The Haute Route expedition 2004

Married for over ten years to Georgina, Mark Newcombe is a partner in the international law firm Hammonds. Having come relatively late to skiing at 26, he now realises that this was 21 years ago and that it is about time he either perfected his off-piste technique or shut up about it once and for all.

Over 98% of all the money raised by the Kids Kidney Appeal supports vital kidney research for babies and children at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. 10% of children with renal failure and 1% of all babies born in the UK suffer from vesicoureteric reflux - a condition where infected urine passes back in to the kidneys, thereby permanently damaging them. To sponsor the team in their efforts to raise funds for the Kids Kidney Appeal, click [here] or send an email to sponsor@lahauteroute.co.uk.

Are you planning your own mission to conquer the Haute Route? Clearly, ours is just one in a large number of UK parties leaving for the Alps this year and once this website has served it's intitial purpose, we're looking forward to converting www.lahauteroute.co.uk into a permanent home for all of your alpine adventures. Click on the photo of Huw and Mark to email us the details of any trips you might be planning!

Huw Watson has been in health and fitness for over 12 years, setting up and running a chain of clubs. Nowadays, he acts as a consultant and has a number of non-executive director roles. He is married with a son and has been skiing for over 20 years. Huw hopes that this trip will take his skiing to a new level (literally and metaphorically).

Stages on the Haute Route - read a brief summary of the daily routes the team will be taking [here]

Day One = Grands Montets cable car to Argentière mountain house
Day Two = Argentière mountain house to Champex village
Day Three = Champex to Prafleuri mountain house
Day Four = Prafleuri mountain house to Les Dix mountain house
Day Five = Pigne d'Arolla ascent to Vignettes mountain house
Day Six = Vignettes mountain house to Zermatt

For Clive Pitts, sport has always played a dominant part in his life. He took up skiing 19 years ago and feels that the Haute Route is an opportunity that HAS to be experienced... if only the once! Married to Pauline for nearly 20 years, Clive works in Rutland with a Chartered Surveyor involved in retail acquisition.

Gerome Guala is our guide for the expedition. A native of this region, Gerome has many years experience in alpine climbing and knows the route like the back of his hand (allegedly). When he's not ferrying lunatic Englishmen from Chamonix to Zermatt, Gerome likes to relax by climbing even bigger mountains in Nepal - some people just don't know when to stop!

Haute Routes in the Alps and elsewhere, to the extent that the French tend to refer to this one as Chamonix-Zermatt. But this was the original Haute Route and when someone talks about the Haute Route, there is no doubt about which one they mean. Why is the Haute Route so justifiably popular? One of the reasons must be that it is a traverse, which is always particularly satisfying. In this case one starts from Chamonix, the centre of alpinism in France, passes through probably the finest high alpine scenery in the Pennine Alps, steps briefly in to Italy, and descends under the North Face of the Matterhorn to Zermatt - the centre of all the early mountain exploration in Switzerland. A second reason for its popularity is that the scenery is really unbelievable. On the first day, coming out of the Grande Montets, the view is stunning: Les Aiguilles Rouges, L'Aiguille du Chardonnet, L'Aiguille d'Argentiere, Le Tour Noir, Mont Dolent and L'Aiguille de Triolet. As you descend to the Argentiere Glacier, the view on the right progressively opens up until you are right under the huge North Faces of the Verte, Droites and Courtes. It is still recognised as being special, to the extent that those who choose to avoid its technical difficulties are avoiding the issue. Most people will do the Haute Route for the pleasure of moving through exceptional high Alpine scenery.

The Haute Route was first done as a walking route in 1861 by members of the Alpine Club and they called it the High Level Road. As the sport of skiing developed and this route became more and mor popular as a ski mountaineering venue, the French name Haute Route came into use. There are now many other

Andy Clayton-Smith is webmaster and (vaguely) technical type for the LHR Team. He's married to Diane and works in publishing. Whilst possessing very few innate skills, one thing to which Andy is extremely attuned is his self preservation - which is why he'll be sat at home when all of this happens - or in the local pub... much to his relief!

Mission accomplished! The team reach Zermatt on Friday 9th April and the LHR 2004 Alpine Tour is over. Once again, a huge THANK YOU to all of those who agreed to sponsor us on this trip, helping us raise much needed funds for the Kids Kidney Appeal. With your help, the team has managed to raise over seven thousand pounds, which is now with the Kids Kidney Appeal and will already be helping the charity in its efforts to combat kidney disease, in young and old alike. To find out more about how this money will be used, visit the Kids Kidney Appeal website [here]. For a summary of the week, freshly updated with Mark's daily stage summaries, click [here].