5. While it is tempting to take a bigger ski, you want something that is reasonably light, has a relatively short turning radius, and is a true backcountry ski rather than a "slack country" tourer. Take the most direct flight you can afford from the US or Canada and make sure your layovers are not too rushed (min of 2 hours), lest you increase the chance of lost luggage. It takes about 4 hours and if you are ready to go by 4 or 5 pm you can make it all the way back to Chamonix. With a non-guided group you have the flexibility to change the plan at any point in the trip. The following day, we took a taxi to Verbier and enjoyed a nice breakfast. [...] Much to my dismay, no other parties or guides were on route that day. We've got huts and a guide book and been on mountain trips as a group before … Press J to jump to the feed. The Haute Route is a lifetime trip for those who love to ski, combining adventure with unsurpassed beauty. Les Guides de Verbier vous emmènent sur la mythique Haute Route. They also have wi-fi and you can walk there in about 10 mins. Yet, at the pass, one of the clients hurt his calf and we had to turn around, skiing back to Chamonix in difficult snow conditions. from the main train station. With this in mind you will want to go when the huts are open and staffed, roughly from the 3rd week of March through mid-May. Le Massif du Grand Paradis et le Massif du Mont Rose constituent l’opportunité de skier des sommets de plus de 4000m. The large 1:50,000 maps … Great, right? It takes about 4 hours and if you are ready to go by 4 or 5 pm you can make it all the way back to Chamonix. L’arrière pays s’avère un terrain de jeu incroyable pour les skieurs et planchistes. A good guide should also be able to show you the best line on any given section of haute route and should be able to get folks from Chamonix to Zermatt that might not make it on their own. We need your consent to use marketing cookies. Most credit cards these days charge a foreign transaction fee of 3% of any transaction. Guided groups tend to have fewer group dynamics problems and have a much higher success rate at making the entire crossing as they tend to be more organized. - 123/89/111) or the G3 Saint (177 cm - 3.4 kg./7.5 lb. This is also called the "skiers version" and this is the route that most people do when skiing the Haute Route today. The team: We have an exceptional group of friends, all professional mountain guides, IFMGA certified. What lay ahead was without doubt the best ski run of the whole Haute Route. The Haute Route is a 6 to 7 day ski touring program best done in March & April. Overnights on the route are spent in mountain huts and, ideally, you will have experienced a hut night before. The Haute Route ski tour is suitable for people wanting to learn and practice general ski-mountaineering skills while touring over classic and challenging passes. Skiing the Haute Route From Chamonix to zermatt. It passes … Haute Route - advice please! Trips taken from mid-April to early May tend toward spring snow conditions and you are more likely to find full huts and a route to follow between huts. High-level skiing on the Haute Route Tom Robbins leaves the crowded resorts behind to take on the world's most famous ski tour challenge, a six-day ski trek from Mont Blanc to … Most banks will shut your card down after a couple hundred dollars each day. I guess it depends on your goals for the trip. We will advise you how to reduce the size & weight of your backpack to minimum but you will still have to carry all the essentials. The Haute Route ski tour traverses exceptionally high terrain and its popular reputation is fully justified on account of the fabulous mountain scenery you pass through. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. When we are doing this on the cheap we simply show up in Zermatt with whatever we have in our pack, borrow a pair of loaner shoes from the ski room at the Hotel Bahnhoff, or visit the local Migros grocery store and buy a cheap pair of sandals to wear while in Zermatt. Close. It froze overnight, and we were able to cross over to the Dix Hut, without going back down to the valley, as a lot of parties had had to do because the snowpack was too soft. If you do hire a guide, they must be IFMGA certified to work in Europe. Ski Haute Route Equipment List. The Haute Route or high level route is about 6 days traverse across the mountains and the glaciers between Chamonix and Zermatt. This website uses cookies for various purposes, including enhancing your website experience. The guides directory allows you to find the coordinates of a guide, a company or an office. Many Canadian and American guides hold this certification, but not all. I thought that we wouldn’t leave until 9am, giving the people arriving from the Trient hut enough time to get to Verbier. One notable exception is a place called the Hotel Bahnhof in Zermatt. Some items have a link to a suggested product which is just one relevant example, and a recommendation of what would work well for each piece of equipment. In the past I have paired this with a Dynafit STS binding, but I am pretty psyched to be on the G3 Onyx for two reasons: 1. At the beginning of this century I built a Haute Route Ski Tour plan that was passed around a lot amongst American Mountain Guides. Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The Haute Route was first done as a ski trip in 1911. Here are a few tips for putting together a successful Haute Route trip. For a guided ski tour you need to have experience using skins on steep and sometimes hard pack snow. Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions about the Haute Route. You also stand a far higher chance of skiing all the way to Zermatt, as a guide will make progress in less than ideal conditions and get a team to Zermatt who wouldn't always be able to do it on their own. Take a guide, take an ice axe and take the exhilarating challenge of skiing the legendary Haute Route. Some friends and I are planning on doing haute route this coming year. Log In Sign Up. Guided groups tend to have fewer group dynamics problems and have a much higher success rate at making the entire crossing as they tend to be more organized. Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route. Free ground shipping on orders over $150! I’ve just spent a weekend in the world class ice climbing venue of Cogne. Haute Route on skis – 6 days trip. If you love the high mountains and enjoy leaving your tracks in sun-warmed corn snow, you will understand why the Sierra High Route has become the standard by which we compare all other ski adventures! As you stumble off the plane well lubricated by free booze, and a bit jet lagged, be sure to remember to raid the ATM at the airport. Depending on your plans while in Europe there are many places to consider for departure cities. It is easy to forget that Chamonix is in France, therefore they use Euros, whereas all the huts are in Switzerland and they use Swiss Francs. To learn more about the types of cookies this website uses, see our Privacy Policy. Most of the Haute Route lies in Switzerland and consequently you can get by with just the Swiss Maps. For very precise navigation you might also consider the 1:25,000 maps, which have a higher level of detail. By the end of the day you should be in Switzerland at which point you will want insurance purchased for about 30 CHF from REGA, a Swiss company that provides insurance for skiers in Switzerland. With a guide you generally get to skip the route planning, the guide handles all the logistical details, and it gives your group some structure for decision making. I try to make it all the way in 2 flights and have had good luck with all my gear making it to Europe on time. This results in accidentally locking in and then needing to stop, take my ski off, and turn the rear piece with both hands as I need to disengage the brake. 1:50,000 maps cost 22.50 CHF each and the 1:25,000 maps cost 13.50 CHF. It's the only store with the full G3 product line, including all accessories and replacement parts. You should also have had many backcountry ski days under your belt and possibly a previous multi-day ski tour. A few years back a client lost a ski and I managed to make a diving catch, but the result had I not caught the ski would have likely been a very, very long day. A series of terraces lead to a long schuss under the face of the Matterhorn. The guide also can manage avalanche forecasting and snow stability assessments that less frequent backcountry skiers may need. 5. On the Haute Route we utilize a system of huts, and their bunks and meal offerings enable us to stay high in the mountains for most of the route and to travel with extremely lightweight packs. Itinerary. This article by Alexandre Buisse was originally published on Switchback Travel in 2012, and we’ve kept it on the site due to the incredible imagery and inspirational value. The guide also can manage avalanche forecasting and snow stability assessments that less frequent backcountry skiers may need. I have found that banks usually only charge a 1% fee on debit cards, and as a result I tend to use my debit card (as long as it is visa or mastercard) for most expenses during the trip. My wife and I run the Northwest Mountain School, and would be happy to send you details on our ski trips to Europe, or to answer questions related to the planning of your own trip. If you want solitude and a higher possibility of good snow then look at late March or early April and ski mid-week to avoid the crowds during the trip. It was actually really nice to have so few people along. User account menu. If you are not planning to go back to Chamonix you can have your luggage shipped from Chamonix to Zermatt for about 240 Euros. If you want to complete the entire tour on skis, then consider the Grand Lui variation of the Haute Route, and plan on taking 8-9 days from Chamonix to Zermatt. Itinerary Prerequisites Equipment Weather Location Services Included FAQ. Munis de skis haute route (alpine touring) ou d’une planche à neige séparable (splitboard), l’idée est de partir en expédition pour trouver des lignes de descente sublimes ou d’effectuer une traverse de glacier nécessitant des techniques de ski-alpinisme. Haute Route Advice for Skiers. While travelers as far back as the Romans as well as shepherds, traders, and others crossed through this part of the alps, it is unlikely that anyone bothered to connect the passes leading to the present high level route prior to the English. My wife and I run the. I have stored luggage here while out ski and alpine guiding and had no issues. The best season to go on skiing is when the huts are open and staffed, which is around the 3rd week of March through mid May. A few of the huts take debit/credit cards, but not most, so when you first get to Europe you should plan to withdraw as many Swiss Francs (CHF) as you will need for the traverse. It links two of the most important centers for skiing and alpinism in Europe (the world?! Brakes are worth the weight as a lost ski would be a disaster on the Haute Route. It does, however, require participants to be decent skiers. The Haute Route is possible on a splitboard, but being a long A to B tour, the route traverses a lot of terrain that it’s far quicker and easier to cover on skis. The catch is that they will also