Walker’s Haute Route

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn on foot.

The Walker’s Haute Route links the two most famous mountains in the Alps: it starts beneath Mont Blanc in Chamonix and finishes beneath the Matterhorn in Zermatt. In between lie eleven passes above 2,500 metres, the Valais valleys where three languages meet, and more total ascent than the Tour du Mont Blanc. This is not the glaciated ski Haute Route but its summer walking sister, and it asks for comparable stamina.

• Eleven passes above 2,500 m
• The Grande Dixence dam, the highest in Europe
• The Europaweg above the Mattertal
• Finishing face to face with the Matterhorn, 4,478 m

1. 01
   DAY 1 · Briefing and gear check

   Chamonix: gathering and preparation

   We meet in Chamonix at 1,035 m, weigh the packs and fine-tune the kit. The evening briefing covers the route and the alternative passes if weather closes in.

   Overnight: Hotel in Chamonix
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 14 km, 1,150 m of ascent

   Col de Balme and down to Trient

   From Le Tour we climb to the Col de Balme at 2,191 m, on the French-Swiss border. A last look at Mont Blanc, then down to Trient and its pink church.

   Overnight: Guesthouse in Trient, 1,300 m
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 15 km, 1,400 m of ascent

   Fenetre d’Arpette to Champex-Lac

   The classic line over the Fenetre d’Arpette at 2,665 m, alongside the seracs of the Trient glacier. The pass is steep and stony on both sides; in bad weather we take the lower Col de la Forclaz option.

   Overnight: Hotel in Champex-Lac, 1,470 m
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 15 km, 200 m of ascent

   Val de Bagnes to Le Chable

   A day off for the legs: an easy forest descent through Sembrancher to Le Chable at 820 m. The lowest point of the route, and a chance to wash clothes.

   Overnight: Hotel in Le Chable, 820 m
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 12 km, 1,600 m of ascent

   Climbing to Cabane du Mont Fort

   Sixteen hundred metres of ascent through Verbier to the Cabane du Mont Fort at 2,457 m. A lift can shorten it, but walking is the honest option and helps the body settle.

   Overnight: Cabane du Mont Fort, 2,457 m
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 16 km, 1,200 m of ascent

   Sentier des Chamois and three cols

   The high chamois path leads to the Col Termin at 2,648 m, then the Col de Louvie and the Col de Prafleuri. Three passes in a day, stony traverses and near-certain sightings of ibex.

   Overnight: Cabane de Prafleuri, 2,624 m
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 18 km, 1,100 m of climbing

   The Grande Dixence dam and Arolla

   Over the Col des Roux at 2,804 m and along the reservoir beneath the 285-metre wall of the Grande Dixence, the highest gravity dam in Europe. Then the ladders of the Pas de Chevres and down to Arolla.

   Overnight: Hotel in Arolla, 2,000 m
8. 08
   DAY 8 · 11 km, 400 m of ascent

   Lac Bleu and La Sage

   A short stage past Lac Bleu, glacier-fed and improbably coloured. We reach La Sage early and rest before the two longest days of the route.

   Overnight: Guesthouse in La Sage, 1,670 m
9. 09
   DAY 9 · 17 km, 1,500 m of ascent

   Col du Tsate and Cabane de Moiry

   Up to the Col du Tsate at 2,868 m with the Dent Blanche, 4,357 m, filling the view. Down to the Moiry dam and up again to the hut overlooking the glacier tongue.

   Overnight: Cabane de Moiry, 2,825 m
10. 10
    DAY 10 · 13 km, 900 m of climbing

    Col de Sorebois and down to Zinal

    The Col de Sorebois at 2,835 m opens the Val d’Anniviers and the first line of four-thousanders, Weisshorn to Zinalrothorn. The descent into Zinal on ski slopes takes two hours.

    Overnight: Hotel in Zinal, 1,675 m
11. 11
    DAY 11 · 16 km, 1,200 m of ascent

    Meiden, Forcletta and Gruben

    Over the Forcletta at 2,874 m and across the language border: beyond the pass the villages speak German. Gruben is a tiny settlement inhabited only in summer.

    Overnight: Hotel in Gruben, 1,822 m
12. 12
    DAY 12 · 20 km, 1,100 m of ascent

    Augstbord, Europaweg and Zermatt

    The last pass, the Augstbordpass at 2,894 m, then down to St Niklaus and across to the Europaweg above the Mattertal. The final kilometres cross the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge into Zermatt, where the Matterhorn stands at the end of the street.

    Overnight: —