Haute Route - Disconnecting between the highest European mountains

Every sport and every recreational activity has its ultimate game, festival, goal, peak. Something, which every serious sports lover dreams of, prepares them and, sooner or later, takes on that task. In the running field, this is the 42 km marathon, cyclists maybe have the Slovene Franja Marathon, Slovene mountaineers the North face of Triglav, Mont Blanc or Matterhorn and we ski touring enthusiast  have the Haute Route, “Visoka pot”, if we would try to translate the name in Slovene. This route is a journey between 2 alpine metropolis, Chamonix and Zermatt, between Mont Blanc and Matterhorn. A 100 km long route, which can be walked on for 8 or skied on in 5 or 6 days, represents a dream destination for every serious ski touring lover or mountaineer.  The frightening glaciers, the beautiful skiing slopes, the sharp high mountain tops and the serene scenery do not leave anybody indifferent. Whoever dreams of playful skiing curves on long snow-filled fields, with blue skies above, has the opportunity to live out everything on the famous Haute Route. Of course, not without a good portion of sweat, because a 5200 meter ascend is waiting before you can get there, but it will definitely be awarded with an amazing 9000 m high skiing slope.

 

 

And in summer, when the snow melts on the low ends of the slopes and only naked glaciers remain, it is then when you can visit Haute Route without skis by foot. Well, I should rather say high mountain trekking in the summer between Chamonix and Zermatt.

 

First time without skis

Today Haute Route is one of the most famous skiing destinations and its name already became a synonym for a several days lasting ski touring playfield. Similar to the Alp’s but only in a few curves, and, after all, there can only be on Haute Route. The first time this route was underdone by foot was in 1862, walking between Chamonix and Zermatt in the summer time. English members of the Alpine club took on that task. And for the next 12 years it became quite a popular challenge amongst them. If we think, that in those days there weren’t any alpine cabins, we can only imagine how hard it had to be for them. Some decades later, in January 1903, Dr. Payot and his mountain guides Simond, Ravent, and Couttet, took the same Haute Route journey between Chamonix and Zermatt with skis. In the following years even more people came to undertake the trip and the journey through Verbier was, and is till this day, the most walked on route. The main reason being that is lies in a relatively safe slope, even in bad weather conditions.

 

 

Such famous skiing routes were always sought after by many record chasers. Even 10 years before they took on the whole route between the churches Chamonix and Zermatt in less than 24 hours. With the steadily fast-growing development of ski touring competitions and it’s light and qualitative equipment, this record got better and better each year. Even this year, a French mountain guide and policeman Lionel Claudepierre, broke the existing record by a good half an hour. The stopwatch showed an astounding 18 hours and 35 minutes. Another famous competition is called Patrouille des Glacieres, which runs from Zermatt to Verbier, right through the Haute Route. The best time achieved way 6 hours; for normal ski touring sportsmen a time which can never be achieved.

 

Onwards

Today we start our expedition at the church in Chamonix and we used the ski lift on the well-known ski slope Grand Montets above Argentière, some 10km above Chamonix. The huge gondola carried us all the way, 3275 meter high. Here, our true journey begins. What is better than getting to see one of the most picturesque mountain pearls on the go. To the upper ski lift cabins we had to ski on 800 meter height distance on the Rogons glacier, all to the juncture with the Argentière glacier. The breathtaking scenery only distracts us for a moment of two, because we are skiing on slopes, which demand all of your attention, because there lie glacier remains all around us – glacier cracks and gaps.

 

 

On the juncture of the 2 glaciers, we decide to make a short ascend to the Argentière cabin, where most rest after the first day, but we crossed the glacier and ascend on the steep Chardonnet glacier, on the mountain pass with the same name. The glacier Saliena, which lies on the north side of the mountain pass, drastically lost its magnitude in the last years, which makes the trip across for skiers even harder. Today, you have to cross it through a long rope descend to finally reach the glacier plate Trient, from which we journey on to its cabin. And we are in Switzerland!

 

At dawn, in the early morning, we ski down a very steep and cracked glacier slope beneath the mountain pass Ecandies, on which we climbed with cant hooks and crampons. There on, the mountain pass widens its path, because beneath lies the valley Arpette, which, with its amazing beauty, shortens out descend to Champex. From there, we drive with a taxi to the near-lying Verbier, where we indulge ourselves with a short break and coffee, before we take the ski lift all the way up these mountain passes lying before us. The highest pass lies just a short distance from Rosablanche top (3338m), on which climbed, before descending back to the serene slopes, which are, even throughout the seasons, covered in soft snow. The cabin Prafleuri was our resting place for this day.

