A week-long mountain hike in the Alps
NB! The trip will take place in a shortened format from 21.08-28.08. We will cover the middle (read: most exciting) section of the hiking trail.
Walker's Haute Route (WHR) is a 14-day hiking trail in the heart of Europe's Alps. The trail runs from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland, a challenging journey from the massive Mont Blanc to the picturesque Matterhorn. This trail is the perfect starting point for building a friendship with the mountains. The trail has both high passes with views of glacier tongues and the highest peaks of the Alps, but also includes gentle paths winding along the valley bottoms where you can enjoy the hot southern European sun.
The WHR was created to connect two European mountaineering centers – Chamonix and Zermatt. The highest point of the trail is 2987 meters, so you can leave your crampons and pickaxes at home for this time and do not have to go on a separate acclimatization hike. Despite this, the WHR is a hike for the strong – the length of the hiking trail is 190-200 km depending on the variant, during which hikers gain about 15 meters of elevation while winding between saddles and valleys. The first three stages of the trail overlap with the world-famous Tour de Mont Blanc hiking trail, and the last stages with the Tour of the Matterhorn trail, so the WHR also gives an idea of their characteristics (and inspires the desire to set new goals in your heart). What makes the WHR more attractive compared to the Tour de Mont Blanc is the fact that, while being more challenging in terms of difficulty, the WHR is not as crowded and is therefore more enjoyable to complete.
The WHR is rated as one of the best hiking trails in Europe, but at the same time it is a journey that requires a lot of effort. Good physical shape and a few extra kilos lost are almost guaranteed at the finish! At the same time, the WHR is not technically difficult, which is why it can be successfully completed even by a beginner mountain hiker (in good physical shape).
Our mountain hike is mainly spiced up by staying in tents and we cook most of our own meals (the Tactical Foodpack helps us with this). We don't have to worry about drinking water either, as it is provided by the cleanest water bodies in the world – mountain rivers that occasionally intersect the hiking trail and whose water is also available from drinking water taps built in the villages.
A video from a hike three years ago, which partially overlapped with the WHR route.
Overview - short & sweet
Goal: to walk one of the most beautiful hiking trails in Europe - Walker's Haute Route
Dates: 21.08-28.08.2022 (8 days)
Activity: mountain hiking, walking tour
Adventure guide: Kaarel Kuslap
Technical difficulty level: 1/5 (suitable for beginners)
Physical difficulty: 3/5 (requires good physical fitness)
Group size: 9
Price — 790€
Please note: For community members discount of -5% applies
(I.e. If the trip is canceled due to circumstances caused by the pandemic, we will refund the advance payment in full.. See also FAQ.
Travel cost
Price includes
All overnight stays throughout the trip (camping sites)
Dinners on the hike (Tactical food pack)
Breakfasts on the hike (home-cooked shared meals)
Video and image material
Travel arrangements
Elamus+ hiking guide
Good weather
Bad weather
Price does not include
Flight tickets Tallinn-Geneva and Geneva-Tallinn (approximately €400)
Insurance (travel insurance and mandatory sports insurance suitable for mountain hiking)
Personal camping equipment (including toiletries and medication)
Drink/snack on the mountain (i.e. for lunch) and lunches and dinners off the mountain
Covid-19 tests, etc., if necessary
Unscheduled excursions, transportation, etc. (or if you want to do something extra)
Registration for the trip
Before registering, please read travel conditions. To secure your place on the trip, a deposit (3%) must be paid within 20 business days of receiving the confirmation and invoice by email; if there are less than 30 days left until the trip, the total cost (100%) must be paid. Read more: frequently asked questions ja package tour information sheet.
Schedule and activities
DAY 1
In order to experience all this beauty and excitement, you need to be ready with your packed hiking bag on the early morning of August 20.08th, when we and our group will set off for France in a minibus. Larger items can be placed in the trailer to make more legroom in the bus. What makes the bus trip especially exciting is that we can choose passengers one by one! (Not necessarily if you don't want to) An exceptional opportunity to try out speeding on Polish highways (ahem, at the speed limit...) and winding mountain roads. We will make stops as needed, and you will be accommodated in a pleasant-looking hotel in Poland, near Lodz.
