The Classic Walker’s Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt

AFollowing our fabulous walk the previous year- The Bear Trek, (Barentrek), Via Alpina, Switzerland, we decided to return to Switzerland. We had booked all the accommodation in advance the previous November, then reviewed it occasionally-to see if there were any advantageous changes.

Day 1 Chamonix to Argentiere

We caught an early plane from our home in Manchester, arriving in Geneva at 11.15am. We had booked a mini-bus in advance with Alpine fleet for €30 each leaving the airport at 12pm. We then arrived at Chamonix at 2pm, there is a free toilet near bus stop, and we ate our sandwiches brought from home.

Disappointingly there were no signs for the walk in Chamonix or for some later parts of that day’s walk. We left town, following the river and stopping for a drink at La cabine des Praz, 2 cokes €9 (1 hour, 37m, 2.35miles). We continued through the very pretty forest, with some glimpses of the high mountains around, following the Petit Balcon Nord. There are a couple of benches, we took advantage when we could of the views back to Mont Blanc.

We arrived in the pretty village of Argentiere at 5.30pm, looking round, and we booked Le Stone pizza restaurant for 6.30pm. We visited the very busy Super U supermarket, which shuts at 6.30pm and checked into our hotel, Restaurant La Couronne. We shared a delicious salad and pizza for dinner. It was Bastille Day, and France were playing in the World Cup, but everything seemed to be open.

It had been a great first day, all our transport fortunately arrived on time, followed by a beautiful walk. Alternatively, if we had been earlier, we could have taken the high route to Argentiere for better views, or walked further, or if our plane was later, we could have caught the train along the valley to Argentiere.

Distance 7 miles (11km)

Duration of Walk 4 Hours

Ascent 1000 feet (305m)

Descent 341 (104m)

Average Pace 34 min/mile

Steps 16,258

Hotel restaurant la couronne was very busy, most of the dinner reservations had gone. There were very friendly informative staff on reception. Le Stone pizza was excellent; we were pleased we had booked in advance.

Day 2 Argentiere to Trient

Breakfast in Hotel Restaurant la Couronne was served from 7am, and was extremally busy with large parties. We left at 7.45am turning right through the village over the river, and up into the forest with some views. We reached Telecabine Charmillon (279m, 1-hour 30mins), with free toilets, a few people around and the cable car running. The route follows an obvious well-worn path, eventually splitting off leaving the cable car behind. We reached the Domaine de Balme, (642m, 3 hours 11mins, 4.5 miles) at 11.05am. Then the Col de Balme altitude 2191m, stopping at the very busy refuge for coke and cake €12 (12.15pm, 975m, 4 hours 20mins, 5.8 miles).

From here there are a few different routes down to Trient, we took the L’Arolette route to the left, leaving at 12.45pm, which has beautiful views over to a reservoir. We reached the top of L’Arolette col (1008m, 4hours 50mins, 6 miles), taking the path to the left towards Trient at 1.15am. We could see the clouds bubbling up and I received an alarm on my Garmin watch for an incoming thunderstorm from Metteo Swiss. We hurried down the path, reaching the forest, with the thunder, lightning and rain cracking all around us. It was a very impressive storm, albeit slightly frightening too.

Fortunately, the storm eased, we arrived in the glorious valley of Trient (1231m), with a campsite, nuclear bunker and beautiful pink church. We arrived at hotel L’Arolette at 3.45pm, with a boot room in the cellar, banana cake €4, and a lovely bar in a conservatory.

We had booked hotel L’Arolette on-line, we had a large bedroom, with a shared bathroom, and friendly owners. A delicious 3-course dinner was served, and a buffet breakfast.

Again, we had a lovely day, meeting new friends along the way, and at dinner too. It was interesting walking the opposite way to how we had walked the Tour de Mont Blanc 10 years previously. The paths were all very busy with the TMB.

Distance 10.2 miles (16.4km)

Duration of Walk 7 Hours 35 minutes

Ascent 3382 feet (1031m)

Descent 3675 feet (1087m)

Average Pace 44 min/mile

Steps 30,848

Day 3 Trient to Champex/Orsieres

From Trient there are 2 routes to Champex-Lac, either via The Fenetre d’Arpette with an ascent of 1340m, with some tricky scree in parts or via Bovine with 1040m ascent. As it was early in the trip, and a hot day was forecast we decided on the latter. The majority of the people leaving our hotel were heading the other way

towards Chamonix. We had breakfast at 7am, collected our boots from the basement, leaving at 7.45am, going down the road, then taking a lovely path up through the trees. There is a new bridge over the road and platforms attached to the rock. We followed the water channel along a new terrace to arrive in La Forclaz (1528m) after 256m, 1 hour, 1.5 miles. There is some accommodation, a souvenir shop, free public toilets, a bus stop and a restaurant. We continued through the trees with lovely views down to Martigny and a massive U-shaped valley. We reached the high point above Alp Bovine at 11.10am (781m, 3.5 hours, 4.6 miles).

