definite change in the weather, with temperatures dropping by around 5°C and the usually clear sky now being overcast; you could have mistaken the climate and scenery for the Lake District. The refuge sat at the head of the valley and the wind began to pick up in the evening, forcing an early night retreating to the warmth of our sleeping bags.
Trek day 7
Today the weather really turned, and all of a sudden became very wet and windy. At the top of the first Bocca, we deployed the group shelters and waited to see if the rain would abate but to no success. The scenery and weather were so reminiscent of North Wales that passing trekkers began joking it must be like the home for us; indeed, we looked a lot better prepared than many of our fellow trekkers that had spent the last few days in sports shorts and t-shirts and now looked very down-trodden in their single use ponchos. With visibility down to 10m in places, we had to be vigilant in following the path, but fortunately compasses were not required. The campsite was situated halfway down a steep mountainside which meant a very blustery and cold night, with everybody wearing all the warm kit they possessed for dinner.
Trek day 8
We had intended to take the high path and follow the ridgeline, however the prevailing conditions and low cloud made us choose the low route. The highlight of today was LJ who, around 1km after leaving the Refuge, declared he’d lost his passport and had to double-time it back up the steep hill to retrieve it from the tent. The weather improved as the day went on, and by the time we reached the Refuge it was back to its usual Mediterranean self, although still chilly in the shade. Unfortunately, the Patron of the Refuge had a dislike for tourists and spoke no English, a poor combination when confronted with our team trying to eat dinner.
Trek day 9
The final day of trekking with a major summit fixed in our sights: Monte d’Oru, Corsica’s third highest peak at 2,389m. The summit was a detour from the GR20 so, unlike at Monte Cinto, we found ourselves almost alone. Once again, the views were spectacular from the peak, and the village of Vizzavona was laid out below us. A final phone scare, with one of our team valiantly returning to the peak only for it to be found in a bag, and we began the long descent out of the mountains. We stopped at a café in Vizzavona for a celebratory drink before trekking up to our hotel for the night.
Travel days 3-4
We spent the morning on the train, soaking up the mountain views of Corsica on our way back to Calvi. The final afternoon was spent souvenir shopping and relaxing in the sea, where most of the team managed to get stung by jelly fish. We had dinner at the same restaurant as our first meal, a nice conclusion to our expedition. We were up early for our flight back to Marseille and had a 13 hour lay-over this time; we passed the day exploring the city and sampling yet more French cuisine. The team landed back at Heathrow and said our goodbyes, bomb-bursting back home and, for many of the team, work the next day.
CV22 was a genuinely fantastic experience that exposed the team to a different kind of mountaineering, away from the high peaks of the Alps or Nepal which usually attract RAFMA expeditions. The opportunity to trek overseas in an unfamiliar environment, the first time mountaineering abroad for some, and for such a long duration, presented a challenge that the team tackled with good humour; even on the wettest and coldest day, in the blusteriest conditions, the smiles didn’t fade. Our thanks to RAFMA and the Ulysses Trust for their support, and a special thanks to Anna, our expedition leader, for planning and executing a seamless trip from start to finish.
