ITINERARY

Pre-Trip

Join us the evening before we depart and spend a night getting to know your Guides and group in our private, chalet-style accommodation situated high in the Chamonix Valley, only a few minutes from the Swiss border. Our accommodation here was originally home to some of the very first Chamonix Mountain Guides, is newly renovated, and still owned by the same family as it has been for generations. Enjoy unobstructed views down the valley to the Mont Blanc massif on your first night here in Chamonix with us. Your night's stay is included in your trip costs.
 

ADD ON A DAY AT VALLÈE BLANCHE

Warm up your ski legs on this iconic 20-kilometer off-piste glacier ski run in Chamonix that takes you from the Aiguille du Midi (3,842m) to the valley, with ~2,700m of vertical descent through the Mount Blanc massif. This additional day is available both on our private and public traverse itineraries, with a minimum of 2 guests required on the public ones. If you are interested in this option, reach out to our Program Managers for more details!

*Lift passes not included for Aiguille du Midi lift.

Day 1 - ArGentiere TO ARGENTIERE HUT

On your first day, we will make the brief drive from our chalet to the town of Argentiere, where a short lift up Les Grand Montets, a local ski resort, leads to a descent onto the Argentiere Glacier and onward to the Argentiere Hut for the first evening in the high alpine.

*Lift passes not included for Les Grand Montets lifts.
 

Day 2 - ARGENTIERE HUT TO TRIENT HUT

On your second day, we will awake to breakfast, coffee, and tea, before beginning our trip over to the Trient Hut. This section of the route is often completed via the Col Du Chardonet: a feature which, after ascending glaciated terrain below, leads to a short rappel or lower facilitated by your Guides to exit our high point here. This is followed by an ascent to pass the Fenetre (col) du Saleina, and a gentle traversing descent to arrive at the Trient Hut for the evening. 
 

Day 3 - Trient Hut to Champex du Lac

Our third day will be primarily a descent from the high alpine to the quaint mountain town of Champex du Lac. Once departing from the Trient Hut, a quick descent through the broken lower flanks of the Glacier du Trient leads to a short but occasionally technical ascent to the narrow Col des Ecandies. This small pass is followed by a long descent to the valley bottom where we arrive in Champex for the evening. Champex provides an excellent opportunity to stock up on lunch supplies for the second half of the traverse.

Our stop in Champex du Lac is one of the features that sets our Haute Route Ski Traverse apart from local operators, most of whom pass straight through. After the first long day from the Argentiere Hut to the Trient Hut, it's a welcome break — from the traverse itself and from the hut life — at a 3-star hotel with comfortable beds, hot showers, a choice of dinner spots, laundry service, and more. It also lets us to avoid the bottleneck that builds at this point on the route, trading a crowded chokepoint for an afternoon of skiing above the village.

*Included - Hotel stay in Champex / Not Included - Dinner in Champex
 

Day 4 - Champex to Prafleuri Hut

On our fourth day, our private transfer shuttle will arrive at our hotel early for an approximately 50min transfer to the town of Verbier in Switzerland. After arrival just below the townsite, we'll ascend back into the alpine by way of the local lift systems, gaining height prior to a traverse back on skis to the Prafleuri Hut for the evening stay. 
 

Day 5 - Prafleuri Hut to Cabane des Dix

Day five, we depart the Prafleuri en route to the Cabane Des Dix. This is generally not an overly taxing day as we traverse slopes above Lac des Dix, ending with an ascent of some gentle slopes to arrive at the Cabane Des Dix for the night. 
 

Day 6 - Cabane Des Dix to Vignette Hut

On our sixth day, we begin to climb back into the high glaciated terrain above the Dix Hut, and will aim to summit the Pigne D'Arolla (3796m) en route. From the summit, a descent down the peak's southern flanks leads us nearly directly to our next stop for the evening at the Vignette Hut.
 

