Group: Eli, Brage, Gaute & Bjørn Lytskjold. Ragnhild & Rune
A 6 days version of the classic Tour de Monte Rosa.
Tour photos: Click here.
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Saturday 7 July 2012
Rifugio Ferraro (2066) www.rifugioferraro.com
(PS: Jeg har skrevet en artikkel om Monte Rosa rundt for Utemagasinet/Fri Flyt i 2022. Den kan du lese her. Derom du ikke abonnerer på Fri flyt har du manuset til artikkelen her.)
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| TMR (Tour de Monte Rosa) between Val Vogna og Colle Valdobbia |
Sunday 1st July 2012
The plane leaves Oslo/Gardermoen at 08:20. Rune & Ragnhild arrived from Sogndal the night before, staying with us in Oslo. Now we are all outbound: Genève, Genf, Geneva, the Swiss entry for our planned Tour de Monte Rosa. Direct flight OSL-GVA. Like it like that. We arrive Genève a bit after eleven, pick up our small (!!!) backpacks, and head down in the airport basement to find our train to Visp. SBB, www.sbb.ch. Schweizisher Bundes Bahn. “Départ 12.27” tells the board. Time enough to buy some sandwiches, coke & beer. And train tickets on the machine. The nice ride to Visp takes about 2:30, first along Lac Leman , then up the Rhone valley. In Visp [fiiisp] we switch to the narrow gauge train toward famous Zermatt.
Our destination is only 15 minutes up the rails: Stalden. From here it’s an even narrower gauge taking us to terminus Gspon: A tiny cable car, or rather the “cable bus” to the villages east of Stalden. Takes only 8-10 passengers, no space for driver onboard.
The plane leaves Oslo/Gardermoen at 08:20. Rune & Ragnhild arrived from Sogndal the night before, staying with us in Oslo. Now we are all outbound: Genève, Genf, Geneva, the Swiss entry for our planned Tour de Monte Rosa. Direct flight OSL-GVA. Like it like that. We arrive Genève a bit after eleven, pick up our small (!!!) backpacks, and head down in the airport basement to find our train to Visp. SBB, www.sbb.ch. Schweizisher Bundes Bahn. “Départ 12.27” tells the board. Time enough to buy some sandwiches, coke & beer. And train tickets on the machine. The nice ride to Visp takes about 2:30, first along Lac Leman , then up the Rhone valley. In Visp [fiiisp] we switch to the narrow gauge train toward famous Zermatt.
Our destination is only 15 minutes up the rails: Stalden. From here it’s an even narrower gauge taking us to terminus Gspon: A tiny cable car, or rather the “cable bus” to the villages east of Stalden. Takes only 8-10 passengers, no space for driver onboard.
Tickets we have to buy at the railway station. Time table at www.staldenried.ch, then:Tourismos. Suddenly we are high above the valley. Very high. One the way up we have a bus stop at Staldenried. Then further up among farms and houses, perfect setup for us wanting to inspect Swiss balconies and gardens. We ride low and close to the daily life today. Gspon (1890m). Not the most famous spot in the Alps, but it has been on my list for a while. Ever since I heard about the Höhenweg; the high level trail from Gspon to Saas Grund/Saas Fee. Now we are here. We’ve even found a place to stay: Berghotel Alpenblick www.alpenblick-gspon.ch No Michelin Stars or prices, but a welcoming staff and relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
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| The Stalden-Gspon cablecar |
We have booked half pension. Excellent dinner is served 19:30. With local wine. We are the only guests this first day in July. Tonight it is the European Football Championship Finale! Gspon’s only resident – and the woman owning the Berghotel Alpenblick – is truly supporting Italia. I pretend to support Spain. And win. Life is not fair at all. Football x me = Zero.
I did not sleep very well last night, have seldom experienced lightning and thunder like that one. However, breakfast at 08:30 is smooth and gentle, the Berghotel Alpenblick do focus on the important things. Well fed and backpacks packed: Now we are ready for our 7-8 days long hike. Today we are heading for Saas Almagell, hidden in the southern part of the valley below us: Saastal. Weather looks rather good. Hopefully all the rain came down tonight. After all, this is supposed to be the dryer part of Switzerland. Start is good and shiny, but then… The sky has far from emptied; for the next 3-4 hours we have all the rain needed in this region for 6 month. Trails are more like creeks, we like fish, or frogs. We have to look out for rock avalanche or flash floods in these conditions. The hillsides are big and steep, and used to be rather dry. The spookiest part we have to cross is a couloir were the creek Leidbach comes down. Lots of water - and some nasty jumping boulders as well - try to stop us. Look out! Look UP! This is not safe place to hang around too long.
