Explorations

Haute Route Day 5 - cabane Prafleuri to Arolla

Finishing up the 3-day stretch between hotels with a long stroll past a gorgeous lake, a tough climb over a high pass and glimpse of the Matterhorn in the distance.

Haute Route Day 5 - cabane Prafleuri to Arolla

This was the day we had on the "oh ... that's going to be an interesting day" list.. in part because it's a 3rd day of the 3 day cabin-to-cabin stretch, and in part because it takes us to The Ladders.

The Ladders are a famous part of the Haute Route, where, to get to the top of a cliff at the top of one of the passes, you climb a series of ladders and metal platforms that are bolted to the cliff face.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, we learned that the ladders are closed this season because of damage to one of the starting ladders. There is an alternate path over that pass, but the alternate trail is steep and slippery. We'd find out for real what it's like in the middle of the day when we got there.

Sunrise from the Prafleuri hut.

Mornings in these huts are ... nuts. Everyone getting up, eating, lining up to use the very few bathrooms, finding room to pack stuff for the day...

After a climb, the day started with a long stroll past a gorgeous glacier-fed lake (yet another lake created by a dam for hydro power).

Glacier green.

Then, we went up a pretty long climb eventually bringing us to the Ladders of Pas de Chevre. Before climbing the alternate open pass, I took the trail over to the ladders to see them:

You can sort of see the actual ladders and platforms in the zoom-in.

With those closed, we had to scramble up the steep, gnarly and even higher alternate option over the ridge. As I write this on day 7, this was the toughest and probably most dangerous part of the Haute Route thus far.

Looking down from the top of the pass.

Brian at the top.

And the reward? A gorgeous new valley surrounded by sharp peaks. And thanks to the fairly rare clarity of the day, in the distance behind the three of us, you can see the peak of the Matterhorn.

We hiked down through stark mountains, eventually got to a ski area, then followed trails down through forests to our next hotel stop in Arolla.. a wonderful way t0 wrap up the 3-day high-alps stretch of the route.

See Also

You might also like