Haute Route
 |
| Gearing up with Col du Chardonnet in the background |
Although I was flying between Berlin and Denver for work I was still desperate to fulfill a life long objective, to ski the Haute Route. Unfortunately I was unable to fit it into my schedule and I was almost at the point of giving up when the volcano Eyjafjallajokull erupted in Iceland. This resulted in international flights to the U.S. stopping and effectively marooning me in Europe. Which gave me the perfect window of opportunity to ski the Route. I signed on with a guided trip with some trepidation, packed my bags and drove our Land Rover Discovery II to Chamonix.
 |
| The stairs leading down from the Grand Montet telepherique |
I met the rest of the group that evening and went thorough the briefing, gear checks and paperwork. We had time for a few bonding beers before getting to bed.
The next day we loaded into the Guide's van and drover to Argentierre for a ride up the Grand Montet telepherique. This gave us a great view of the days climb to Col du Chardonnet. We set off down to Argentierre Glacier and I found the going a little tough on my telemark gear. I had gone light and was on my old Atomic TM-EX as opposed to my Black Diamond Verdicts. I hadn't been on skis for about 6 weeks and the combination of a hut touring pack and deep and heavy snow resulted in a few falls in my first run. I was angry as I had skied this run many times on a previous trip to Chamonix and I looked like a "mug punter" in front of the rest of the group who were skiing on AT gear. Not a great start!
 |
| Abseil line from Col du Chardonnet |
After reaching the Glacier we started the climb to Col du Chardonnet. I had no ski crampons like the AT skis and my skins were far from new. When the skin line became steep, I really started to struggle, loosing traction frequently. The guide was getting grumpy with me and pointing out my' poor technique". My bad day had just gotten worse. The guide made some make shift adjustments to an old spare pair of ski crampons her carried and I was able to keep up, albeit with a few frustrations, to the Col. The rope was rigged and we descended from the Col and crossed into Switzerland. A traverse and another short but steep climb to a Col and then a easy run down in good snow conditions to Cabane du Trient where a glass of wine and a warm meal was waiting.
 |
| View from Cabane du Trient |
 |
| Balcony at Cabane du Trient |
One of the great things about ski touring in Europe when compared to Australia, New Zealand or the North America is the proliferation of "full-service huts". Sure, New Zealand has huts but you need to carry your own fuel and sleeping kit and, if they are too full, you can end up sleeping outside. In many cases you end up carrying fuel, stoves food and tentage which ends up taking away from the skiing. The ability to travel with a relatively light pack, moving from hut to hut where good food and wine awaits at a reasonable cost is a real treat. Even better, many of the huts are in spectacular locations and are iconic and often historic structures which makes it a quasi cultural experience. A great tonic for someone who had a bad day!
 |
| Skis on ready for the run to Champex |
Sunrise reveal another perfect day which was accentuated by the lack of air traffic. It seems that the Alps is the cross roads for a number of European air routes and at any point on a clear day you can look up an see at least half a dozen contrails in the sky from passenger jets. Due to the eruption in Iceland there was still no air travel and the lack of a constant reminder of civilization made the area seem more remote. We started the with a slightly icey run down into a valley descending to Champex. My skiing was much better than yesterday so my somewhat dented confidence received some timely repairs. We were due to meet a taxi in Champex for a short transfer to Verbier and I organised with the Guide to stop so I could buy some new skins in a shop in Verbier.
 |
| Some steeper terrain with a couple of the group higher in the chute |
As it was April, it was the end of the season in Verbier but even outside peak season and without the crowds, you could smell the money. We had about an hour to kill while my skins were fitted but no one seemed to mind as they were happy sitting in the sun at coffee shops. Once the transaction was complete, our Guide was on a mission to get to Cabane du Praflueri. We used the lift system to get to the top of Mont Forte before skiing of the steep eastern side. After exiting the telepherique, were traversed to the rear of the summit. Where we paused looking at the steep cut up slope with slightly heavy snow. We looked at each other and I decided that I there was no better way of brushing off yesterdays dissapointment than by skiiing this hard. Some jump teles and I was in the widening shute and I led the way to the bottom without an issue and waited while some others struggled down the slope. Point made! I even received a complement from the Italian guide who was typically sparing in his praise. My ego inflated, I was ready for the rest of the trip.
 |
| Skis stacked and racked at Praflueri |
At the bottom, it was time to try out the new skins. Some easy climbing at first then some steeper sections where I was able to keep up with those with ski crampons. So much for my bad technique, it was just more an issue of my unwillingness to replace 10 year old skins! My ego was now overflowing. Now I was really enjoying every minute of effort as we made our way to Cabane du Prafleuri.
 |
| Skin line to Col des Roux with a two parties in front of us |
 |
| We has passed them not long after the Col. The traverse past Lac des Dix |
The next morning started with a with an ascent to Col des Roux before a descent to Lac des Dix followed by a long and scenic traverse and climb to the Pass du Chat
 |
| The top of the ladder |
 |
| The ladder from the bottom (not my photo) |
 |
| The view from the Pass |
We then enjoyed a pleasant run down into the scenic village of Arolla which was very busy preparing for the Patrouille des Glaciers an annual randonee race from Zermatt to Verbier. The race is run every two years and is organised by the Swiss military for both military and civilian teams. The elite men and women finish the race in between 6-8 hours for the 53 km with around 4000 metres of ascending and 4000 metres of descending. We had a lovely meal in a small hotel and a nice warm shower to ease some aching muscles before a glass of wine in front of a fire. This is ski touring European Style!
 |
| Our Hotel at Arolla |
 |
| Bertol Pass to the right of the peak with the hut on the ridge to the right of the summit |
The next day we walked out Arolla for the ascent to Bertol pass and its atmospheric pass. The climb was about 1000m over 8 km and once again we enjoyed faultless weather. With the new skins in fine working order the climb was just a pleasant grind.
The highlight was the at Bertol hut where you climb a sequence of ladders to gain the rock ridge where the hut was perched. One of our party, a skilled skier who was happy to tell everyone how good he was found the ladders very uncomfortable on Pass des Cheve once again he was out of his comfort zone and needed significant coaching from our guide. Once again we enjoyed a hearty three course meal of soup, stew and a desert while enjoying the 360 deg tree view from the hut windows.
 |
| The spectacular view from the Bertol |
 |
| The ladders and stairs to Bertol |
 |
| Summit of Tete Blanche |
The final day saw broke with inclement weather closing in when we set off for Tete Blanche and the run into Zermatt. Unfortunately, our skilled skier decided to make it a climbing competition with our Guide at the front of the group. A somewhat punishing pace was set until others in the group asked the Guide what the hell he was doing. It was pointed out in Italian/English that it was not him who was setting the pace and that if some of us wanted a dick measuring competition he was happy to oblige. After that point the protagonists calmed down. Our team mate had recovered his damaged pride from the climb to Bertol hut the day before and our Guide responded in kind. The testosterone levels dropped and we were able to enjoy the final climb to Tete Blanche.
 |
| Skiing past the Matterhorn into Zermatt |
After Tete Blanche we had a full mixed bag of conditions for the descent to Zermatt. Beautiful powder, chowder, breakable crust, corn, boilerplate and finally some skied out piste. True ski touring conditions. We paused to take a look at the Matterhorn when a huge hanging serac peel off and came crashing down into the valley as a reminder of the potential hazards n the mountains.
A cable car, a train, a bus ride and we were back in Chamonix. I managed to lose the Land Rover and looked like an idiot in front of the Police but that is another story. Those damned Chamonix streets look all the same. At least the trip finished as it had begun, with me looking stupid!