DAY 2
Depending on the breaks and the severity of the drivers' right leg, we should reach our destination around Sunday afternoon, which is a lovely campsite near Chamonix in Argentière. We will set up our tents there and then we have a free plan – if you want to and arrive on time, you can go to Chamonix, where there are more hiking equipment shops than Latvians have toes. If you want to save money, you can spend time on the campsite grounds, where you can wash yourself, charge your equipment, cook on a gas burner, visit a café or why not just have a look. We will assemble our equipment, pack our hiking bags and leave the excess stuff on the bus, because the trip towards Zermatt will start tomorrow.
DAY 3
What better way to start the week than on a hiking trail? In the morning we will travel together by public transport to Le Tour, where we will start the hike. This means that we will skip the first, roadside part of the hiking trail and start immediately with the more exciting section. During the day we will cross the French-Swiss border and spend the night in a hut at an altitude of 2200 m in a beautiful alpine meadow, overlooking the glacier and tomorrow's journey.
DAY 4
After breakfast and packing up the tents, we set off again on the trail to walk down into the valley, then turn onto a rocky path up to the Arpette pass and back down the valley on the other side to spend the night at a campsite in the village of Champex. There is a shop and café near the campsite. It will be a harder day than the first, but the wonderful views from the Arpette pass are well worth the effort.
DAY 5
A day full of descents. After several days of enjoying the cool mountain breezes, we descend into the valley to the lovely village of Le Chable to enjoy the caresses of the hot rays of the southern European sun. That is, if it doesn't rain. From Le Chable, however, we wander a little off the trail for the night - the only legal campsite in the area is an hour's walk or a 20-minute bus ride away.
DAY 6
In the morning we take the bus back to the trail and continue our journey. During the day we climb higher again, with a lot of climbing that day. The end of a difficult day will be especially nice – we will camp wildly at an altitude of 2500 m, because camping above the tree line is allowed in this area. We can enjoy complete isolation and try spending the night in a place where the only comforts are the things in our backpack.
DAY 7
We continue hiking at higher altitudes, reaching the highest point of the hiking trail during the day – 2987 m. Green meadows alternate with mighty rock massifs here again. As evening falls, we reach a hut located slightly lower, where we will spend the first night of the hiking trip between four walls and hopefully have the opportunity to meet exciting hiking companions from other countries.
DAY 8
The route takes us to much lower altitudes once again. We pass a beautiful large lake and spend the night at the highest campsite in Europe at 1950 m – while enjoying stunning views of the nearby Swiss peaks.
DAY 9
We skip the road section by taking the bus and instead hike across the Torrent saddle to the beautiful Moiry Lake, from where we take the bus back to the valley to regain our energy for new challenges.
We've been on the trail for a week now. Our legs are trained and our hips are soft from the hug of our backpack. The daily routes also become more challenging from here on out - each day brings about a kilometer of ascent and the same amount of descent.
DAY 10
We will pass a ski resort on the way. We won't be putting on skis this time - that's for others to do. Elamus+ trips :). After moderately difficult trekking, we will stop at a campsite near the town of Zinal, where the most tired can also be taken by ski lift.
DAY 11
The days' journey takes us across snowy fields into the German-speaking part of Switzerland. From now on, we will Helloto replace id Good daywith and from the store croissant instead of pretzelBy evening we reach an area where wild camping is the only option for spending the night – or we will spend the night when we see a site of suitable size and slope.
DAY 12
Everything is new in September! Instead of the first day of school, we can cover the longest daily distance of the hiking trail, where the distance is not overshadowed by the meters of ascent and descent. We will spend the night at a campsite again, where we can wash ourselves and our laundry, charge our gadgets, and visit a small shop.
DAY 13
The end is already in sight! In contrast to the previous day, the last day of hiking is relatively easy in terms of both distance and elevation gain. Walking tired but proud towards the Zermatt campsite, you can quietly glance at the wonderful Matterhorn. In Zermatt, there is time to visit various shops, cafes, restaurants - however one wants to reward themselves for a great achievement.
DAY 14
In the morning, after packing up our tents, we board the train that will take us back to the campsite near Chamonix. We spend the night there, celebrate the successful completion of the hike for the last time, and impress other hikers who are staying at the campsite. An opportunity to visit the alpine mecca of Chamonix once again. In the evening, we pack our bags for the return journey that begins the next day.
