Check in is from 2pm on the first day and check out is at 930am on the last day of the retreat.

“From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax and be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth.” (Tich Nah Than)

Those of us who have the health, time and money to travel, find ourselves in an incredibly fortunate position. Retreats offer an increasingly rare opportunity to step off the conveyer belt of our busy lives and re-connect with what is important. In this way, we can use our good fortune to improve our own mental health and be a source of happiness for others. We hope that you will leave our retreat feeling refreshed, inspired and motivated to make positive changes in the world.

There will be eight participants and two Alpenglow Retreat leaders.

The retreat will be led by mother daughter team Tania and Jen Stretton

About Jen

Jen is the founder of Alpenglow Retreats. She is a qualified international mountain leader, yoga teacher and thai masseuse. Originally from the UK, Jen has lived full time in Chamonix, France since 2017. Jen has guided groups on some of the most famous long-distance hikes in Europe and has hiked and climbed all over the world from the Andes, to the Himalaya and Artic Lapland. She speaks French and is currently learning Italian.

Jen started her ‘spiritual journey’ in 2012 when she completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training in Bali. It was here that she was introduced to Zen Buddhism and soon after undertook her first silent retreat. Jen devotes much of her time to the Zen Buddhist practices of Zazen (meditation) and Sumi-e (Japanese ink painting) which she is studying under Zen Master Beppe Mokuza Signoritti. Encountering Sumi-e was a life changing experience for Jen. It has become the means for her to express her inner journey and make intimate contact with the essence of Zen practice. She is grateful to have the opportunity to share this practice on retreats.

An avid hiker, climber, animal lover and environmentalist, Jen’s passion for the natural world is contagious. Her mantra is ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ and she hopes you will leave our retreats feeling inspired to make positive changes in your own life and for the world.

About Tania

Tania is the joint founder of Alpenglow Retreats and your chalet host for the retreat. Whilst we are out hiking, Tania is busy in the chalet cooking delicious cakes and a three-course meal for when we get home.

Tania has a strong interest in nutrition and specialises in beautiful, healthy-plant based cuisine. She holds a cooking certification from the vegetarian and vegan society and is constantly experimenting with recipes. Tania is passionate about the healing qualities of food and hopes her menu will give you some fresh ideas and inspire you to make positive changes to your diet after the retreat.

When Tania’s not in the Alps, she lives in a beautiful cottage in the English countryside. She runs a small craft company and enjoys cooking, yoga, gardening, painting and singing in her local choir.

Probably one of the most organised people you will meet, Tania is the person who makes sure the retreat runs smoothly. She is incredibly welcoming and helps everyone to feel comfortable and at home on or retreats.

We will hike for four to six hours each day, except on our rest day where there will be an optional day of japanese ink painting. We will take plenty of time along our way to enjoy the natural beauty of the Alps and find quiet places to meditate in nature.

We believe that the adage ‘take only photos, leave only footsteps’ doesn’t go far enough. We aim to have a net positive impact on the Alps by donating 10% of our profit to environmental causes and spreading awareness of sustainable living.

You can read our sustainability commitment here.

To allow safe and enjoyable participation in all of the retreat activities, you should arrive at our retreat with a reasonable firness level. We will be walking for roughly 4 to 6 hours each day with an average of 8km distance and 600m of ascent a day. We don’t race around and we take plenty of breaks to admire the views and eat our lunch. We like to recommend people have a good level of fitness so that they can enjoy the hikes more and appreciate the incredible scenery. There are endless hiking trails in Chamonix and we always pick the route the night before to cater to the group and the weather condition.

In our experience, if you’re a confident hill walker or someone who does cardio a couple of times a week then you will have no problem on our retreat. Please don’t hesitate to drop us an email if you are unsure whether your fitness level is good enough or you would like some suggestions to prepare for the retreat.

After a day of hiking, we wind down on the evening with a yin yoga class. Yin yoga is a class where we hold each posture for a few minutes in order to stretch deeper connective tissue.

No. All classes are tailored to the individual. Yoga isn’t about being able to touch your toes or do the splits, it’s about cultivating a healthy relationship with your body. Yoga is accessible for everyone.

Absolutely. The type of meditation we do is called zazen (‘seated meditation’) which comes from the Zen Buddhist tradition. In zazen we simply sit in silence and observe any thoughts that come into the mind without becoming tangled up in them. The technique is simple, but will you be surprised how many thoughts arise during the practice.

‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts, there are few.’
(Shunryu Suzuki)

Zazen is the meditation style practiced in the zen buddhist tradition, but you certainly do not need to be buddhist to practice Zazen.

Zazen is the practice of silent seated meditation. There is no object in this practice, it does not pursue any particular goal. It is about paying full attention to whatever is unfolding in your body and mind without engaging with it. What is practiced is an heightened sense of awareness, attention and presence to whatever arises in body and mind without interfering with that process. It is about deepening our awareness of the moment and repeatedly bringing our attention back to the breath and the posture each time the mind drifts away.

On our hiking retreat in the Alps we have a special one day workshop to learn the beautiful art of Sumi-e painting. Sumi-e literally translates as ‘black ink’ and has been practiced by Zen monks in Japan for centuries.

As with meditation, Sumi-e is a practice in which we can overcome our sense of being a ‘separate self’ and the limits of our ego.

On rice paper, only one brush stroke is allowed for each mark and any touch-ups are immediately evident. In order to paint in a natural and fluid way, all mental activities that  complicate the painting (and your life) are given up.

By the end of the day’s workshop you will have painted your first bamboo and perhaps have even found a lifetime practice.

We provide yoga matts, meditation cushions and blankets. We recommend you bring loose comfortable clothing for yoga and meditation. We will do our yoga classes outside to take advantage of the mountain views. Whilst the weather is lovely in the Alps, we recommend you bring some warm layers for outdoor yoga and meditation. If the weather is bad, we have space to do yoga inside the chalet.

A detailed packing list will be sent to you when you book on our retreat but as an idea you will need the following for hiking in the Alps:

• Hiking poles
• 2 litre water bottle/camelback
• 20litre rucksack: big enough to fit your water, lunch and spare layers
• Sun cap
• Sun glasses
• Light weight merino wool or synthetic hiking shirts
• Hiking shorts and/or hiking trousers (it’s usually hot enough to wear shorts but it’s a good shout to bring trousers too just in case).
• Thin fleece
• Insulated layer (something that will keep you warm when we stop for lunch)
• Water proof jacket
• Light weight waterproof pants
• Thin gloves
• Factor 50 sun cream (the sun is very strong in the Alps!)
• Hiking boots or trail running shoes (whichever you prefer hiking in)
• Hiking socks

By plane – The quickest and cheapest way is to take a plane to Geneva airport and then an hour long transfer to Chamonix. Easy Jet usually offer the cheapest flights and it’s worth booking ahead for cheap deals. We recommend Cham Van or Mountain drop offs for transfers from Geneva to Chamonix which cost around £30 each way.

We donate 10% of our profit to environmental organisations and part of this contribution goes towards offsetting the carbon footprint for your journey to us. 

By train – If you have the money and time to take the train it is much better for the environment. The fastest way is to take the euro tunnel to Paris, high speed train to Geneva and then a transfer to Chamonix with Cham Van or Mountain Drop offs. There are however cheaper options you can find on trainline.com.

If you take the train to our retreat, we will give you £100 off your retreat price to help pay towards the increased cost of your journey.

So that everyone feels fresh and energetic for hiking the next day, we don’t serve alcohol on our retreats. On the last night we will serve wine for those who want it.