More info about the area:
Monday 2 July 2012
Gspon (1890). I did not sleep very well last night, have seldom experienced lightning and thunder like that one. However, breakfast at 08:30 is smooth and gentle, the Berghotel Alpenblick do focus on the important things. Well fed and backpacks packed: Now we are ready for our 7-8 days long hike. Today we are heading for Saas Almagell, hidden in the southern part of the valley below us: Saastal. Weather looks rather good. Hopefully all the rain came down tonight. After all, this is supposed to be the dryer part of Switzerland. Start is good and shiny, but then… The sky has far from emptied; for the next 3-4 hours we have all the rain needed in this region for 6 month. Trails are more like creeks, we like fish, or frogs. We have to look out for rock avalanche or flash floods in these conditions. The hillsides are big and steep, and used to be rather dry. The spookiest part we have to cross is a couloir were the creek Leidbach comes down. Lots of water - and some nasty jumping boulders as well - try to stop us. Look out! Look UP! This is not safe place to hang around too long.
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| Höhenweg Saastal |
The trail is wet wet wet today, but still very beautiful and easy to walk. Some ups and downs we are prepared for (after all we are in Switzerland), but the Höhenweg Saastal follows the contour line fairly well. At the end of the day it dives slowly and nicely through the forest, all the way down to Saas Grund and the valley floor. First stop here is one at the sport shops. We are already in need for some dry socks and other sporty necessities. Then we find the a real bus stop and take the Post Bus the 15 minutes drive up to Saas Almagell. To Hotel Spycer http://hotel-spycher.ch/ Here we know that Heidi expects us. Had a lunch stop here last Easter, on our ski tour from Verbier to Simplon. Now we are ready for a summer visit, and beds. Nice rooms. Excellent, classic raclettes diner. And: Hair dryers to get our gear nearly back to normal. Happy & friendly Heidi!
Tuesday 3 July 2012
Saas Almagell (1670m).
A big Hotel Spycher breakfast at 08:00. All the good stuff. Then pay and check out, and a big hug to Heidi before we cross the street to catch the post bus (09:55) up the valley. A 15 min ride brings us to the enormous Mattmark Stausee dam (ca 2200m). And a visitors center. From here we’ll walk to Italia. The best trail is supposed to be on the east side of the reservoir. Weather is good. Some cloud banks high up, but the blue sky rules. Lots of people doing the lake tour. The clock says 10:15 when we start to move.
We head for the Monte Moropass, or Passo di Monte Moro. A bit worried we are about the snow conditions. A lot of snow fell after Easter and spring has been cold this year. We are among the very first hikers this summer.A big Hotel Spycher breakfast at 08:00. All the good stuff. Then pay and check out, and a big hug to Heidi before we cross the street to catch the post bus (09:55) up the valley. A 15 min ride brings us to the enormous Mattmark Stausee dam (ca 2200m). And a visitors center. From here we’ll walk to Italia. The best trail is supposed to be on the east side of the reservoir. Weather is good. Some cloud banks high up, but the blue sky rules. Lots of people doing the lake tour. The clock says 10:15 when we start to move.
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| Towards Monte Moropass (2853) |
The trail is mainly good all the way and well marked. Neither a steep, snowy part just as the real climb begins nor snow near the top make any trouble at all. Fog comes sailing in. Good to have the track on my GPS. Near the pass both trail and many marks are hidden in the snow. Around 13:15 we are in the pass. High above us, out of the fog a huge, golden statue prove that we are at the Monte Moropass (2853), at the border: Madonna in the snow; Madonna della neve al Monte Moro. This is not Norway for sure.Close to unreal to simple folks like us.
Just below the pass we aim for Rifugio Oberto-Maroli (CAI) were I’ve booked lunch for us. No need today, we are the only guests. Anyhow email is a great thing; in addition to table reservation the staff sent me important trail info on mail. The view is fantastic – on a clear day… We see only fog where the huge face of Monte Rosa should have been. Not much to do with that. Rather than coming back next year. To save our fresh touring legs we take the cable car the 1500 m down to beautiful Macugnaga, and find our place for the night; Hotel Zumstein (www.zumstein-macugnaga.it). Siesta at the room, sun bathing in the garden, a small trip in the village, a pair of new walking poles at Schranz Sport. Then it is time to enjoy Italia at Pizzeria Roffel.
