The Haute Route is the most famous ski tour in the Alps and doesn't need to be praised any more. Every ski touring enthusiast knows it and has to ski it once in his or her career.
The historical roots of this mountain itinerary linking Chamonix and Zermatt date back to the 1860s. Originally completed on foot by British mountaineers with local guides, the high level route was a milestone of alpinism and a true mountain adventure.
Today it's a standard route travelled by hundreds of aspirants in the high season from March to April. Let's face it, fully booked huts and hordes of ski mountaineers following well-worn tracks are not in particular what you might associate with a true mountain adventure. Not to mention the little scar in the middle, where nearly everybody uses taxi-transportation.
That's why we'd like to give the Haute Route back it's initial character as a remote and purely human powered mountain expedition. Our Purist Variation comprises seven days of skiing with the benefits of avoiding the busy main sections of the route. The "flaw" of using a taxi is avoided by adding a day on remote terrain from La Fouly to the Great St. Bernard Hospice. Furthermore, we'll take a technically more demanding route using the quiet Saleinaz, Valsorey and Nacamuli Huts via Grande Lui, Plateau du Couloir and Pointes D'Oren.
A late season trip date enhances the chance for stable spring snow conditions on the crucial sections and fewer people on the track.
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Day 1: Pre-trip meeting with your guide in the Hostel Gite le Moulin in Argentière at 6 pm. Kit check and briefing on trip itinerary and avalanche conditions.
Day 2: Lift ride to the summit of Grands Montets. (Wait, we'll skip this not for the sake of purity, but because the cable car burnt down in 2018.) The Haute Route starts with a first ski descent into the splendid Argentière Basin, encircled by the north faces of Verte, Droites and Mont Dolent. Skins on and steep ascent with skis up to Col de Chardonnet. A narrow gully requires abseiling and puts us onto the pristine Saleinaz basin. Another ski descent on wide and gentle glacier slopes and a final steep climb up a moraine will bring us to the charming Saleinaz hut. Vertical ↑ 1300 ↓ 1800 m
Day 3: We skin back up to Col de la Grande Lui, bootpacking the last 100 m. Brief sidetrip to the summit at 3509 m with crampons. Magnificent 2000 m spring snow ski descent on south facing aspect to La Fouly. Some of the best skiing to be found in the area! Accommodation in a Hotel. Vertical ↑ 1000 ↓ 2100 m
Day 4: From La Fouly we head into the rarely visited Val Ferret. We aim left to take one of the many options to cross the divide towards the valley of the Grand St Bernard: Mont Telliers, Pointe de Drone or Fenetre de Ferret. Descent to Grand St. Bernard Hospice or to Bourg St. Pierre. Vertical ↑ 1300 ↓ 500 m
Day 5: We skin up to Croix de Tsousse and ski northeast facing aspects into the Valsorey Valley. Maybe in late season powder. A long steep sun-baked slope finally brings us to the Valsorey hut, which sits below the mighty Grand Combin. Vertical ↑ 1700 ↓ 900 m
Day 6: The technical crux of the Haute Route starts right behind the hut. Some steep skinning and finally 300 m of climbing with crampons over 45° slopes to the Plateau du Couloir. We continue over two cols with a short intermediate descent and get ready for the scenic descent on the Mont Durand Glacier. By choosing a different line we'll be able to access some hidden powder slopes with 800 m vertical. Last skin up of the day up to the Chanrion hut. Vertical ↑ 1200 ↓ 1700 m
Day 7: The day starts with a 3 hr plod across the Otemma Glacier. We turn right towards Petit Mont Collon and climb Pointes d'Oren via a wild glacier bowl. Matterhorn and Dent'Hérens come into sight from the summit. We take a steep and direct south facing line of descent to the narrow Oren Valley. Another opportunity to get some excellent turns on corn snow in. Steep skinning back up to the Italian Nacamuli hut. Vertical ↑ 1400 ↓ 1600 m
Day 8: A very varied final stage over the three cols de Collon, Mont Brulé and Valpelline is crowned by the highest point of our Purist Haute Route, Tete de Valpelline at 3798 m. Ahead of us lies the long ski descent over the rugged Stockji Glacier with the Matterhorn Northface at hand reach. Party time in Zermatt. Later, the train brings us back to Argentière, where the trip ends. Vertical ↑ 1100 ↓ 2200 m
The Nearest Airports are Geneva, Bern and Zürich. From there frequent train or shuttle services are available to Chamonix. We discuss the details of transportation with you.
You will stay on typical alpine mountain huts. They have a big dining room and dormitories with usually 4–12 bunks. Sometimes the dormitories have up to 20 bunks. The sanitary conditions are basic with common toilets, washing rooms and only rare showers. On very high huts there is sometimes not even running water.
We typically have half board on the hut. A lean breakfast with bread, jam, butter and, depending on the region, cereals are served along with coffee or tea. Dinner consists of 3 to4 courses: starter (soup, pasta in Italy), sometimes salad, main course with some meat, desert. Vegetarian or other dietary requirements are accounted for.
You can order non-alcoholic drinks, beer and wine. Likewise, snacks and lunch can be purchased. On the higher huts there is no potable water and you will have to buy bottled water.
Please don't hesitate to contact us in case of questions.
Skitouring skis and -skins. Avalanche safety equipment. Full glacier travel kit.
Flexibility is our working method - not a slick marketing slogan. We budget 1-2 extra days in the planning of many of our trips to factor in adverse weather conditions. The days can for example be used to move the trip a day or two as to use the best weather window for the summit bid.
Of course you only pay the actual guiding days. We'd rather achieve your goal than insist on doing a poor alternative.
The Alps are the Playground of Europe and Europe is densely populated. Some areas are frequented to a degree that is almost grotesque. Traffic jams, risky overtaking maneuvers and utter chaos on lifts and huts are common sight. Clearly the experience must be suffering.
Clever planning can avoid this and the mountains can be experienced in a pristine way — even on big and renowned peaks. We have a long record of guiding some of the most prestigious summits using bivies and less known routes, or simply climbing acyclic. It has always paid off! Does this sound appealing to you? Let's discuss your next true adventure in the mountains!
Environmental protection must not be misused for mere image cultivation. Businesses who earn their money with air travel should not pat themselves on the back because they use recycled paper and green electricity. This is not credible. We clearly acknowledge the undeniable environmental damage our activities cause, and we try to at least partly offset them by the following actions, without too many words:
We encourage you to travel by train. If possible we give you a lift from the train station. We help to reduce your luggage by providing you all the technical gear required for your trip. Given a sufficient number of participants, we cover up to 50% of your train ticket.
We compensate our own as well as the CO2 emissions of our clients travelling by car without any additional cost in a transparent and comprehensive way. Of course, you are also invited to contribute. Get in touch if there are any questions!