 

 

More than huts

Most cabins in other Alpine countries tend to differ from the cabins we used to seek refuge in when visiting. They are not only open in the summer time, but also in the ski turning season, about from the middle of March to the middle of May. They offer comfortable beds and excellent food. Even in such hard surrounding you will get a 4-course dinner, including salads. An old saying says, that an empty bad cannot stand on its own, and there they know this fact in every one of these cabins very well.

 

We had to leave the Prafleuri cabin and its comfort in the morning, although very hard, behind us, before going through the Roux mountain pass. We begin descending on the slopes of the Dix Lake, which is contained through a large dam in the north, the biggest dam in Switzerland. On the north side of the lake began our longer ascend, which lead us the Chiellon glacier and the near standing Dix cabin.

 

The caretaker of the Pierre cabin is a very interesting and characterizing man. He was a caretaker for over 15 years and has a very own character, very strict when doing so, but everything worked out smoothly and therefore he was linked by the ski turning sportsmen who visited; even though he had his occasional “outbursts” sometimes. God forbid that you stepped in the dining room with ski boots on and cramps in your backpack… Sadly, he retired this year and I believe that people will still miss him very much.

 

 

The Dix cabin lies on a kind of pier, which offers a beautiful view of the mighty Mont Blanc du Chaillom (3879 m), which reigns in these parts like a majestic flying eagle. On the left side of Mont Blanc stands the mountain Pigne d Arolla (3790 m) right by, inviting us with its charming beauty. This was our goal and represents the highest Haute Route point. The top can be reached after a 1000 m ascend through the North Slope, which hides under its thick snow-covered surface many glacier cracks along the way. Even the famous La Serpentine is known for its many “holes” and it’s short but very disposed, often having very windy, icy slopes. This part is one of the hardest parts of our journey and often has to be climbed with a roped party, cant hooks and crampons. From the top you can already see the tops of the Vallis Alps, including Matterhorn. A bit of an unexpected angle view, but the sharp top can still be seen from there.

Skiing on the south side of the slopes to the Vignettes cabin is truly amazing and it is rare that after such a descend you would not toast with beers at the end of it, even though it is in the middle of the day.

A day fit for a king

The Vignettes cabin is attached on the surfacing pier cliffs, almost like an eagles nest. This gives it its much needed safety from avalanches and also it’s astounding view. The beautiful and comfortable cabin is a much needed safe haven from the last Haute Route day, a day fit for a king, an ascend which symbolizes this skiing trip, a day from which there are not many in the existing journeys of ski touring sportsmen. There are roughly 30 km before us, 30 km away from Zermatt, 1200 height difference and ascend through 3 mountain passes and 7 glaciers. And the “Grand finale” at the end awaits: a 3k skiing descend.  

 

 

We start rather early and descend on the Charmaine platform, from where we climb on the Eveque mountain pass (3382 m). The nice descend on the Arolla glacier was where we attached our skins to our skiing boots, later even with crampons and  cant hooks, and with which we conquered the Brulle mountain pass (3218 m). There, before us, lied the Valpeline mountain pass (3557 m), the last mountain pass, but in the middle of the day, the immense heat from the good weather we had, followed us all the way the glacier Tsa da Tsan. But what can you do, the last meters before the Valpeline mountain pass are beautiful, you can almost say it brings tears to your very heart when looking. From the white snowy field you could see the top of Dent Blanch, a few steps onward Dent d’Herens, and after that Matterhorn, and soon after we look upon the crown of 20 mountain tops, all higher than 3.000 meters. And there, deep beneath us, stuck in between these giants, lies the Zermatt valley, our goal. Unsurpassable! About a 2800 m height distance away awaits our skiing slope on the Stock glacier, beneath the north faces Dent d’Herens and Matterhorn. The glacier, in good weather conditions, is one of the most beautiful descends in the Alps there is, but in bad weather turns, with its numerous glaciers and cracks, into a giant mine field.

 

Upon our arrival in Zermatt I was more and more overwhelmed with feelings of job about the accomplished goal behind me. And in a city without cars, it is even friendlier than in others. Some mountaineers sleep there for the night. Others, like us, travel with a taxi or the train the same day to the Chamonix starting point; the beginning of our unforgettable adventure.