Day 7 - Vignette Hut to Zermatt

This will without a doubt be for many a day to remember. Departing the Vignette Hut, we traverse 3 different high passes: The Col D'Eveque, The Col Du Mont Brule, and finally La Col du Valpelline. These three ascents lead us to a final descent, which flows downward through the Stokji Glacier and culminates with a ski out to the village or local resorts directly below the massive North Face of the Matterhorn towering above us. Depending on depth and snow conditions in the valley bottom, a ski descent right into town may be possible, however, as a contingency, our descent may be best facilitated by downloading the Schwarzsee lift directly back to Zermatt.

Here, we'll board the shuttle train for 12-minute ride to arrive at our Hotel in Täsch for the evening and have plenty of time to take in the sights before turning in for the evening. 

ADD ON A NIGHT AT THE BERTOL HUT

Are you wanting to make your time in the high alpine last just a little bit longer? Good news: you can now add on a night at the Bertol Hut. In this case, you'll depart the Vignette Hut on Day 7 and traverse the Arolla Glacier to Col D'Eveque, from where you'll enjoy a long glacier descent before the final climb to Bertol Hut for the night. On Day 8, you'll finish the traverse by ascending the Col de la Tête Blanche, which leads you to the final descent to Zermatt described above.

This option is available on all of our private traverse itineraries as well as those public itineraries where the whole group is in agreement about this addition. If you are interested in this option, reach out to our Program Managers for more details!

Logistics

Guide : Guest Ratios

Guide to Guest ratios are 1:6 at maximum, however, our preference is to limit these where possible to 1:4. Larger groups will often include a non-certified tail guide to assist at various locations along the traverse.
 

BOOKING WINDOW FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIPS

Our International Trips have a 6-month cut-off period, meaning that if we haven't reached the sufficient number of participants to run the trip six months before the trip start date, we will not be running the trip that particular year. In this case, your deposit will be refunded to your credit card on file. 

Travel to Chamonix (via Geneva)

Our suggestions for your most efficient way to access the program venue from a variety of locations and international ports of entry:

• Geneva, Switzerland to Chamonix, France:

  • Those Guests traveling to Chamonix from abroad: we recommend planning your arrivals in Chamonix via the International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. From here, please book your transportation to our private chalet accommodation the evening prior to departure on The Haute Route, with AlpyBus as our recommendation.
    Find a travel route here.
     

What is Included?

• First night's stay in Chamonix + storage for luggage or travel items for the duration of our traverse at no cost
• Hut Accommodation + breakfast and dinners (lunches not included but easily obtained on route)
• Private transfer from Champex du Lac to Verbier on Day 3
• Hotel accommodation in Täsch at the end of the trip

What is not Included?

• Shuttle from Geneva airport to our chalet in the upper Chamonix Valley
• Lift tickets on Day 1 for access to Les Grand Montets
• Beverages in any of the huts (this includes both water and wine/beer)
• Lunches
• Lift tickets in Verbier on Day 4
• Dinner in Champex du Lac on Day 3 and Täsch/Zermatt on Day 7 
• Private shuttle return to Chamonix
• Chamonix accommodation after return from Zermatt on Day 8
• Return transfer from Chamonix to the Geneva International Airport

Early arrivals & Gear PUrchase / Rentals

• ACCOMMODATION & TRIP PREP

For those looking to arrive early ahead of your program, we are more than happy to arrange for additional night's accommodation in our chalet in the heart of Chamonix. Contact our Program Managers for more details, and additional overnight reservations.

• GEAR PURCHASES PRE-PROGRAM

For those looking to purchase gear and equipment prior to your Haute Route - Chamonix to Zermatt program with us, we suggest:

• Snell Sports - Chamonix

MEALs & Food Provided

• BREAKFAST AND DINNER IN THE HUTS PROVIDED

Included in your program fee, breakfasts and dinners in the huts will be included in your program with us. All other meals while in Chamonix, Champex du Lac, or Täsch/Zermatt are not included. 

Please note that ALL beverages in the huts are not included in your program costs with us. This includes both water and other non-alcoholic and alcoholic offerings in the huts.

