Hiking the Haute Route in Switzerland – How to Plan, Full Itinerary and Packing List Claimed

The Haute Route in the Swiss Alps in July is hard to beat for an epic summer hiking trip! Wildflowers are in full bloom, the weather is warm yet not blistering hot, the chance of rain is low, and the views are magnificent.

What is the Haute Route? The Haute Route (or the High Route or Mountaineers’ Route) is the name given to a route (with several variations) undertaken on foot (or by ski touring) between the Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France, and the Matterhorn, in Zermatt, Switzerland. There are 13 stages of the entire Haute Route and we started about half way through, on Stage 8 (approx 4o miles of it).

Our group of 11 adults (ages late 50s – early 60s) chose to do a self-guided ‘hotel to hotel’ 5-day hike at the east end of the route from La Sage to Zermatt, booked via Alpenwild. Our bags were transported from hotel to hotel, freeing us up to carry just a daypack.

Hut-to-Hut vs ‘Hotel-to-Hotel’ Hiking:

This trip we stayed in hotels vs. mountain refuges (smaller ‘huts’ on the mountain that provide meals but are more rustic and often have shared rooms) which had pros and cons (see below). In hut-to-hut hiking you sleep in secluded mountain locations and in ‘hotel-to-hotel’ hiking you stay in towns/villages/hamlets with shops, restaurants, and other hotels which is a very different vibe. Both options are great – they are just different. You also can combine both within a single trip (and part of our group did that by spending one night in a hut on a glacier). For comparison, you can also view our hut-to-hut hike two years ago on the Tour de Mont Blanc and a hut-to-hut done last year in the Dolomites.

Pros:

• We only needed to carry daily necessities in our packs (water, food, rain gear, a puffer) vs. carrying a larger pack with everything needed for the entire trip.
• We got nice cozy beds every night, warm showers, and great meals (although some refuges have great food and often have showers).
• We got to enjoy many small, very charming towns in Switzerland, wandering the streets, shopping, etc . .

Cons:

• On a few mornings, we had to take transportation to the start of the trail instead of just hiking out the front door as you do staying in a mountain hut.
• We didn’t meet as many people as when we stayed in huts (on the Tour of Mt. Blanc or in the Dolomites), eating at communal tables, and often seeing the same people at multiple stops.

Who We Booked Through:

Alpenwild is a terrific US based company that organizes guided and self-guided hiking trips in the Alps. We HIGHLY recommend them. We told them what we generally wanted to do in terms of location and daily distance/elevation gain and they came up with our itinerary, booked the hotels and local transportation (as needed), and responded to any and all questions we had within minutes. They know every trail and hotel in the area. They have an on the ground staff that transported our bags each day to our next destination. They have an app that housed all of the details for our trip (maps, directions, hotel info, rail passes etc) and helped us on-site when we had a medical issue and needed some transport. We can’t recommend them enough.

Hiking Info:

• The weather was great (except for one afternoon).
• The wildflowers were unbelievable. The views were breathtaking.
• The scenery was varied. Pine forests, meadows and high alps/granite. A bit of everything.
• The hikes don’t look long in distance (6-10 miles), but there was a lot of steep uphill and downhill that was challenging. 3,000 foot gains and descents were typical and the Swiss do not do switchbacks!
• Hiking was approx 5 hours/day, depending on the day/distance. We usually began hiking by 8am and arrived at our destination in early afternoon and had a bit of downtime before dinner.
• Meals were for the most part included, which made things easy, and we usually had the hotel pack us lunches to eat en route at the day’s summit.
• The stronger hikers broke out day 1 to do a tougher climb and spent the night at a refuge on a glacier, and then we reunited at the end of day 2.
• About half the group opted out of day 5 hiking, which was a really hard day with a poor weather forecast (and those who went had a close call with a lightening strike…while being doused by cold rain).
• We stayed in beautiful, charming mountain towns and ‘hamlets’.
•  It was a terrific trip with lots of amazing memories for everyone!

