After my Tour Du Mont Blanc Walk a couple of years ago I was determined to return to the Alps to tackle one of the other trails. I had intended to try the Walkers Haute Route in 2005 but after reading all the information I could I wondered whether it might be a little over ambitious for a lone walker and so decided to give it a miss that year. As a friend of mine said to me "its easy to talk yourself out of something you are not sure about. Once the opportunity had passed I instantly regretted it so I made up my mind to go for it the following year. Seeing as I was determined to go I was quite relaxed about the trip, I did not book my flight until a couple of weeks before departure, and the other important things were not booked until a couple of days before leaving. These were Insurance, Airport transfer and  the first 3 nights accommodation, The one thing that I did do thoroughly was to study the guidebook and all other reports on the web. By the time I went I felt that I really did know the route well and knew what to expect along the way...

Friday 21/07/06 - The trip began with my Easyjet flight from Liverpool at 14.10hrs, the flight took off on time and after a comfortable flight I arrived at Geneva at 1700hrs, I collected my rucksack from the carousel and my transport was waiting for me. I use ATS for the transfer and have always found them to be excellent. There were about 8 of us on the minibus and I was the first to be dropped off at my accommodation  The Gite Le Vagabond in Chamonix which I had booked a few days before. I shared a 4 bedded room with 3 others and after unpacking a few items I went out into Chamonix to get something to eat. I had a wander around and then I settled for a McDonald's, something I rarely do but when on your own in a strange town it is an easy way to get a bite to eat. After that it was back to the Vagabond for a couple of beers before going to bed. It has a great atmosphere and I felt quite at home at this place.

Saturday 22/07/06 - I was up early today and after a continental breakfast I set off at 0845 through the town stopping briefly for a photo by the statue in the main square. I walked along the road out of town to where the footpath started, it followed the valley floor for a while before gently climbing the hillside and winding through the forest, it then dropped down into Argentiere and crossed the road to follow the hillside again to Le Tour. I had a rest break here and as time was getting on I decided to take the cable car up the hillside towards the Col De La Barme, I had already crossed this pass on foot in the other direction when walking the Tour Du Mont Blanc so I did not feel guilty about using the cable car. The charge was 11 euros and in no time at all I was sat outside the Refuge on the pass.  The path then followed the valley down towards Trient with the last part being quite steep down through the forest. As I had gained a little time I decided to walk into Trient for a look round before walking up the hillside to my Hotel on the Col De La Forclaz. I arrived at 1615hrs after a 7¼ walk including breaks. 45 mins later there was a storm with thunder, lightning and very heavy rain. which lasted for several hours. The early arrival after using the cable car certainly prevented me from getting wet. The evening meal was excellent, soup followed by chicken with chips and cauliflower, there were second and third helpings if you wanted. Ice cream for desert. Its a quiet place once the passing traffic has ceased and there is really nowhere to go for a stroll except downhill but I stayed here on the TMB and find it good value with excellent views down the valley on both sides

Sunday 23/07/06 - After breakfast of bread, cheese, toast and jam it was time to set off. There was a choice of 2 routes, one was then high route over the Fenetre D' Arpette which is a spectacular route and one I would like to do again. However I chose to walk the Alps Bovine Route which is slightly longer but easier and would be a good choice in the event of bad weather. The weather today was excellent and the route climbed easily along the hillside and then up through the forest, I passed a farm building called La Giete which was in an open grass basin, and was amazed to hear someone playing what I took to be an Alpine horn, the sound echoed around the mountains, a unique experience, I recorded some of the sound with my digital camera, they are not just for taking pictures. After more larch and pinewoods I emerged onto the open mountainside with good views down into Martigny, in the distance I could see the Alp Bovine which I reached 2 hours after leaving the hotel. I stopped here for lunch which was a cheese sandwich and a coffee. Then it was off along the hillside before dropping steeply down through the woods  to reach the valley. The path then wandered along past farms and chalets before changing to a track then a lane and then into Champex about 5 hours after setting off this morning. I had booked a bed at Pension En Plein Air a few days ago on the internet, they do not open till around 1600hrs but once open I was shown to a nice twin bedded room which I had to myself. I had a shower then wandered down the road to the lake and had a large beer in a cafe on the lake shore.

