Walking in the Valais. Kev Reynolds

and Breakfast

      Similar to bed and breakfast establishments in the UK, private rooms (Chambres d’hôtes or Gästezimmer) are located in a number of villages and resorts throughout the Valais, and their details are usually available from the local tourist office. An annual booklet listing those in the Valais region is published in Sierre. Write to: Chambres d’hôtes VS13, Cathy Renggli, Route des Liddes 12, CH-3960 Sierre ([email protected], www.homestay.ch or www.bnb.ch).

      Mountain huts

      A cosy atmosphere is created in the dining room of the Burg Hut (Walk 1)

      Since the majority of mountain huts (refuge, cabane, hütte) are located in spectacular surroundings, they usually provide a memorable experience for the first-time user. Although primarily intended as an overnight base for climbers, a number of Valaisian huts are accessible to walkers. Mostly owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, but open to all, mixed-sex dormitories are the norm for sleeping accommodation (take your own sheet sleeping bag) and washing facilities can be primitive, but where a guardian (hut keeper) is in residence for the summer, meals and refreshments are usually available. Basic details are given in the main section of this book, but further information is available at www.sac-cas.ch, which provides a list.

      As a number of routes contained in this guide visit mountain huts, a note on hut etiquette may be useful for newcomers intending to stay. Upon arrival remove your boots and change into a pair of special hut shoes (clogs or slippers) found on racks in the boot room or porch. Locate the guardian to book sleeping space for the night and any meals required. Meal times are usually fixed, and a choice of menu is sometimes, but not always, available. Payment should be made in cash the night before your departure. Although you will be allocated a place in a dormitory, access to it may not be possible until the evening. Since the room may be unlit, keep your headtorch or flashlight handy.

      Holiday apartments

      Giving a degree of freedom and flexibility, self-catering apartments are an option worth considering by families or groups of friends if you plan to base your holiday in one centre. A large number of villages mentioned in this book have apartments for rent, usually for a minimum of one week.

      Hotels and mountain inns

      Berghotel Almagelleralp enjoys a secluded location deep within the Almagellertal (Walk 20)

      As mentioned above, a wide range of hotels exist throughout the Valais region. In addition, some of the more popular areas have mountain inns that may not be star rated, but, being located in often remote or romantic sites, provide accommodation with appeal. A few mountain restaurants also offer good value overnight accommodation in bedrooms or dormitories. Enquire at the nearest tourist office for details.

      Package holidays

      Holiday packages which provide both accommodation and travel can offer a useful service at a competitive rate for walkers looking for a base in a specific resort. The following tour companies have packages in Valais resorts: Crystal Holidays, Inghams Travel and Thomson Holidays – study their ‘Lakes & Mountains’ brochures available from high-street travel agents.

Weather

      Located in a beautiful cirque walled by the Weisshorn and Zinalrothorn, the Cabane d’Ar Pitetta looks wintry after a summer snowstorm

      It’s an old adage, but there’s more than a ring of truth to it: ‘Mountains make their own weather.’ This is as true of the Valais as it is of any other region of the Alps, and from massif to massif, valley to valley, and even from one side of a valley to another and from the foot of a mountain to its summit, different influences come into play to create micro-climates and individual weather systems. On the whole, Valaisian valleys not only benefit from lying in the rain-shadow of the Bernese Alps, but enjoy a more settled and slightly warmer climate than their neighbours. However, generalisations are not to be taken too seriously, especially as Alpine weather patterns appear to be in a state of flux under the influence of global warming, and walkers who go there should be prepared for all eventualities.

      If planning to walk reasonably high, June will normally be the earliest month to contemplate a holiday in the Alps, and even then there will probably be limitations because of low-lying snow or even avalanche danger. In the Valais, temperatures are at their highest in July, with the likelihood of electrical storms; rainfall is at its heaviest in August, while September can be utterly magical. Then the first night-frosts will be experienced in the mountains, and the days can often be luminescently clear. If the weather holds, October rewards with larchwoods turning gold and fresh powder snow on the summits, but many resorts will be closing down for a few weeks before the winter season begins.

      When the Föhn blows there will be clear skies for several days, but in the wake of this warm, dry wind, rain should be expected. Snow can fall at any time of the year in the higher valleys, and sudden violent thunderstorms are not at all uncommon in summer.

      The Swiss meterological service, MeteoSwiss, is challenged by the complex nature of forecasting the day-to-day weather for such a mountainous country, and while the published four-day forecast provides a general picture of trends, it can only be that – a general picture. The broadcast daily weather report is more helpful, and a local weather bulletin is usually posted in the window of tourist offices and mountain guides’ bureaux. For an internet report in English, visit www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/en.html – this provides a daily forecast as well as a five-day prediction. Current weather conditions throughout Switzerland can be checked on www.MySwitzerland.com.

Notes for walkers

      This book is intended to be used by casual walkers who may never have visited the Alps before, as well as by the more experienced mountain wanderer aiming for the snowline. There’s something in the Valais to suit everyone, and each level – from valley bed to mountain summit – has its own very special charm.

      Routes described in these pages have been chosen with a particular viewpoint, lake, alp hamlet, hut or pass as the goal, while the principal objective of each walk is to enjoy a day’s exercise among some of Europe’s most visually exciting scenery. But to gain the most from an active holiday in the Valais one needs to be in a reasonably good physical condition on arrival. That way you can face the initial uphill path without feeling daunted, and enjoy the first day of your holiday as much as the last.

      Avoid being over-ambitious for the first few days, especially if you’ve never walked in the Alps before. It’s worth remembering that some of the valley resorts are situated higher than Britain’s highest mountain, and the altitude may demand a few adjustments, so plan your programme of walks to increase gradually both in distance and height-gain over the period of your stay. A range of walks has been chosen for this book, and there should be sufficient routes on offer to enable most walkers to enjoy a good day out at a level to suit their particular ability and ambition.

      Walks fall into three categories, graded 1–3, with the highest grade given to the more challenging routes. This grading system is purely subjective, but is offered to provide a rough idea of what to expect. There are moderate walks (Grade 1) that would appeal to most active members of the family, while the majority of routes are graded 2 or 3, largely as a result of the very nature of the landscape, which can be pretty challenging. A full definition of these grades is given at the end of this Introduction.