Walker's Haute Route

The Walker's Haute Route is the foot version of the famous Haute Route ski tour — 220 km from Chamonix to Zermatt, walked in 14 stages over the central Valais Alps in midsummer. Where the ski route crosses glaciers, the walking route contours along the valleys below them, but the headline scenery is the same: Mont Blanc behind, the Grand Combin, Dent Blanche, and Weisshorn rising one after another on the south side, and the Matterhorn waiting at the finish.

The classic 14-day stages descend from Chamonix to the village of Trient, then climb to Verbier and traverse a series of high passes — Col Termin, Col de Louvie, Col de Prafleuri, Pas de Chèvres — to reach Arolla in the deep Val d'Hérens. The middle days cross the Col de Torrent into Zinal and the Col de Sorebois into the Mattertal valley, where the trail joins the Europaweg balcony for the final two stages — 200 m of suspension bridge (the Charles Kuonen, the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge until 2020) and a high traverse with the Matterhorn pyramid building in the view all the way to Zermatt. Cumulative climb across the 14 days is around 14,000 m. The route is technically non-technical (no glaciers, no roped travel) but the daily efforts of 800–1,200 m of climb at altitudes of 2,500–3,000 m add up.

The hiking season is mid-July to mid-September. The high passes hold snow into early summer and can become impassable in late autumn. Accommodation is in valley village hotels, SAC mountain huts, and a few private mountain inns; book ahead in July and August, especially for the Cabane de Prafleuri and the Europahütte. There's no single permit; the route is publicly walkable. Most trekkers do it independently with Kev Reynolds's Cicerone guidebook — the definitive reference, with stage descriptions, hut details, and contingency options. Baggage transfer between valleys is widely available. The route is well marked with red-white blazes where it follows established Swiss footpaths.