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THE WALKERS
HAUTE ROUTE |
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CHAMONIX TO ZERMATT |
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Part
one - Chamonix to La Sage |
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CHAMONIX TO ZERMATT - Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, the route is over
180 kms and crosses 11 mountain passes and ascends more than 12000 metres in
height. My inspiration was the Cicerone guide THE WALKERS HAUTE ROUTE by Kev
Reynolds. Once you get your hands on one of these little blue guide books
you are hooked. I noticed that a lot of walkers from various nations use it
as reference book, checking their route for the following day against the
relevant map. I planned to walk just over half the route this year which I
knew would take just about 1 week and then return next year to complete the
rest. The walk from Chamonix to La Sage went as follows |
Saturday 22/07/06 |
| Gite Le Vagabond
in Chamonix - A friendly relaxed 150 year old oak beamed and stone built
hostelry Bed and breakfast in a four
bed room was 19.40 plus a laundry charge of 4 euros for laundering for up to
a 7 night stay |
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| This is it - the
starting point for weeks walk the statue of ......................... in the
square at Chamonix |
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| The path winds
through the woods on the way to Argentiere |
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Looking back at
the Mont Blanc range |
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| This is the border
between France and Switzerland |
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| The refuge on the
Col de Balme on the border between France and Switzerland |
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| After leaving the
Col du Balme and as you get down the valley towards Trient there is a great
view of the Glacier du Trient on your right |
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| Looking down
towards Trient - The Hotel du Col de La Forclaz is halfway up the hillside |
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| The Hotel du Col
De La Forclaz - 100cf for a single room en suite with demi pension
(half board) - excellent meal in the evening |
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Summary
Distance 22km - height gain 1167metres - Started at 0900hrs and had a
good days walking along paths which wound their way along the Chamonix
Valley through Argentiere and Le Tour. As I had previously crossed the Col
De Balme on foot I took the cable car up from Le Tour (11 euros) this saved
me a little time and I was able to have a look around Trient before walking
up to the hotel on the pass. I arrived at 1615hrs just before a massive
thunderstorm arrived, the air was full of thunder, lightning, hailstones and
torrential rain. very exciting when viewed from your hotel room.
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Sunday 23/07/06 |
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| A barn on the Alp
Bovine route, there was someone playing the Alpine horn here and it echoed
around the mountainside. Absolutely fascinating |
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| Alp Bovine - a
good place for refreshments and what a view while you relax |
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| The views after
you leave Alp Bovine are even better |
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Pension En Plein Air good
dortoir and rooms 72 cf for half board and I had a twin bedded room to
myself |
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Summary
Distance 15k - height gain 876km - 5˝hrs of walking. I chose to use the Alp
Bovine Route as I had already crossed the Fenetre d' Arpette in 2004 when I
completed the Tour Du Mont Blanc. Although not as spectacular as the high
pass the Alpine Bovine Route was enjoyable with good views, it started in
the forest near Col de la Forclaz and then crossed open hillside near Alp
Bovine, I stopped here for lunch and then the path carried on around the
hillside with great views before descending steeply through the forest and
then following valley footpaths and minor roads into Champex
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Monday
24/07/06 |
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| The track
between Champex and Sembrancher |
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| Looking down
from the track at the haymaking in the fields below |
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| Further on
along the track heading towards Sembrancher |
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| This is the
beautiful little chapel of St Jean on the hill overlooking Sembrancher |
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| Sembrancher
below and Le Chable is behind the hillside on the right. The track is on the right of the
picture before it disappears into the forest |
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| I stayed
here at the Hotel Du Gietroz - 80cf for bed and breakfast with en suite room.
It was very clean and quiet |
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I had my
evening meal here with other walkers I had met on the trail. It was
next door and they stayed here and said it was fine, and they also reckon
they had a full English breakfast, I was envious! |
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Summary
Distance 13km - height gain 104metres - about 4 hours walking through rural
Switzerland, you pass through several small villages which are very
pleasant. Lunch of bread and cheese from a small shop in Sembrancher. An
enjoyable walk during which I met some other walkers doing the same route.
They were Ben and Anthony from the south of England, Kammila and Eungne from
Denmark and Shuam from Hong Kong. Hope I've got all the names correct, I
enjoyed there company and friendship during the coming days. |
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Tuesday 25/07/06 |
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| Leaving Le Chable
the route winds it way up through the village streets |
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Looking back down
on Le Chable |
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| Although most of
the walk today is up hill when you stop to rest you get a great view
back down into the valley |
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Another pause to
get my breath back |
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| The view down the
valley, Le Chable below and Sembrancher out of sight down the valley |
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| A level bit on the
mountainside, the bisse path I had just come along can be seen curving
around the mountain |
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| The Cabane Du Mont
Fort - My accommodation for the night - very comfortable I had a 2
bedded room to myself - Half board was 70 CF. The evening meal was
excellent and consisted of vegetable soup, mixed salad, spaghetti
Bolognese, followed by chocolate mousse.