We stopped at Alp Bovine Café, it was very busy, cash only, and a thermometer saying 38 degrees. There were many people there, with big groups who seemed to have pre-ordered meals. We had 2 cokes and a large fruit crumble 16frs (780m, 3 hours 45mins, 5 miles). Leaving, we passed through the herd of cows who assemble at the fence surrounding the café. The stone path heads downhill through the forest, we were fortunate to be in the shade, stopping to eat our lunch of bread and tuna bought from Argentiere. We also immersed our hats in any streams, to try to keep cool. The path became so quiet that we wondered if we had gone the wrong way, finally we came to Plan de L’au, relieved to find that we were on the correct route (2.30pm, 818m, 6 hours 45mins). We came to Gite Bon Abri, 951m, 7 hours 45mins, 10.3 miles, before arriving at Jardin alpine Champex-lac 8 hours, 11 miles.

Even though we had booked our accommodation 6 months in advance, we had not found anywhere to stay in Champex. We caught the bus to Orsieres, checking into the very convenient Hotel Terminus, over the road from the bus stop next to the railway station. It was near the Volg supermarket too, open 6am till 6.30pm

We walked round the lovely old town of Orsieres, eating pizza from Valhalla restaurant on the old town square. Here there is a cheaper supermarket than Volg and a chemist too. There is a pretty church, and a sign saying it’s on the famous Via Francigena which runs from Canterbury to Rome.

Distance 11 miles (17.7km)

Duration of Walk 8 Hours

Ascent 3307 feet (1008m)

Descent 2598 feet (792m)

Average Pace 44 min/mile

Steps 29,600

Day 4 Orsieres/Champex to La Chable

We were up early once more, enjoying breakfast at 7am in our hotel, in order to catch the busy bus number 271 at 7.45am back to where we had got on it the previous day at Champex Alpine Garden, arriving there at 8.15am.

We walked downhill, and looked round Champex town and lake, taking the sign on the left to Hotel Belvedere, and Sembrancher 2 hours. The path runs parallel to the

valley, with views through the mist up to St Bernard Pass, with snow on the high mountains.

At this point our path follows the Via Francigena, we met Duane and Anne from Washington, who had spent the previous 2 months walking to here from Canterbury, UK. They were very friendly, but had not seen many walkers for the previous 2 months, Maybe the Via Francigena just isn’t that popular at this point, before Tuscany.

We arrived in Sembrancher at 12.30pm (3 hours 20 minutes, 6.1 miles, 75m ascent). We had been looking forward to coffee, but unfortunately, we couldn’t find even a shop or café open. There was a picnic bench on the outskirts of the town, where we sat eating the food we had purchased the previous day.

Continuing into the forest, we came to a shooting range, which was extremely frightening, with the targets above our heads. Beware!!

Arriving in La Chable at 3pm, we stocked up from the large supermarket and chemist, as there are no shops for a few days. We were directed by a very helpful local to our accommodation of BnB Claudy et Elizibeth. Even when we arrived it just looked like a private house, with no sign up. We had a nice room, with a balcony, and a shared bathroom.

We went to the recommended Place de la Pizza, sharing a very delicious salad and pizza.

We felt that the path was not that well signposted, and we got lost on occasion.

If you were planning to miss a day, it would have been this day, as it was not in the mountains. Alternatively, we could have walked down the hill to Orsieres the day before, so we would not have had to catch the bus back to Champex. From La Chable the bus can be taken up the valley, then walk up to Cabane de Louvre, instead of staying in La Chable.

This is the first quiet day, away from the hundreds of people walking the Tour du Mont Blanc, most of them had been coming in the opposite direction to us.

Distance 11.3 miles (18km)

Duration of Walk 5 Hours 50 minutes

Ascent 938 feet (286m)

Descent 2959 feet (902m)

Average Pace 31 min/mile

Steps 27,176

Day 5 La Chable to La Cabane de Louvie Saturday

We were up at 7.15am, breakfast is served at 8am. We walked down the hill to catch the ski lift up to Verbier. Free transport is available if you are staying in the area, either ask at the tourist office, or where you are staying. We had a small walk round the world-famous ski resort of Verbier, then caught the lift to Ruinettes. We had coffee and croissants in the cafe by the lift, with fabulous views to where we had walked the previous day. It was a Saturday morning with many people out, running, cycling, walking and paragliding.