REQUIRED Equipment

• Touring Skis or Splitboard
• Boots
• Poles
• Skins
• Ski Crampons
• Backpack - 35-45L is ideal depending on the size of personal items
• Sunglasses with full coverage (minimum CAT3 protection factor)
• Ski Goggles + spare lenses (optional)
• Helmet
• Water Bottle (1L minimum)
• Thermos Bottle (optional)
• Small Multi-Tool (optional)
• Small Repair Kit specific to your boots and bindings
• Headlamp + 2 Fresh sets of batteries
• Glop Stopper Skin Wax

TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT (provided on request by Cloud Nine)

• Avalanche Transceiver
• Probe
• Shovel
• Ice Axe
• Boot Crampons - Lightweight Aluminium Versions OK
• Lightweight Alpine Harness
• 2 Locking Carabiners
• 1 X Pear-shaped Locking Carabiner (preferably with cap divide)
• 2 Non-locking Carabiners
• 2 X 120cm Sewn Sling
• 1 X Micro Ascender (e.g., Nano or Micro Traxion)
• Hollow Block or 1m Prussik

Personal Items

• Personal toiletries and medications (all prescription medications must be disclosed)
• Ear Plugs (optional)
• iPod or Kindle
• Small Personal First Aid Items
• SPF 60+ Sunscreen
• Lip Balm with SPF Protection
• Power Adapter (North American to European outlets)
• Camera, batteries, chargers & memory cards
• Silk Sleeping Bag Liner
• Very Lightweight Hut Footwear (e.g., flip flops)
• Emergency Communication Device (optional as your guide will be carrying one)

ESSENTIAL CLOTHING

• Wool or Synthetic base layers and underwear
• Midweight Layers - Synthetic or Wool 
• Warm Hat 
• Buff Style Neck Tube
• Sun Hat (wide brim or ball cap style ok)
• Softshell Pants (even better if they are a light color to reflect heat)
• Softshell Jacket (same as above)
• Gore-Tex Pants
• Gore-Tex Jacket
• Insulated Jacket (Down or Synthetic OK)
• Large warm ski gloves - no mitts please
• Lightweight dexterous ski gloves
• Socks - wool or synthetic blend only, no cotton
• 1 Aprés Ski outfit (could be light shorts and flip flops, cotton t-shirt, etc.; lightweight is important)

Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance

The best method to protect your investment with us should unforeseen arise is to purchase a Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance Policy. We strongly recommend purchasing coverage.

Acera Insurance has covered many of Cloud Nine Guests on trips all over the world, and we have first-hand experience seeing these policies activated by our Guests. 

Safeguard your trip costs and investment with us. Request a Quote from Acera Insurance.

Is this coverage required?

• For Residents from outside the EU, coverage is mandatory and to include emergency medical, as well as mountain rescue coverage explicitly stated in your policy.
• For Citizens of EU countries, coverage is suggested but not required. It is strongly suggested that your personal insurance products or coverage include Emergency Medical Coverage, and cover you all costs associated with mountain rescue.

WAIVER - Release of Liability & Indemnity Agreement

Prior to booking you will be required to acknowledge that you have been provided a copy of our Waiver of Liability Agreement for your review. All participants, or their legal guardians wishing to participate on any Cloud Nine Programs, must acknowledge that they have been presented this document in advance of booking, have read it in its entirety, and understand the agreement being entered into by signing. While there is no obligation to enter into this agreement with us, it is a condition of our service provision. 

   REVIEW OUR WAIVER OF LIABILITY HERE

Booking TErms & Conditions

Before you book your course, please review our Booking Terms & Conditions. We do not accept bookings without your voluntary acceptance of these terms. Please read carefully as these terms outline specific policies and guidance for both our staff and clients with respect to refunds, cancellations, rescheduling etc.

   REVIEW OUR BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS HERE

Book a free consultation

Book a phone call or video call with either of our Program Managers or with our Director of Operations.

This is an excellent preliminary step towards booking a trip with us. It allows us to better understand your requirements and needs for your desired objective.