Close. from the main train station. Most people do not realize that there are multiple versions of the Haute Route. The guides directory allows you to find the coordinates of a guide, a company or an office. This website uses cookies for various purposes, including enhancing your website experience. This spectaular route winds its way through the heart of the Alps: it heads eastwards from the base of Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest peak, and finishes in the unmistakeable shadow of the Matterhorn. Ski Ability: The Haute Route is not an extreme ski route in any way. It does, however, require participants to be decent skiers. If you do hire a guide, they must be IFMGA certified to work in Europe. L’arrière pays s’avère un terrain de jeu incroyable pour les skieurs et planchistes. canyoning escalade hébertisme et parcours aériens 2 ski de fond, ski de haute route. It was actually really nice to have so few people along. La Haute Route Chamonix-Zermatt entre le Mont Blanc et le Cervin est certainement le raid à ski le plus connu des Alpes. 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. For a guided ski tour you need to have experience using skins on steep and sometimes hard pack snow. The Haute Route is a 6 to 7 day ski touring program best done in March & April. I can often find cheaper flights to Zurich and I should admit that I gratly enjoy riding the trains of Europe, so the extra few hours on the train is no problem for me. Skiing the Haute Route From Chamonix to zermatt. We like to leave Chamonix on a Sunday and arrive in Zermatt on a Friday as it gives us the best chance of having quiet huts along the way. It also includes a luxurious mid-tour spa day, laundry service and excellent excursions. Haute Route on skis – 6 days trip. Pro Guiding Service has guided this super classic ski tour from Chamonix to Zermatt about 40 times in 5 different variations. You are also going to be able to do the trip for less than half of what it costs to go with a guided group. One notable exception is a place called the Hotel Bahnhof in Zermatt. Depending on your plans while in Europe there are many places to consider for departure cities. 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. We need your consent to use marketing cookies. Using a splitboard, different techniques and lines are required on a number of sections of the route, which means we are unfortunately unable to accept bookings for splitboards on our Haute Route trips. Log In Sign Up. Like the La Tapia, there is reliable wi-fi, which has become of staple need for ski guides operating in Europe. Les Guides de Verbier vous emmènent sur la mythique Haute Route. 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. Overnights on the route are spent in mountain huts and, ideally, you will have experienced a hut night before. This is undoubtedly one of the worlds most spectacular ski tours, and with the support of the French and Swiss Alpine Club, huts can be comfortably achieved by most advanced skiers. If you get hurt skiing in Europe and there is decent visibility, you actually have a really good chance of getting picked up by helicopter. 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. 2019 Haute Route Dates & Prices. At the beginning of this century I built a Haute Route Ski Tour plan that was passed around a lot amongst American Mountain Guides. 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. L’initiation au ski de haute route offerte au parc national de la Gaspésie s’adresse aux skieurs de ni Haute Route Advice for Skiers. Haute Route and its variations are all physically and technically very demanding. Most credit cards these days charge a foreign transaction fee of 3% of any transaction. The catch is that they will also demand proof of insurance or payment at the time of rescue and this will be enforced. The Haute Route or high level route is about 6 days traverse across the mountains and the glaciers between Chamonix and Zermatt. You have to be able to hike and ski for about 6 hours without getting too tired the next day. Starting in the heart of the Mont Blanc massif and ending up in the shadow of one of the most famous mountains in the Alps, the Matterhorn, it is a journey that every ski tourer should undertake at least once in their lives. Most banks will shut your card down after a couple hundred dollars each day. The intention is to display ads (via third party services) that are relevant and engaging for individual users. Here are a few tips for putting together a successful Haute Route trip. 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. Great, right? The team: We have an exceptional group of friends, all professional mountain guides, IFMGA certified. 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. The Haute Route - Guided Hut Skiing in the Alps Program Structure. The simple option is to jump on a train and head back to Chamonix that day. Ski Haute Route Equipment List. They also have wi-fi and you can walk there in about 10 mins. If you plan things well you can often share the cost with other skiers coming from Chamonix. This will cost you €3.50 and is called Carre Neige. They are also widely available in shops in Chamonix and Zermatt as well as other places. 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 ? Remember that skiing with a rucksack is more tiring than skiing without one. There are dozens of other traverses in the alps that rival the Haute Route in terms of pure downhill skiing (The Berner Oberland), comfortable huts (The Ortler Ski Circuit), wilderness experience (The Ecrins Traverse) and other qualities that make for a good week of skiing, but like running the Grand Canyon in a dory, or climbing El Capitan, the Haute Route stands out as a monkey that most backcountry skiers will eventually want to get off their back. Where I live in WA there are basically no huts, so a winter ski tour is either done in a day, or is a brutish and nasty affair involving winter camping. I pair all of my skis with a skin cut wall to wall, my current favorite being the G3 Alpinist Climbing Skin. Zermatt wrote the book on hospitality and there is lodging for all budgets, as long as they are all large budgets. 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. It is not advised to undertake the Haute Route without any experience outside of a ski area. Although Italy is amazing and the food is orgasmic (let’s not be afraid of words here ;-) ), they are architects of toilets. It is highly advised to carry skiers rescue insurance when skiing in Europe. They also have one of the better plat du jour lunch specials in Chamonix. If you want something a bit cheaper, consider a Gite. Take a guide, take an ice axe and take the exhilarating challenge of skiing the legendary Haute Route. 