Author Topic: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017  (Read 21204 times)

vizzavona

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #45 on: 20:19:05, 05/08/17 »
Yes as I recall it is two sections with a wee shuffle to get from one to the other.  Only ever been down it myself to reach MB du Cheilon for a traverse and then up on to Pigne D'arolla to reach the Vignettes hutte.  Never ascended the ladder. :) ....but he looks like a wilely dog.

IanyZen

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"Hi guys, sorry, I was out having fun . . "  ;)





The snow ceased & we felt the sun’s warmth – now for crossing the rubble strewn Glacier de Chelion.

Ian stopped to survey the scene –




“Do not run around here!  Got it, Zen”
“Got it, Ian”
He put me on the lead, probably fearing I didn’t hear.  :-\ 

Definitely no Ibex or marmots here so I wasn’t sure why, until he showed me this -


"It was quite deep! Who knows what’s hidden beneath the snow "


“Do not lose the path here! Got it, Ian”
“Got it, Zen”



So good to have a dog that can sniff out the red and white flashes. :)
I await the next installment to find out about the ladder climbing abilities of the dog on the way to reach Arolla.

"Ian, at least someone recognises my talents.   O0 


I have never been so pleased to see red spot in front of my eyes."

 

Leap of faith challenge for both us -




Passed – My treat was to be off the lead.  O0
 


Ian confessed, being with me gave him a good excuse to avoid the daunting vertical ladders at Pas de Chevres.
though, that was before we set off towards Col de Riedmatten (2919m).

“Bouldering is fun as well as mentally & physically challenging.

I’m becoming quite adept at it and can usually follow the route, but here there was no distinguishable path up through the boulder field – Chaos - it was as if they had recently fallen here, rocking all ways, even with my weight – I feared for Ian as any red spots were hidden.  :-[ 

Above the rocks I raced ahead up the super steep muddy slope to the col with ease. Not so Ian.




I waited & watched from above – with encouraging eyes, hiding my concerned frown -




He repeatedly slipped, digging in for grip, grabbing rocks, only for them to lift out of the loose wet earth. Scrambling for life, he reached & grasped the red & white chains. 

He found the strength and hauled himself up to join me, both relieved.  O0 

I had thought about going back to pull him, but . . .
 “Sometimes you have to face your own challenges, Ian”   ;)

He took this photo, but strangely not the one looking down the path we’d come – Maybe he didn’t want that memory.




Ian didn’t fancy hanging around the narrow col. As the snow began to fall we descended on an easy gently path.



Without warning Ian suddenly stopped and froze – the snowflakes were floating down – the silence was breath-taking – we stood transfixed in mid path, mid valley, in the middle of nowhere special, yet the serenity was magical . . in the space of a few minutes the snowflakes melted away just around us and were bathed in sunshine – we were alone yet with each other.

Soon we could see Arolla below, so Ian decided to take a more direct path until –




Do cows have horns or just bulls, Zen? 

“Not sure, I’ll wait here while you find out, Ian?”

“Nrr, not today, Zen”

We back tracked & found another way.






There’s a restaurant somewhere behind those flowers –
I did my best to wee against all the flowers pots, almost knocking over a few to Ian’s embarrassment.  :D 

April, at the camp site was lovely – even better, she had a new package for me “Yeah”
Ian, eagerly ripped it open, only to discover it had food just for me – “Yeah”  ;D 

“Pobre Ian” – It had been an emotional day – We celebrated together with the rosti left overs & a visit to the local pub until late –
just as well tomorrow will be a half day, but no less special.  :smitten:
« Last Edit: 23:41:08, 06/08/17 by IanyZen »
Good luck on your next adventure
Ian & Zen

Islandplodder

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #47 on: 08:58:00, 07/08/17 »

Another gem to put a smile on the Monday morning face, Zen.
Lovely to see the photos too,  the scenery is fantastic and I know the walk is probably beyond me.

vizzavona

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #48 on: 09:19:31, 07/08/17 »
I knew that dog Ian would be clever enough to avoid the Ladders or maybe he was just worried about a confrontation with goats. :)
We based ourselves further down the valley at Evolene another village groaning with hanging baskets of flowers.....base tent there and them move up to use the refuges for getting closer to the hills...never had any problems leaving a tent and possessions while being away from a site in Switzerland.

