Day eleven marked the last true day of “tough” hiking with a route that lead over the Augstbordpass and into the Mattertal valley to St. Niklaus. We woke early, grabbed a filling breakfast, and headed out into the cool and overcast morning. For the previous couple days, the weather had been starting to turn more seasonal, both cooling and becoming more overcast.

The hike itself goes virtually straight up towards the col, heading steeply up the side of the valley before following a smaller valley up to the Augstbordpass. As we climbed, the views back over the valley opened up and we heard the characteristic clang of cow bells as herders brought back in their cattle for the season.

At one point, a young man passed with a small herd of cattle following. Anne and I stepped off the path to allow the caravan to pass and were viewed inquisitively by the passing bovine.
As we headed up the valley, the wind picked up and the temperature seemed to drop.

The final climb to the pass was bitterly cold with rhyme ice covering the plants, rocks, and sign posts. We stopped quickly for the obligatory pass photo before dropping down into the Mattertal in search of a respite from the biting wind and cold.

This path descends directly down a small side valley before cutting sharply right and traversing along the valley side along a mostly scree slope that is sometimes exposed. The slight amount of gain is rewarded handsomely at the Twära overlook.

The path from the overlook led relatively directly and steeply to the small town of Jungen. While it was possible to see Jungen a short while after passing the Twära overlook, it took considerably longer than expected to actually reach to the town. Here we ran into Rich, Denise, and Brian eating at the Junger Stübli where we sat down to rest and enjoy with them for a short while. Take note, there is a room for let in the Stübli and if you have the time you should certainly try for it since it would afford excellent views in one of the most beautiful small Swiss Alp villages I’ve ever seen.

The rest of the path to St. Niklaus was relatively straight forward and took about an hour to complete with our sore legs and tired backs. Arriving in St. Niklaus, it’s a little easy to get overwhelmed with the size and complexity of the town having just spent over a week in very small villages. We had to ask directions to make it to our hotel at the south end of town but we arrived soon enough and settled into our room, happy to be one day away from our final objective of Zermatt.

Stage 9 traverses back down the Val de Moiry to the foot of the lake before climbing to a pass and descending into Zinal. We got our standard early start and descended back down the switchbacks to the trail leading along the moraine. Along the way we were lucky to spot more ibex walking along the hillside above us.

The path towards Zinal splits before reaching the parking lot, instead taking a high traverse along the valley and above the lake. Unlike the previous day, the forecast was good and the sun was out with blue patches of sky all around. However, some precipitation had fallen the night before dusting the upper slopes with frost and traces of snow.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

We traversed along the trail, taking in the incredible views down the valley towards the dam and the even more incredible views back up the valley to the glacier, hut, and mountain peaks. Below us the glacial lake was a brilliant turquoise in color. Above, the careful eye could make out both ibex and chamois moving about the rocks.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The trail traverses to just above the dam at the end of Lac de Moiry before climbing, slowly switch backing along a road at first and then much more directly, up to the Col de Sorebois. As we reached the col, we found that while our side of the pass was very much in sunlight, the other side of the pass was completely obscured in fog. Rather than breaking for lunch, we decided to head down and hope for better weather lower down.

It wasn’t long before breaks in the clouds rewarded us with some pretty incredible views of the mountains waiting for us on the other side of the valley. As Anne pointed out the small break in the clouds, I gasped with amazement at the jagged peaks emerging from the whiteout.

The descent from the pass was relatively non-descript. We hiked along a path that at times was a two track road servicing the ski area and others a small trail that cut between switchbacks in the road. Ski lifts crisscrossed above making the place feel more urban than most of what we’d experienced along the way. We descended to the Sorebois cable car station where we grabbed some seats on the deserted terrace and had lunch overlooking the valley below us.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The rest of the path down was a grunt. The trail switchbacks in open meadows at a relatively aggressive grade before entering trees and heading almost straight down the mountain. There are few trails I’ve been on that have been so tiring on the descent and I was very glad to have my poles to steady my walk and help preserve my knees. After what felt like hours the trail finally leveled out near the base of the valley and traversed above the river to a bridge where we finally crossed into town.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

Zinal is a sizable village with an ATM, restaurants, a couple grocery stores, and a collection of outdoor and gear shops. The hotels here were reasonably priced and provided bus passes for transit up and down the valley should the need arise. Anne and I were happy to have a little extra time during the day to wash clothes, enjoy the warmth of the sun, and relax.

