A comprehensive report by Martin, our own international traveller, on the recent trip to Switzerland

10 days, 77 miles, 26,925 feet of ascent, 24,906 feet of ascent (for me - more for the others), but with scenery even more impressive than the statistics.

This is the fourth of what has become an annual Summer visit to Switzerland for our group, and the second one which I have been on. This year’s objective was L’Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. It is a 14‑day walk, but I undertook only the first 10 days from Chamonix to Zinal, so the others are still plodding on as I write this. For those not familiar with this walk, the fact that it is in the Alps and it is called the HIGH route should give a clue. The area is in the South of Switzerland, just South of the East‑West Rhône Valley; running North‑South from this main valley is a series of smaller valleys, with ridges between, down towards the border with France and Italy. This walk goes from West to East across this area, and therefore is constantly going up and down over these ridges and across the valleys.

As with some recent Sunday walks, the group was down to a triad this year. One participant was our Chairman, so the other two of us only needed to follow his customary expertise in leading and route finding. We used a guide book which gives a good and detailed account of the route, rather than maps. This was a backpacking trek, carrying everything with us, and staying somewhere different each night.

Planning started at the end of last year and was extensive despite it being a set route. It is a full day’s walk between most towns and villages, which determines where we will stay each night. However, sorting out accommodation was time consuming, deciding which of various options within in a village, contacting them and trying to book. In most places booking would not have been necessary, but that could be risky in August. The accommodations are generally small and simple, so most do not have an online booking system; often we needed to communicate by email (in French), several did not reply, so the booking spanned several months. Some could only be contacted by telephone. We stayed mostly in small accommodations in the villages, but also in three mountain huts.

Finally, and having booked 13 out of 14 nights, we were ready to set off early on Saturday 6th August.

Day 1: (Home to) Chamonix to Argentière; 6 miles, 702 feet up, no down. Up in the middle of the night, taxi to East Midlands Airport, flight to Geneva, and minibus to Chamonix, a quick and efficient journey, arriving in Chamonix at 12.30, (the first 24 hours of this year’s Switzerland holiday were in France). From here we had a short low level riverside walk of 2½ hours to start us on our long trek, to our first night’s stop in Argentière, but the 4.00 am start from Belper combined with a hot afternoon made this unexpectedly exhausting.

Day 2: Argentière to Trient; 8 miles, 3,127 feet up, 3,035 feet down. Our first full day’s full. The ascent and descent (compared to walks in Derbyshire) may seem a lot, but the book describes today as ‘easy’, which was correct compared with what was to come. The walk was up onto a ridge, passing over Col de Balme, and down the other side, the first of many such cols. There was a good wide track the whole way across and mostly gentle gradients, hence the relatively easy walk, and in good weather. At the top of the col, a small stone marked ‘France’ and ‘Switzerland’ indicated the border running along this ridge. By 3.30 we were relaxing with coffee in a café Trient. This is a tiny village with only one main place to stay, full of walkers as the first few days duplicate (in reverse) the Tour de Mont Blanc. In the evening we marvelled at the speed and efficiency with which over 100 walkers were served with a 4‑course meal.

Day 3: Trient to Champex; 9 miles, 4,547 feet up, 3,934 feet down. The first difficult day. Windy setting off from Trient, windier as we climbed and climbed and then more and more windy, and colder and colder, plus occasional rain and then hail, as we approached the top of Fenênetre d’Arpette. But this was to be the only day of bad weather. The climb was steep, and near the top we were clambering over rocks and boulders; much of the ensuing long descent was also rocky, so it was far from being just a quick walk down. This defined how strenuous each day was, the difficulty of a walk was not the distance or even the amount of climbing, but the terrain, with steep ascents, rocks and scree defining the difficult days. A reward at the end, as Champex, and our accommodation, have a beautiful lakeside setting.

Day 4: Champex to Le Châble; 8 miles, 341 feet up, 2,457 feet down. The easiest day. A completely contrast to yesterday, a gentle walk at a leisurely pace in beautiful sun with plenty of stops. We have now left the Tour de Mont Blanc route, so still several walkers but much quieter than the past few days.

To date we have been staying in simple guest houses, and a nice hotel in Le Châble, often with a better room than we had booked or paid for. We were now to embark on a remoter stretch with mountain huts, and no other facilities, for the next two nights. This necessitated a shopping trip in Le Châble to purchase, and carry, three days lunch supplies.

Day 5: Le Châble to Cabane de Mont‑Fort; 6 miles, 5,367 feet up, no down. We made an early start for this, the biggest climb of the whole walk, and the most ascent I have ever done in a day. But, unlike day 3, there was no descent, so it was not in any way as difficult. The conditions were perfect, fine, clear and bright sun all day. From the start to just over halfway we were walking through woods so were shaded from the sun, and it was entirely on good tracks. By lunchtime we had achieved most of the height, so were able to take a long rest in the sun. Much of the walk was skirting round the large resort of Verbier, quieter now than it would be in the ski season. There is a cable car from Verbier to Les Ruinettes, not far from Mont‑Fort, so there were far more people for the last part of the walk. Overnight in our first mountain hut, but that does not mean a basic night. We had our own room, modern washing facilities, hot water, and good food comparable to elsewhere - plus the dramatic mountain views and a sunset, you couldn’t get better than this.

