Crested Butte Mountain Guides owner, Jayson Simons-Jones, has just returned from a successful guided trip of the famous Haute Route ski mountaineering trip in the European Alps. This trip done in conjunction with Jean Pavillard and Adventures To The Edge, was a great first for CBMG, and looks to be the beginning of a spring tradition for us in the upcoming years.
This famous ski traverse between the alpine villages of Chamonix, France & Zermatt, Switzerland, covers a total of around 180km and travels through some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery in the Alps….from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn. Jayson & Jean were joined by fellow ATE Guide Patou, and 10 clients from America, Britain, and Poland. The weather was somewhat less then clear, and continuously challenging as the trip progressed, but in the end our group had the satisfaction of being the only guided group to complete the full traverse despite the wintery, whiteout conditions we encountered.
Despite everyone meeting in Chamonix under clear and sunny skies, the next day on the 2000m ski descent of the Vallee Blanche were greeted with whiteout, snowy, and wet conditions though we had it all to ourselves. From there the weather continued to hang around as the next few days between Chamonix, the Argentiere Hut, and the Trient Hut were all challenging in terms of visibility and stormy conditions. However, our mixed group of folks kept high spirits, and the clouds would seem to break in all the right places to gove us stunning views of the dramatic scenery and fresh spring powder skiing. The technical sections such as the Col Du Chardonnet & Fenetre De Saliena were covered with fresh snow, and therefore made for easy travel and quick transitions. Both of our first two night sin the plush and comfy huts were enjoyed all to ourselves (a rarity on such a popular route).
Day 4 we descended, just as the clouds broke, some 2000m down from the giant Trient Glacial Plateau into the town of Champex. From here we stepped out of our skis for the only time, to transport to the ski village of Verbier, Switzerland via bus. Once there, after enjoying a fresh lunch and coffee in town we rode the gondola to the summit of the MOnt Fort, and skied down to the Mont Forte Hut, within the ski area piste, complete with showers and all. After a winter of guided hut skiing in Colorado, I must admit it was luxurious to stayin huts that had staff on hand to do all the cooking and supply the food, and all we had to do was kickback, enjoy the scenery, play cards, drink wine or espresso, and share some good conversation.
The next 4 days From Mont Forte to Zermatt covered some of the most majestic and dramatic mountain scenery anywhere on the globe, as we traversed through the heart of the Swiss Alps and stayed in huts that were engineering marvels in terms of their placement, design and sheer size. As the weather still taunted us with brief spells of clear and sunny skies, despite the large size of our group, everyone’s good spirits and equal skill levels allowed us to take advantage of those moments and ski both The Rosablanche and La Luett peaks on the way.
Day 6, at the Le Dix Hut was everyone’s favorite, as it was the only day on the entire trip where we enjoyed cloudless, sunny skies, and a fresh 6″-8″ of cold, light powder skiing. From there on, the remainder of the trip threw us the worst weather yet, and the final day from the Vignette Hut to Zermatt proved to be the hardest and most challenging for everyone, but once again everyone’s spirits were high at the sight of completing the entire route. The intense spring storm we encountered may have slowed and stalled our progress, but despite freezing temperatures, wind gusts near 70kph, and continual snowfall and whiteout conditions we made it to Zermatt after travelling 24km and crossing 3 passes and 7 glaciers!
As we stopped at a bar on the way down the ski piste to enjoy celebratory beers and espresso, everyone was stoked and excited at our experience of skiing through the Alps. Seemingly as a final gesture of blessing from the weather gods, we were all greeted with our third cloudless and sunny day of the trip, as we all left Zermatt under the shadow of the towering Matterhorn to go on our separate ways, and me back to Colorado and spring corn skiing in Crested Butte.
Thanks everyone (Jean, Patou, Biddell, Craig, Bill, Timothy, Michael, James, Ollie, Will, Rory, and Edward) for an awesome experience, great camaraderie, and for such a seamless and enjoyable first of many guided trips to the Alps for Crested Butte Mountain Guides.
PS: Stay tuned for postings of more pictures as they come in…
—Jayson Simons-Jones (Your Yankee Guide)