We left at 10.15am, the signs are slightly confusing, we followed the water channel, with great views all around. We came to a shelter with a bench, and Mont Fort comes into view. We descended from Mont Fort nearly to Le Chaux cable car, and eventually found the path we wanted turning left towards Col Termin.

The walk seemed endless, we had been lulled into a false sense of security by the book saying the walk was 4 hours. There were warning signs along the route, saying beware of falling rocks, not to stop, or leave the path. Eventually we reached Col Termin (2648m), (3.40pm, 786m, 5 hours 20mins, 7 miles), with views looking over lake and Cabine Louvie. Again, there is a choice of routes, we took the one to the right, finally arriving at 5pm. Fortunately, in January we had managed to book a double room in Cabine Louvie. The dorm room looked very busy, with rows of mattresses next to each other. A delicious dinner was served at 7pm, with tables all laid out, 60 people were there, soup, salad, pork with pasta and cake. It is interesting to note that there isn't any WIFI inside, but if you try hard enough outside, you may pick some up. We stayed at a weekend in July:the refuge was very busy, with people doing 2/3 day walks, with much noise in the bar. There was one 2-minute €4 shower, 2 toilets and 3 cold taps in a sink.

We could have taken the route over from Mont Fort, but when we got there the path looked a bit sketchy, so we spent too long finding the alternative path. Breakfast is served between 6am and 8am.

Distance 8.9 miles (14km)

Duration of Walk 7 Hours

Ascent 2732 feet (833m)

Descent 2562 feet (781 m)

Average Pace 47 min/mile

Steps 25,156

Day 6 Sunday La Cabane de Louvie to Hotel du Barrage

Not wishing to make the mistake of the previous day, we were up at 6am, eating a buffet breakfast of bread, cereal, coffee, juice, (not many people were up), leaving at

7am. We followed the signs along the left-hand side of the lake, we reached the first sign at 7.15am, the 2nd at 7.25am signed to Prafleuri. At 8.05am there was a sign left to Prafleuri (216m, 1 hour 5 mins, 1.4 mile). At 10.30am we came to the junction of the path coming in from Mont Fort, (582m, 3 hours 25mins, 3.5miles). At 11.15am we reached the Col de Louvie (2921m) 758m, 4 hours 15mins, 4.2 miles, with the most amazing views over the ice desert.

We were so lucky with the weather. The path might have been hard to find in fog, crossing terminal moraine, glacial outflows, but we had perfect weather. There are various paths that could be taken, but someone told us the way. There are also lots of red and white stripes on the rocks.

We sat and ate our lunch at 12pm in the desert, bought in La Chable (758m, 5 hours, 4.65 miles). We took the right-hand side of the lakes, crossings the glacial outflow, it was just passable wearing our boots. After lots of clambering over rocks, and scree we reached the Col de Prafleuri (2987m) (1081m, 8 hours, 7.2 miles). We were greeted with more moon-like rock, and melted glaciers. We continued over terminal moraine and many streams, to the Prafleuri hut at 4.30pm (9 hours 30mins, 8.8 miles, 1085m ascent). We could have stayed here, but wishing to avoid staying in a dormitory, we had booked Hotel Du Barrage. In our guide book it said an hour down from Prafleuri, unfortunately there is a sign outside Prafleuri saying 2 hours. We were not impressed.

We continued along the right-hand side of the stream, then took the top path, which was fairly dangerous, with rock falls and steep drops. The alternative way is the walk a lot further following the river down to the valley, then it would have been a lot harder to climb back up again. Eventually we rounded the corner with fabulous views of the dam at 5.40pm (1103m, 10.5 hours, 10 miles).

The hotel is 250m of descent at the bottom of the dam wall, near a lovely old chapel. There is a cable car, but we had just missed the last one of the day. We walked down a rough path for 45 minutes, very happy to arrive at 6.30pm.

The hotel is modern, with a nice restaurant. The football World Cup final was on but there are no televisions or reception on which to watch it!!!

This whole area absolutely fascinated me. There were signs showing where the ice/glaciers were 45 and 25 years ago. Switzerland has the highest rate of climate change and melting ice in the world. I wonder where in the future they will obtain their water, and run the HEP plants. The dam is the highest gravity dam in the world at 265m, built between 1953 and 1961,

This had been an absolutely fabulous walk, with an amazing variety of scenery, one of our favourite days of the trip. Going fast it took us 2 hours from Prafleuri to our hotel, along a dangerous path, all to avoid staying in a dorm, perhaps that was a mistake!!!

