In early July, Chris and Anna completed the pre-season review of the Haute Route. This is what they had to say:

The Haute Route is a challenging but very rewarding walk with a wide variety of mountain scenery. There are airy cliff-edge paths, huge moraine fields, tiny turquoise tarns filled with glacial melt and huge, towering peaks overshadowing narrow cols. If you have walked the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Haute Route is a natural next step.

Snow patches in early July, Haute Route

The 2011 season began in a very different way to 2010, when there was unseasonably late and heavy snowfall and our pre-season review of the Tour du Mont Blanc was made incredibly arduous and technically challenging by the conditions. This year, there was little snow in June and therefore the main route was open to walkers from quite early on. We observed only a few areas where snow was still standing on the route and in most instances this could be detoured around. Most notably, snow was still heavy over the Col de la Chaux - the hut guardian at Cabane du Mont Fort was keen for all walkers to take the alternative route to avoid it. There were also a few small patches later in that same day, just before Cabane de Prafleuri, where snow had built up in banks over rocky sections of the path, making careful footing necessary.

On the climb to Fenetre d'Arpette, on the stage to Champex

During our review, the weather was fairly typical for summer mountain days. Most days began clear and bright, with very good visibility, which made early starts quite palatable. Clouds began gathering mid-morning and it often grew overcast in the afternoons. On a few afternoons, we had drizzle and on several days we watched impressive thunderstorms into the evening - from the safety of the mountain huts or hotel rooms! Unfortunately our luck didn't hold for the full fortnight, with the last few days being done in thick mist or rain, but even in the thick mist the high passes can retain a mystical quality with rocks and peaks suddenly appearing and disappearing and the cloud moves about.

Goats on the trail

The excellent weather seems to have made the routes even more popular this year and we noticed an increase in the number of walkers, particularly on the sections of the Haute Route that are shared with the Tour du Mont Blanc. However, the Haute Route is still the less-popular route of the two, most likely because of its more demanding nature.

Looking back to Lac des Dix

Since the Haute Route is higher than the Tour du Mont Blanc, the walking season starts later and we found ourselves doing a couple of the Tour du Mont Blanc days once the season for that route was well underway. Having previously only walked Tour du Mont Blanc pre-season we had not seen the mule transfers that some groups use to transfer walkers' baggage from one hotel to the next. These fascinating animals look very much like horses but have longer, fuzzier ears and frequently let out loud donkey brays, which can be disconcerting if you are not expecting it! They are more efficient than vehicle transfers as the road route often has to go for many miles out of the way to bypass the mountains, whereas the high routes over the cols are much more direct.

Mules carrying packs on the Tour du Mont Blanc

The wildlife on the Haute Route is just as noticeable as on the Tour du Mont Blanc and it was all flourishing while we were there. There are alpine meadows full of flowers and butterflies, clouds of butterflies often rose up from the path with each step we took and there were even patches of flowers on the high rocky cols where you wouldn't expect anything to survive well. Marmots were also widely seen - but mostly heard! Their high-pitched squeaks can be found almost everywhere there is rocky ground interspersed with grassy slopes. On the rockiest slopes, we frequently saw goats, chamois and ibex, often very close to the path. They are very used to seeing walkers and often allow you to get quite close to them before they suddenly bound off, usually up or down a near-vertical cliff face.

Approaching Cabane des Dix

The winter seemed to have caused relatively little damage to the Haute Route in most areas and the paths were largely unchanged from last year. The only exception to this general rule is the ever-changeable Europaweg, which can be taken for the final two days of the overall route.

The Cabane des Dix area again

The first day of the Europaweg is still passable but there have been significant landslides and increases in the amount of moraine that obstruct the path. This has increased the amount of technical ground that needs to be crossed, which is exciting and challenging but does increase the length of time it takes to get through the day. The second day of the Europaweg has been significantly altered as a bridge was washed away during the winter. This has caused a large detour to the route and the path now descends from the Europahuette almost as far as the valley floor at Randa before contouring at a lower level and reascending later on.

The Grand Dessert and its turquoise tarns

The final walk into Zermatt along the valley route is a revelation, as the small town suddenly appears from behind a small rise, with the distinctive shape of the Matterhorn in the background on a clear day - a welcome end point after such a walk. Dropping down behind the train station, we were amused by the tiny, electric cars that transport everyone around (normal vehicles are not permitted in Zermatt) and the busy, bustling streets are a huge contrast to the quiet, mountain solitude that has gone before for so many days.

The unmistakeable Matterhorn!

Walker's Haute Route - our classic 14-stage self-guided trek
Walker's Haute Route (Guided) - trek guided with an IML
Walker's Haute Route West - trek from Chamonix to Arolla...
Walker's Haute Route East - ... or from Arolla to Zermatt