If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Fitness for the Haute Route - any tips?
A group of five of my friends, all early 40s in age, want to do the Haute
Route this spring. Some have had a little ski touring experience and we all have had only a very little mountaineering experience. We are all good hill walkers though and some can ski very well, others are good intermediates. We plan to take a guide. The main concern is if we are physically up to the job. Is it very strenuous? How can you describe or compare the effort that is involved? Thanks, John |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
In article , John Mason
wrote: A group of five of my friends, all early 40s in age, want to do the Haute Route this spring. Some have had a little ski touring experience and we all have had only a very little mountaineering experience. We are all good hill walkers though and some can ski very well, others are good intermediates. We plan to take a guide. The main concern is if we are physically up to the job. Is it very strenuous? How can you describe or compare the effort that is involved? Thanks, John Yes it is very strenuous and this is also dependent on the weather conditions. I did it some 4 years ago (I'm now 46) in fairly extreme conditions and it was very tough going. Most groups who set out at the same time as us abandoned their attempts along the way. Weather and snow conditions are the biggest factor. Many experienced tourers make several attempts before they are lucky enough to have a weeks good weather and the right snow conditions. My website shows some details of the route URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/cccc/hauteroute/ and also the altitude profiles of each day URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/cccc/hauteroute/profile.html We all lost a fair amount of weight over the 10 days of our trip, but none of us experienced blisters which are a common problem for some parties. We all owned our own kit and had boots that were fitted correctly by a specialist shop - "Footworks" in Chamonix. We also kept our pack weights to a reasonable 20 lbs (i.e. well under 10kgs). I did lots of walking and cycling in the weeks leading up to our trip. The major point is that you have to repeat a long days effort for day after day. Mike -- o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark \__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, " || _`\,_ |__\ \ | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
In article , John Mason
wrote: A group of five of my friends, all early 40s in age, want to do the Haute Route this spring. Some have had a little ski touring experience and we all have had only a very little mountaineering experience. We are all good hill walkers though and some can ski very well, others are good intermediates. We plan to take a guide. I can make some comments based on conversations with numerous guides. Most of the guides I have spoken to would prefer to have a party for the Haute Route that consisted of good skiers, rather than those who were experienced mountaineers but who were poor skiers! I started out my attempts at ski-touring in that second category in that I took up skiing very late compared to my mountaineering. I remember after a couple of days with a Guide touring in the Grande St Bernard area, we were told that if we wanted to come touring again we should first improve our skiing on piste! We did and we did. Basically on routes such as the Haute Route the days are quite long and the snow conditions can often be very difficult, with problems such as breakable crust, ice, heavy wet snow, and combined with limited manoeuvrability as you ski around crevasses and rocks. If you're skiing ability is poor then no matter how fit you are, you're going fall over frequently and will in consequence burn up lots of energy and tire quickly. Good skiers will be able to conserve their energy. If you're*fit hill walkers and have a reasonable head for heights a guide will be able to compensate for any failings in your mountaineering skills. Mike URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/ -- o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark \__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, " || _`\,_ |__\ \ | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
But most of the multi-day routes in the Alps are _not_ like the Haute Route.