Hotel Du Barrage

Distance 11.3 miles (18km)

Duration of Walk 11 Hours 24 minutes

Ascent 3622feet (1104m)

Descent 4002 feet (1220m)

Average Pace 27 min/mile

Steps 30,542

Day 7 Monday Hotel Du Barrage to Arolla

We were up at 7am, breakfast was served at 8am. We had walked down 250m from the top of the dam to our hotel the previous night, firstly down a road, then along a rough path. Given the long day ahead, we were so fortunate that there is a cable car up to the dam from the hotel. This starts at 9.05am, 10frs return or 7 francs single. There are toilets and lockers by the dam, and a cafe that opened at 10am (Altitude 2375m). We walked across and back over the fascinating dam, with information boards. Leaving the dam at 9.40am we followed the track along the right-hand side of the reservoir, with some tunnels. At 10.05 there was a sign right to la Barma refuge and across the col to Prafleuri refuge, and a sign to Arolla 4 hours 50minutes. We had expected to see many people arriving from these 2 refuges, but saw no-one, maybe they had all gone ahead. It was strange not to see many people all day. After walking 5 miles, we arrived at the top of the lake Pas du Chat (2371m), 70m ascent, 2 hours 15mins, 5 miles.

We continued now, up a steep path, crossing lateral/terminal moraine, and taking care not to follow the path to Cabane des Dix, going left instead. Again, the landscape is fascinating, we were standing where for 1,000’s of years it has been covered by ice, now there are a couple of glaciers high up the valley.

The path used to split 2.35pm (590m, 5 hours 15 mins, 8.2 miles), over the col. The path to the lower col had been re-built with ladders and platforms, but due to the melting ice, and erosion of the valley walls, these can no longer be used, and are collapsing. The higher path to a different col, is steep and tricky, with lots of loose rocks/screes. Towards the top are chains to the right. I found it the most frightening part of the walk, some chains had come away from the rocks, hopefully these can be replaced soon. We were so happy to arrive at the Col de Reidmatten (altitude 2919m) (671m, 5 hours 40 mins, 8.5 miles) at 3pm. We met a very interesting runner from Belgium, who told us the last 40 years history of the landscape, fascinating. We ate lunch further down, we met the path from pad de chevres. (6.5 hours, 672m 9 miles).

Continuing down with further fabulous views, we were so happy to arrive in the historic Grand Hotel Kurhaus, Arolla. It is a real picture book old Swiss hotel, with beautiful window boxes, perched on every balcony. It was busy, we ate one of the

nicest meals of the trip, tomato fondue, and trout. Book a table in advance or when you arrive.

Grand Hotel Kurhaus, Arolla

Distance 12.2 miles (19.6 km)

Duration of Walk 8 Hours 40 minutes

Ascent 2214 feet (675m)

Descent 3156 feet (962 m)

Average Pace 42 min/mile

Steps 30,526

Day 8 Arolla to La Sage Tuesday

It was a shorter day today, breakfast was at 7.30am, and we left at 9.15am, and walked 5 minutes down to the town. The hotel is busy; we later discovered that tour companies start the walk at this point. There is a walking shop, we called into the grocery shop-Epicerie du Rond-Point buying some food for the next few days, whilst the owner made us some delicious sandwiches for lunch.

We turned left at Hotel Glacier, going up steep steps and along the path heading for Lac Bleu. This contours along the side of the valley, it was harder than we thought with some chained sections, drops and new bridges over streams. Lac Bleu was beautiful, with a waterfall, picnic benches, and some trees (11.45am, 303m ascent, 2.5 hours, 2.9 miles). There is a refuge nearby selling food and drinks. We followed the path downhill, with many people toiling up.

Where the path met the main road, we called into Auberge du Lac-La Gouille, for coffee and tarte (309m, 3.5 hours, 4 miles). Leaving at 1.10pm we crossed the road, and took the path down the valley to Les Hauderes (1452m) calling into a grocery shop on the main road, slightly off the path ((336m 5 hours, 6.85 miles). Les Hauderes is a very pretty typical Swiss village, with lovely houses, and some restaurants. Continuing through the village the path first goes through the trees, then along some country roads to our hotel in La Sage.

We went to an interesting photographic museum in a local house, and visited the grocery shop-again it shuts at 6.30pm, and booked dinner.

We ate outside (with blankets provided) at Restaurant l'ecureuil, with views all the way back where we had walked. We ate salad and cheese fondue, whilst chatting to our new friends Stuart and Wendy from Sydney.

