Haute Route

Departure day from Norway. You can fly with Norwegian, Swiss, or SAS to Geneva. The easiest way to get from Geneva to Chamonix is by minibus taxi, such as Alpybuss. Be sure to book well in advance. Meet at the hotel in Chamonix for an introduction to the trip and to meet the rest of the group. We’ll have dinner, sort out the final gear, and get ready for a fantastic week in the mountains.

The plan is the Verbier version of the Haute Route, but with a taxi to Arolla instead of a taxi to Verbier. This is a more reliable option that increases the chances of completing the trip. However, trail and weather conditions may still necessitate changes along the way. Today we’ll have breakfast at the hotel, shop for lunch, and then take the ski lift up to Grande Monte, where the Haute Route trip itself begins. We’ll start off easy and take a short leg to the Argentier hut. In the afternoon, we’ll have a training session with the transceiver equipment so that everyone is familiar with it.

Today we’ll start by crossing the Argentiere Glacier and begin the ascent toward the pass. If the weather is clear, we’ll have a fantastic view of Chamonix and can carefully study our first destination, Col du Passon. There, a traverse awaits that will take us to the Trient Hut at 3,168 meters above sea level.

We cross the Trient Glacier and end up in Val d'Arpette. From here, a 1,300-meter descent awaits us down to the Swiss town of Champex. From there, we’ll take a bus or taxi to Arolla. If we still have some energy left, Arolla is a great starting point for a number of shorter, beautiful hikes.

We’re starting to get into a routine now. After breakfast, we start the day at the local ski resort. Either we take the lift to the top and continue our hike directly into the mountains, or we can do an extra run at the resort before continuing our adventure. On the hike to Dix Cabin, we’ll pass Pas de Chévres via a fun “via ferrata,” among other things. Once we’ve completed the ascent to the Dix Hut, we can either end the day’s hike and enjoy the surroundings, or we can take a short side trip from the hut. The Dix Hut offers perhaps the best view of the entire hike, right above the north face of Mont Blanc de Cheilon.

Today is one of the longer climbing stages. It will take us about four hours to reach Col de Brenay (3639 m) and then cross over to Pigne d’Arolla Col (alternatively, we can go via Col du Chevre, which is more sheltered and has a slightly gentler descent). From there, we’ll continue on to the Vignettes hut. From a distance, the descent might look daunting, but upon closer inspection, we’ll find the beautiful lines in the snow. This is one of the more strenuous days of the trip, so we’ll enjoy a well-deserved dinner when we arrive at the hut, which is located right on the edge of the Vuibe Glacier.

The last day is also the longest, but what a finale! We’ll start early, since it’ll take us about 8 hours to get to Zermatt, but before we get there, we’ll enjoy a 2100-meter descent with fantastic views of the Matterhorn, Zinalrothorn, Monte Rosa, Breithorn, and many of the other most famous peaks in the Zermatt area! A fantastic finale to a fantastic week in the Alps. In Zermatt, we’ll gather our things and take the train to Täsch (Zermatt is car-free!), where our minibus will be waiting to take us back to the hotel in Chamonix. There, we’ll enjoy a well-deserved shower before our farewell dinner.

After breakfast, it's time to head back to Norway. Or maybe you don't want to go home just yet, but have postponed your return for a few days to enjoy some more skiing?