Since we weren’t sure who among our party was going directly to Gruben versus Hotel Weisshorn, we organized dinner at the Hotel Europa where all of our travelling friends got a table together and enjoyed what we hoped would not be our last evening together as a group.

The hike from La Sage to Cabane de Moiry counts as probably the second hardest day of the trip behind the long and tiring traverse from Cabane du Mont Fort to Cabane de Prafleuri. On paper, this stage of the trip shares the title for largest elevation gain and the hike lived up to that hype. To make matters more intimidating, the weather forecast called for 90% chance of rain.

Because of the big day ahead of us, Anne and I got started as early as we could, taking first call at breakfast and shoving off before 8am. We’d both taken the hint from the weather forecast and started with rain pants and pack covers on. I was glad my rain pants had full length zips because it wasn’t long before I was getting warm and looking to dump excess heat as we climbed steeply up the valley walls towards the Col du Tsaté.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

It’s worth noting that most of the trail from Chamonix to Zermatt passes through summer pasture land. However, nowhere on the Haute Route was the evidence of cows more present than in the climb from La Sage up to Col du Tsaté. In places, it was almost impossible to walk without stepping in cow pies. This got us into the habit of identifying such parcels on the trail and calling out “Caca Suisse!” to avoid stepping in them.

The descent from the col led to a pronounced flank along the valley, likely an old moraine, from which there was a steep descent to the lake and, um, parking lot. That’s right, you can take a bus here and in the summer there’s even a refreshment stand. Anne and I grabbed a bench and made lunch while we looked at other tourists who’d driven up to the parking lot for a picnic. It wasn’t long before Val, Kathy, Eliza, and Gareth joined us and we had a great lunch before heading off and up again to the hut.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The final part of the day involved a hike up from the parking lot to gain the crest of the lateral moraine running up the valley. This then descends off the moraine and over to the valley wall where it again climbs steeply in switchbacks until it finally gains a stupendous overlook and the Cabane de Moiry. Alas, most of our hike was in low clouds obscuring the view up the mountain and threatening rain. Combined with the already large dose of elevation gain, it turned the final part of the hike into a chore.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

Without a doubt, Cabane de Moiry was the highlight of the trip for me. The hut sits atop an incredible viewpoint and has windows that stretch floor to ceiling and provide unmatched views across the glacier to the mountains towering over them.

From the hut it’s possible to access a myriad of rock climbs as well as glacier travel, advanced mountaineering, and ski touring in the winter. Our entire entourage was happy to sit back, read, drink beer, and enjoy this wonderful setting. As a bonus, we were even able to see ibex while we were eating. Truly a glorious setting and a highlight of the trip!

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The stage from Arolla to La Sage is probably the most poorly described stage in the guide book. While this stage reads like a “rest stage” as you walk down the valley from Arolla to Les Haudères with 215m of elevation gain covered in 4 hours, we in fact gained about 2000 feet of elevation as we climbed out of Arolla and traversed above the valley floor to Lac Bleu in a total of 6 hours. Anything but the day we had been expecting!

(photo by Anne Archambault)

To make the day more exciting, Anne and I chose the “harder” of the two paths to Lac Bleu leaving from Arolla and climbing steeply away from the village and above the valley below. As described in the guidebook, this trail had several sections with chains that we hoped would lead to some exposed sections with grand views. However, it was largely a letdown as most chain-protected sections were really quite safe hiking except perhaps in freezing conditions.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

Elevation was gained steeply out of Arolla, which then turned into a traverse along the valley. This traverse steeply gained and lost elevation constantly until we reached Lac Bleu, the final high point on the path before descending to Les Haudères. Lac Bleu is the highlight of the stage with an incredible vista over the valley combined with a surreal blue hue. We took time to eat lunch and dip our feet in the cold lake.

Leaving Lac Bleu you immediately come to some old buildings where we should have turned right and headed steeply down towards La Gouille. Instead, we continued along our traverse following signs towards Evolène. We soon realized that the trail we were on continued down the valley but in the wrong direction and away from Les Haudères. The mistake was easily corrected; we joined a trail leading back to La Gouille and turned back around, only losing about 15 minutes time on the detour.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

From La Gouille, the trail dips below the road and towards the creek on the east side of the valley, falling rather steeply down to Les Haudères on a generally shaded two track road. In Les Haudères, we grabbed lunch, rested, and restocked our supplies for the next couple days.