See below for:

• Summarized itinerary of the trip
• Packing list

Summary Itinerary of Trip 

Day #DateActivityApprox Feet Gain/LossMilesHotel Elevation1July 17Arrive Arolla  Hotel du Glacierhttps://hotelduglacier.ch6500        2July 18La Sage to either Grimentz (group 1) or glacier (group 1)    5577 Group 1Bus to La Sage. Acend to Col de TorrentUp 26007Hotel de Moiryhttps://www.hotel-grimentz.ch/en/5095 easierDescend to Lac de MoiryDown 2200 Grimentz, Valais                   Group 2Bus to La Sage  Cabane de Moiryhttps://www.cabane-moiry.ch/9268 harderAscend to Cabane de MoiryUp 55119.3      Down 1706    3July 19Grimentz (or glacier) To St. Luc      Group 1Bust to Zinal. Ascend to St. LucUp 303810.2Hotel Bella Tola & St. Luchttps://www.bellatola.ch/en/5413 easierLunch en route at Hotel Weisshorn before descent into St. LucDown 2236     Group 2Descend from Cabane de MoiryUp 213212 https://www.bellatola.ch/en/  HarderHike into Zinal. Take bus to St. Luc.Down 5905              Groups 1 & 2 merge in St. Luc for rest of trip     4July 20St.Luc – Gruben: Leave French-speaking Switzerland, enter the German speaking areaUp 23008Hotel Schwarzhornhttps://www.hotelschwarzhorn.ch/en/6561  Take funicular up from St. Luc. Hike up Medipass then down into GrubenDown 3175 Gruben          5July 21Big day. Hike up to Augstbordpass and over boulder field then down.Up 35178Resort la Ginabellehttps://www.la.ginabelle.ch/en/5315  Cable Descent to St NiklausDown 3079 Zermatt    Train to Zermatt.     6July 22Hiking in/around ZermattUp 19005Resort la Ginabelle 5315  Funicular up. Hike 5 lakes route on mountain. Take cable car to top of Glacier.Down 1900 ZermattChez Vrony recommended for lunch   Drinks on the mountain before 4:30 dinner at Zum See – terrific.   Dinner booked on the mountain at Zum See 7July 23Depart     

Packing List:

Pack Type:

Bring the lightest backpack available. Many of us used Osprey packs that ranged in size from 20-liter to 45-liter capacity (around 35 liters seemed the norm). Make sure it’s properly fit to your body (I had REI do the fitting for me). Since we didn’t need to carry all of our gear most of us opted for small 20-liter packs.

Pack List:

Here’s the list that our group followed for packing for a 5-day trip. We washed out/hung dry items during the hike as needed:

For the Trail:

• 1 Hiking Shorts (quick dry)
• 1 Hiking Pants (quick dry) NOTE: Most people hiked in shorts given warm weather. Some didn’t bring pants. I hiked in pants almost every day.
• 1 Long Sleeve Hiking/Sun Shirt with Hood (Quick dry. Patagonia makes a good one)
• 2 Short Sleeve Hiking Shirts (quick dry)
• 2-3 Socks (wool)
• Rain Jacket
• Rain Pants
• Fleece jacket (on thinner side that packs down well)
• Thermal top and bottoms (lightweight kind)
• Sun hat with good brim, or cap with flaps that protect you from the sun on your neck/face
• Neck buff or bandana
• Hiking shoes
• Backpack
• Backpack rain cover
• Trekking Poles: (A MUST)
• Sunglasses
• Water bottle or bladder (at least 2 liter)
• Guide book/map (1 per group)
• 2 Bars/snacks for emergency food/hunger (you can get more on the trail as needed)
• Sun gloves: (optional but give good protection)

For Staying in a Refuge:

• Sleep sack / sleeping bag liner (you sleep in this and blanket/pillow provided)
• Sleeping attire (can use thermals or tshirt)
• Puffer jacket (good as a pillow)
• Wool hat/gloves

For Evening:

Since we weren’t carrying our own bags there was flexibility to carry a bit more!

• 1-3 Sets of clean clothes for post hike each night
• Sleepwear
• Flip flops or crocs (if staying in a refuge you take off your hiking shoes and need lightweight shoes for walking and showering. If in hotel just an extra non-hiking shoe needed)
• Ear plugs/eye mask (optional, but good if you are in a bunk room)
• Toiletries (bring minimal/small bottles)
• Phone chargers
• Power bank

Other:

• First Aid Kit (one person carried most of the items for the group)
• Map
• Whistle
• Pen Knife
• Phone charging cord and adapter, as needed
• Ziplock bags

What to put in your daypack:

• Map
• Iphone/battery pack/cords
• Binoculars (optional)
• Sunscreen/Lip Balm
• Foot Care/First Aid/Advil
• Hand Sanitizer
• TP
• Water (2L bladder)
• Snacks
• Pack Cover
• $$ and passport
• Windproof/Waterproof Jacket
• Rain Pants
• Second Layer: Down or Fleece
• Wool Gloves/Hat
• Sun Hat/Sunglasses
• Sun Gloves