2009 plans – Pyrenean Haute Route (HRP)

No Comments Written by Tam on May 3, 2009 in HRP.

This is the latest crazy summer plan for this year – Atlantic to Mediterranean taking the highest route through the Pyrenees. Let me know if you want to join for a bit somewhere.

Itinerary
Stage 1 Hendaye to Lescun (through the Basque territory) 8 days 1 – 8 +1 16/6/2009 – 24/6/2009 [9]
Stage 2 Lescun to Gavarnie (highlights of Parc National des Pyrenees Occidentales) 7 days 9 – 15 (+3 summits) +4 25/6/2009 – 5/7/2009 [11]
Czech Republic (+ travel) 7 days 6/7/2009 – 13/7/2009 [8]
Stage 3 Gavarnie to Salardu (the hard or the easy way to Salardu) 9 days 16 – 24 (+4 summits) +5 14/7/2009 – 27/7/2009 [14]
Stage 4 Salardu to l’hospitalet-pres-l’andorre (8 days through a mountain wilderness) 8 days 25-32 (+3 summits) +4 28/7/2009 – 8/8/2009 [12]
Stage 5 L’hospitalet-pres-l’andorre to banyuls-sur-mer (through the eastern pyrenees to the Mediterranean Sea) 10 days 33-42 +1 9/8/2009 – 19/8/2009 [11]
[5]
Chamonix – Zermatt Haute Route 11 days 24/8/2009 – 3/9/2009 [11]

2009 plans – Walker’s Haute route, Chamonix – Zermatt

2 Comments Written by Tam on May 3, 2009 in CZ-HR.

Towards the end of the summer (22 August – 6 September 2009), we’re heading back to the Alps to walk across Switzerland on this high route over 11 passes, 180km, and +/-12,000m between mountain huts. Since the first 3 days overlap with the final 3 days of the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) (Chamonix round to Champex), we were thinking of getting the bus round to Champex, where they part, reducing it from 14 to 11 days (152km, +/-10,000m), which should squeeze nicely into 2 weeks off work. It should be harder than the TMB (more ascent/descent), but easier than the GR20 – just more dramatic scenery. We’re basically walking from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, so get to see the sweetest >4000m peaks of the Alps. Let me know if you’re interested in coming along so we can sort out kit.
[update] We’ll be out of the Pyrenees in good time, so if you fancy starting from Chamonix and walking the whole thing this is also an option.

Itinerary
Sat 22 Aug 2009 Fly to Geneva
Sun 23 Aug Shopping (fuel, food), travel to Champex
Mon 24 Aug day 1 Champex – Le Chable 3.5-4hrs 13km +104m -749m
Tue 25 Aug day 2 Le Chable – Clambin – Cabane du Mont Fort 6-6.5hrs 9km +1636m -0m
Wed 26 Aug day 3 Cabane du Mont Fort – Col Termin – Col de Louvie – Col de Prafleuri – Cabane de Prafleuri 6-6.5hrs 14km +885m -740m
Thur 27 Aug day 4 Cabane de Prafleuri – Col des Roux – Col de Riedmatten – Arolla 6.5hrs 16km +735m -1353m
Fri 28 Aug day 5 Arolla – Lac Bleu – Les Hauderes – La Sage 4hrs 10km +215m -554m
Sat 29 Aug day 6 La Sage – Col du Tsate – Cabane de Moiry 5-5.5hrs 10km +1617m -459m
Sun 30 Aug day 7 Cabane de Moiry – Col de Sorebois – Zinal 5-5.5hrs 14km +462m -1612m
Mon 31 Aug day 8 Zinal – Forcletta – Gruben 5.5-6hrs 14km +1199m -1052m
Tue 1 Sept day 9 Gruben – Augstbordpass – St Niklaus 6.5-7hrs 16km +1072m -1767m
Wed 2 Sept day 10 St Niklaus – Gasenried – Europa Hut 7.5-8hrs 18km +1563m -470m
Thurs 3 Sept day 11 Europa Hut – Taschalp – Zermatt 6.5-7hrs 18km +348m -962m
Thurs night / Fri 3/4 Sept celebrate
Sat/Sun 5/6 Sept travel home (plus contingency day)

Alternative stage options are on:

  • day 3: looks like a shortcut over a higher col. The height has to be gained anyway for Col de Louvie, so just cuts 4km (and about an hour) off the day (re: shortcut: if it was easy, it would be called “the way”).
  • day 4: involves a slight detour up over Tete Noir, and then across the Glacier de Cheilon. Very cool views of Mont Blanc de Cheilon and later the Matterhorn (not the usual Zermatt profile). Seems to be a good path and “crevasses are virtually non-existent at the point of crossing”. Either route looks spectacular, so we should play this by ear and get advice en route.
  • day 6/7/8: takes a higher col between the valleys, somewhat to the North, finishing at Barrage de Moiry instead. End up staying by the lake and misses walking past the glacier, but this eats into the next day’s walk (we’d be walking up from Cabane to Barrage de Moiry in the morning). If we’re short of time or getting behind, this would be a good option to back-to-back a couple of days. This can also give you the opportunity to stop at Hotel Weisshorn, which is pretty spectacular.
  • day 10/11: there’s an option to ditch straight from St Niklaus (via Tasch) up the valley into Zermatt, avoiding the tops and the final couple of days out past Europa hut, turning 2 days into 1 short day for a quick finish. Looks like a bit of a dull valley walk, and not the best way to finish, but if you’ve had enough by then…

Transport

Flights to Geneva:
– BA flies from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester(not direct)
– Easyjet flies from Gatwick, Luton, East Mids, and Liverpool
– Swiss International Airlines flies from Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh

Train to Geneva:
– Eurostar London-Paris, then see Rail Europe.

Coach to Geneva:
– London Victoria coach station, overnight to Paris and on to Geneva/Chamonix or so, see eurolines.

Swiss train and bus links can be calculated on the SBB site
Geneva – Champex link via trains & bus via Orsieres: ~2:30 hours (so probably not via Chamonix after all)
Zermatt – Geneva return at the end, via Visp: ~3:50 hours

Insurance
You’ll need trekking insurance to cover the possibility of mountain rescue callout. The British Mountaineering Council do a great one and explicitly cover this route. You’ll need to join if you’re not already a member (30 quid or 15 it you set up an annual direct debit) – the card will get you 10% discounts in most hiking/outdoor shops, so definitely money well spent. You then need insurance to cover the full duration of your trip, and can tailor it to the precise number of days. It will cost about 30 quid for the fortnight.