Maxime Bertocchi

After finishing his Master’s degree at University of St Gallen, Geneva-born Maxime decided to take the scenic route home… on foot… alone. He walked for 27 days. “I had no obligations. The only hard rule I stuck to was to walk every step of the way!”

Using the high Alpine routes from Chur, Graubünden, he trekked the 630km home to Geneva carrying essential food, water and photography equipment on his back. He only returned to civilisation every few days to stock up on provisions. He slept under the stars when the skies were clear and pitched his tent for the night when it rained. “Life became pretty simple: walk, eat, sleep, repeat.”

And pause. To take it all in and savour the moment. Because besides being a globetrotter and mountain wanderer, Maxime is also a keen photographer. His eyes acutely scanning the landscape to capture the fading light on peaks and the movement of water and clouds. Friends, family and strangers watched his progress across eight cantons and a corner of France via his Instagram stories. Encouraged by the positive interactions, Maxime exhibited his trip in a gallery in Geneva’s old town for four days upon his return.

Maxime is an explorer at heart. To escape vicariously see his Alpine Odysee here and more of his adventures on Instagram: @m2b.visuals.

When he’s not taking photos or hiking the wilderness, Maxime is part of the Graduate programme at Pictet and is currently on rotation in Group Communications. He studied Marketing and Business administration at University of St Gallen.

What was in his backpack?

Total pack weight: 20kg

To keep warm

• x2 socks, underwear and t-shirts (all merino wool)
• x1 pair of shorts and pants, light gloves, rain jacket, cap, sunglasses, waterproof bags

To sleep

• light tent, sleeping bag and mat, flash light, survival blanket in case of emergency 

To cook

• x2 1l self-filtering water bottles, bowl, cup, spoon, Swiss army knife, stove, kettle

To eat (per day = +/-4’500 cal.)

• 200g of granola, 3 cereal bars, 2 portions of freeze-dried food (e.g. Vegetable Chili, Chicken Tikka or Mac&Cheese), 100ml. of olive oil, instant coffee and milk, herbal tea

Apps to navigate

• Wanderplaner, MeteoSwiss, maps.me

Camera equipment

• Sony a7iii with wide-angle and telephoto lenses
• Nikon ti35 analogue with Portra 400 film

To write

• x1 Moleskin notebook, Pilot friction pen

Luxury non-essential items

• cheese from a local farmer or a piece of home-made pie from a mountain hut along the way