There was another storm about 5.00pm
with thunder and lightning |
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| View from the
terrace of the Cabane Du Mont Fort, the path from the refuge goes up to
the Col De la Chaux which is the alternative route to the tomorrow
nights refuge - The Cabane De Prafleuri |
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| The view North west
from the terrace of the Cabane Du Mont Fort |
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| A nice clean bed in
the small 2 bedded room |
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Summary - An uphill day today - 1636
metres of ascent in 9 km, the weather was ideal and although it was mostly
uphill it was an enjoyable day, it was just a case of keep plodding along
and enjoying the magnificent views. A good rest stop about half way up is
Clambin where there are good refreshments available |
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Wednesday
26/07/06 |
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| Myself and the
friends I met along the way just before we set off for the Cabane
Prafleur Front row Shum
from Hong Kong and Ben from the South Coast
Back row Eungne and Kammila from
Denmark, Anthony from the South Coast and myself |
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| Looking back up at
the Cabane Du Mont Fort where I had just spent the night |
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| Looking back along
the path towards the Cabane Du Mont Fort which is perched on the raised
ground in the centre of the picture |
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| This appeared to be
the result of last nights storm and was clearly where the water and
debris had been swept down the mountainside, it was a like a plowed
furrow that went straight down to the valley below
It was an incredible sight
and there were many more like this on this section of the walk |
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| Kammila and Eungne
crossing one of the results of last nights storms
I would not like to have been
anywhere near this area last night
Quote from Kev Reynolds book
Chamonix to Zermatt - The Walkers Haute Route
"On this walk you are witness
to the ceaseless toil of erosion. The mountains are dying, falling apart
and to wander through their scenes of destruction is a sobering
experience"
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| Looking back along
the path after we had rounded the corner |
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| Looking along the
path I was a bit apprehensive about where the path climbed up over the
shoulder but it was a lot easier than it looked once I got up to it -
Part of the Grand Combin is in the distance |
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Rest stop on the
Col Termin |
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| Col Termin 2648m
with Grand Combin in the distance |
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| The path from the
Col Termin towards Col Du Louivue which is the low point on the ridge,
about 1˝ hrs away |
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| Another view of the
Col Du Louvie |
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| Looking back from
the Col Du Louvie 2921m to the Col Termin which is the notch at the
bottom of the ridge that slopes down from the peak |
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| While having a
break on the Col Du Louvie I glanced up at the peak above and spotted
this Ibex, this is taken with the zoom lens |
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| On the Col Du
Louvie with the Grand Desert behind me. This is a barren wilderness of
screes, moraine and the glacier coming down from Rosablanche on the
right of the picture just out of sight.
Its an exciting place to be and was
one of the highlights of my trip |
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| I followed this
walker down the snow slope and about halfway down I slipped and slid on
my bottom all the way down the the slope much to the amusement of other
walkers. Only my pride was hurt, but it just goes to show mishaps can
happen anytime. I must have slid 20-30 metres and just came to rest at
the bottom when the snow changed to scree |
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| A glacial lake in
the middle of the Grand Desert, the recommended route goes to the left
of the lake but as the glacier had receded well back from the lake we
crossed to the right, it was fine but there were several fast flowing
and ice cold streams to negotiate.
The whole route is marked with
frequent markers and on the far side there is an enormous waymark
painted on a boulder. In the picture you can just see a small white
speck just over halfway up the slope. This is the very important marker
stone and in the case of bad weather is probably one of the most
important waymarks you will ever see |
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| The big marker on
the other side of the Grand Desert. Note the wild flowers |
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| A wild and
beautiful area, this was one of the easy streams to cross |
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| One of the fast
flowing streams that were flowing down from Rosablanche |
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| There are wild
flowers everywhere in this inhospitable area |
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| Plenty of markers
along the route, very important as I would imagine in bad weather it
would be very easy to miss some of them |
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| Note the flowers
everywhere in the sheltered places |
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| Another view looking back over
the Grand Desert to the Col Du Louvie |
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| A welcome
sight, the highest I've climbed 2965m |
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| Looking down from
the Col De Prafleuri, there are two walkers crossing the quarry floor in
the centre of the picture. apparently this quarry was solely for the
purpose of providing material for the dam in the next valley, a true
feat of engineering, More about that later |
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Cabane De Prafleuri
Half board was 56
cf - showers 3 cf - water was not drinkable and there was no phone
available or mobile phone signal
Evening meal was
excellent and consisted of Soup, mixed salad, pork in mushroom sauce
with pasta strips and rice followed by Apricot and ice cream |
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| There was another
storm again tonight and looking out from the refuge showed swollen
streams cascading down the mountainside. You can see the remains of the
quarry workings quite clearly from here
There did not appear to be any
access road to this refuge and I asked the guardian how they got
supplies. She answered "through the tunnel" apparently a 2 km tunnel was
constructed from this quarry to The Grand Dixance Dam.
