TouringTip | Haute Route

I skied the Haute Route?

and was equally breath taken by the scale of terrain and grandeur of the Alps. As a poor ski-bum spending the winter in Chamonix, my two Swedish friends and I couldn’t quite afford the luxury of staying and eating in huts, so we packed up enough food for 5 days, a tent and completed the trip in pure fashion.

Pure may not be the appropriate word though, as staying in the old huts along the route are very much a part of the Haute Route experience. When staying in the huts, teams carry food and water for the day in a light daypack. At the end of the day you can enjoy a beer and tartiflette served by the warden, while admiring the Alpenglow. To travel in this fashion isn’t exorbitantly expensive either, just too expensive for a dishwashing ski-bum.

Route Descriptions

Below you will find a detailed route description for the Regular Haute Route, and a basic plan for the Verbier alternative. Included also is a "ski-bum” itinerary for those purists out there living for the winters, working to live and not the other way around.