Haute Route
The Haute Route travels from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland. After hiking the Tour du Mt. Blanc in 2018, I was determined to do more hut to hut hiking in the Alps, and the Haute Route is a natural next step. It's much more challenging than the Tour du Mt. Blanc, but crosses more variety of scenery.
135 miles | 220 km | 54,000 ft | 16,500m climb | 13 days
Our Itinerary
Day 1: Chamonix to Trient | 9.1 miles | 14.6km | ~2430 ft | ~740m climb
Day 2: Trient to Orsieres | 12.2 miles | 19.6km | ~4460 ft | ~1,360 m climb
Day 3: Orsieres to the Col de Mille | 9 miles | 14.5 km | ~5450 ft | ~1,660 m climb
Day 4: Col de Mille to Cabane de Louvie | 12.8 miles | 20.6 km | ~3280 ft | ~1,000m climb
Day 5: Cabane de Louvie to Cabane de Prafleuire | 9 miles| 14.5km |~3280 ft | ~1,000m climb
Day 6: Cabane de Prafleuire to Arolla | 15.8 miles | 25.4km | ~ 2625 ft | ~800 m climb
Day 7: Arolla to Les Hauderes | 4.8 miles | 7.7km | ~460 ft | ~140 m climb
Day 8: Les Hauderes to Cabane de Moiry | 9.4 miles | 15.2km | ~6070 ft | ~1,850 m climb
Day 9 : Cabane de Moiry to Zinal | 11 miles | 17.7 km | ~1970 ft | ~600 m climb
Day 10: Zinal to Gruben | 11.5 miles | 18.5 km | ~3940 ft |~1200 m climb
Day 11: Gruben to St. Niklaus | 12.6 miles | 20.3km | ~3400 ft |~1030m climb
Day 12: St. Niklaus to Europahutte | 5.9 miles | 9.5km | ~3500 ft | ~1070m climb
Day 13: Europahutte to Zermatt | 14.5 miles | 23.3km | ~2215 ft |~675m climb
Day 14: Party in Zermatt!
Day 1: Chamonix to Trient
July 10 | 9.1 miles | 14.6km | ~2430 ft | ~740m climb
We decided to combine the first two days of the itinerary to save some time and headed straight from Chamonix to Trient skipping the traditional first night at Trelechamp. If you haven't hiked this section before - I would not skip it, but because it I had just hiked it on the Tour du Mt Blanc, we decided to skip a day early on. We took the bus to the Le Tour stop (end of the line). We were able to pick up the bus right outside of our hotel, the Hôtel Le Refuge des Aiglons Chamonix, and take a 20 minute ride to Le Tour (1450m). From there we continued on foot following signs to the Col de la Balme, roughly following the chair lift halfway up. We lunched at Refuge du Col de Balme (2190m) and then continued downhill to Trient for the rest of the day. After showers, we enjoyed a beer and supper at our first refuge, the Auberge du Mont Blanc.
Accommodation: Auberge du Mont Blanc
Looking back at the Le Tour and the Chamonix Valley on the way to Col de Balme
Day 2: Trient to Orsieres
July 11 | 12.2 miles | 19.6km | ~4460 ft | ~1,360 m climb
Something about both the TMB and the Haute Route that I won't get used to is the absolutely brutal second day. After a short, steep climb from our refuge in Trient (1305m), we took a lovely walk over Trient on a flat, large path, with art exhibits around every corner until the refuge, the Buvette du Glacier du Trient. From there, its a relentless climb to the Fenetre d'Arpette (2665m), but the views of the Glacier du Trient off some respite. After lunching and high-fiving at the top, we thought we had a simple downhill to Champex-Lac and onto Orsieres, but we were mistaken. Heading down, was almost as challenging with scree, loose rocks and an incredibly steep trail, before turning into a obstacle course, boulder field. Past the boulder field the trail became much more manageable to Champex-Lac, and from there we took a bus down to Orsieres because there was no availability in Champex-Lac.