IanyZen

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Day 7 (Chamonix – Zermatt) Sun 2nd July: Arolla to Les Hauderes via Lac Bleu
Ascent 215m / Descent 779m (9th day walking)

We woke to discover our little rubbish bag ripped apart and some contents scattered about & some had vanished . . . definitely
'a curious incident of the dog in the night-time'.  ???

It was a lazy morning or what – Ian’s excuse was that the local shop didn’t open until 9am.
I was just thankful it was open at all on a Sunday.

The lady in the shop educated him on the delights of Swiss local cheese & which Lindt chocolate is made in Germany & which in Switzerland. Ian loaded up with bread & Swiss cheese, but no chocolate ??  :-\


Views from the path -



“Freedom forest path through alpenrose & juniper – cool”   O0 























“Ian why do we always have to take the ‘chemin difficile’?

“Because they always go to the most beautiful places”
“oooh – I sense another top lunch stop”   :smitten: 








Some say Lac Bleu is the most beautiful tarn of all – I hope Ian’s photos do it justice.  :)








Ian had a dip . .  not in the lagoon, in the campsite pool.  :)

« Last Edit: 00:29:55, 08/08/17 by IanyZen »
Good luck on your next adventure
Ian & Zen

April

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #50 on: 08:54:35, 08/08/17 »
Great stuff Zen  O0 it is odd seeing all those metal signs en route, nothing like that in the Lakes. Enjoying this report a lot, thanks  O0
Hate will never win

vizzavona

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #51 on: 10:51:03, 08/08/17 »
Hello,
An easy day after all of that beer ;) ....on to Refuge Moiry next?  What did the campsite folks say after the dog jumped into the pool....or maybe this a leg-pull?  

bricam2096

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #52 on: 15:00:56, 08/08/17 »
Great stuff Zen  O0 it is odd seeing all those metal signs en route, nothing like that in the Lakes. Enjoying this report a lot, thanks  O0

Yes, it's very reassuring not only seeing routes well signposted but also in many cases they also tell you how long in hours rather than mileage, to other places. I liked this as if it says I had an hour to go, I knew I had about an hour to go but if I see a sign saying 3 miles to go in the UK, I know it depends on the ascent/descent in those 3 miles how long I'll be.

Why don't they do this in the UK?

p.s. enjoying reading this. I have the guide book for this walk and looking for ides for next year...it's up there, lol
LDWs done - 32 in total including 16 National Trails and 3 C2C

Wainwrights 176
www.brians-walks.co.uk

IanyZen

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Day 8 (Chamonix – Zermatt) Mon 3rd July: Les Haudères to Cabane de Moiry via Col du Tsaté
Ascent 1832m / Descent 459m (10th day walking)

Ian promised a big day – ‘Big skies, big climbs, big mountains, big views, big glaciers & even bigger lunches’

“Zen, big effort needed today – Are you up for it?’
“You bet, Ian - I adore Blue Monday’s – blue skies & a walk into the mountains”   :smitten: 

His enthusiasm was definitely rubbing off – I was positively shaking” 





Camping Molignon in Les Haudères was a really chilled out campsite – just over the road from the trail.

It had been early to bed & early to rise and we were off, up & up to La Sage – arguably the prettiest Swiss village on the whole Walker’s Route (Ian said we would have stayed here but the very little accommodation was booked out.




Views of Les Haudères, Val d’Hérens and the magnificent Dent Blanche, which has four long ridges angled almost perfectly with the points of the compass.










"Hey guys, a challenge for you - I'm always in these freedom forest photos - Can you spot me? How about the one from yesterday?"





