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    Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route

    Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route

    per person

    The Classic Tour of the High Alps between the two historic hometowns of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.


    The Classic Tour of the High Alps between the two historic hometowns of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Travel rugged, glaciated terrain in with light packs in Haute style. We are accepting custom bookings only for this season (late March to early May).

    This trip has a minimum of 4 to run with 1 guide or 6 with 2 guides. The maximum group size is 8 skiers + 2 guides and the max guiding ratio is 4:1.

    This trip is reservable as a custom itinerary at customized pricing.  Please contact the SMG office to inquire.

    This tour has everything you would expect in an Alps classic, steep mountain terrain with huge sparkling glaciers and jagged peaks.

    The Haute Route is the most classic ski tour in the Alps. It traverses the most spectacular and wildly rugged terrain from the lofty Mont Blanc massif to the foot of the iconic Matterhorn. This tour has everything you would expect in an Alps classic, steep mountain terrain with huge sparkling glaciers and jagged peaks. All of this is made accessible with little more than a daypack due to a remarkable fully staffed high mountain hut system. There is no other place on earth where a skier can travel such terrain in a short of a time with as light of a load, in as much comfort.

    Although we can schedule a custom itinerary to go the original route through Bourg St. Pierre on request, we generally prefer the classic variation through Verbier as more of a “skier’s Haute Route,” with more high quality downhill skiing opportunities and additional ski summits possible with less uphill effort. The Verbier itinerary is described below. If the original route is your preference, for the added challenge, we recommend adding a day to incorporate Mt. Velan, an outstanding ski mountaineering objective. Any way you do it, this tour should be on every skier’s lifetime list. Warning: Ski Mountaineering in the Alps is highly addictive and the addiction is contagious!

    • Included
      alpine
      backcountry
      Chamonix
      Haute Route
      ski
      skiing
      Zermatt
    • Not Included
      14ers
      3D chute
      3rd pillar
      3rd Pillar Dana
      AIARE
      AIARE 1
      AIARE 2
      Alaska
      Alaska skiing
      alpine climbing
      alpine rock climbing
      Alps
      Alps climbing
      Alps running
      Alps skiing
      Alps trilogy
      American Mountain Guides Association
      AMGA
      avalanche awareness
      avalanche course
      backcountry 101
      backcountry ski
      Backcountry Skiing
      backcountry snowboard
      backpacking
      Bear Creek Spire
      Berner Oberland
      Bernese Oberland
      Bishop
      Bishop Skyline
      Blacksmith Peak
      Bloody Mountain
      Breakthrough
      Bridgeport
      California
      California fourteeners
      camping
      Cardinal Pinnacle
      Carson Peak
      Celestial Aretes
      Chamonix climbing
      Charlotte Dome
      chef
      classic rock climb
      classic Sierra rock
      climb
      climbing
      climbing camp
      climbing skills
      climbing Swiss Alps
      Clyde Minaret
      Convict Creek
      cook
      courses
      courses instruction
      crampon
      Crest tour
      Crystal Crag
      custom
      custom private ski
      Dana Plateau
      destinations
      Devil's Slide
      Dolomites
      Dolomites climbing
      Double Eagle Resort
      Dream Bowl
      East Buttress
      East Face
      Eastern Sierra climbing
      Eastern Sierra skiing
      Eastern Sierra Winter
      Eiger
      Evolution Loop
      exam
      fastpacking
      Fishhook Arete
      Four Seasons
      France
      Glass Creek
      Grindelwald
      guide course
      heli assisted
      heli skiing
      Hemlock Ridge
      High Sierra
      High Sierra skiing
      high tour
      hiking
      Horse Creek
      horses
      Horsetail Falls
      Hut to Hut
      ice 101
      ice axe
      ice climbing
      ice climbing course
      Incredible Hulk
      instruction
      intermediate level
      international
      introductory
      introductory ice climbing course
      Italy
      John Muir Trail
      John Muir Wilderness
      June Lake
      June Mountain
      Jungfrau
      Kautz Glacier
      kids
      kids climbing programs
      Las Vegas
      lee vining
      Lee Vining area
      lee vining canyon
      level 1
      level 1 refresher
      level 2
      light and fast
      lightweight
      Lone Pine
      Lone Pine Peak
      Lovers Leap
      Mammoth Lakes
      Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite
      Mammoth Mountain
      Mammoth to June
      Mammoth to Yosemite
      Matterhorn
      Matterhorn Peak
      McGee Creek
      Merriam Peak
      mixed climbing
      Monch
      Mont Blanc
      Mont Blanc run
      Mount Conness
      Mount Dana
      Mount Emerson
      Mount Gabb
      Mount Humphreys
      Mount Mills
      Mount Rainier
      mountain running
      mountaineering
      Mountaineers Route
      Mt Conness
      Mt. Dana
      Mt. Emerson
      Mt. Humphreys
      Mt. Russell
      Mt. Sill
      Mt. Tom
      Mt. Whitney
      Mt. Winchell
      mules
      multiday
      negatives
      Nevada
      North Palisade
      North Peak
      north ridge
      onion valley to mt. whitney
      Ortler
      Owens River Gorge
      pack outfit
      pack support
      packers
      palisades
      Palisades Glacier Camp
      peak descents
      Peter Croft
      Pine Creek
      Polemonium Peak
      porters
      Positive Vibrations
      private
      private custom
      professional development
      Red and White Mountain
      Red Dihedral
      red rock
      Red Slate Mountain
      rescue skills
      Ritter Range
      rock
      rock 201
      rock climbing
      Rock Creek
      Rock Creek to Mammoth
      Sabre Ridge
      San Joaquin Ridge
      Sawtooths
      self arrest
      self belay
      self rescue
      Sequoia National Park
      sherpas
      Sierra
      Sierra 5.10
      sierra alpine
      Sierra Mountain Guides
      Sierra Nevada
      Sierra skiing
      single pitch instructor
      ski guiding
      ski mountaineering
      ski tour
      ski touring
      snow
      snow skills
      snowboard
      SPI
      splitboard
      sport
      sport climbing
      Starlight Peak
      supported
      Switzerland
      Tahoe
      Temple Crag
      third pillar
      Thompson Pass
      Thunderbolt Peak
      Tioga
      trad climbing
      trail running
      traverse
      Tuolumne
      Twin Lakes
      Ultra Trail Mont Blanc
      ultralight
      Valdez
      Via Ferrata
      white line
      wilderness trip
      winter
      Yosemite
      yosemite national park
      Yosemite ski
      Yost Meadow
      Zermatt Valley

