The Alpine Haute Route

I first read about ski touring in the Alps in the book “A Little Walk on Skis: From the Mediterranean to Austria Along the Alps Off Piste” by the wonderfully named Peter Wilberforce Smith. The Haute Route forms part of this larger route and joins the famous alpine towns of Chamonix and Zermatt.

Paula and myself from Westies had been on a ski mountaineering course at Glenmore Lodge last winter where we met John and it was during this, that the idea of a Haute Route trip was born. Fast forward a year and the three of us are meeting up at the Hotel La Couronne hotel in Argentiere.

With a day before meeting up with the rest of the team, we had an “easy” day skiing in the Grand Monet pistes. After a few red runs the cable car to the top station opened and we headed up to get a look about. Spectacular views over toward Mont Blanc and down towards the Argentiere glacier enjoyed, we dropped from the col back down the mountain via a couple of black runs which actually formed the start of the Haute Route …were we really going to be doing this with a big pack on in a few days
That evening, we met up with Ian Sherrington from Glenmore and the rest of the folks – including Alex who we knew from the previous year!

The kit faff / break in day was spent on the Vallee Blanche with goes from the Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) down through a series of glaciers. We called in at the Requin hut on the descent for a bite to eat and it was just below this that disaster struck – shortly after traversing back into the glacier, Paula fell …badly. You could tell something serious had happened by watching her continue to ski down towards the group - she arrived with a pained look on her face. To reduce the weight she was carrying, kit was distributed amongst the group and we continued down the mountain. On arriving at Montenvers, her knee was still bad indicating it was more than a simply twist. Sadly the next day she confirmed that starting the tour was not an option.

Not starting with Paula took the edge off the Haute Route even before we had left the valley.

With mixed feelings, the group said our goodbyes and headed back up the Grand Monet. The drop down onto the Argentiere was challenging to say the least. The impact of a big pack on ski technique cannot be understated! It was good to get onto level ground and get the skins on for a while. With the final approach to the Argentiere hut (2770m) a bit thin, skis were transferred onto the side of the pack and we booted the last few hundred metres up to the hut. It was good to arrive and I propped my skis against the hut hand rail whilst I sorted the rest of my kit out …only seconds later to panic as one of my skis fell and bounced off the rocks back down towards the glacier. Reckon my embarrassment as I headed off to retrieve them further decreased the snow pack.

Once back at the hut, it was incredible just to sit and gaze at the sheer size of the mountains that made up the surrounds. In particular, I was mesmerised by the north face of the Droites – far beyond my ability but a boy can dream!

That evening John expressed concerns about how he was feeling and next morning he confirmed that he was still not well and would not be coming with us – he was subsequently treated for altitude sickness (Cerebral edema) back down in the valley.


Our route began with retracing the previous days finish back down the Argentiere glacier before ascending to the Col du Passon(3028m) – a tidy wee gully with a short 200m pitch with a slope angle of 60 degrees. Again the weight of the pack combined with altitude made things a wee bit challenging. At the top of the col, we were back on skis for a lovely descent across the glacier and towards the second long ascent of the day to the Col Superior du Tour (3288m). From here it was a simple but stunning traverse across the Plateau du Trient and a short final climb to the Trient hut (3168m). Being one of the first teams to arrive, we spread kit out to dry before countless cups of tea! I enjoyed another few hours of mountain gazing across to the Aiguille Dorees before food and bed.

We had a fairly early start next morning dropping down the side of the Trient Glacier before transferring onto crampons for the ascent to the Col Des Escandies. With snow being a bit thin, a short rope was used to protect the initial steep section to gain the main gully. At the top, we could see the descent line into Champex and enjoyed fantastic snow down to the town.

Here is the only aspect which breaks the flow of the Haute Route for me …a road transfer to Verbier. The upside was coffee and cake in the bakery! Arriving in Verbier was strange – personally I felt like a very different species from the rich piste folks rambling around and soaking up the sun. We used the mechanical uplift in order to gain sufficient height to make the traverse into the Mont Fort hut (2457m) for the evening.


