• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SkinTrack

  • Lightest Gear
    • Skis
    • Boots
    • Bindings
    • Skins
    • Packs
  • Skimo Training
    • Training Plans + Skimo Manual
    • Transitions Videos
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Switzerland

Four Beautiful Days on Haute Route Imperiale Ski Traverse in Switzerland

May 13, 2019 By Stano Faban 1 Comment

With a shorter route, the Haute Route Imperiale is no less impressive than its famous cousin Haute Route that travels from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland and has a few variations.

Offering plenty of options for side trips and much easier logistics, Martina, Daniela and I chose the Haute Route Imperiale after realizing we can do it during a 4-day blue weather window the forecasters were promising. We set out on April 26th.

Staying in the mountains for days at a time is always a special experience. It forces us to escape from busyness of civilization and to give into a simple routine of skiing, eating, laughing and sleeping.

Full route goes from Jungen over Durand Col and down to Zermatt. This map is oriented with North on the right side, and West on the top side.

The Imperiale route is entirely in Switzerland and can be done in 4-5 days comfortably if you are used to climbing 1000-1400m on consecutive days. Staying 2-3 extra days will offer you the luxury of many more beautiful side trips.

Good time for the Haute Route Imperiale is from early April to mid-May depending on snow conditions that season. After average winter snowfall the ideal time for this traverse is likely to be mid-to-late April.

» More information on transportation, huts, gear and other arrangements are detailed at the end of this article.

Route Variations

There are a couple of variations of the Imperiale ski traverse yet about two thirds of the route will be the same.

We set out for the variation #1 but we had to change plans and finish with variation #3 due to some health issues.

  1. Complete traverse: St. Nicolaus (Jungen) – Zermatt
  2. Complete traverse: St. Luc – Zermatt
  3. St. Nicolaus (Jungen) – Zinal
  4. St. Luc – Zinal

Day 1:
Jungen at 1900m » Turtmann Hutte at 2519m

Elevation gain: around 1500m (2 ascents, 2 descents)
Duration: 5-7h from Jungen
Possible side-trips: couple of excellent north facing ski runs

Our first day was hectic as we were driving to St. Niklaus from Italy in the early morning to catch a gondola to Jungen at 7am. The 10am gondola is too late considering crossing some south slopes later that day.

Solving the four day parking was a bit of a puzzle until the local iconic “gondolier” assured us we can leave our car on the small parking lot right at the gondola station, for free.

The small gondola that lifted us to Jungen from St. Niklaus.

After a scenic ride up to a magically hidden settlement of Jungen (1900m) it was time to walk for the next 45min to reach consistent snow. If we came a week earlier then most likely we would have been already on skis from Jungen.

Once skinning, we traveled up a flat valley in westerly direction and then slightly turning left (south) towards north slopes and the start of the longest ascent of the day.

When there are no tracks in this valley then you will definitely want to pay attention which col is your destination as there are some “misleading” options.

We decided to down-climb the top 100m of the south-west slope to avoid skiing over rocks and potentially triggering a small slab in a quickly warming snow. This whole first descent is only about 400m with a sharp contouring traverse left about mid-way down.

Ascent to the next col is straightforward and only around 140m. Pay attention to big south slopes coming from the left if you are in this small valley on a hot day.

The descent to the Turtmann hut starts with wide south slope and offers some good turns. Later, skiing turns into a game navigating many terrain micro features to find the best way to the hut.

Turtmann hut with Brunegghorn Glacier on the left and Turnmann Glacier on the right. Photo courtesy of Club Alpin Suisse.

Day 2:
Turtmann Hutte at 2519m » Cabane de Tracuit at 3256m

Elevation gain: around 1000m (2 ascents, 2 descents)
Duration: 4.5-6h
Possible side-trips: Brunegghorn 3833m, Tete de Milon 3693m

The second day started with a traversing descent, loosing about 80m, to reach a very obvious central gully that came down from rocks and a glacier above on our left side.

It took us about an hour to skin up the gully and reach a big plateau on the Brunegghorn Glacier. From here, you can continue up the glacier and climb the Brunegghorn for high summit and superb views.

Brunegghorn is the peak left of the centre.