DAYS 15 – 16
A long bus ride home, where everyone has plenty of exciting stories to tell their loved ones. We drive back with a warm blanket to get home by Sunday lunch and be ready to face the upcoming Monday with new energy.
NB! There may be minor changes to the schedule and planned activities - for example, due to weather and conditions or passenger requests.
Hiking equipment
Here is a list of the most important things you may need on a hike. Temperatures vary widely, from (+30°C to -5°C), depending on the altitude. This means that you should bring as much clothing as possible that will protect you from both cold winds and sunburn.
Tent (3-season)
Sleeping bag (comfort -5…5 °C)
Mattress/mat
Hiking backpack (60-100 L depending on how much stuff you want to carry outside the bag)
Decent hiking boots
Camping stove (on top of the tent) and gas (can also be purchased at the starting point of the hike)
Cooking utensils (mainly a pot for boiling water) and cutlery (spoon and pocket knife)
Breakfast and dinner on the hike are included in the trip cost (Tactical food pack)
Hydration system or bottle (e.g. 1 L, water available on the trail) and snacks
Since prices in Switzerland are unusually high for Estonians (100 g of chocolate is 5€, etc.), it is advisable to bring lunch snacks with you from Estonia.
Fire starter (e.g. matchstick/lighter; mainly for lighting a camping stove)
Wind and rainproof jacket and pants
Warm clothes, gloves, hat (on some of the saddle crossings we may be greeted by a snowstorm)
Hiking poles
Headlamp (with spare batteries)
Power bank + phone with wires
Sunscreen (the stronger the better)
Cash (1€ ≈ 1 CHF) - e.g. 200-300 CHF is sufficient
First aid supplies, medicines, hygiene products
Thermal blanket (foil emergency blanket)
Travel documents, flights and Covid-19
The participant is responsible for the validity and orderliness of their travel documents. The following documents are required for this trip:
passport/ID card;
suitable for mountain hiking sports insuranceA suitable sports insurance policy must be carried and is a prerequisite for participating in the mountain hike;
travel insurance (including travel disruption, medical assistance);
European Health Insurance Card;
We strongly recommend that participants get vaccinated, which will make travel much easier and safer. If additional Covid-19 tests or other related documents are required, these will also be the responsibility of the participant.
At least one month before the trip, we will make a decision whether the trip is possible and safe enough under the Covid-19 conditions. If the trip is canceled due to circumstances caused by the pandemic that make the trip impossible (e.g. closing of national borders), we will refund the advance payment in full.
Read more frequently asked questions. Didn't get an answer? Feel free to ask the adventure locomotive!
Don't worry, let's do it!
Is this mountain hike within my reach?
Yes! Completing this hike requires a lot of physical effort, but if you go through it quietly step by step, there is nothing insurmountable here. It is still advisable to get to know yourself and your equipment. Before the hike in Estonia, it is worth breaking in your boots and introducing the gentle embrace of a backpack to your hips. In addition, experience has shown that during long, hard physical exertion, your mood tends to fluctuate. In order to know when you are going to feel like giving up and be able to overcome it, you can test your mental endurance, for example Kondimootorto test on hikes.
But I don't have any hiking gear, who can afford to buy it?!
You'll still have to open your wallet a little, but not much. Running and skiing clothes are also suitable for clothing. The more resourceful can manage with minimal expenses. You can ask the adventure guide for advice on equipment and read the equipment list above.
Okay, I registered. Now what?
To make your mountain hike more enjoyable, we recommend that you participate in our preparatory events before the trip - it's also part of the fun. We organize preparatory hikes and training, give advice on suitable insurance and equipment, where to rent cheap equipment, what to train for, etc. We will definitely check the equipment you have collected just before the start of the trip and send reminders about important things.
Read more also frequently asked questions.
Other footnote information
Plan your trip early and start training for it. We will organize several trial hikes, training sessions, and recommend training plans beforehand. It would be a shame if completing the hike was only a matter of physical fitness. It's also a good opportunity to get in shape. ;)
Although at the end of the day everyone is responsible for their own actions and consequences, we do our best to mitigate the risks associated with mountaineering. As a result, the group leader has the right to make ongoing decisions about the competence of the participants, the suitability of their equipment, physical/mental capacity, etc., and, if necessary, to prohibit participation if it endangers the health of the group or the participant themselves. Hopefully, of course, there will be no need for this.
Read also travel conditions.
