Valais Haute Route Intense | From Argentière to Zermatt in four days

• Procedure and meeting place

  • Meeting point the evening before | Arrival in Argentière

    around 6 pm, Hotel Argentière

    We’ll meet the evening before at the hotel in Argentière. As we get to know one another, we’ll get in the right frame of mind for the upcoming tour. Our mountain guide will go through the planned itinerary for the coming days with you and give an overview of the upcoming traverse. This means we’ll set off the next morning, well prepared, to tackle our shared challenge. We’ll have dinner together at the hotel and turn in early.

  • Day 1: Argentière – Val Ferret – Bourg-Saint-Pierre

    1400 metres altitude

    3000 metres altitude

    We set off from Argentière and initially use the lifts to reach the high-alpine terrain. From there, our route takes us through the stunning mountain scenery and across the Glacier d’Argentière towards Val Ferret. After this stage, we’ll hop into a taxi and head to Bourg-Saint-Pierre, where we’ll spend the night at a hotel and fortify ourselves with a cosy dinner in preparation for the next stage of our journey.

  • Day 2: Bourg-Saint-Pierre – Cabane de Chanrion

    2400 metres altitude

    1600 metres altitude

    Today we face a long and challenging stage that takes us deep into the high-alpine glacial landscape of the Valais. From Bourg-Saint-Pierre, we ascend towards the Plateau du Couloir. With crampons on our feet, we make our way up the snow-covered, often hard-frozen slope and reach the high-alpine pass. In the shadow of the mighty walls of the Grand Combin, an impressive panorama of rock, ice and vast open spaces unfolds before us.

    On the descent across the Glacier du Mont Durand, we find ourselves immersed in a fascinating glacial landscape. The descent takes us through the vast ice field before we put our skins back on and tackle the final ascent to the Cabane de Chanrion. Step by step, we draw closer to our destination for the day, which lies on a ridge in the midst of the remote mountain landscape.

    After this long day’s hike, we reach the Cabane de Chanrion. A well-deserved shower, a good meal and the cosy atmosphere of the hut help us forget the day’s exertions. We enjoy the evening surrounded by the mountains and recharge our batteries for the next stage of our journey in this wonderful hut.

  • Day 3: Cabane de Chanrion – Pigne d’Arolla – Cabane des Vignettes

    1550 metres altitude

    850 metres altitude

    The new day begins with a steady ascent across the glacier. Our route takes us across vast firn fields, past crevasses and beneath the impressive flanks of the Pigne d’Arolla. Surrounded by rugged peaks and the vastness of the high-alpine glacial landscape, we climb higher. Whether we reach the summit of the Pigne d’Arolla or one of its secondary peaks will depend on the conditions. In any case, a breathtaking panorama of the Valais mountains awaits us. We then enjoy the descent across the vast glacier before putting our skins back on and tackling the short climb to the Cabane des Vignettes. Spectacularly situated on a rocky outcrop, the hut towers high above the glaciers and offers us a stunning view of the wild mountain landscape. Here, we’ll round off the day in the cosy atmosphere of the hut and recharge our batteries for the final stage of our Haute Route Challenge.

  • Day 4: Cabane des Vignettes – Zermatt

    1500 metres altitude

    2800 metres altitude

    The final day of our trek dawns. Once again, we set off early into the high-alpine glacier landscape and make our way towards Zermatt. Ahead of us lie impressive glacial landscapes, high-alpine passes and long descents that bring us closer to our destination. Finally, we reach the famous mountain village at the foot of the Matterhorn and can look back on four intense days full of stunning scenery and shared challenges, and raise a toast. A special trek comes to an end – and we can be proud of what we have achieved together.

  • Conclusion

    around 4 pm, Zermatt

    We’ll finish this challenging version of the Valais Haute Route together in Zermatt. From there, we’ll each make our own way home, with a rucksack full of special memories and a tired but happy smile.

• Requirements

  • Confident use of ski touring techniques and their basics (skins, kick turns).
  • Safe downhill technique in open terrain and in different types of snow.
  • You already have experience with crampons and ice axes.
  • You’ll need the stamina for ski tours covering around 2,000 metres of elevation gain at a brisk pace of approximately 400 metres of elevation gain per hour. The very long descents on days 1 and 4, as well as the ascent of around 2,400 metres on day 2, are particularly challenging.
  • On some sections, we carry our skis and cover stretches on foot through the snow.
  • This tour is not suitable with a splitboard.

• Price and services

  • CHF 1,795.00
  • Takes place with up to 4 guests per mountain guide.
  • Including accommodation costs with half board.
  • Including planning and realisation with mountain guide and his travel expenses.
  • Excluding travel expenses, possible train tickets, personal consumption.

• Material and equipment

  • For this tour you need the material from this PDF. We carry our equipment with us the whole time. Only pack the essentials.
  • General material and packing tips we have also put together for you.

Highlights: Valais Haute Route Intense