I am planning on walking the haute route form chamonix to Zermatt with my partner this summer and wondered if anyone had walked the route recently. I am particularly interested in the possibilities of camping as I have heard conflicting reports. My guide book says it is generally possible at alltitude if you speak with shepherds but others have said there is strictly no camping. I am not a big fan of mountain huts as places to sleep - fantastic for food and wine but like to sleep in the 'privacy' of a tent (particularly when with my partner! It's not a cost thing - I would happily pay the hut the same money to camp nearby, also happy pitching late and setting off early so as not to be intrusive and never leave any sign of being there but like being under canvas without someone snoring above me. I love the french huts in the pyrenees for this reason - you can socialise in the hut then return to your tent.
Lee, defo a thread on this from the past as I was looking at this last summer but ended up camping in the valleys instead of tue mountains. Try the search bar above and see what you get.
Bivvying - tent up late and down early is fine if you are discreet.....good luck finding a shepherd. Many huts allow you to bivvy outside - look them up by name.
I'm not familiar with that exact route but stealth camping at altitude shouldn't be a problem. I've seen plenty of head torches flashing up high when we've been in the valley below.
I walked the route last summer and had absolutley no problems wild camping. As long as your out of sight no ones going to bother you. I can highly recommend camping at the north end of Lac de Louvie, stunning views of Les Grand Combins and i was lucky enough to have a few ibex grazing in the valley while i was there.
Awesome trekking route, and not that busy once you get away from the Tour de Mont Blanc.
let me know if your interested in a few more recommendations for wild camp spots
We will be arriving in Chamonoxi this coming Saturday and will be on or way...tent camping. Any & all wild camping recommendations are sincerely appreciated!! Almost packed and excited...woo hoo!!
I've just got back from walking the Haute Route from Le Châble to Zermatt, and stayed in mountain huts and dortoirs along the way. Didn't see anywhere suitable to pitch a tent close to any of the huts - you'll have to look out for some wild camp spots on your approach to the huts, or maybe a high level camp just down from one of the passes - technically illegal in Switzerland, but you're unlikely to get caught.
No problem finding places to camp most of the time, with the exception of the Cabane de Prafleuri. Apparently, it's in a nature reserve and someone was 'kind' enough to point this out to me just after setting up camp! I had to take the tent back down but if you walk on over the col for about 40 minutes there are lots of suitable places to pitch.
Prafleuri left a poor impression on me for a number of reasons. The water around there is not suitable for drinking due to the high mineral content. They were charging £6 for 11/2 litres of water.
