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Haute Route, Chamonix to Zermatt, a group trip: a still from my film

France and Switzerland · August 2025

Haute Route, Chamonix to Zermatt, a group trip

126.5 KM · 9 DAYS · 8,430 M

9 days on the Walker's Haute Route, Chamonix to Zermatt.

Watch the film 14:40 · 155K views

At a glance

Where
France and Switzerland
Distance
126.5 km (78.6 miles)
Days
9 walking days, plus an arrival day in Chamonix
Climbing
About 27,650 ft (8,430 m) up and 27,980 ft (8,530 m) down
Season
Summer. Most huts open from mid or late June to mid or late September. I went in early August
Difficulty
In my words: most people could do this trail. There are some big passes and some big days
Route
Montroc to Jungen above St. Niklaus
When I went
August 2 to 10, 2025, a group trip I hosted
Relief map of the Haute Route route: 9 days drawn in red with numbered day starts, labelled Montroc, Jungen, Cabane de Moiry, Relais d'Arpette and Arolla.
123456789Highest 9,860 ft (3,006 m)

Elevation, start to finish: highest 9,860 ft (3,006 m), lowest 4,200 ft (1,281 m).

My GPS recording on a relief map. The numbers are where each day starts. The GPX files come with the guide.

Everything I made about it

The films

Photos

  • The Refuge du Col de Balme on the French-Swiss border, Day 1.
    The Refuge du Col de Balme on the French-Swiss border, Day 1.
  • A glacial lake in the Grand Désert, below the Col de Prafleuri, Day 4.
    A glacial lake in the Grand Désert, below the Col de Prafleuri, Day 4.
  • The Moiry Glacier, with Cabane de Moiry on the rock at the right, where Day 6 ends.
    The Moiry Glacier, with Cabane de Moiry on the rock at the right, where Day 6 ends.
  • Looking down the Mattertal on the way to Jungen, Day 9.
    Looking down the Mattertal on the way to Jungen, Day 9.
Me in the fireweed on the way down from the Col de Balme, Day 1.
Me in the fireweed on the way down from the Col de Balme, Day 1.

The guide · 68-page PDF + GPX files · 2027 season edition

Do it yourself

9 days on the Walker's Haute Route, Chamonix to Zermatt.

  • All nine days
  • My GPX files
  • How the trip was run
  • Huts and hotels
  • Buses, lifts and trains

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Instant download: PDF + GPX files.
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Look inside the guide

Free sample

Try Day 2 free

The whole Day 2, Trient to Relais d'Arpette page from the guide as a PDF, plus my hut-to-hut packing list: the 35 things I carry, with a note on each, and this route's own list on top. Both come by email. You'll also get my emails about new guides and trips, a few a year.

Gear on this trip

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What I carried in 2025

Filming kit

Music in this films

All music

What I'd take now

My current kit

Everything I use, in Tools

The Alps bundle

This guide is in The Alps Hiking Guide Pack: 7 guides for $39. Or all 62 guides for $59.

Short answers

How many days do you need for the Walker's Haute Route?
I walked 9 days, plus a day in Chamonix before the start. Our days were short, 6.5 to 11.2 miles and 4 to 8 hours with stops, and we used buses and lifts to link some of them.
When is the best time to hike the Haute Route?
Summer. Most huts open from mid or late June to mid or late September. I went August 2 to 10, 2025, and still crossed small patches of snow on Day 4.
Where do you sleep on the Haute Route?
In mountain huts with dorms and half board, village inns and hotels. There's no camping in this guide, so you don't need a tent or sleeping bag, but most huts require a sleeping-bag liner. Cabane de Louvie is closed in 2027; use Cabane du Mont Fort.
How much does a hut night cost on the Haute Route?
On your own, a hut night with dinner and breakfast is about CHF 80 to 110 (2026). From 2027, SAC huts like Moiry also charge a CHF 10 reservation fee per person per night.
How do you get to the start and back from the Haute Route?
Fly into Geneva, take a shuttle to Chamonix, then bus line 2 or the Mont-Blanc Express to Montroc. At the end, the Jungen cable car and a train take you to Zermatt, and Geneva Airport is about 4 hours by train from there.

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