Ski Touring: The Haute Route

Is this the right course for me?

The Haute Route is the most famous ski tour in the Alps – 120km of high Alpine travel, with 6,000m of ascent and descent linking Chamonix in France and Zermatt in Switzerland. It includes long days at altitude, and so is considered an advanced level ski tour. If you’re fit, you’re keen, you don’t mind hard work, and you’re ready for an adventure, this is for you. You need to be an intermediate skier, and you will need to have fitness level 2. Please see the Essential Information for Skiing page for fitness and skiing ability levels.

There are several variation on the skier’s Haute Route. This programme is for the Verbier Haute Route, which gives better skiing, is less technical and slightly shorter than the classic Haute Route. Please be aware that we often have to adjust an itinerary because of weather, snow conditions, fitness, lack of acclimatisation, etc.

Day 0: arrive in Chamonix. Meet in the evening for gear check and chat about the course

Day 1: Leave the Chamonix valley, Col du Passon (3028m), Col Supérieur du Tour (3680m), stay overnight in the Trient Hut (3170m)

Day 2: Trient Hut to Champex via the Col des Écandies (2796m). Taxi to Verbier, lifts to Mont-Fort hut (2457m)

Day 3: Montfort Hut to Prafleuri hut (2624m) via Col de la Choix (1178m), Col de Momin (3003m) and Rosablanche (3336m).

Day 4: Prafleuri hut to Dix hut (2928m) via Col des Roux (2804m) and Pas du Chat (2372m).

Day 5: Dix hut to Vignettes hut (3160m) via Pigne d’Arolla (3790m) – the highest point on the Haute Route.

Day 6: Vignettes hut to Zermatt: 30km, seven glaciers, and three cols: Col de l’Évêque (3386m), Col du Mont Brûlé ( 32318m) and Col Valpelline (3562m). Taxi back to Chamonix.

We can build a flexible day into the programme to allow for a rest day or a bad weather day, making it a seven-day programme.