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Macugnaga (1300m).
We get up around 07:30. The breakfast at Hotel Zumstein is for sure a good one. Their “bus service” as well. At 08:15 we are all ready, together with 3 Dutch guys heading the same way. They get really upset when we tell them that we crossed the Monte Moropass yesterday without any problems. At the info office in Saas Fee they had been told that the pass was too snowy to cross, and had taken buses and taxi the long and expensive 5-6 hours road around the hills, via Domodossola.
Weather is good today. Crisp morning air. A short ride brings us to Lago della Fate (1310), then it is time to say farewell to our kind driver. The clock is 08:30 as we head south and up green and beautiful Valle Quarazza. Big and beautiful landscape this. Flowers and rivers and big peaks. Today we follow an old mule track build by the Italian army way back then, over the Colle del Turlo (2738). The mule track is nearly too good, it zigzag gently, gently up and into the fog coming in from the south. Near the Bivacco Lanti we have our lunch. The tiny shed has bunk beds and simple cooking facilities. Possible to stay here for the night. The highest part of the mule track is eaten by the snow and fog. We put on the gaiters before doing the last leg towards the pass, the snow is still deep up here. Once more the GPS gives us the extra security.We get up around 07:30. The breakfast at Hotel Zumstein is for sure a good one. Their “bus service” as well. At 08:15 we are all ready, together with 3 Dutch guys heading the same way. They get really upset when we tell them that we crossed the Monte Moropass yesterday without any problems. At the info office in Saas Fee they had been told that the pass was too snowy to cross, and had taken buses and taxi the long and expensive 5-6 hours road around the hills, via Domodossola.
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| Colle del Turlo (2738) |
Safe and happy we reach the foggy Colle del Turlo (2738) at 13:15. 5 hours we used for the climb. The fantastic mule track continuous on the other side of the pass as well. Better walking conditions now, hardly any snow here on the south facing slope. But hard for knees and thighs it is. 1200 m we have to descend, down towards the huge, wild and long Valle della Sesia. As we come lower rain showers are coming in. It is a rather wet and tired group that arrives at the marvelous Rifugio Pastore (1575) www.rifugiopastore.it at 16:00.
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| Rifugio Pastore (1575) |
Not too many guests here either, so we ask for an extra rooms: One for the snorers (R & B), one for the more quiet ones (E, G, B & R). We are definitely not the only Scandinavians tonight: A big Danish group stays here tonight, on a tour arranged by Topas www.topas.dk. Honor and glory to Topas, it was their detailed tour description that inspired us to do this trip (the opposite direction). The big and tasty dinner is served at 19:00 by super friendly Anna and her staff. Rifugio Pastore is one of those places made for a longer stay. Unfortunately we have one night one…
Thursday 5 July 2012
Up at 07:00 to another good breakfast. From Rifugio Pastore the “normal” Tour de Monte Rosa continues westwards towards Rifugio Gabiet and Staffal in the Val de Gressoney, at least that’s how our guide book describes it. To avoid both the snow – but also some big ski slope and resort areas – we will go for a more southern version.
From Rifugio Pastore we start with a maxi taxi drive (organized/booked by through Rifugio Pastore). First short stop is downtown Alagna Valsesia, to buy snacks for the road. Then we continue a bit more south before driving west and up the Val Vogna to Sant Antonio.
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| Val Vogna |
It is so beautiful here! We pay around €40 for the ride, and set off at 10:00. Some houses and chapels sit in the lower part of the valley, up higher we pass a few summer farms with folks and cattle. Valdobbia, Piana Granda. Nice place names. Millions of flowers. Waterfalls. Lush and green and remote and wild. This is far from Roma. And Oslo! The trail is good and well marked, after all it says Number 1 both on the map and the marks.
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| On our way up to Colle Valdobbia (2481m) and lunch at Rifugio Sottile. |
We aim for Colle Valdobbia (2481m) where our Italian map indicates that there’s a cabin: Rifugio Sottile. May be we may have our lunch there..? Oh yes, what a lunch! First the two young men at Rifugio Sottile serve us cheese, salami & speck. Then fresh bread and ragù, all prepared on the wooden stove. Plus grappa for dessert. A real meal for sure. Rifugio Sottile in our hearts!
