Haute Route

Ski Touring in the Alps

The Haute Route or "High Level Route" is possibly the world’s most popular multi-day ski mountaineering route. British mountaineers pioneered this technical traverse of the Swiss Alps in the summer of 1861. Fifty years later, in 1911, the Haute Route was first traversed using skis. The Haute Route includes roughly 100 glaciated miles from the Chamonix Valley and Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn and Zermatt.

Chamonix – Verbier – Zermatt

There exist multiple variations to the Haute Route including the highly popular Verbier to Zermatt option. In April of 2012, despite challenging weather and dangerous avalanche conditions, Moe Witschard, Amy McCarthy and I completed the Chamonix – Verbier – Zermatt variation in six delightful days.

  Mont Blanc and Chamonix Valley

 Grands Montets to Col Chardonnet

Col Chardonnet to Trient Hut

 Trient Glacier

 Trient Hut to Champex

Verbier to Lac de Dix

Amy McCarthy on route to the Dix Hut

Lac de Dix to Vignettes Hut

Moe Witschard on the Patrouille des Glaciers Race Track

Amy McCarthy in the Arolla Valley

Dix Hut

Amy and Forrest enjoying some evening alpine glow

Pas des Chevres

 

Moe Witschard on the Glacier de Piece

Amy McCarthy on Glacier de Piece

 Glacier de Piece

 Amy McCarthy on route to the Vignettes Hut

Vignettes Hut

Evening Alpine Glow

Vignettes Hut to Col Valpelline

Amy and Moe gearing up for our final day

 Col  Valpelline to Zermatt