Hotel de La Sage

Distance 9.1miles (14.6km)

Duration of Walk 6 Hours 20 minutes

Ascent 1847 feet (563m)

Descent 3188 feet (971 m)

Average Pace 41 min/mile

Steps 24,178

Day 9 La Sage to Barrage de Moiry/Grimentz Wednesday

This was to be another big day, with an elevation of 1350m. Breakfast was served at 7.30am, and we left at 8am, walking up the road to Villa. Just before Villa is a sign to the right at the bridge to Torrent and the barrage. We followed the cobbled path, then track, taking care to follow the right way. We arrived in the small hamlet at Mayens de Cotter at 9.20am (2058m), (393m, 1-hour 22mins,1.88 miles, 1 hour 20).

We reached Col de Torrent(2916m) (1215m, 4.5 hours, 5 miles), with views back to the valley, Mont Blanc in the far distance, and down to the barrage. We ate our lunch leaving at 1.50pm, many cyclists on electric bikes were there too. We reached Lac des Autannes (2686m), (1.45pm, 1222m, 6 hours) at 2pm.

Continuing towards the beautiful turquoise Lac de Moiry, we arrived at the dam at 3.15pm (1225m, 7 hours 15mins, 8.5 miles). Here there is a free toilet, tourist information office, bus stop and cafe. There is no accommodation here, but a choice to walk for about 1.5 hours to Grimentz or to catch the bus. We and many others caught the bus to Grimentz at 3.40pm, buying our tickets on-line in advance. Some of our friends walked down, in hindsight they wished they had caught the bus too, the walk seeming a long way at the end of a long day.

We checked into the lovely Hotel Cristal Swiss Riders Lodge, for a change we bought dinner from the very large co-op shop nearby, open from 8am until 7pm and ate it on our balcony.

This was another amazing day, not quite as difficult as some previous days, with nice paths. Again, we had beautiful views to glaciers, mountains and the turquoise reservoir.

Hotel Cristal Swiss Riders Lodge

Distance 8.6 miles (13.8km)

Duration of Walk 7 Hours 15 minutes

Ascent 4019 feet (1225m)

Descent 2188 feet (667 m)

Average Pace 50 min/mile

Steps 26,508

Day 10 Barrage de Moiry/Grimentz to Zinal Thursday

Breakfast at the Cristal Hotel, Grimentz was at 7.30am, we then caught the bus at 8.40am back up to the Moiry Barrage, with a free ticket issued by our hotel. The bus was very busy; the people we had met previously were already on it- Wendy, Stuart, Harold, Elaine, and Bella.

We alighted from the bus at Moiry Barrage, by the tourist office at 9.10am (free toilet, and a bar), and a sign to Zinal 4 hours. We left at 9.30am going up the track from behind the tourist kiosk. After an hour, we had ascended 328m,1.16 miles with lovely views back over the dam. We reached the col Sorebois (2438) at 11.15am, then went left to the phone mast, with 360Degree views, as well as the view back to Mont Blanc (590m, 1-hour 50mins,1.9 miles).

We walked down to the Weisshorn cable(700m), 3 hours, 2.8 miles, then passing the Sorebois cable with lovely views to Zanal and glaciers beyond (5 hours 50mins, 6.9 miles, 3.15pm). Both the cable stations, had restaurants open, and toilets. We sat on the ski run eating our sandwiches instead!! Take note that one of the paths going down is shut, possibly due to rockfalls. There were a lot of trees down nearer the valley.

Arriving in Zinal, we caught up with our friends, then went to the very large Supermarket, and later walked along the road to the old town. We ate at La Dahu restaurant, near to our hotel.

This was a short day of walking, in hindsight we could have stayed on the bus along the lakeside to Lac de Chateaupre with views to the glacier de Moiry, then caught it back, or walked back to the dam, before the walk.

B Super Marche Bonnard Zinal, is open 7.30am -12 midday, and 2pm till 6.30pm

Hotel Pointe de Zinal-very nice, modern with buffet breakfast

Distance 7 miles (11.2km)

Duration of Walk 5 Hours 50 minutes

Ascent 2204 feet (672m)

Descent 3969 feet (1210m)

Average Pace 50 min/mile

Steps 22,412

Day 11 Zinal to Gruben Friday

A delicious buffet breakfast was served at 7am, we left at 7.35am. The path goes uphill between the church and Hotel Trift along Route du Weisshorn. It was steep, going up through the trees, 300m, 55 mins, 1.09 miles 8.35am, before later levelling out. At Alpage Nava the path splits (490m, 1-hour 40mins, 1.9miles), the left turn

going to Hotel Weisshorn, we turned right to Forcletta. We passed a farm(867m), 3 hours, 45mins, 5 miles), at 11.20am, it was a shame it doesn’t sell cold drinks.

We reached Col Forcletta (2874m), 12.35pm, 1206m, 5 hours, 6.38 miles again with fabulous views. Someone recognised our north of England accents, and came over to see where we were from, strangely they live 60 miles away, but we have a mutual friend-always a small world.