We chose to skip Brunegghorn and ski down to connect with the Turtmann Glacier as we had other plans later that day.

The ascent up the Turtmann Glacier starts with steeper slopes before slowly mellowing into a gently rising plateau. We reached the Tracuit hut in a big wide col just before noon.

Bishorn on the left, Weisshorn in the centre and Tete de Milon on the right. The Tracuit hut is behind the bump on the very right.

After lunch and a nap we left for a 400m climb up an easy Tete de Milon peak which proved to hold excellent powder on its north facing glaciated side. While the snow was fabulous the visibility quickly deteriorated as we shared some good laughs on the summit.

The Tracuit hut is very modern and its most impressive features are the dinning room’s full-wall windows (bottom) and the bedroom windows (upper level) offering superb views of surrounding steep peaks.

Day 3:
Cabane de Tracuit at 3256m » Cabane Arpitettaz at 2786m

Elevation gain: only 300m without side-trips (1 ascent, 2 descents)
Duration: 2-3.5h without side trips
Possible side-trips: Bishorn 4159m, Tete de Milon 3693m

With a high peak insight, we set out for Bishorn early in the morning, an 800m climb and a 3-4.5h round trip. The views from this summit are truly spectacular with a sea of 4000m peaks and big dramatic glaciers all around!

The usual ski route up and down Bishorn comes from the left and follows the big glacier up to the summit. Possible steep skiing lines can be seen to the right of the summit.

We roped up for most of the climb and also put on crampons for the final summit push.

The descent is fine and long. Watch for opening crevasses on the way up so you can avoid them on the way down.

On the summit of Bishorn, with the incredible north ridge of Weisshorn behind us.

After Bishorn, we enjoyed lunch in the sun at the Tracuit hut before diving down a nice steeper descent that brought us into a warm and avalanche exposed valley. A 300m climb into a col on a ridge felt long and difficult as we often stopped to drink and cool down, but with help of some Italian music we conquered this massive climb 🙂

At the top, we down-climbed a short section to get off the ridge as the snow melted away couple of days earlier. Then a short, easy and traversing descent brought us to the lovely Arpitettaz hut.

Arpitettaz hut, with wonderful views all around, at the bottom in the center.

Thanks to its smaller size and a family atmosphere, this hut quickly became our favourite on this trip. The views were just a cherry on the cake!

Day 4:
Cabane Arpitettaz at 2786m » Cabane du Grand Mountet at 2886m » Zinal at 1680m

Elevation gain: 1200m without side-trips (1 ascent, 2 descents)
Duration: 5-7h
Possible side-trips: Blanc de Moming 3661m, Zinalrothorn 4221m (requires climbing)

Motivated for a big push to reach Zermatt that day, but open to an early exit if Daniela’s breathing problems persisted, we left the hut early in the morning.

Ascent route up Moming Glacier from the Arpitettaz hut.

A long yet really nice climb up the Moming Glacier brought us to a col with the most impressive views on the traverse.

Ober Gabelhorn dominating the horizon.

At the col, we agreed that pushing all the way to Zermatt that day would be a torture for Daniela and so we agreed that skiing out to Zinal is the best option while still completing majority of this beautiful ski traverse.

Having some extra time on our hands, we went up to a sub-summit of Blanc du Moming (turning right in the col) before heading back and roping up for an amazing traverse of the Moming arete – a steep ridge that divides the Moming and the Mountet glaciers.

Walking on the beautiful Arete du Blanc is a true highlight of this traverse!

Back on skis, after the arete, it was time to enjoy some spring skiing and a brief break at the Grand Mountent hut which is pitted in a truly spectacular place, deep below a series of steep 4000m peaks.

Impressive steep walls of Dent Blanche on the right with the traverse route through the Durand Col in the middle. We didn’t climb up this col as we turned sharp right down the valley to Zinal.

The descent to Zinal village was long and offered nice turns on a mellow Zinal glacier before we skied down an old road that ultimately brought us to wide flats before the village of Zinal.

Old houses in Zinal glow with history.