Friday 6 July 2012
Rifugio Alpenzu (1779) www.alpenzu.it
Breakfast at 08:00. Not the heaviest one we’ve had, but for sure filling much more than a classic Italian continental. To be sure to survive the next long leg to Valle d’Ayas we have ordered some sandwiches. At 09:30 we have paid (55€ per head, all included), then start the climb up the nice trail towards NW. The first part is grassing land for the summer farms here. Picking the wrong trail we end up with a shepherd, his dog and goats & cows. The day starts rather bright and sunny, then suddenly dark clouds invade the valley from SW. High quality clouds this, they contain a lot of water. When it first rains here, it really rains well! We manage to find shelter behind a closed summer farm before the rainstorm sets in. And to stay dry.
From the friendly cabin in foggy pass, Colle Valdobbia, it’s downhill all the way to the village Gressoney St-Jean. Nice trail all the way. First part we have the big view over the Gressoney Valley, then from about altitude 2000 m we dive into the spruce forest. We only have to walk some hundred meters on the asphalt before we reach Gressoney St-Jean (1400m), a nice and slow Walser villages. Unfortunately we don’t have time to enjoy it too much, but the gelato we can recommend. From here we hop on the local bus, drive a few km north, then it’s off again at Chemonal. Up to the west, on the cliff 300m above us, sits our next cabin: Rifugio Alpenzu (1779). Packs back on, then we slowly zigzag up through the larch forest. Rain is coming in. Humidity. Sweat.
Nobody have told us about Rifugio Alpenzu www.alpenzu.it The guide book says nothing since the classic Tour de Monte Rosa goes a bit further north. Alpenzu is simply a place I found first on the map, then on the net. It proves to be a true “hidden” pearl. Very hidden it cannot be to Italians, the cabin is on the national trail system, even at “Alta Via Numero Uno”.
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| Rifugio Alpenzu (1779) |
Alpenzu; a cluster of old, renovated houses built on a fantastic lookout, including its own tiny chapel. Rooms, houses (mainly log buildings) are simply fabulous. This is surely a place to spend more nights, like Rifugio Pastore.
We are the only guests tonight, being spoiled by the friendly owners, Roberto Stocchi & his wife. And their very good chef! The dinner is simply very, very good. Italia, we love you. People, food, landscape – and maybe some sunshine tomorrow?
Friday 6 July 2012
Rifugio Alpenzu (1779) www.alpenzu.it
Breakfast at 08:00. Not the heaviest one we’ve had, but for sure filling much more than a classic Italian continental. To be sure to survive the next long leg to Valle d’Ayas we have ordered some sandwiches. At 09:30 we have paid (55€ per head, all included), then start the climb up the nice trail towards NW. The first part is grassing land for the summer farms here. Picking the wrong trail we end up with a shepherd, his dog and goats & cows. The day starts rather bright and sunny, then suddenly dark clouds invade the valley from SW. High quality clouds this, they contain a lot of water. When it first rains here, it really rains well! We manage to find shelter behind a closed summer farm before the rainstorm sets in. And to stay dry.
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| From Col Pinter (2777) towards Valle d’Ayas and Champoluc. |
The trail zigzag nicely up through carpets of scrub & flowers. It’s all so green! I’ve heard so many times “don’t leave Norway in the summer, it’s so nice and unique then”. This part of the world makes no shame neither to spring nor summer beauty, we walk through a dream world. The combination of mountains, valleys, villages and mountain farms are nothing but very impressing and good. This is a good place to be for both biologists, geologists, architects, farmers, environmentalists. And us, the walkers on “Alta Via Numero Uno”. Highest point today is the pass named Col Pinter (2777). No guest house up here, but a proud cairn and grand views. Westwards the landscape continues very alpine, but with a more open feel. Obviously there are hundreds of trails and peaks to explore around here. We’re happy exploring our trail; for sure it has nothing to be ashamed of. First part below the pass is rather gentle, then we have to slow down to manage a real steep and rocky part. We are for sure no climbers, despite this we feel safe and OK all the way down. Below us now is the deep valley: Valle d’Ayas. We head for the village Champoluc, or rather the cable car running down to it from the station at Crest. Trail is good, navigation not to difficult, views are big. It’s not raining. And the cable car is running, saving our knees and thighs for some 4-500 m descend. Life is very nice indeed. Safely arrived in Champoluc we find a quiet café, and some real good refreshments. No more walking today, from here we have booked a “mountain taxi” to Rifugio Ferraro, our next stop. Precisely at 17:00 a nice, classic Land Rover parks in front of the church, ready to load on both gear and guys. Taxi booking: www.champoluctransfer.com.