I’ll make a call out for the local Les Haudères tomme cheese. Hikers should note that most of the villages along the way make town or valley specific cheeses. The tomme in Les Haudères was probably the finest of the trip. If you do pass through town, don’t miss out on this fantastic cheese!

Supplied up, we joined back with the trail to La Sage which climbs out of Les Haudères and gains 200 or so meters of elevation quickly to La Sage. Here Anne and I came across a pair of farmers with a small boy. They’d apparently been gathering fire wood when they managed to turn their tractor over on the path. I dropped my pack and tried to help them get the vehicle upright. Gareth, Val, and Kathy soon joined us and despite having the additional horsepower, we were completely unable to get the tractor right side up. Despite our lack of success, the farmers were grateful for the help and thanked us as we put our packs back on and headed the last short bit to the hotel.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The Hotel De La Sage is one of two places you can stay in La Sage. We’d booked our rooms the previous night at dinner in Arolla and were lucky enough to secure rooms for everyone in our party. In terms of hotels, Hotel De La Sage easily takes the prize for being the nicest hotel we stayed at during our entire visit. Inside the rooms had been recently renovated and were very modern both in conveniences like outlets as well as in style.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The included dinner looked like something out of a foodie gastropub. We had salmon tartar as an appetizer, duck breast as a main course, and we finished with an outstanding cheesecake.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

The stage from Cabane de Prafleuri to Arolla is arguably the most beautiful stage of the entire walk from Chamonix to Zermatt. The day starts with a short climb up to the Col des Roux which opens into beautiful views over Lac des Dix and up the valley towards Mont Blanc de Cheilon. The morning light over the valley was incredible and Anne and I quickly fell behind the other groups as we took pictures.

The trail worked its way gradually down to about 100 feet or so above the level of the lake where we met up with the rest of our traveling buddies and traversed along a road to the lake’s south end. Marmot dotted rocks along the hillside, sunning themselves in the morning light. This area is also open pasture so we shared the path with a fair number of friendly cattle.

At the south end of the lake the trail climbs steeply away from the lake and up a valley that quickly turns into a glacial moraine. The remains of the old Cabane des Dix are passed some 15 minutes after leaving the road, which serve as a testament to how long mountain huts have been a part of the culture as well as a reminder of a time when the glaciers were larger and more prominent.

From the old hut, the path climbs steadily until it reaches a junction where the path forks. On the left the path leads directly to the col and on the right the path continues to climb up the moraine towards Cabane des Dix. We continued right in search of grand views up the valley over Mont Blanc de Cheilon and a peaceful lunch on the hut’s patio.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

Continuing up and along the moraine, views over the glacier opened up and we could easily see the other path crossing below the glacial snout, the path over the col, and the notch indicating the upcoming ladders at the Pas de Chèvres.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

I found the last section of the hike to Cabane des Dix to be deceiving because it involved a lot more climbing than I’d imagined. From the moraine, the path drops right across a small ravine and then climbs steadily around a blind corner that reveals another 200 feet or so of elevation gain to a ridge that marks the high point for the day. Upon gaining the ridge we got our first glimpse of Cabane des Dix as well as excellent views over Mont Blanc de Cheilon and associated glacier. Here I stopped to take a panorama while Anne continued on towards the hut and a well-deserved lunch.

After lunch our path took us down and across the glacier to the other side of the valley. Normally glacier crossings are only to be done with rope and proper equipment. However, this particular crossing is across firm ice and lacks the crevasses and snow bridges that typically mark dangerous conditions. A route is well established across the glacier and is marked by cairns and a decent foot path.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

After climbing a short distance up the moraine and away from the glacier, the trail traversed several hundred meters of scree to rejoin the original trail leading to the Col de Reidmatten. This in turn climbed another 150 feet or so before splitting off yet again and traversing over to the ladders at the Pas de Chèvres.

For Anne and myself, the ladders at the Pas de Chèvres were probably the highlight of the hike. The ladders climb almost vertically for about 30 feet, sidestep 4 feet, and then continue about another 15 feet before topping out at the pass. The climb up the ladders was surprisingly tiring, not helped by the fact that each of us was carrying a loaded pack.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

Rich, who had some climbing gear, was nice enough to climb up and tie himself in so he could take photos as we climbed.

