From Glambassadors glamour, to the natural beauty of the French Alps! We left off last time by joining the Stage 4 participants on their 5-day hike, this time though I was looking forward to less mountain peaks and more alpine meadows and valleys. I’d heard this was going to be a gorgeous hike, and with the elation and excitement of the Glambassadors event still on my mind, I had a new enthusiasm for the last two stages of this challenge. We would be hiking for around 100km and ascending 5,000m over the 5-day trip, and travelling between the stunning ski resorts of Tignes and Chamonix, staying only in very basic mountain huts along the way.
Hiking through the Alps was reasonably easy compared to the difficulty of the Corsica stage of the challenge, so I was able to enjoy more reflection time about the journey so far, and chat with more of my teammates. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to share quality time with Sir Richard Branson, someone who has long been a huge source of inspiration to me. This section of the journey was an incredible chance to soak up all of his wisdom, tenacity and positivity; he is one of the most motivating people I have ever had the privilege of meeting, and I felt so grateful that he encouraged me to do the Strive Challenge and spent so much time with me during. I have always said that one of the most poignant things about the whole journey was meeting so many incredible people, and I was lucky to have this chance to chat to them about their own businesses, the lessons they had learned, and how the Strive Challenge was changing them too.
After 5 glorious days hiking through postcard-perfect scenery and being surrounded by the great outdoors, we made it to our hotel and back to civilisation, and celebrated the end of Stage 4 with a banquet of food which left everyone feeling wonderfully full and content. The pièce de résistance at the hotel was the amazing view of Mont Blanc Base Camp, which we were about to climb. There was an atmosphere of excitement, both from finishing Stage 4, and the anticipation for our mountain climb ahead to finish the entire challenge.
After saying goodbye to the Stage 4 participants, some of us used our rest day to go paragliding, something that I had always wanted to try. Gliding over the most incredible, breathtaking views was the perfect end to this stage of the challenge, and I was so ready to take on the last stage; our Mont Blanc climb! Love, Susie xx