Leaving at 1.15pm, we reached Chalte Berg hamlet at 2.10pm, with people on sun loungers, then going down through the trees to the road, arriving at 3.30pm. (1225m, 8 hours, 10.5 miles).

After looking at the dormitories in Cabane de Louvie, and reading reviews, we decided to cancel our booking in Hotel Schwarzhorn, but the nearest accommodation that we could find was in Visp, which would involves catching a bus, cable car and a train.

At 3.55pm we arrived at Hotel Schwarzhorn in Gruben (1233m, 8 hours 15mins, 11.3 miles) We had missed the 2.35pm bus and the next bus was at 5.20pm. We could have waited for this, but just in case it didn't turn up, we decided to walk/hitch down to Turtmann for the cable car. The road was very quiet, after 30 minutes walking and 10 cars going by, we were losing faith, when a car stopped. We were so pleased, and even better the couple were returning to their home in Visp. Bruno and Beitta were so kind and friendly, going the scenic way, telling us all about Switzerland, before dropping us off very near to our accommodation. We were so lucky that we had met the nicest people, making our trip to Visp very exciting, and a great detour off the path.

The apartment we booked was lovely, with a washing machine, and oven, -we bought pizzas for dinner from the coop next door to the station. It was Friday night in Visp, so we had a walk round the lovely town.

Studio-duplex Tower, Visp

Distance 12.9 miles (20.7km)

Duration of Walk 8 Hours 45minutes

Ascent 4048 feet (1234m)

Descent 3779 feet (1152m)

Average Pace 40 min/mile

Steps 36,766

Day 12 Gruben to St Niklaus Saturday

We were up at 6am to leave the apartment in Visp and return to Gruben. The coop supermarket next to the station opens at 5am, the bakery and take away food shop were both open too. We walked down to the station and caught the train to Turtmann. Alighting from the train we walked 25 minutes across the disused airfield, and up through the town. We met a very friendly man called Dave from Hereford UK

who now lives in Switzerland, who operates the cable car, and drives the bus. We caught the cable, then the bus, arriving in Gruben at 8.30am. We were so lucky that we had met the nicest people, making our trip to Visp very exciting, and a great detour off the path. The only downside was that by 8.30am, all our walking friends had gone on ahead, so we didn’t see them until the evening.

The path to Augstbordpass 2893m goes from behind Hotel Schwarzhorn. The walk follows a similar pattern to previous days, going steeply uphill through the trees. We passed a small lake with people swimming, before going steeply up to the col.

We arrived at the top of the col at 1am (1000m, 3 hours 30mins, 3.8 miles), and ate some lunch. The path then goes down scree, then across steep slopes with no chains, the walk was tough clambering over huge rocks etc, but eventually we turned a corner and the most amazing view all the way down the valley to Zermatt can be seen.

Arriving in Jungu (1076m ascent, 7 hours 30mins, 8.8miles) at 4.15pm it was tempting to go to the beautifully located restaurant, but bad weather was forecast. Instead, we caught the cable car down to St Niklaus, saving us about 600m of descent, out of 1850m descent. Be careful though the cable only takes 4 people, and runs every 30 minutes, we were lucky there was no queue, catching it with 2 men from Brazil. A discount can be obtained on the cable by showing your local accommodation.

We walked through the town, it was 5pm on a Saturday, so everything was closed.

We checked into Hotel La Reserva, eating dinner there too, nice to be inside away from the rain. We ordered one packed lunch for the next day.

Distance 8.8 miles (14km)

Duration of Walk 7 Hours 35 minutes

Ascent 3530feet (1076m)

Descent 3116 feet (950m)

Average Pace 51 min/mile

Steps 26,876

Day 13 St Niklaus to Europa Hut Sunday

Everyone was up early for breakfast, looking at the wet weather, and wondering what to do, which way to go or just miss the Europa Hut altogether. We left first at 9am, just as it started to pour with rain, so we decided to catch the train to Herbriggen instead of walking, avoiding the first 75 minutes of the walk. We arrived in Herbrigggen at 10.05am-as the train was delayed (free toilets on the platform)- thinking maybe we should have just walked. We walked up through Herbriggen, there was a sign for Europahuette, 3 hours 40 mins. It was colder now with cloud. We took the path behind the church in the middle of the village, up through trees. The path is very pretty, steeply rising with ropes, chains, and bridges over rivers, and a prayer chapel. A lot of work has been done on the path, including

new suspension bridges, rails and steps, very impressive. We stopped for a sandwich where we were joined by a path to the left coming in from Gasenried refuge (1233m ascent, 4 5 hours, 4.24 miles). The mist had swirled all day, but we did get some lovely glimpses and even saw the train in the valley below.