It was a bit spooky starting to skin up towards the Col de la Chaux and the main objectivr of the day - the summit  Rosablanche (3336m).The final skin line up to the col seemed to take an age and it was good to spend a short time getting the heart rate back down whilst stashing the skis before the final ridge ascent up to the actual summit. The weather and light continued to deteriorate as we made the initially low-angled descent. Wee sting in the tail just above the hut gave as steep a pitch as I have ever skied – thankfully deep powder is soft to fall into.

Arrival at the Prafleuri Hut (2662m) was celebrated with a shared dish of Rosti.

From the map the next days route to the Dix Hut (2928m) looked a tad flat ! The initial climb was great and warmed the legs up nicely …at the col the skins came off and we could see the next section of the route which initially took a high traverse line before dropping down to just above Lake Dix. Crossing the avalanche debris showed why an early start was a good idea and we were soon skating, side stepping and with huge effort poling along the lakeside. In hindsight maybe skins would have been slower but used less effort. At the end of the lake it was good to get a break, eat, drink and return to skins for the ascent up to towards the hut. As time went on, the weather took a turn for the worse as forecast. With the wind threatening to halt any progress, I opted for crampons for the final approach before collapsing into the wee ski shed with relief.

As the afternoon went on the bad weather got worse and the snow continued to fall. Plan “A” aka heading to the Vignettes Hut (3160m) the next day was in doubt and Plan “B” aka a drop down to the valley and safety of Arrolla quickly became the new Plan “A”.

With bad visibility and continuing snow the next morning the three British teams agreed to make the journey across the glacier to the Pas de Cherves and fixed ladders together. Personally, I felt very aware of the risk and was glad to be heading down till things improved. Booting up to the ladders was actually far more comforting than being on the level ground across the glacier and once over the ladders, we had a nice ski down onto the pistes above Arolla.

Once down in the valley, Ian sorted accommodation, we ate and headed back onto the piste for an afternoon of powder skiing …as good as bad weather alternatives get ! 

Next morning dawned with a return to blue skies. Conditions and snow risks were checked with a local guide and we started the long journey back up the mountain but this time, towards the Bertol Hut (3311m).

With every turn the views changed and got more spectacular as we climbed. The final ascent to the col below the hut was in the “interesting” category both in terms of getting the right line, avoiding getting avalanched and then setting up the ski dump before the last ascent on the fixed ladders to the hut. Sitting on the ridge, the Bertol is without a doubt the most amazing place to be spending the night. It also gave the view over towards the Matterhorn, Dent de Heuron and our modest summit for the next day of the Tete Blanche. Surprisingly, I woke during the night needing the loo – below is the route to the WC !

The last day dawned almost clear with the kind of cloud you knew would burn off given time. We dropped down the ladders, picked up the skis and headed across the glacier. With the amount of snow still sitting about, the easy traverse ended up an easy skin line. Over the glacier we ascended the Tete Blanche (3170m), took pictures and generally smiled a lot – only the final descent to Zermatt to go!

Personally, I got spooked by the descent and in particular how the line from above looked great until you looked back up the slope and saw exactly how messed up the terrain is with crevasses and seracs. Not a place to get it wrong. I was also starting to get tired which resulted in going “base over apex” a few times. During one of these more contorted falls, I managed to break a pole (we had one spare in the group thankfully). Bit of a culture shock arriving in Zermatt with the rich ...and clean folks.

We checked into the hostel and I went off to explore the town a bit ...wearing a pair of free hotel slippers. A few of us managed a wee celebration that evening in a nice loud pub with live music – still wearing the hotel slippers.

With a day to spare, Ian kindly included an ascent of the Breithorn before heading back to Chamonix. As with all these trips ...it is strange to finish.

All in all, a fantastic trip and experience. For anyone thinking on doing it, I can highly recommend going with Glenmore Lodge. Great kit included in the price, extra time to allow for bad weather and most importantly very professional guiding. Over the course of the trip, I learned a pile of skills and information from Ian – a real privilege to have shared the journey.

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