Monday 24/07/06 After a phone call to reserve a bed at the Hotel du Gietroz in Le Chable I set off from Champex in bright sunny weather, the route followed country lanes and tracks  along the hillside through the village of Sous La Le and then onto the village of La Garde. The path  then followed the hillside to the Chapel of St Jean which stands in a prominent position overlooking the valley, after leaving the Chapel the path descended through woodland to the attractive village of Sembrancher where I had lunch sitting in the village square with other walkers I had met during the day. The way ahead to Le Chable lay along the valley floor  before climbing up through woods and then it descended again and then along tracks and lanes into Le Chable. I found the Hotel du Gietroz, checked in and had a shower, I was informed that the restaurant was closed on Mondays so I wandered next door to the Pension Les Ruinettes for a beer and met up with the other walkers who had got rooms there. They served food in the evening so I returned there in the evening and enjoyed an excellent meal in their company. I had a Cheese, ham and mushroom omelette with salad and chips 19CF, large beer was 5.50CF. Bed and breakfast at the Hotel Du Gietroz in an en suite room was 80CF. I  phoned  the Cabane Du Mont Fort for Tuesday night and  Cabane De Prafleuri for Wednesday night as I wanted to make sure of a bed because there is no real alternative in the high mountains ahead'

Tuesday 25/07/06 After a breakfast of bread, butter and jam with tea and orange juice I set off at 0745hrs through Villette and climbed up the hillside with great views over the valley, today there was to be a height gain of 1636m which was to be the maximum daily height gain for the whole walk. Despite the climb the walk was fairly easy along paths and tracks up through the forest to the junction of paths at Clambin, a rest break at the restaurant afforded marvellous views out over the valley. The path upwards became easier and started to level out along the hillside and there were great views of the Grand Combin in the distance. The  area was criss crossed with cable cars and ski lifts for use in the winter. The weather was sunny and there were many walkers following the paths along the ridge. At around 1400hrs I arrived at the Cabane Du Mont Fort. Set on a bluff overlooking the valley the refuge was clean, modern and provided excellent accommodation. I had a small two bedded room to myself and the evening meal consisted of Veg soup, mixed salad, spaghetti bolognese followed by chocolate mousse. Breakfast next morning was tea with bread and jam and the cost for half board was 70CF, a picnic lunch was 10CF.

Wednesday 26/07/06 After breakfast I left the refuge at 0745hrs and followed the path which is called Sentier des Chamois, this is a superb path with fine views, narrow in places with but always within the capabilities of the average mountain walker. After 1¾hours I arrived at the Col Termin with some of the other walkers who were heading to the same refuge as I was. After a rest stop the path changed direction and headed north east towards the Col de Louvie, there was a great sense of heading into a wild and desolate area, the scenery was magnificent, there were several groups of walkers heading along the trail towards the pass and it was tremendously exciting to climb up to the summit of the pass and look out over the Grand Desert Glacier. This was a good place to stop and enjoy the view, overhead on the cliff above we saw several ibex  with a young one looking down at us surveying the scene. After a rest break the path descended  to the valley floor beneath the Grand Desert Glacier, this was a remote place and although there was no danger, it was a case of picking your way through boulders, streams and small ponds. Across on the other side of the there was a large marker which the guidebook indicated was the place to head for. It was enormous and was obviously intended to guide you across in poor weather conditions although in poor visibility it would not be possible to be seen from across the valley. Nevertheless there were hundreds of smaller painted markers guiding the way across. Then it was a steady climb up to the Col De Prafleuri at 2965 metres, the highest point so far. Below is an enormous quarry floor which I believe was quarried around 50 years ago to provide material for the Dam in the next valley. It was a desolate place of gravel beds and paths with peaks all around. After crossing the quarry floor the path drops to left and you finally see the Cabane De Prafleuri on a rise overlooking the valley. It had started to rain as I reached the hut and the weather was closing in. For the next few hours there was thunder, lightning and hailstones and the mountainsides were streaked with powerful streams tumbling down from above. Accommodation was spotless and the dormitory I slept in had a large communal  bed sleeping eight on each side of the room. Showers were 3CF and half board was 56CF, the evening meal was excellent and consisted of soup to start with, followed by a mixed salad, after this we had pork in mushroom sauce with pasta strips and rice, there were second helpings for anyone who wanted more. As a desert we had Apricots and ice cream. Breakfast next morning was cereal, bread and jam, cheese squares and a nice mug of tea. I ordered a picnic lunch and this consisted of 2 slices of bread, a piece of cheese, a piece of salami, a bag of crisps, a Mars bar, a bag of mixed nuts and a small bottle of water- 12 CF. There was no public phone and you could not get a signal on your mobile. The water in the refuge was not drinkable according to the signs. It looked as if it was straight of the glacier, full of silt. Obviously it was bottled water we were given to drink.