Accommodation: Hôtel Terminus
The wooded Art Gallery walk above Trient
The Trient Glacier View hiking up to Fenetre d'Arpette
The boulder field we hiked through after Fenetre d'Arpette on our way to Champex-Lac
Day 3: Orsieres to the Col de Mille
July 12 | 9 miles | 14.5 km | ~5450 ft | ~1,660 m climb
After throwing away absolutely anything we didn't need (bye all containers!), we headed off from Orsieres (911m) up to climb the high point of our hike at Mont Brule (2571m). On the way we passed through the small town of Commiere (bus accessible if you need a short cut and hope to save 500m of the climb) and on through cow pasture up to Mt. Brule. Just on from Mt. Brule was our small hut on Col de Mille. This was a small hut filled with paragliders and few English speakers, so a good opportunity to practice our French!
Accommodation: Cabane du Col de Mille
Scenic Swiss mountains on the way up to Mt. Brule
The sunset from the Cabane du Col de Mille
Day 4: Col de Mille to Cabane de Louvie
July 13 | 12.8 miles | 20.6 km | ~3280 ft | ~1,000m climb
Starting off the day was a beautiful easy decent from Col de Mille to Cabane Brunet. From there our original plan was to follow the National Geographic map and cross the Glacier de Corbassiere on the 190 m long Corbassiere Suspension bridge, but after talking with some hikers and calculating that we'd might be late to dinner, we decided to head down from Cabane Brunet Fionnay (1491m) on a steep trail and up to Cabane de Louvie at 2250m. We did not regret arriving at Cabane de Louvie early. There's a beautiful lake some were swimming in, and we caught the gorgeous sunset and a lactose-intolerant (aged cheese!) friendly fondue dinner!
Accommodation: Cabane de Louvie
Drinking water for hikers outside Cabane Brunet
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Meadows descending from Cabane de Mille
Day 5: Cabane de Louvie to Cabane de Prafleuire
July 14 | 9 miles| 14.5km | ~3280 ft | ~1,000m climb
Our favorite day of the trip and other worldly beauty! We started the day with a walk around Lac de Louvie (2222 m) through flowing meadows and caught stunning photos of the lake and surrounding mountains. From there we headed up towards the Col de Louvie (2921m). From there we crossed the Grand Desert - a hard to navigate and otherworldly landscape of glaciers and meltwater lakes. Each lake had a different color based on the mineral composition of the glacier. This was definitely a place where a GPS app came in handy on our phones. From there we climbed up around 140 m to the Col de Prafleuire (2965m) the highest point on our route. There were stunning views from the col of the Grand Desert one way and meltwater lakes and streams, and the Cabane de Prafleuire in the other direction. After a steep descent from the col, we soon reached the cabane. This cabane was the only without a working shower and we used our water filter as the water from the sinks was not potable.
Accommodation: Cabane de Prafleuire
Lac de Louvie
The Grand Desert
Day 6: Cabane de Prafleuire to Arolla
July 15 | 15.8 miles | 25.4km | ~ 2625 ft | ~800 m climb
The morning of day 6 began with conquering a short but steep col, the Col des Roux - definitely the least difficult col on our trip, but once at the top, we had stunning views of Lac des Dix. After descending from the col, we followed the flat wide trail around the Lac, spotting a few vocal marmots on our way. Soon we were climbing again into a landscape dominated by the Glacier de Chelion. We crossed mounds of sediment, with scarce vegetation until reaching the option of taking the Pas de Chevres or the Col de Riedmatten. After hearing the Col de Riedmatten had lots of loose rocks, and after encountering that on the decline from Fenetre d'Arpette, we decided to take the ladders at the Pas de Chevres - which though was somewhat nerve racking, was over quickly and we had a (too) long break in the sunshine at the pass (we definitely got sunburned). From there, we had a long descent into the stunning valley to Arolla.
Accommodation: Camping Arolla
Lac des Dix from Col des Roux
Ladders to Pas de Chevres
Our Yurt in Camping Arolla
Day 7: Arolla to Les Hauderes
July 16 | 4.8 miles | 7.7km | ~460 ft | ~140 m climb
Though Day 7 was supposed to be short, it wasn't supposed to be quite this short but sometimes things don't go according to plan. We were feeling a bit ill so instead of the original itinerary, we did the short hike from Camping Arolla (1950m) to Le Lac Blue (2090m) - a sight we had seen pictures of that we just could not miss. We spent the morning nursing our swollen feet in the cool waters, and cheering for any brave souls who made the swim across. From there we took a short hike down (45 mins) to La Gouille and a bus into Les Hauderes to nap off and recover from the first week. Many people reccommend a rest day, and although we didn't plan one, we were lucky enough to have the bus option on a day our bodies were demanding rest.
