Haute Route, April 2023

The “most beautiful” of all ski crossings begins with mixed weather: it’s raining in Le Tour, so we strap our skis to our backpacks and set off along the summer trail toward Refuge Albert 1er. At 1,800 meters, the rain turns to snow, and we reach the hut around noon.

The next day brings dry, heavily overcast weather with a few hours of sunshine. Since the next storm front is on its way, we hurry: we cross the Col du Tour—which is free of snow but still easily passable—over to the Swiss side amid strong winds. A tailwind propels us across the flat Plateau du Trient, and the subsequent steep descent toward the Col des Ecandies is a delight in the powder snow. On the other side, we look forward to the beautiful and steep descent into the Val d’Arpette; however, the snow hasn’t frozen solid, so wet and, at times, slushy snow starting at about 2,200 meters above sea level makes things a bit difficult for us. Nevertheless, we’re in good spirits, as the snow extends all the way down to Champex.

During the night between the second and third days of the tour, there is heavy snow and a fierce storm. The avalanche risk is rising, so I decide against the Cabane de Valsorey (and the very steep couloir that follows) and opt for the Cabane de Prafleuri instead. A taxi takes us from Bourg-Saint-Pierre to Le Chable, where we take the cable car to the Verbier ski area. After a fast-paced run down the slopes, we put on our skins and climb over the two cols, “de La Chaux” and “de Momin,” to the Rosa Blanche. The weather is initially lightly cloudy, later interspersed with snow showers. We take a little too long, which means we get caught in a heavy snow shower on the descent to the Cabane de Prafleuri: zero visibility, but the snow is fantastic! However, I know the terrain very well, and we reach the already well-populated hut without any problems in the afternoon.

A long day (and the only one with clear weather from start to finish!) takes us over the Col des Roux to Lac de Dix, which we pass on its (orographic) left side. We leave the Cabane de Dix on our right and tackle the steep ascent to the Pigne d’Arolla. Once we reach the summit, we look forward to the long descent to Arolla, which we briefly interrupt at the Cabane des Vignettes. Down in the village, a comfortable hotel (and a nice shower :-)!) awaits us.

Fifth and penultimate day: The weather forecast doesn’t look promising, but visibility is still decent in the morning, and light snow begins to fall. Our destination for the day: the Cabane de Bertol at 3,311 m. During the final steep ascent below the hut, the snowfall intensifies, the wind picks up, and small powder snow slides repeatedly make their way down from the surrounding steep slopes. We reach our lodging without any problems, however.

Sixth and final day of the tour: Our destination is Zermatt.
It snowed and was windy all night; in the morning, the sky is overcast and foggy. The snow has stopped, but the wind is still blowing strongly. Besides me, two other fellow mountain guides decide to set out for Zermatt with their groups. The remaining hut guests take the safer route back to Arolla.
The three of us mountain guides take turns breaking trail toward Tête Blanche. Visibility is poor, but I rely entirely on my GPS track, my knowledge of the terrain, and, of course, my esteemed colleagues. After what feels like an eternity, the first seracs on the north face of the Tête Blanche come into view—we’ll be there soon! But the euphoria is short-lived, as we still have to cross the stormy Col de la Tête Blanche and the dangerous crevasse zone on the Stockji Glacier beyond it. Tension rises once more, but we overcome this obstacle as well. We descend on the rope until we leave the lower edge of the clouds behind us. Finally, visibility improves; we stow the rope in our backpacks and joyfully ski all the way down to Zermatt, which welcomes us with bright sunshine.