Typically you just cross one pass to get to the next hut, unlike the HR where you often cross two or three 3000 meter passes in a single day. Basically on routes such as the Haute Route the days are quite long . . . There are several other hut-to-hut tours in the Alps that offer a much higher ratio of fun + skiing to work + commitment than the HR. The HR is an especially inferior to other tours for parties with a wide range of skiing skills and climbing speeds. Most of the guides I have spoken to would prefer to have a party for the Haute Route I bet those guides would be even happier if the party approached them to aski for a route more suitable as a first ski mountaineering tour in the Alps. Ken |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
Ken Roberts wrote: But most of the multi-day routes in the Alps are _not_ like the Haute Route. Typically you just cross one pass to get to the next hut, unlike the HR where you often cross two or three 3000 meter passes in a single day. Basically on routes such as the Haute Route the days are quite long . . . There are several other hut-to-hut tours in the Alps that offer a much higher ratio of fun + skiing to work + commitment than the HR. The HR is an especially inferior to other tours for parties with a wide range of skiing skills and climbing speeds. Most of the guides I have spoken to would prefer to have a party for the Haute Route I bet those guides would be even happier if the party approached them to aski for a route more suitable as a first ski mountaineering tour in the Alps. Yes I agree with you absolutely on that one. When I started out ski-touring I probably made the same mistake of just setting my sights on the Haute Route as a "classic tour". Luckily we completed it first attempt and only three years after I starting ski-touring, and thus I got it out of my system. My philosophy since has been very simple. Wait until March/April and then just go touring wherever the conditions seem to be best. Be very flexible with the itinerary, take lots of advice from locals, and just enjoy the delights of ski-touring. If the weather turns bad where you are, then check the forecasts, and more than likely you can get better conditions by moving on to somewhere else. As a result I've toured in France in the Valais and the Vanois, in Switzerland in the Oberland, on the Swiss/Italian border, and in Italy, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time each year. I've often come across people who have spent most of their vacation in Chamonix just waiting for the conditions to be right to start on the Haute Route and on occasions this is the 2nd or 3rd attempt at the route. Mike URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/ -- o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark \__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, " || _`\,_ |__\ \ | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks for your comments and thanks for the webpage links - I had already
read it from doing a search of the web; I found your site very useful, particularly the altitude profiles. We have already discussed what might happen if we can't cope and it seems that alternative tours may be not just an option but the preferred option. If I can paraphrase, I think you are saying that if we are fairly fit then it most likely will be skiing ability and weather/snow conditions that may spoil things? John "Mike Clark" wrote in message ... In article , Ken Roberts wrote: But most of the multi-day routes in the Alps are _not_ like the Haute Route. Typically you just cross one pass to get to the next hut, unlike the HR where you often cross two or three 3000 meter passes in a single day. Basically on routes such as the Haute Route the days are quite long . . . There are several other hut-to-hut tours in the Alps that offer a much higher ratio of fun + skiing to work + commitment than the HR. The HR is an especially inferior to other tours for parties with a wide range of skiing skills and climbing speeds. Most of the guides I have spoken to would prefer to have a party for the Haute Route I bet those guides would be even happier if the party approached them to aski for a route more suitable as a first ski mountaineering tour in the Alps. Yes I agree with you absolutely on that one. When I started out ski-touring I probably made the same mistake of just setting my sights on the Haute Route as a "classic tour". Luckily we completed it first attempt and only three years after I starting ski-touring, and thus I got it out of my system. My philosophy since has been very simple. Wait until March/April and then just go touring wherever the conditions seem to be best. Be very flexible with the itinerary, take lots of advice from locals, and just enjoy the delights of ski-touring. If the weather turns bad where you are, then check the forecasts, and more than likely you can get better conditions by moving on to somewhere else. As a result I've toured in France in the Valais and the Vanois, in Switzerland in the Oberland, on the Swiss/Italian border, and in Italy, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time each year. I've often come across people who have spent most of their vacation in Chamonix just waiting for the conditions to be right to start on the Haute Route and on occasions this is the 2nd or 3rd attempt at the route. Mike URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/ -- o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark \__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, " || _`\,_ |__\ \ | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
In article , John Mason
wrote: Thanks for your comments and thanks for the webpage links - I had already read it from doing a search of the web; I found your site very useful, particularly the altitude profiles. I must get around to adding some more of my tours. I've been into the Oberland twice, and also traversed the Grande Paradisso for example. We have already discussed what might happen if we can't cope and it seems that alternative tours may be not just an option but the preferred option. That is a very good attitude. There are plenty of exhilarating opportunities to be had touring in the alpine region. One of my favourite areas is currently the Vanois. One advantage of avoiding the Haute Route is that many of the other tours take in much less crowded and more friendly huts, often with great cuisine. If I can paraphrase, I think you are saying that if we are fairly fit then it most likely will be skiing ability and weather/snow conditions that may spoil things? John Yes that is a reasonable summary. The worse the snow and weather conditions, the bigger the consequences of poor skiing ability. Mike Clark, URL:http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~mrc7/ -- o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark \__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, " || _`\,_ |__\ \ | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Haute Route on board? | -V- | Snowboarding | 5 | March 18th 04 11:24 PM |