The bumpy taxi ride to our next cabin takes about 40 minutes, and costs 12€ per head. Worth every lire and bringing us to the front door of charming, unique Rifugio Ferraro (2066) run by the energetic and positive Fausta. Our two rooms are rather packed with berths, but the balcony and the view is beyond most dreams. First a shower, then beer, peanuts and veranda life. Tonight we are not alone, but share the cozy dining room with one more group. Together we enjoy the next highlight of the day: Fausta’s dinner. Dish after dish. Ending up with cakes, cheese, espresso and grappa.
The bumpy taxi ride to our next cabin takes about 40 minutes, and costs 12€ per head. Worth every lire and bringing us to the front door of charming, unique Rifugio Ferraro (2066) run by the energetic and positive Fausta. Our two rooms are rather packed with berths, but the balcony and the view is beyond most dreams. First a shower, then beer, peanuts and veranda life. Tonight we are not alone, but share the cozy dining room with one more group. Together we enjoy the next highlight of the day: Fausta’s dinner. Dish after dish. Ending up with cakes, cheese, espresso and grappa.
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| Rifugio Ferraro (2066) |
Rifugio Ferraro is a well know and highly recommended cabin on the Tour de Monte Rosa. It is easy to see why. Thank you Fausta! All support from us.
Saturday 7 July 2012
Rifugio Ferraro (2066) www.rifugioferraro.com
More mornings should be like this! The atmosphere, the good treat, the view, the big blue sky out there, and a long and challenging hike waiting for us. At 08:00 it is breakfast. The younger ones play a bit with the dogs. The older ones pay (52€ all included) and prepare for the day. We are all ready to set off at 09:15. Crisp and sunny morning. The plan today is to walk to the ski resort Cervinia / Breuil, well hidden behind big mountains NW of us. First part of the trail runs through the green, crisp larch forest northwards, bringing us really close to the huge mountain system forming the Swiss-Italian border. Easy trail, well broken in bodies & boots, this is pure pleasure. What I’m not prepared for is the grand, enormous, awesome view when we climb out of the forest. Suddenly we are in a gigantic, natural theater.
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| Vallone di Verra (2050). High above: Breithorn (4164), Castor (4092) and Pollux (4223) |
We are one the stage, formed by the green meadows of Pian de Vérax/ Vallone di Verra (2050). In front of us, 2000 meters higher, the massive walls and rocks of the Breithorn (4164), Castor (4092) and Pollux (4223) ridge. What a place! It is so big. Despite the mighty setting our attention is drawn towards a tiny little manmade crazy thing: A yellow egg on wheels, serving juicy sandwiches & fancy drinks. The egg yolk is a beautiful woman. Once more: Italia, we love you! Of course we have to stop and support this crazy business. The egg rumors must have reached the Ayas Valley; suddenly we are not alone at all… 50-60 Russian athletes /football players have found out that the egg with its yolk is a good prey for a sunny Saturday like this. We wave goodbye and keep on walking.
Of all the days we have been hiking/trekking/walking this is my favorite one. The good weather helps giving it the high score, but the complexity of the landscape is the winner to me. Vallone di Courtod, the valley we follow, is a fascinating combination of lush green areas and barren rocky parts. But a long climb it is. Our first real stop after the fabulous egg is at partly ice covered Grand Lago (2808). Time for lunch. A real mountain feeling up here, but we notice that the Cervinia/Breuil and Zermatt ski & tourist system is coming closer; high up we see both cable car constructions and telecommunication structures. The Val d’Ayas side where we come from is rather pristine and low key. Crossing the pass up there will bring us into a totally different world. We are not really prepared for it…
Highest point of the day is Colle Superiore delle Cime Bianche (2982).
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| Mattterhorn (4478) |
Straight ahead Matterhorn (4478) – or Monte Cervino in Italian – welcomes us proudly. We make a tiny little detour and climb a small hill, just crossing the magic 3000 meter line. Boys are boys. So is the girl! Then it is down one of the rocky, bulldozed ski trail to Cervinia. The valley side is packed with lift systems and trails, not very pretty without snow. Had we known better the cable car operating from Lago Cime Bianche (2820) would have been a better choise. At least for our knees. Snow free ski slopes are not meant for walking, too steep, too monotonous – and ugly! We pass south of Lago Goillet, then find a nicer path dropping straight down to the city. Cervinia/Breuil may not be the prettiest village, but the setting is hard to beat! Matterhorn is a true beauty.