Each of us, in turn, climbed up to the top with resultant cheers and high fives as we topped out and looked out over the glacier below. Once all at the top, we gathered for a group portrait while taking a short break and celebrating the final uphill portion of the day before the long downhill hike to Arolla.

The hike down to Arolla was generally well graded and traversed across open alpine terrain and ski slopes before heading down a steep set of switchbacks into the trees and finally into Arolla itself.

Since we didn’t have advance reservations, we stopped by the tourist office and inquired about hotels, pricing and availability. We settled on the Hotel de Mont Collon after the woman at the tourism office remarked about how nice and “romantic” the hotel was with all the “tapestries” it had. On hindsight, we might have been better served with another hotel since the Hotel de Mont Collon was more worn down than romantic and the rooms had a tired feel to them. The hotel was also located below town and hence below the next day’s trail head, which required us to hike back uphill to start our day.

(photo by Anne Archambault)

For dinner, we all decided to head back up into the heart of town where there were some limited dining options. We settled on a restaurant that had raclette on the menu, which was something that Anne and I had been excitedly waiting to eat. Raclette is a traditional Swiss dish that involves placing a wheel of raclette style cheese near a heating source, scraping that cheese off onto a plate, and then service with cooked potatoes and pickled pearl onions, gherkins, and sometimes meat slices.

We enthusiastically got some of our friends to try this cheese dish, which in this case was served by the hostess who would ferry plates back and forth to the heated cheese and with bread, potatoes, gherkins, and pickled pearl onions. The meal was exceptionally filling and I certainly went to bed knowing I wouldn’t be wanting for calories on the following day!

Note: While Arolla may seem like a large town from descriptions in the guide book, it does not have an ATM machine. You can withdraw money at the Tourism Office, but they will charge you an additional fee for the service. In fact, the next closest ATM machine is in Evolène down the valley several hours by foot and a detour from the path.

When travelling from Cabane du Mont Fort the hiker is faced with a couple different route options. The more direct route, and also the one that’s recommended when weather is uncooperative, goes via the Col de la Chaux. The longer and more scenic route traverses above the valley floor and provides wonderful views of the Combin massif before traversing across three passes on the way to Cabane de Prafleuri. Since the weather report was good we chose the longer and more scenic option along with the rest of our travelling companions (and the rest of the overnight residents of the hut).

The path from Mont Fort initially drops down a couple hundred feet before starting a slowly climbing traverse that gently levels out and continues all the way to Col Termin. This section of the hike was spectacular with wonderful views up and down the valley as well as across the valley to the Combin massif. The trail was crowded with hikers, all of whom were stopping frequently to take pictures of the wonderful scenery. Several sections of the trail had chain handholds, though I never felt like I needed them or was in any danger of falling.

We all reached Col Termin in good time and enjoyed a snack while basking in the warmth of the sun. To say it was all glorious would be an understatement.

The path from Col Termin to Col de Louvie follows a nice traverse up the valley before climbing steeply to the col. Based on the elevation profile in the book I’d prepared myself to drop all the way to the valley floor and then climb back to gain the col. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case at all as our elevation loss was limited to probably less than 100 feet. However, this section of the hike took longer than expected, partially due to the up and down and partially because the last part of the climb to the col was quite steep.

We all ate lunch at the col, by which time the sun was clouded over and the peaceful warmth we’d enjoyed at Col Termin was replaced with a brisk wind and a slight chill. Lunch was our staple of bread and cheese, with some potato chips and mixed nuts. It was refreshing and helped us recharge from the morning hike.

Looking out from the col the hike lead across the aptly named Grand Desert. This alpine valley is a wasteland left behind by a retreating glacier. It’s virtually devoid of life and could easily be a landscape from the moon. The path from the col leads steeply down towards the valley. On the way down, the guidebook suggests taking note of a very large painted trail marker on the other side of the valley to be used as a landmark. This is especially handy because the trail becomes much less distinct after crossing the small stream.

The glacier here is in full retreat, a small shadow of its once massive self. However, glacial outflow still forms small lakes and streams that add color and texture to the landscape and provide interesting patterns in the water.

From the stream crossing, the trail makes its way steadily uphill to the large painted rock where it veers left and gains elevation steeply to a rocky bench that looks back over the valley, glacier, and Col Louvie. The trail then levels out and traverses open and rocky terrain before bending slightly right towards another valley where the trail descends almost vertically about 200 feet before beginning the last and final climb to Col de Prafleuri.