“Huh! Even Ian understood this sign – Pity” 
I’m on the lead through the village.  :( 

Ian found the shop – the best well stocked local shop ever – Dangerous, as Ian always gets a little paranoid about running out of food – He stocked up so much that he had to lighten his load with a early breakfast for me - I wasn’t grumbling.  :)

My ‘Salut de Star’.   :D   "Like it?"





Here we bumped into a couple from the States, other than me & Thomas, the only others we met walking the whole route – though saying that we never saw them again, probably as they headed over Col de Torrent (2919m) to Grimentz. They said they had miscalculated the time needed & were doing incredibly long days – I heard this a lot from other doing parts of the walk, who took buses to skip days.

Strangely, they took the bus up to La Sage due to being short of time, yet we arrived at the same time.

“Ian, why aren’t we also going over the higher Col de Torrent. Don’t we always take the higher route?”

“Zen, trust me – The best route is over Col du Tsaté (2868m)”

Hmm, trusting Ian to find the route . . .
I felt better after Ian had a long chat with a Swiss professor who had retired to La Sage who agreed with such a route.
I had to admire the professor, retiring to such a village perched high above the valley. He was not the only elderly guys we met.


IMG_1712 by





Mayens De Motau, a hamlet of cow sheds – “Anyone home?”

I led Ian on a guided tour – I had to be at my fearsome courageous best to keep the horned beasts in their sheds when Ian passed.

“Thanks, Zen – Challenge passed”   O0 

We had missed this sign –




“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOuch! What the [censored] was that – a lightning bolt through me”

“I was shockingly unsuccessful at negotiating the electric fence challenge”   :'( 





“Thanks Zen for the warning – makes a change from you pulling me in the fences”  :angel:

“Well Ian, you shouldn’t have had me on the lead those times - sometimes you’ve got take the hit”   :D





Chilling  :)    When a couple of hill runners, more like mountain runners jogged by.




“Me, playing with the tadpoles”   ;) 




“Zen . . that's a big of a shaggy dog story -
 More like trying to smash them into smitherings with your paws”  ::)    



After 2 hours we arrived at Remointse du Tsaté (2480m) –
A gorgeous grassy flowery meadow for an early almuerzo   :)










“Zen, you’re heading for the dog house, rolling in [censored]!  :tickedoff:
Hey, you never know you might bump into a delightful mate – What will she think of you?”

“Ian, dog’s chance of that happening around here”  :'(





Then into two more basins, each one higher, each one more rocky towards the Col du Tsaté (2868m)




"I just love running ahead to be the first of us to check out the views"   :smitten:

« Last Edit: 16:15:54, 08/08/17 by IanyZen »
Good luck on your next adventure
Ian & Zen

gunwharfman

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #54 on: 17:18:21, 08/08/17 »
I note you have a Golite Jam. I used one for about 3 years, loved it but wore it out. The company has now gone out of business. The basic design is still made, by Nigor, but I think its much more expensive

pdstsp

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #55 on: 17:48:03, 08/08/17 »
Great stuff again Zen - nice to see you did get some sunshine too!

IanyZen

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #56 on: 20:45:31, 08/08/17 »
I note you have a Golite Jam. I used one for about 3 years, loved it but wore it out. The company has now gone out of business. The basic design is still made, by Nigor, but I think its much more expensive
Hi,
I love my Golite (Peak 39 litres), still going strong after a few years.
They are now made by My Trail Company, but I haven't seen them available in the UK -
check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlEAulPuUf0 


Ian
Good luck on your next adventure
Ian & Zen

IanyZen

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Day 8 (Chamonix – Zermatt) Mon 3rd July:
Les Haudères to Cabane de Moiry via Col du Tsaté continues . .


Delicious lunch & delicious dilemmas – which way to look at the col.
This way ?



Or this way ?




