Trip of the week: a tough new ski route in the high Alps

“Crossing crevasse-strewn glaciers, navigating tricky descents and scaling treacherous passes”, the “Haute Route” from Chamonix to Zermatt is “one of the toughest challenges in ski mountaineering”.

Since it was pioneered in January 1903, several variants have sprung up (the Purist Haute Route, the Reverse Haute Route, and so on), but this winter sees the launch of the first genuinely new version in half a century, says Tristan Kennedy in The Daily Telegraph.

Created by the bureaux des guides in three regions, the Haute Route du Saint-Bernard is a six-day loop combining parts of the classic Haute Route with lesser-known ascents. It offers a new – and yet tougher – challenge for those familiar with the original, and it also avoids some of the most crowded mountain refuges.

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The Haute Route was pioneered by a local doctor, Michel Payot, who in 1896 had acquired one of the first pairs of skis ever seen in the Chamonix Valley, and used them to reach housebound patients. For him and the five friends who accompanied him, the Route was a “wonderful winter adventure”.

Following in their tracks, with the advantage of modern equipment, which is far lighter, you’ll wonder at their achievement. With between 1,200 and 1,750 vertical metres of climbing per day, and one morning on which you need to use crampons and ice axes, it’s not something to attempt without good fitness and an experienced guide.

The Saint-Bernard variant starts in Italy’s Val d’Aosta, and crosses into Switzerland via the Col du Grand St Bernard, where you can stay at the famous monastery. The “soft chanting” of your hosts in their ancient chapel is beautiful, and there are other pleasant refuges en route – but the biggest reward of the route is the views it affords, ones that “only mountaineers would normally see”.

Contact Les Guides de Verbier for more information