1:50,000 maps cost 22.50 CHF each and the 1:25,000 maps cost 13.50 CHF. With over 10 years of experience guiding hut to hut ski tours in the Alps, IAG owner and director and IFMGA/UIAGM certified ski guide Dave Miller leads the Haute Route ski tours personally. It's the only store with the full G3 product line, including all accessories and replacement parts. Verbier Haute Route – Open Course 25-29 March 2019 (with options for another Haute Route training & warm up day in Chamonix on Sunday 24th March and to ski the Vallee Blanche on Saturday 30th March – making a brilliant 7 day programme). You can always use Euros at the hut, but the exchange rate will usually not be in your favor. For very precise navigation you might also consider the 1:25,000 maps, which have a higher level of detail. If you want to ski the Haute Route with a guide… The people running the La Tapia are good folks and the view down valley is better than most of the € 300 places in town. 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. If budget is not a huge concern then there are infinite nice hotels to be found online. This list is intended for guests skiing in guided groups and those without a guide may need extra equipment. Though not essential, some climbing experience is desirable and prior use of ice axe and crampons advantageous. 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. I thought that we wouldn’t leave until 9am, giving the people arriving from the Trient hut enough time to get to Verbier. This book has sufficient information to allow you to make do without the guide by Peter Cliff, but we chose to buy both. There are no upcoming courses at this time. You should also have had many backcountry ski days under your belt and possibly a previous multi-day ski tour. Over 6 days we traverse the Alps from Chamonix to Zermatt on skis. This should be reserved in advance. The Haute Route is the ultra classic high mountain traverse linking Chamonix to Zermatt, sleeping in huts at night and only going back to the valley flooronce, to connect Champex to Verbier [...]. - 123/89/111) or the G3 Saint (177 cm - 3.4 kg./7.5 lb. It has incredible scenery and glacial ski terrain. 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. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and we have skied this mid-April in 30 cm of new snow with no track on the route forward. 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. Please select the checkbox below to indicate your consent. Que vous partiez de Verbier ou de Chamonix, vous rejoindrez Zermatt des souvenirs plein les yeux ! You may unsubscribe at any time.For more information, view our privacy policy. The guide also can manage avalanche forecasting and snow stability assessments that less frequent backcountry skiers may need. 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. 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. Some friends and I are planning on doing haute route this coming year. 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. The parties that were already there had started from the Mont Fort Hut, on the Verbier pistes. Le Massif du Grand Paradis et le Massif du Mont Rose constituent l’opportunité de skier des sommets de plus de 4000m. This will cover you for rescues in France on the day you hold your ticket. The trip of course also involves some beautiful off-piste descents into the valleys. To learn more about the types of cookies this website uses, see our Privacy Policy. 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. One notable exception is a place called the, The simple option is to jump on a train and head back to Chamonix that day. [...] We arrived at the hut in time for the delicious Rosti, specialty of the Dix Hut. Whilst the Haute Route is undoubtedly very popular, our carefully selected route allows you to enjoy all the high points of the Verbier variation but avoid over-trafficked areas. 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. One reputable taxi-luggage shipper is Taxi Follonier. 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. What skiers call the Classic version of the Haute Route follows the path of the 1911 skiers and is often skipped in favor of the Verbier Haute Route because the Classic version requires more mountaineering objectives and you spend less time actually skiing than on the Verbier version. 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. 5. 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. With a non-guided group you have the flexibility to change the plan at any point in the trip. 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. 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. Itinerary Prerequisites Equipment Weather Location Services Included FAQ. Skiing down the piste, we had to ski pole to pole to remain on the piste because the visibility was at the most 5m out. Along the Haute Route ski tour you will enjoy exciting ski mountaineering challenges, great descents, comfortable Swiss mountain huts, and spectacular high alpine scenery. Every outdoor activity has a few very iconic trips. You should have some touring skills and experience; it’s not the time to be learning kick turns! 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. You only need to look at the number of skiers who come up here by helicopter for this run to realise its quality. On day 3 you ski to the Prafleuri Hut, and then on Day 4 you ski to the Dix Hut. The guide also can manage avalanche forecasting and snow stability assessments that less frequent backcountry skiers may need. Geneva (airport code GVA) is the most logical if all you plan to do is the Haute Route. My wife and I run the. Many Canadian and American guides hold this certification, but not all. Brakes are worth the weight as a lost ski would be a disaster on the Haute Route. The skills and experience needed here are dependent on whether you are going on a guided Haute Route ski tour or tackling it on your own. The Haute Route is the ultra classic high mountain traverse linking Chamonix to Zermatt, sleeping in huts at night and only going back to the valley flooronce, to connect Champex to Verbier [...]. 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.