Looking back – Dent Blanche & Bouquetins ridge
 



“Bet you cannot do this with your tongue?”   :P





Looking forward – Val de Moiry & Aiguilles de la Lé, Pigne de la Bayenna & Grand Cornier
 

                   
Down the path from Col du Tsaté – a Brazilian trekker who raced down & then appeared later behind us ??








First view of Glacier de Moiry (below) – spell-bounding & if you zoom in can make out Cabane de Moiry (at about 10pm)








Plenty to admire beneath us as well







An elderly German couple, who have been walking these valleys for 20 years, looking down Val de Moiry
(tomorrow’s walk, on opposite side of Lac de Moiry)


 
“Zen, What did I say about a mate?”  ;)





“A passionate roar cry. Oh, I think I’m a bit smitten with her.”  :-* :P 


 


“Cheers, Ian”   O0     He let us play for quite a while.
 
Buses at the unimaginatively named ‘Parking du Glacier’





Perfect spot!  :)





The amazing trek up to Cabane de Moiry –
 


The Brazilian, having just passed us again

 





“These guys thought it fun to chuck snowballs at me – until I thought them a lesson – beware of the dog – it’s a myth about our barks being worse than our bite”  ::)

“Don’t worry, I didn’t bite them, but I had them scurrying away”   ;D
 

 
Path up to Cabane de Moiry (visible in top left corner)  - Is this the hut stay, you promised me Ian?





Cabane de Moiry, dramatically located among a horseshoe of peaks and glaciers. Extended in 2010 with its modern, chic, stunning glass-walled dining room overlooking the glacier.

The noise, atmosphere & high activity of the hut, packed full of hyper-exuberant mountaineers of all ages was a bit of a shock, but I loved the attention.

I haven’t experienced this since Refugio de Góriz, at the foot of Monte Perdido, in el Parque Nacional de Ordesa in the Spanish Pyrenees.

"Wow . . woof . . wow . . check out the view. Ian"   














“What’s got your attention, Zen?”




These Swiss guys had also made the trek up.

Dining room inside Cabane - taken the following morning -
 



Ian dined (with Thomas, the Hungarian) whilst I got fussed & fed by a couple of Swiss student girls up here to walk across the glacier and climb Pointe de Moiry.
They asked me if Ian was here to climb – I told them he was scared of heights, which he is.   :D
They said, ‘I bet he cannot wait for the Europaweg, that’ll challenge him.’   ;)
I’ll keep that last bit to myself.   :2funny:
 
We spied a couple of these wandering below us next to the glacier.  :)





“Ian, it’d be ace to stay in the hut, pleeease – I don’t fancy the slog back down”
“Zen, even better. We’re camping next to the glacier!”   :)
“Super  O0   oh, . . . with the ibex”    :P
 
“Ian, wow, I’ve been dog lucky to have camped in some amazing places with you.
This one takes the doggie biscuit.   O0
 
“Though, I do have a little bone to pick with you. You lied! You said today would be big –

 It was HUGE ”
 :smitten: 
« Last Edit: 22:47:48, 08/08/17 by IanyZen »
Good luck on your next adventure
Ian & Zen

vizzavona

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #58 on: 07:29:36, 09/08/17 »
The Moiry area is a fabulous part of the Europe. A grand reminder of having reached here some time ago by leaving our tent behind in Evolene then getting up, for an overnight, to the cabane at the  col  Dent Blanche for a traverse of the Grand Cornier and down to the Moiry hutte. We got to Point de Morti from Moiry...the new 'observation pod thing' has, I am sure, has a reflection of Pte.Morti as shown in your image? :)

It is good for Zen to share his adventures with several of his own species.  How do you cope with food supplies for the dog...do you carry the dry pellet stuff for his dinner?
The great thing in Switzerland is the efficiency of the bus system.
Look forwards to the last couple of days of your travels.

adalard

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Re: Walker's Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt June/July 2017
« Reply #59 on: 08:27:05, 09/08/17 »
Can't believe I missed these trip reports - fantastic stuff, I've really enjoyed catching up over a cuppa or two this morning!  O0 O0

 

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