Since we ended up in a different valley than our car in St. Niklaus, we took a scenic bus ride down from Zinal to town of Sierre in the main valley. From there, we took a train up to Visp before switching onto a mountain train ride up to St. Niklaus.

Additional Information

Logistics/Transportation + Parking

Compared to the famous Haute Route, the Imperial version is much simpler for transportation as you can start and finish in the same valley, and getting back to your car (or main train routes) with just a simple bus or train ride down the valley.

We parked in St. Niklaus which is about 30km down the valley from Zermatt. The same can be done on the Zinal side where you park at St. Luc and then ski out to Zinal.

Our logistics got slightly complicated as we skied out in Zinal instead of Zermatt, yet we still got back to our car in less than 3h of connecting buses and trains.

Hut arrangements + Food

Booking huts is easy but I recommend calling if possible then instead of just filling out the online form.

You will most likely get a discount if you belong to an alpine club in your country. Since you are in Switzerland the prices are slightly higher than rest of Europe but paying around 65-75 Euros for sleeping, dinner and breakfast is reasonable.

Huts:

  • Turtmann Hutte
  • Cabane de Tracuit
  • Cabane Arpitettaz

For food, all huts will provide you with fine dinner and breakfast but plan on bringing all your lunches and snacks for the whole traverse.

As there is no running water at the huts during winter-spring months you will have to buy it every day.

For staying at huts, it is required that you bring your own simple sleeping sheet (or sack) while the pillows and blankets are provided.

There is no need to bring slippers as they are provided at every hut.

If you need WIFI then you might get lucky at some huts.

For weather, just ask the hut custodians and they will happy to help you.

Recommended gear:

In addition to standard ski touring gear, I recommend to bring a rope and crevasse rescue gear. Then an ice axe and boot crampons.

Ski crampons can be useful as well but we chose to leave them behind. If you don’t plan doing any side trips then you can likely get by without boot crampons as well.

Other:

Having a topo map of the area is always good and you can buy 1:40,000 that covers the whole traverse and more.

For clothing, you will be travelling mostly around 2800-3500m so it can get cold when windy even when the sun is out.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions Tagged With: Haute Route, Haute Route Imperiale, Switzerland

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Our Facebook Page

skimo-manual-banner-300px
 

Recent Articles

  • Kilian Jornet Interview: About His New Foundation, His Own Environmental Impact, and How He Wants To Help Athletes and The Outdoor Industry To Protect Nature
  • How Fast Are Glaciers Really Melting? How Will This Affect Your Mountain Adventures? Interview with Pascal Egli
  • Book Review – Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka
  • Forest Skis: Innovative, Custom Build, For Backcountry Skiing and Freeride
  • Lighter and Completely Redesigned: New CAMP Ultralight Ski Mountaineering Ice Axes

Categories

  • Contests & Giveaways
  • Crazy Tracks
  • Events & Races
  • Gear, Tech & Food
  • General News & Articles
  • Industry Press Releases
  • Movies & Books
  • News Shorts
  • People (Interviews)
  • Racing 101
  • Reports & Results
  • Reviews
  • Skimo Racing
  • Training, Tricks & Tips
  • Trip Reports & Conditions

Footer

About SkinTrack

Travelling through snowy mountains on skis is like flying… and experiencing life at its core.

Gear reviews, interviews, adventures, contests, skills, skimo training, race reports – we connect you to all things related to self-propelled skiing.

SkinTrack.com, created by Stano Faban, was born out of passion for ski mountaineering and ski touring. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular ski mountaineering blogs in North America.

Recent Articles

  • Kilian Jornet Interview: About His New Foundation, His Own Environmental Impact, and How He Wants To Help Athletes and The Outdoor Industry To Protect Nature
  • How Fast Are Glaciers Really Melting? How Will This Affect Your Mountain Adventures? Interview with Pascal Egli
  • Book Review – Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka
  • Forest Skis: Innovative, Custom Build, For Backcountry Skiing and Freeride
  • Lighter and Completely Redesigned: New CAMP Ultralight Ski Mountaineering Ice Axes

Useful Links

Comparing the lightest: Skis | Boots | Bindings

Skimo Training: Training Plans | Videos

Stay in Touch

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 SkinTrack.com. All rights reserved.