    TRIP ITINERARY:  Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route

    DAY 0
    Welcomed by your guide(s) in the hotel in Chamonix for an apertif. Get out the maps for a tour overview, and do an equipment check for the trip.
    DAY 1
    Prepare for the Haute Route by skiing the famous Vallée Blanche. Ski lifts and a tram access this 3600m+ ski run down intricate and beautiful glaciated terrain. This day will allow us to acclimate to the altitude and to the type of ski terrain found on the Haute Route. This is classic Alps skiing amidst the most spectacular mountains in Europe. Spend the night in Chamonix.
    DAY 2
    Leave Chamonix for the village of Argentiere where we ascend to the Grand Montets by tram. From there we ski down to the Argentiere Glacier beneath the Aiguille Verte and ascend to the Col du Chardonnet, the technical crux of the route. After a roped technical descent, we climb to the Fenétre de Saleina and ski down the gentle slopes of the Trient Plateau to the Trient hut.
    DAY 3
    One of the best ski runs- from the Trient Hut, down the amazing Val d’Arpette, to the small lakeside mountain village of Champex. The classic Haute Route, through Verbier, is justifiably the most popular way to go, and is a skier’s favorite. We travel to Verbier by bus, then by ski lift back up into the mountains. We arrive in the afternoon at the Mont Fort hut, complete with showers!
    DAY 4
    A classic tour day. We will ski up and over two cols through rolling terrain to the Grand Desert Glacier. We traverse the upper reaches of the glacier and ascend steadily toward a beautiful ski mountaineering peak known as the Rosablanche ("the white rose") 3336.3m (10,946’). After reaching the summit, we ski a fantastic run down to the Prafleuri Hut where we relax on the beautiful sun deck, or perhaps make more turns after a tasty, home-cooked meal.
    DAY 5
    From the Prafleuri Hut we ascend over the Col des Roux and down along the Lac des Dix, the highest "dammed" lake in the Alps. We ascend the Pas du Chat and along the Glacier de Cheilon to the fantastic Dix Hut.
    DAY 6
    Ski down then across the Glacier de Cheilon and up the beautiful Glacier de Tsena-Refien. We continue upward via a steep, exposed traverse that allows access to the Col du Brenay. From there we climb to the summit of the Pigne d’Arolla at 3790m (12,434’) for a most spectacular panorama and the high point of or trip. We descend a popular heli-ski run to the precariously perched Vignettes Hut.
    DAY 7
    Vignettes Hut to Zermatt. This is the longest day of the Route. 30km (19 mi.), 3 cols, 7 glaciers, and 1100m (3608 ft.) of ascent, with a pass beneath the North face of the Matterhorn. The glacier rollercoaster ride down from the Col de Valpelline all the way into the town of Zermatt is a dramatic and memorable finish!

    Prerequisites:

    • Advanced-expert downhill skiing skills
    • Ability to control speed and execute fall-line turns in control and comfort in difficult snow conditions (deep powder, heavy and/or moist snow, breakable crust, firm or icy, etc.)
    • Ability to execute hop turns on 40 degree+, firm slopes, coming to a complete and immediate stop at the finish of each turn
    • Ability to sideslip forward and backward, with edge control, on steep, firm slopes
    • Experience ski touring in the backcountry using ski touring equipment (boots, bindings, skins, transceiver, shovel, probe, etc.
    • Ability to make uphill facing kick-turns in an uphill track on a slope
    • Very good fitness

    Cost Includes:

    • UIAGM Mountain Guide(s)
    • All lodging during the trip (hotels and mountain huts)
    • Meals on route (dinners and breakfasts)
    • All transportation and lifts on route
    • Mountain Rescue Insurance

    Not Included:

    • Travel to Chamonix or from Zermatt
    • Food or drink in towns
    • Snacks/lunches or drinks on route