Sunday 8 July 2012
I have no big hope that the last day of our tour will be the very special. First of all it is a cable car and transportation day to get back us into Switzerland where we have our flights home. The miserable morning weather makes me uncertain if we will be able to do it at all. It is raining heavily in Cervinia today. Up high it must be snowing a lot… Christiano serves the breakfast at 08:00. “Cheer up Bjørn, weather will be better in a short while, forecast is OK!” He is so right. As we pay the reduced cold-water-only-price (40 € per head) and say goodbye the first sun rays find us. We go straight to the big cable car station; the clock says 09:30. From here three different cable cars brings us up to snow and fog at Testa Grigia at 3480 meters, for only € 17 each. We even have time to see the stort of European Cup in downhill biking.
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It’s warm down here and we have been walking for about 7 hours: The cold beers and cokes at the first bar are very correct investments! Then we walk up Cervinia’s short main road and find our hotel, Hostellerie des Guide www.desguides.it. Christiano is expecting us, but asks: “Do you really want to stay here tonight? We have been without warm water for 2-3 days now”. We want to stay. Despite cold showers this place is unique, filled with photos and equipment that Christiano’s father (?) Mirko Minuzzo collected on his early expeditions to the Arctic, Mont Everest and… We are in pizza mood again, and end up at Ristorante Pizzeria Sotto Zero. Good, good food!
Sunday 8 July 2012
I have no big hope that the last day of our tour will be the very special. First of all it is a cable car and transportation day to get back us into Switzerland where we have our flights home. The miserable morning weather makes me uncertain if we will be able to do it at all. It is raining heavily in Cervinia today. Up high it must be snowing a lot… Christiano serves the breakfast at 08:00. “Cheer up Bjørn, weather will be better in a short while, forecast is OK!” He is so right. As we pay the reduced cold-water-only-price (40 € per head) and say goodbye the first sun rays find us. We go straight to the big cable car station; the clock says 09:30. From here three different cable cars brings us up to snow and fog at Testa Grigia at 3480 meters, for only € 17 each. We even have time to see the stort of European Cup in downhill biking.
Testa Grigia (3480) is a mess of buildings and masts, the fog makes it even spookier. One of the buildings is the fairly new cabin Rifugio Guide del Cervino www.rifugioguidedelcervino.com. For sure a nice spot to start a ski tour towards Breithorn! May be next spring?
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| The Zermatt Ski Area. In the back: Testa Grigia (3480) |
The walk from Testa Grigia towards Zermatt is on the glacier, but since we follow the groomed ski slope all the way to the Swiss Trockener Steg cable car station no glacier equipment is needed, at least not this summer. On the way we pass Rifugio del Teòdulo (3317), the strange cabin we stayed at on a ski tour in 2005: Super restaurant, an incredible bar, but terrible sleeping rooms*). We continue down the rather wet & snow glacier. At Trockener Steg nobody are in the mood of walking all the way down to Zermatt. The Tour de Monte Rosa is obviously over for our gang now; we are all in cable car mode… 30 minutes later and 6 x 42 CHF poorer we are safely down in the valley. Proud and happy we walk slowly through the Zermatt main street. Time to celebrate ourselves with a good lunch on Restaurant Stalden’s tiny but sunny terrace! Rösti, beer or coke!
*) Renovated around 2015!
-oOo-
We managed the Tour de Monte Rosa so well, all six of us! We tried out some more southern “unknown” trails than the normal route, I’m very happy for that decision. Weather was not the best this week; especially day one was seriously wet. Good rain gear saved us. We started very early in the season and had quite a bit of snow in the highest passes. This caused us no problems, but the steepest part of the trail up to Monto Moropass may be tricky if covered with snow. Gaiters were not essential but kept us dryer. Downloaded tracks and maps on my GPS gave an extra security navigating in the fog.
The full Tour de Monte Rosa continues along the valley from Zermatt to Stalden / Visp. Most parties seem to walk it the other direction, counterclockwise. Do it your way!
Our Tour de Monte Rosa was a real adventure; landscape, cabins and people.
GO FOR IT !!!
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