2023 WALKER’s haute route TRAIL UPDATES

Updated: June 22nd 2023

Knowing what the early season trail conditions are like is a really important part of a self guided hikers preparation. It helps with;

• Awareness of the challenges

• Appropriate gear choices

• Review of alternative routes/options

• Revision of plan (if necessary)

Our updates are kept up-to-date during the 2023 hiking season by The Hiking Club team and our 6 Trail Ambassadors.

Key trail updates include:

• Our Break The Trail hike

• Latest trail updates

• Gear recommendations

⛏ BRENDAN’S BREAK THE TRAIL HIKE

From May 30th to June 21st 2023, Brendan Jones, Founder of The Hiking Club, completed the Tour du Mont Blanc and key sections of the Walker’s Haute Route. He documented his trip extensively on social media, providing live accounts of snow conditions across the mountain passes, route detours, and challenging sections of trails.

Click on below image to see a summary of each daily trail update:

“LIVE FROM THE ALPS” WEBCAST

On June 23rd, 2023, Brendan presented a one-hour “Live from the Alps” webcast to share an update of the current trail conditions, including snow conditions, route detours and gear recommendations. It also included a live Q&A session that covers everything from using microspikes, best local weather sources and alternate route choices.

Follow our dedicated WHR Instagram page to get latest updates

🥾 GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS

As of June 22nd, 2023: Microspikes and poles are recommended for anyone hiking in June and early July to support snow crossings. This gear can help with confidence when crossing steeper snowy slopes, even when the snow is not icy. Also, although the freezing level has been up over 3,000m for a few weeks now and is forecast to stay there for the next week if it does drop to the level where snow is still lying on the trail, then microspikes and poles will be essential - especially if staying at a place high on the mountain like Cabane de Prafleuri, Cabane Des Dix, or, Cabane de Moiry.