We reached Europa Hut at 3.20pm. Some people had come the same way as us, others had caught the train from St Niklaus to Rand, and walked up a shorter route to the hut.

The hut sleeps 42, had dormitories, one shower -2 minutes for 4frs, separate men and ladies’ toilets, and lovely decking to sit out on. The staff were very friendly. We ate a delicious 3 course dinner in the communal lounge. We were so lucky to be there, and had definitely made the right choice, instead of going straight down the valley. We were joined by a few people doing the Tour de Monte Rosa, these couple of days overlap with it-one for another day!! But it does sound rather hard. We ordered 2 packed lunches for the next day, always better to be prepared.

Distance 5 miles (8km)

Duration of Walk 5 Hours 15 minutes

Ascent 4107 feet (1252m)

Descent 682 feet (208m)

Steps 14,910

 

Day 14 Europa Hut to Zermatt Monday

As usual we were excited and sad for the last day of the walk. Everyone was up at 6.30am, eating a breakfast at 7am of cereal, bread, jam and coffee. Again, there had been discussions on which route to take as part of the path is closed, between Springelboden and Taschalp, and at which point to descend into the valley. There were the most incredible views from the refuge, with a cloud inversion. Leaving at 7.45am, we walked down for 45 minutes, to reach the new suspension bridge- Charles Kuonen-of 450m. It was a fabulous experience, and it shook with only us on it. The bridge was built in 2017, is 494m long, 85m high, again with signs saying Achtung-warning, beware of rockfall and the slope. After the bridge there is a sign to Taschalp, Gruengarten and Zermatt 2209m, which we took (158m ascent, 1-hour 20mins, 1.6 miles), or we could have gone down to Randa. We continued, arriving at the point where the path is shut at Springelboden (289m, 2 hours 45mins, 3.45 miles) We were unsure whether to have done this section as it did extend the day, also there were many chains, steps, and steep drops to contend with. We walked down to the steep zig zag path to Attermenzen campsite (11.45am, 289m, 4 hours, 5.4 miles).

We were so fortunate just as some walkers who we had previously met were just leaving in a mini bus taxi to Taschalp. We quickly jumped in, taking 50 minutes, and costing 15frs each.

In Taschalp, there is a pretty restaurant, but we sat and ate our sandwiches, leaving at 1.40pm. The day had warmed up, but we were so very fortunate to have beautiful weather. The views towards the Matterhorn are absolutely stunning, as it gradually comes into view. I think this is one of the best views and end to a walk that there can be. We stopped at a café in Tufteren, we had 2 cokes, 1 cake 14frs-cash only. (2215m) (3.15pm, 271m, 2 hours 39mins, 4 miles). From here there are various paths to Zermatt, we took what appeared to be the easiest way, down through the forest, with a large cross overlooking Zermatt.

Zermatt is car free-but mind the fast electric bikes. It is a lovely town, with lots of expensive hotels. Restaurants and shops. We checked into the Hotel Continental, and visited the local Migros supermarket which shuts at 7pm. We bought our dinner and sat on a bench to eat it, but there were too many birds, we retreated and sat on our balcony instead, with views to the Matterhorn.

Hotel Continental, was good value, with a bigger room and bathroom, balcony, lovely breakfast. The check-in was at Hotel Simi nearby.

Distance from Europa Hut to Tasch

Distance 5.5miles (8.8km)

Duration of Walk 4 Hours 10 minutes

Ascent 948 feet (289m)

Descent 3694 feet (1126m)

Average Pace 45 min/mile

Steps 18,220

Distance from Taschalp To Zermatt

Distance 6.5 miles (10.4km)

Duration of Walk 4 Hours 30 minutes

Ascent 925 feet (282m)

Descent 969m 3179 feet

Average Pace 40 min/mile

Steps 17,722

 

 

 

Final day in Zermatt

We were up early once more with breakfast at 7am. We dropped our bags in the left luggage at Hotel Simi and walked up the road to the Matterhorn express cable car. We had booked the tickets the previous night online giving us a 10f discount each. We caught the cable at 8.15am, up to the very top station of Klein Matterhorn(3883m), and walked up to the 360degree -viewing platform, with information boards. Again, we were blessed with tremendous views, and great

weather. We then visited the fascinating ice cave, cinema which shows 5 short films about the local area, with chairs with surround sound, and a shop with a restaurant. Strangely the toilets are 2frs each. We went outside to the bottom of the ski slopes, with skiers out on a warm July day, and watched people ascending the Breithorn, through the snow and ice. It’s more than we could do!!