Day 6: Cabane de Mont‑Fort to Cabane de Prafleuri; 9 miles, 2,904 feet up, 2,428 feet down. This is a classic hut to hut walk, and a magnificent day in the mountains, consistently at high level, with nothing but scenery, and wildlife, between the two huts, plus clear views and constant sun. It was also a strenuous day, more so than the ascent/descent would suggest, the book describes this as the most demanding day of the trek. Much of the route was along narrow paths contouring hillsides, so some care was needed, and it was a hot day especially for the main ascent in the afternoon which took us onto Col de Prafleuri, at 9,728 feet the highest point of the entire walk. So the walk took almost 10 hours, arriving at Prafleuri just as dinner was starting. Prafleuri was a basic older (traditional) style (and busier) hut, despite being only a few years old, so here we were in a cramped dormitory with several others, which made for less of a night’s sleep. This was the only night not in our own room despite expecting dormitories in up to 5 locations.

Day 7: Cabane de Prafleuri to Arolla; 10 miles, 2,411 feet up, 4,439 feet down. Another long and difficult day, and more remote than yesterday. We started with a moderate up and down over a ridge, followed by a few miles of completely flat walking on a good track alongside Lac des Dix, part of a hydro scheme and claimed to be the highest dam in the world. Passing near to the foot of a glacier, we then had a long and steep climb onto Col de Riedmatten; a series of fixed ladders can be used as an alternative to the path, but, as I am not keen on these, we used the path which turned out to be extremely steep and on loose scree (to be logical, the ladders are intended as the EASIER option). Eventually we made it onto the col, and, as was often the case, left behind the scenery of the past hours or days, and a new panorama suddenly emerges for the next part of the walk. A long steep descent from the col, gradually easing, and after a few days in the mountains we reached civilisation in the small and picturesque village of Arolla. After two nights in huts, we had booked a comfortable hotel with such luxuries as hot water and baths.

Day 8: Arolla to La Sage; 6 miles, 705 feet up, 1,818 feet down. Almost a day off, we now had another short day in warm sun, passing Lac Bleu (its name describes it), a popular beauty spot, easily accessible from nearby villages, where we lingered for some time. Cheap dormitory accommodation tonight, so no high expectations, but it was charming place, a dormitory just for us, good food, and mountain views from my bed, so one of the best places of the trip.

Day 9: La Sage to Cabane de Moiry; 6 miles, 5,305 feet up, 1,506 feet down. The day started with a long climb of 3,900 feet onto Col du Tsaté; it was hot by 9.00 am, but then clouded over, so the climb was less of an effort and achieved easily and quite fast. Suddenly we were in a familiar area, as the other side of the col looks down onto the Val de Moiry where we were walking last year. Above the valley, on the other side, is the Cabane de Moiry which we visited on a day walk last year; one person in the group (not I, and not the Chairman) had the idea of staying there, so, having descended into the valley, we then had a final very steep ascent to this hut. It is a dramatic location, although heavy cloud and light rain diminished last year’s spectacular views. After months of trying, we succeeded in booking only two days ago, the hut could hardly be less helpful. An extension was added recently, so the new part is very modern with good facilities but rather out of keeping with a mountain hut concept. Much rain overnight.

Day 10: Cabane de Moiry to Zinal; 9 miles, 1,516 feet up, 5,289 feet down. Most of today’s walk duplicated sections from last year. Back down into the valley by the same route, then along a hillside above the Lac de Moiry, and my final climb up onto Col de Sorebois. Here there is a restaurant, where we stopped for coffee and chips, (the Chairman had chips here 8 years ago, and had been talking about them all week). Finally a long but easy descent into Zinal, and to the hotel which was our base last year. The place was deserted, no staff, we were the only ones in the hotel, and a note left out for us telling us to go next door for meals, so we never saw the owners whom we had got to know well a year ago. In the evening the Chairman made a nostalgic return to the cow trough to which he became so attached last year.

Next morning I saw the other two off on their next big climb, then I walked all the way across the road to the bus stop for my return home, with a few hours free in Geneva - using escalators there seemed so much easier than walking up those mountains.

Apart from the one night at Prafleuri, we were pleased with the accommodation, with differing standards and character, but with plenty of variety, and good value for Switzerland. Catering - breakfast, evening meals (mostly taken where we were staying) and food for lunches - was good everywhere, without exception. So this contributed significantly to the enjoyment of the holiday, along with the walking of course. Another bonus was the wildlife, several sightings of ibex, chamois, marmot and even eagle. The impressive views en route were far too numerous to mention, but there is along list of high mountains which we past day by day.

As I mentioned earlier, you have to stay in specific villages en route, so anyone else starting the walk on the same day will be staying in the places, often the same accommodation. So we got to know several others whom we frequently saw in the course of the two weeks. This included three couples from Britain, also two others each on their own, one of these a (to us somewhat eccentric) Scotsman on an almost zero budget who was camping out wild (or under the steps of a municipal building), carrying a tent, several days food supplies - and an umbrella.

The other two still have a further four days, finishing near to Zermatt on Friday 19/8 and arriving home the next day. With today’s modern communications I can report on the latest update from Switzerland for day 12: “Wonderful crossing from Gruben to Jungen today outstanding views”. Meanwhile I will concentrate on relaxing in my garden in Duffield and await final news.

Martin