Greetings,
Im just here to share my experience on the haute route (chamonix-zermatt)...
I left for the haute route on the 30th of june with my friend (we used his car).
After getting a flat tire thanks to bad visibility in the evening and road works in chamonix, we left the day after in the afternoon to argientiere after getting the tire replaced (around 3pm).
Because this was the first time me and my friend were trekking for such a long period with a tent (i have done multi day treks in the past with my parents, even in the mustang in the himalayas..but never by tent),
we brought to much food...the weight i was carrying was around 25kg, while my friend was carrying 15kg...since he argued that i was bigger i should carry more...
Even so, with me carrying 10 more kg, my friend was slacking behind and taking way to much breaks. We had to set up camp for the night on a mountain side in the forest between chamonix and argientiere.
We tried to empty some of the more heavy food (mostly canned food) to reduce our weight.
Next day we set out to trient to cross the col de balme.
Again because my friend took to much breaks, and even became angry with me because i told him that if we were to make trient we needed to pick up pace, we ended up sleeping on the decent to trient after crossing col de balme, right above the forest barrier (not sure what the english word for this is).
During that night there was a heavy rainstorm, and this is where my friend really became unpleasant to travel with.
He began saying that he needed a shower, that we needed to stop for a few days, that he couldnt stand the stickyness of his own sweat (if you dont like sweat you should not be hiking...).
The day after we continued the decent to trient, after he complained about all his camping gear being wet and that we needed to stop to let it dry (he never went camping in the rain???).
It was only around 1 pm that we reached trient, i had hoped we would have arrived many hours earlier so that we could still attempt to cross the hardest part on the route, le fenetre d'arpette.
By this point i was very frustrated, i had bad sleep because he woke me up during the night saying i was snorring in my sleep. and the fact that he had to take a break only 15min after we began walking to "cut his fingernails and look into a portable mirror if his hair was still alright". And again, when nearly reaching trient he had to stop for almost an hour to let his stuff dry and re-organise his backpack.
If this was not enough, he decided to check in with a hotel at only 1pm and stay there for the rest of the day. Which basically ment that we spent two days on a one day hike. It was also a pretty expensive joke, 65 euro for one night after we spent many many euros on camping gear and trekking clothes (Im trying to get my own business off the ground...so i dont have tons of money to throw away).
The next day he simply decided to go back to chamonix and drive back to belgium with his car. He left me no choice, either continue alone with my transport back home gone, or go with him.
I decided to go on alone, i needed to try it, i wouldnt have been able to go home after only doing the easiest part of the hike. Thing was...my cellphone was running low and i didnt have a charger. Even though, i pressed on.
The hike to le fenetre d'arpette goes from 1200 meters up to 2600 meters and back to 1300 something (if i recall right). I started off at around 10pm after leaving my friend at the bus stop. It was very heavy with my backpack still being around 17-20kg. At around 4pm i made it to the top. By then my water reserve had run out, i had a very painfull headache, i kept feeling dehydrated, my skin was burned because my friend took the suncreme with him...and i even put some snow in my waterbottle...hoping it would melt soon so i could have some water...
There was still snow on the decent, and being already late on the day there were no people around anymore. i slipped a few times, but managed to arrest my fall by forcing my walking sticks into the snow. But it was scary because it was the first time being on snow in the mountains...let alone descending a steep slope on it. At around 7pm i made it to champex. I felt terrible, headache, thirsty, it didnt matter how much water i tried to drink, i kept feeling dehydrated.
The day after i walked to le chable. This was my last change to take the train to martigny and retreat before spending many days in the high mountains with little transport options. Also having left the tour de mont blanc ment alot less people around.
With my cellphone almost dead, i called my father, arranged a ticket from geneva to belgium the next day. Took the bus to martingy, and a day later i was back home. I made the decision because of the headache, fear that i might have suffered a minor heat stroke and wasnt judging well enough anymore, and the fact that my cellphone was nearly dead, which ment if i had an accident in the mountains, i had no way to contact the outside world, or for the same matter organise my transport back to belgium, since this was the first time i went trekking without my parents and was about clueless about getting an airplane reservation without cellphone or internet.
Back home now, although in the end i am happy i did the "most demanding part" of the route, atleast according to kev reynolds book. I really feel that i gave up for no good reason. I really hate giving up, and i look forward to the day i can go back to the mountains again and finish this unfinished business.
Im not sure, did i make the right call? Or did i give up to easily?
I know for a fact, that even with the pain and uncomfort during the trek, i am inspired even more then before to take up climbing school (thats what they call it in belgium) and learn more about the technical stuff and try to get into actual mountaineering....and hopefully meet people who i can rely on and dont give up after a few days of hiking.
I probably sound like a noob compared to the stuff you guys do! But i just feel i had to share this story..thanks for reading this wall of text. I will answer the call of the mountains again soon....better prepared.
Anyway, feel free to share similar stories, or give me some advice.