Thursday 27/07/06 The weather today was sunny with clear blue skies and excellent visibility and after a short climb of 160 metres from the refuge up to the Col Des Roux there was a superb view of the Lac Des Dix, the path descended easily down to the shore and there followed an excellent track along the shoreline to the far end of the lake, the views of the surrounding mountains were superb. At the end of the lake the path climbed steadily upwards and along the valley, alongside the torrent which drains the Glacier de Cheilon which lies ahead. There are two routes into the next valley the first is up to the Col De Riedmatten and the path zig zags up the left hand side of the valley and then climbs steeply up to the narrow notch which is the Col De Riedmatten. There is a superb view from here and the Matterhorn is clearly visible from here nestling behind the mountains to the east. The alternative route is over the Pass des Chevres which is a short distance further on but this entails a climb up three near vertical ladders. Some of my companions went that way and described it as OK but with a packed rucksack I think I made the right choice. The path then descended steeply down into a pleasant valley with excellent views all round. It was then an easy walk along paths and tracks down the valley and into Arolla.  Once down in the village I went straight to the Hotel Du Glacier and was able to get an excellent room overlooking the village square. I planned to stay two nights and then leave for Geneva on the Saturday morning. The Friday was really a spare day which I could have used anywhere on the walk but as I did not feel overtired I decided to walk the next day to La Sage and catch the bus back to the Hotel. half board at the hotel was 73 CF and was good value, the room was great (not ensuite) and the food was excellent. I slept well that night  after my nights up in the mountains particularly after several large beers at 5.50 CF each. I felt really pleased with myself having got this far and achieved what I had set out to do.

Friday 28/09/06  The weather again was good and after breakfast at the Hotel I set off for the 10 km walk to La Sage. The path follows the wooded hillside for several kms  before coming out onto the open hillside at Lac Bleu, it was well named and quite a nice spot for a rest break, the path then descended past a small alp hamlet where refreshments were available and continued down to the village of La Gouille. the route then crossed the road and wound down the valley through meadows and forests eventually reaching Les Haudres. This was a large village and was somewhere I will have to return to for a good look round. After walking through the village the path climbed steadily up through the trees for several kms to the small village of La Sage, this was the end of my walk for this year and will be my starting point for the next section which I will hopefully return to complete next year. As it was still early I decided to walk back to Les Haudres to catch the bus back to Arolla. There is a bus service but the village was very quiet and the walk back was all downhill. About halfway back the rain started and it was on with the waterproofs for the rest of the walk back to Les Haudres. The rain was heavy enough to make me seek shelter on the outskirts of the village  until it eased off. The bus arrived promptly and I had an enjoyable ride back to Arolla. Back at the hotel I spent an hour repacking all my walking gear back into my rucksack ready to start the journey home the next day.

Saturday 29/07/06 The Easyjet flight leaves Geneva at 1245hrs each day and I did not think it would allow me enough time to catch the plane after travelling from Arolla so I planned to stay  the night in Geneva and catch the plane home on Sunday.  After breakfast I caught the 0825hrs bus from the village square to Sion (fare 19.80CF) where I arrived at 0945hrs. The bus terminus was outside the train station so it was just a short walk into the station where I bought a train ticket (fare 47CF) for Geneva Airport, the train left at 1005hrs, there was plenty of room on the train and I had a very enjoyable journey watching the Swiss countryside speeding by. The train arrived at Geneva Airport at 1215hrs and although I had seen a Hotel on the Internet which was quite close to the Airport I wondered if I could find another hotel nearby.  I enquired at the Tourist Information Counter in the Arrival hall and they recommended  a Hotel close by called the Nash Airport Hotel, the price was 100CF for bed and breakfast plus 5CF booking fee. Within 15 mins a minibus arrived to collect me and other guests, many of whom were pilots and cabin staff who apparently stay there when off duty. The hotel was excellent with clean and modern rooms with a good public bus service (fare 3CF) into the centre of Geneva which was about 3 kms away. I spent a pleasant afternoon exploring Geneva and then it was back to the Hotel for the evening.

Sunday 30/07/06. As the airport was close I decided to walk to the Airport where I had to wait an hour for the check in to open, the flight left at 1245hrs Swiss time and arrived back at Liverpool at  1345hrs. An excellent flight  and after being picked up from the airport by my son it was back to reality.

Looking back on the holiday I will treasure all those moments. The mountains I crossed. the people I met, the places I stayed, all wonderful memories. I am glad that I made the decision to go,  and look forward to returning next year to complete the walk to Zermatt, starting this time in La Sage