On the way down we got off at all the stops, as each one has something different to offer, before getting back on. Altogether, our trip took 3 hours, it is expensive at 100f but it was a unique experience, maybe the cost does put people off as it was very quiet. There are many walks that could be done, the museum of the Matterhorn is open from 2pm till 6pm (unfortunately, not hours that suited us). We picked up our bags, then caught the 2pm train to Visp, changing there for Geneva Airport, to catch our late flight back to Manchester, UK.

The walk was amazing, I think one of the best that we had done. The scenery is stunning, with glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, valleys etc. We met friendly people from all over the world. For us maybe the first 3 days we didn't need to repeat as we had walked them previously 10 years ago on the Tour of Mont Blonc. They were also very busy, with the majority of people coming the other way. Our favourite days were

The timings for our walks are always a lot longer than in the book. We rest, talk to people that we meet, and take our time to enjoy the landscape and fantastic views.

Things we could have done differently: - Instead of catching the bus from Champex Lake to Orsieres and back, we could have just walked down to Orsieres. The following day we could have walked along the Via Francigena to Sembrancher and La Chable. From La Chable we could have caught the bus to Fionay, then walked to Cabine Louvie, saving us a day of travel.

 

Advice and Summary for The Haute Route

Chamonix to Zermatt, Switzerland July 2026

We booked all the accommodation 6 months in advance, using Bookings.com, or directly with the accommodation in the case of Trient, Cabane de Louvie, Hotel du Barrage, and Europahuette.

Items to take

Besides the obvious-

We wore boots, we also take trainers, just in case of any problems with the boots. Some of the paths were rocky with loose stones, and some snow, so we thought boots were the best option.

We take fruit, snacks, cereal bars, lunch tends to be canned tuna on bread etc, and plenty of water, as on many days there are no refreshments en-route. The downside is these makes the packs heavier. We also take energy tablets, and isotonic drink tablets to add to the water.

As usual take sun tan lotion, sun hats, a tick card, insect repellent, spare laces, a good first aid kit, umbrellas, winter hats, gloves, buffs, walking poles, and waterproof stuff bags. Take a phone and a battery charger, so that the apps can be used. We took our swimming things, in case the hotels had pools. Swiss/European plug adaptors.

Information

Ask in the hotels or the tourist information office for a local public transport discount card, this is available when staying just one night. This saved us money on a couple of occasions, with free cable cars around Verbier, and discounts at other places.

We always check the next few days’ route, and make sure we carry enough spare food in case there is nowhere to buy it, or places are shut.

Out of interest my pack tends to weigh 7kg, and Dave’s is 8kg, before he puts water and food in, which can add quite a bit of weight.

Switzerland has a reputation for being expensive. Money can be saved by visiting the supermarket and buying food to carry.

In Switzerland, public transport links are good, which gives the advantage that in bad weather options of bus and cable car can be taken, or if the stage becomes too long.

We kept an eye on the weather using the Swiss Meteo weather app, which also sends alerts on my Garmin watch.

We booked the trip online ourselves. Alternatively, there are companies like Macs Adventure, which most people had booked with.

We were advised not to cross the high passes in snow or in thunderstorms

This trip has been incredible. We were so amazed by the stupendous scenery, walking day after day passing mountains with snow and glaciers, cannot be beaten.

There are sometimes toilets and cafes at the cable car stations.

Accommodation

Hotel Restaurant la Couronne

La Grand Ourse a Trient, shared bath

Hotel Terminus

BnB Claudy et Elizibeth shared Bath

La Cabane de Louvie (Cable car to Les Ruinettes )

Hotel Du Barrage

Great Hotel & Kurhaus Arolla

Hotel de la Sage

Hotel Cristal Swiss Riders Lodge - Grimentz

Pointe de Zinal

Hotel Schwarzhorn – Gruben Studio-duplex Tower Visp

Hotel La Reserva

Europahuette

Hotel Continental – Zermatt

Getting there

We caught the plane from our home in England to Geneva. Geneva airport is very easy, with signs in English, clean toilets and the train station is within the airport. We had booked the bus transfer in advance to Chamonix with Alpinebus.

Resources used

Swiss, Meteo weather app, this is an amazing free resource. It seemed very accurate too. Even warning us of incoming thunderstorms and heat warnings on our garmin watches.

Another app is Swisstopo, which has all the maps of Switzerland on line.

We both have Garmin watches, on which the walk can be recorded, and down loaded onto our phones later

Total Distance 125 miles (201km)

Total Ascent 37,700 feet (11,490m)

Average Ascent 2692 feet, (820m) each day.

Happy travels, and hopefully, many more walks.