Accommodation: Hotel Dents de Veisivi
La Lac Bleu
Day 8: Les Hauderes to Cabane de Moiry
July 17 | 9.4 miles | 15.2km | ~6070 ft | 1,850 m climb
Feeling recovered from our rest day, we had the longest climb yet from Les Hauderes (1,450 m) to Col du Tsate (2867m), down to the Lac de Chateaupre (2400 m) and back up to the Cabane de Moiry (2825m). Though the Cabane de Moiry is slightly off the Haute Route, we were glad we took other's advice and stayed there. Throughout the afternoon and evening, we'd hear massive crashing of the glacier calving off. Some say we hike just to eat in a beautiful location, and I will say it was one of the most stunning places to drink a beer and enjoy some blueberry cobbler.
Accommodation: Cabane de Moiry
Glacier de Moiry from the Cabane de Moiry
Day 9 : Cabane de Moiry to Zinal
July 18 | 11 miles | 17.7 km | ~1970 ft | ~600 m climb
From Cabane Moiry we hiked down to the Barrage de Moiry (2249m) on the road, though a higher path also was possible, but it was interesting to see all the van lifers camping along the road. From there we hike a steep, crowded path (tour busses!) up through a cow pasture to just short (2836m) of the Corne de Sorebois to cross over into the next valley. We hiked down through the ski slopes to have ice cream and beer at the Buvette de Marmotte, and took the cable car down to our hotel in Zinal to do some sink laundry and relax in our bougie hotel after day of huts and camping.
Accommodation: Hotel Besso
Day 10: Zinal to Gruben
July 19 | 11.5 miles | 18.5 km | ~3940 ft | ~1200 m climb
Though leaving our beautiful hotel and fancy restaurants in Zinal (1674m), it was time to climb the Col de la Forcletta (2874m). The route had beautiful views of the valleys and the Turtmanngletschar glacier and typical Swiss alpine scenary.
Accommodation: Hotel Schwarzhorn (The sleeping/bathroom situation felt more like a refuge than a hotel, but they were really sweet about giving us an early breakfast!)
Day 11: Gruben to St. Niklaus
July 20 | 12.6 miles | 20.3km | ~3400 ft | ~1030m climb
Day 11 was a beautiful challenge and the last pass of the hike. With the threat of afternoon thunderstorms and the exposed Augstbordpass (2893m) to climb, we asked for breakfast early at took off at 5:30 am. The path way a steady upward to the pass, and some interesting rock scrambles after the pass. Its definitely an exposed section you'd want to do in good weather. A highlight was watching a sheepdog heard sheep on the other side of the valley. From there we made it to Jungu, where you can take a cable car down to St. Niklaus or hoof it as we did on the Way of the Cross. This stations of the cross is meant to be experienced in the reverse order, and I bet you'd feel some suffering hiking up the trail in the heat wave we were experiencing. Thankfully, we just had to head down, but were completely toast as we arrived to St. Niklaus.
Accommodation: Hotel Heimatlodge
Arriving in the Zermatt Valley
Stations of the Cross on the Way of the Cross
Day 12: St. Niklaus to Europahutte
July 21 | 5.9 miles | 9.5km | ~3500 ft | ~1070m climb
This was a shorter day than planned because the part of the Europaweg was closed in Summer 2022 due to a landslide. Therefore we took the frequent train from St. Niklaus to Herbriggen (1268m). From there we climbed a very steep path to meet the Europaweg, but once on the trail, the views are stunning! The surrounding glaciers and the valley floor were magical to look at. We made it to the Europahutte (2264m) quite early in the day and celebrated with some drinks and a nap.
Accommodation: Europahutte (email for reservations)
Our lunch spot on the Europaweg
Day 13: Europahutte to Zermatt
July 22 | 14.5 miles | 23.3km | ~2215 ft | ~675m climb
The last day of our trip was no piece of cake despite our strengthend legs! We started off the day with crossing the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge - one of the longest in the world! Thankfully heights don't bother us, but if they do - just look at the other examples of Swiss Engineering to find some peace. From there we enjoyed to views of the Matternhorn as we continued on the Europaweg to Zermatt.
Accommodation: Hotel Capricorn
Day 14: Party in Zermatt!!!
Celebrating finishing our pilgrimage to the Toblerone mountain!