Mentally, I wasn’t really prepared for this last little valley and we both begrudged the elevation we lost as we hopped down from rock to rock. The guide book doesn’t really describe these sorts of small vertical changes but they are important to prepare for mentally so you can understand how to reserve energy and optimism. Regardless, we pushed on and were soon making the climb to the final col before reaching our hut for the evening.

As we reached Col de Prafleuri, we found it to be rather crowded with the several groups who had set out that morning from Cabane du Mont Fort. This proved to be rather fortuitous since they pointed out a pair of ibex sitting on the hill no more than 100 yards away. I’d previously expected that I would be able to spot ibex rather easily, but these two blended in with the surrounding hillside so perfectly I would have never seen them unless they’d moved.

Anne and I recovered, snacked, and watched the ibex for some time before setting out for the final short leg to Cabane de Prafleuri, which we could see in the distance. The trail from the col was rather steep but uneventful. In truest form, the last short pitch to the hut involved a steep grunt of a hike that left us both winded but happy to have completed a long day.

Note: For Cabane de Prafleuri there are several things that would-be guests should be aware of. First, the showers only have limited hot water. Anne and I checked in and bolted for the showers as quickly as we could. However, we both had to wait 20 minutes to shower by which time the hot water was waning. Second, there’s limited power in the building unless you want to pay to turn on the outlet in your room. Resourceful individuals unplugged heaters in the bathroom and lobby to accommodate charging their phones. Finally, the water in the hut isn’t potable. This wasn’t a problem for us since we’d brought a Steripen, but others found it to be annoying that they had to purchase expensive water for the next day’s hike.

On paper the hike from Le Châble on the valley floor to Cabane du Mont Fort was the biggest day of the trip in terms of elevation gain. This starts the moment you step out the door of your hotel and progresses almost non-stop until you get to the cable car station at Les Ruinettes.

To ensure we made the best of the day and avoid the heat we got an early start. That kept us in the shade for most of the initial climb out of the valley. This also meant that we hiked alone almost the entire way, overlapping Martijn only briefly as he overtook us on the way up.

While the path was steep, it was also generally pleasant as it wound through several small villages and steeply wooded slopes. Shortly below Clambin we broke into the sun and the heat started to make its presence felt.

We stopped and grabbed water and a few bites at the junction at Clambin before continuing on up and past a small picnic area at Le Hattey and then onto a broad set of switchbacks that form a ski run in the winter. This section then diverted into the trees for the final stretch up to the Les Ruinettes cable car station.

Just above Clambin the hiker’s path parallels single track mountain bike paths. This area is a mountain biking paradise and some of the runs we saw looked like they were expert or better tracks with significant jumps and features. As we approached Les Ruinettes, we saw countless bikers flying down the dirt road and splitting off onto single tracks and I wished that we’d had some time to do some mountain biking ourselves. This area was also a prime area for paragliding and as we set up for lunch at the cable car station we watch as numerous paragliders launched and soared above the valley.

After lunch we continued along towards Mont Fort. At this point, the majority of our climb was complete and the path followed the course of a bisse gently over the alpine landscape with wonderful views of the valley below and Le Châble where we’d started earlier that morning. The rest of the hike to Cabane du Mont Fort was relatively easy with a steep and tiring section completing the day just below the hut itself.

At the hut, we met up with all our travelling companions. Clare and Paul had taken the cable car earlier that morning and had been at the hut for several hours. The rest of our crew, who had started shortly after us in the morning, had arrived within the previous hour (passing us while we ate). We sat our bags on the deck and relaxed, taking in the warmth of the sun and drinking beers to celebrate a hard but enjoyable day and the incredible views afforded from such a fine alpine hut.

Here we also first met Brian and Denise. Brian is an avid photographer as well (he’s got a great blog too), packing both a DSLR and a tripod on his pack. We’d met this first along the path near the Le Hattey hut but took the opportunity to get better acquainted at the hut.

I also took the extra time to try both some long exposure photography as well as some night photography of the hut.

Note: The huts are generally dorm style. At Mont Fort, rooms had 4 bunks and we shared with Kathy and Val. Showers here are coin operated, but there is plenty of hot water and you can stop the water flow (and the timer) to extend your shower while you lather up.