The Dam which is the highest in
Europe is 285 metres high and 700 metres long and holds back Lac Le Dix
which contains 400 million cubic metres of water. Some photos of the
lake are on the next days walk |
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| One of the large
beds in the room I stayed in, there were 9 on this side and 8 on the
other. All very clean and modern but some light sleepers may need ear
plugs |
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Summary This day was the highlight of the
trip so far, it took around 6˝ hours but seemed longer, the views all
along the route were spectacular and the crossing of the Grand Desert
was something I will always remember. There were no roads or buildings
anywhere in sight, just a line of markers, soaring peaks, fast flowing
streams and wild flowers. A wonderful sense of the wilderness. This is
one walk that I want to do again |
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Thursday
27/07/06 |
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| A bright morning at
the Cabane De Prafleuri |
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| On the Col Des Roux
2804m which is 20 minutes from the Refuge. Lac Des Dix is below. The
paths winds down the mountainside and then follows the lake shore to the
top end of the lake. It then climbs upwards heading for the Col De
Riedmatten |
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Heading down from
the Col Des Roux |
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| This was a tricky
bit, the metal spar was part of the footbridge and it looked as if the
rest had been swept away. To get across you had to place your
hands as far out as possible on the spar and then jump. Not as
difficult as it seems once you have done it |
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| Refuge De la
Gentiane La Barma on the shore of the lake |
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| There is an inflow
of water at the far end of the lake which pours out of a tunnel ,quite
impressive when you get up to it |
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| The water level was
quite low in the lake |
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Looking west at
the end of the lake |
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The suspension
bridge at the end of the lake |
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| Another tricky bit
crossing one of the ravines on the way to the Col De Reidmatten |
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Looking across the
valley to the Cabane Des Dix which was one of the alternative routes on
this walk |
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| Looking south as we
climbed higher - Mont Blanc de Cheilon |
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Another fine view
of Mont Blanc de Cheilon |
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| The low notch on
the left is the Pas de Chevres, there are about 22 metres of steel
ladders bolted to the rock face.
I took the route over the Col
De Riedmatten which is on the left before the Pas de Chevres |
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| On the Col De
Riedmatten, that is the Matterhorn on the skyline. Easily identifiable
before the cloud drifted across This was the only time I caught a
glimpse of the final destination. As soon as you drop down of the Col
you lose sight of it.
Next year with a bit of luck I
hope to finish the walk in Zermatt |
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| Another view of the
Matterhorn peeping out from the clouds |
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Heading down the
valley towards Arolla |
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| Looking back up the
valley towards the Col De Riedmatten |
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| I stayed here for
the Thursday and Friday nights at the Hotel Du Glacier. Very nice - 73CF
for half board - not en suite but very comfortable |
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Summary Another very
enjoyable day with good weather, after crossing the Col Des Roux there was
the pleasant walk alongside Lac Des Dix and then the climb up over the Col
De Riedmatten and down to Arolla - about 6˝ walking |
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Friday 28/07/06
Arolla to La Sage |
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| After leaving
Arolla the path follows the hillside through some very attractive woods |
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Looking back
towards Arolla |
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| The path passes Lac
Bleu - you can see where it gets its name |
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| Further along the
trail towards Les Hauderes |
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| Just below Lac Bleu
there is a tiny alp hamlet called Louche where refreshments were
available |
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Another view of
Louche from below |
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| The track on the
hillside heading towards Les Hauderes |
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| A small Chapel at
the roadside, note the climber on the rocks behind |
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Looking down on
Les Hauderes |
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The minor road
heading down towards Les Hauderes |
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The village of Les
Hauderes |
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Another view in
the the village of Les Hauderes |
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| A typical farm
building built on the raised pillars to deter rodents |
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The minor road
leads up towards La Sage |
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| The road in the
centre of La Sage - The path for the next stage of the journey to Cabane
De Moiry starts here |
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| Journeys end for
now. The valley I had just come down from Arolla is on the right of the
picture. The walk to
Zermatt from La Sage starts here |
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Summary - The walk from Arolla to La Sage took around 4 hours and was a
pleasant end to the first part of my walk. I had completed around 99 kms
in seven days. The walk passed through a great variety of scenery and I
am looking forward to completing the rest of the walk next year |
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Click here for more details of the walk
including costs |
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