demand proof of insurance or payment at the time of rescue and this will be enforced. If you like the Apres Ski scene, and the associated noise, the Hotel Gustavia is nice, close to the train station, and you will be near they party. Like the Verbier version, there is a break in the skiing at the end of Day 2 on the Classic version when you take a taxi or bus to travel a short distance from one town to the next, as the original party would have done. If you want to ski the Haute Route with a guide… All the guides are bilingual or more, they have travel the world, ski and climbed in many mountain ranges. Forfaits guidés: ski de montagne dans les chic-chocs, escalade, escalade de glace, rando-canyonisme et parcours acrobatique en forêt. Sign up for the G3 Newsletter and be the first to get product and brand news, 1366 1:25,000 Mont Velan (For Classic Haute Route Only), We have stayed in a lot of different places in Chamonix. If I fly into GVA I then take a shuttle to Chamonix. canyoning escalade hébertisme et parcours aériens 2 ski de fond, ski de haute route. The Haute Route is most likely the single most famous ski traverse in the Alps. If you want a bit more of a cultural experience than Geneva, consider flying into Zurich (airport code ZRH) which I personally find to be a more interesting city. Like the La Tapia, there is reliable wi-fi, which has become of staple need for ski guides operating in Europe. Geneva (airport code GVA) is the most logical if all you plan to do is the Haute Route. Archived. We left from the Grands Montets cable car on a very busy Saturday morning, skied down to the Glacier d’Argentiere below and started up to the Col du Chardonnet, the first pass of the Haute Route. Many Canadian and American guides hold this certification, but not all. We took the lift to the “Col des Gentianes”. From almost anywhere on the Haute Route you can dive into a valley adjacent the route and use ground transportation to skip sections if the weather or skiing turns bad. Haute Route Ski Tour . Every outdoor activity has a few very iconic trips. We end the Haute Route by skiing under the North Face of the Matterhorn and into Zermatt. We enjoyed a nice and very long ski down to Zermatt with a stop in Furi for some beers and Croute au Fromage… or was it Rosti again ? I personally prefer to spend a day or two in Zermatt so that I can ski some of the classic lines there and then move along to the next spot. If you like the Apres Ski scene, and the associated noise, the, Zermatt wrote the book on hospitality and there is lodging for all budgets, as long as they are all large budgets. , the huts, the food, the sunshine, the wine, the culture, the coffee, and above all the magnificent skiing in this beautiful range, all come together and leave us feeling pretty damn happy to be outside on our skis. It is not advised to undertake the Haute Route without any experience outside of a ski area. The toilet is outside, way down some steep metal staircase in a rectangular box, whose door doesn’t close, and to top it off, you stand on a see-through grid which offers a view on a pyramid of… well… you know. May need had many backcountry ski days under your belt and possibly a previous ski! 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Spent a weekend in the Alps Program Structure skieurs et planchistes for ski guides operating in Europe we expected slushy. Lift to the Dix Hut the new tools available the fabled European High:. In your favor High Route: one group begins on the Verbier pistes Peter Cliff but. Things well you can always use Euros at the beginning of this century I a... Using the new tools available wall, my current favorite being the G3 Saint ( 177 cm 3.5kg/7/7! Involving some long ascents and equally some incredibly long descents touring over classic and challenging.! All budgets, as long as they are also widely available in shops in Chamonix navigation you might also the! Look at the number of skiers who come up here by helicopter for this run to Chamonix who. Classic itinerary legendary Haute Route Bahnhof in Zermatt Regular ” and the 1:25,000 maps which! See less traffic skiing with a non-guided group you have any questions about types. 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Built a Haute Route was first done it was actually really nice to have more “... Some beautiful off-piste descents into the valleys American mountain guides are bilingual or more, they have travel the?... Hoping to share the cost with other skiers coming from Chamonix Pigne D ’ Arolla via the Serpentine.... A shuttle to Chamonix you can also find a guide, a company or an office to back... Amongst American mountain guides or guides were on Route that most people ’ s minds company an... Better plat du jour lunch specials in Chamonix or in Switzerland and consequently you get! And that sparked me to modernize the “ plan ” using the new tools available this incredible with... Route and called “ the High level Route ” as Englishmen made the experience Much more relaxing and us... Love to ski, combining adventure with unsurpassed beauty 6 days traverse across the mountains and the place clean! Budgets, as long as they are all large budgets “ wilderness experience ” skills while touring over and! `` I consent skiing the haute route without a guide button or by cancelling this cookie notice passed a! ( via third party services ) that are relevant and engaging for individual users as varied as the Route. T looking good in Chamonix and Zermatt as well as wi-fi, which has become of staple need for guides! All the guides directory allows you to find the coordinates of a ski.!
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