The Haute Route expedition 2004

The original idea was to have a daily download of pictures and text from the chaps, by way of a satellite modem. Predictably, this ended up going entirely pear-shaped so we're restricted to the occasional garbled text message or 'phone call when weather and location permits.

OK, so not the most enthralling travelog you're ever likely to come across but nevertheless, our rantings and ramblings are here:

STOP PRESS! Latest news and a rather better description of the week's highs & lows are included below... Mark's additional notes are marked in blue.

Day one - Friday 2nd April 16:42BST: [Chamonix] Short and to the point, I guess... I assumed that this meant they'd actually managed to get to the airport on time and so had now arrived safely in France. The first text question clearly had to be [Are U in a bar yet?] to which the rather shocked and dismayed answer was [certainly not]. Predictably, this was followed up very shortly after with a call from Mark to confirm that the first pitcher of beer was on the table and that all was right with the world. Clive added that I really should be there soaking up the atmos. with the rest of the team and for a second I have to admit to a large twinge of envy... then I remembered what I'd read about the toilet facilities in the Argentière Mountain Hut and suddenly I felt considerably better about being back at home...

Day two - Saturday 3rd April 14:56BST: [Traning day. Kitted up. PM Skiing. Full back packs - wet wipes et al. Pls send yr e mail add. C and H say hi.] WET WIPES?? I don't even want to start thinking about this - let's move on. Nice to see that my efforts have been rewarded with "Pls send yr e mail add", confirming that Newcombe has actually forgotten the URL of his own website... deary deary me. Still, it looks rather like the chaps are ready for action so hopefully there'll be a text zooming my way at some ungodly hour tomorrow morning, confirming that they've actually set off. Exciting stuff 'eh?

Day three - Sunday 4th April 10:41BST: [Sun. Off we go...] OK, so not quite the 'ungodly hour' I anticipated - 11.41 local time in actual fact. Does this indicate a large intake of Dutch courage last night? :-) Regardless, they're off... the LHR expedition is finally under way. From what I can recall, today's all about preparation, on and around the Argentière glacier - getting used to off-piste skiing with fully laden back-packs, going through emergency procedures just in case someone decides to ski off a precipice or fall down a crevasse. At this point, Clive's comment about my taking part seems to be a less than great idea. Having not been near a ski slope in almost twenty years, this would not be a good way for me to rediscover the Alps... quite happy to leave the Action Man stuff to the chaps!

Day four - Monday 5th April 10:15BST: [Plan B. Weather bad last night. Off mountain today via Argentiere glacier. Then taxi 2 Arrolla tonight 2 try 2 reach Le Dix hut tomorrow. Party ahead of us this am fell into crevass! Helicopter rescue in progress as we passed. Forecast bad 4 week. Spirits a little down.] All of a sudden, the loos and lack of bars aren't the only thing to be concerned about! Sounds like the weather's fairly grim up there - just had a look at Metcheck and it would appear the forecast is for 100% cloud cover the whole week, with wind speeds ranging from 4mph to 20mph and fresh snow expected every day. Let's hope by the time they get to Arolla things have calmed down a bit...

Monday 5th April 14:48BST: [At Arolla. Beer. Team more chearfull. Blue ski. 7am start tom.] Ah, the restorative powers of a foaming ale! Despite a dodgy start to the day, things are clearly looking up and one can only assume that the adventure is back on, even if it seems to be more by cab than ski!

Monday 5th April 17:01BST: [Stop press. Gerome is a base jumper! Eiger.] Oh blimey! Clearly, too much beer is not always a good thing, especially at altitude!! Please tell me that the chaps aren't all getting ready to do a running jump off the nearest peak...

Also, had a printout from a fellow ski-boy (Jamie) this evening that rather suggests this website looks dreadful if viewed through older versions of IE. Obviously, this is a bit of a disaster and I'd very much like to know whether this is an isolated incident or if everybody's viewing a totally pants version of the LHR website. At the risk of inviting ego-crushing disaster, please drop me a line at andy@lahauteroute.co.uk if you're currently looking at complete nonsense... fingers crossed.

Howling winds and snow storms in the night rendered the route up to the Col du Chardonnet impassable, therefore blocking the next day's route to the Hut at Champex and then the taxi ride to Verbier..

Instead the team head down the Argentiere glacier, off the mountain and make their way by taxi to the Swiss village of Arolla to attempt to rejoin the classic route if the weather inproves. On the way they encounter a group on the glacier, two members of which have fallen into a crevass and a rescue is underway. A medical team has been helicoptered in and thankfully the only reported injury is to a shoulder.

Day six- Wednesday 7th April 10:49BST: [Made it 2 Dix Hut yesterday but weather bad again - 70cm snow so difficult and again no one could get over the pass. So roped up and climb and ski back to Arolla...] followed by [Tomorrow we try 4 Bertol Hut and then Zermatt!] So, signs of life at last, which is a bit of a relief! The weather clearly isn't playing ball this week and as a result Arolla certainly seems to be the place right now... How frustrating does this sound? I'm not entirely sure how the chaps will get to the Bertol Hut from Arolla but presumably if the plan is to get to Zermatt on schedule there must be a short cut somewhere that Gerome's been keeping a secret! Time to consult Google and take a look at a few maps...

Wednesday 7th April 11:25BST: [Beer and Rosti just arriving!] OK, so maybe I was over-reacting - whilst the elements might be proving tricky, the catering arrangements seem pretty good!

More bad weather in the night brings further disappointment. It is not possible to make our way over the Pigne d'Arolla at 3700m because again there had been heavy snowfall in the night, making the risk of avalanche too high. All the parties in the Dix Hut make their way back over the Pas de Chevres and some set off to La Vignettes Hut for a last attempt to reach Zermatt the following day. We decide to try via the Bertol Hut and so make our way back to Arolla and regroup.

Day seven- Thursday 8th April 14:50BST: [Incredible Day. Hardest of life! Start 8.45 end 2 and climb 1300m 2 Bertol Hut perched on rock. We can c Matahorn. All knackered. Might sleep now?] Typical solicitor - starts work at 8:45 and the day's over by 2pm!! Still, from what I can gather, the weather is atrocious and climbing 1300 metres in the middle of a blizzard really doesn't appeal too much, so respect is due... Within sight of the Matterhorn? Looks like the journey's drawing to a close - tomorrow Zermatt! As I pointed out in my reply, next time the chaps have an "Action Man moment", it would make a lot of sense to look for a rather warmer, flatter venue!

Our first beautiful weather-perfect day and an 8.45 start to try to reach the Bertol Hut 1300m above us at 3300m. At 10.30 near disaster strikes as we are engulfed by a powder avalanche which sweeps towards us off Mont Collon. The team is safe and unharmed but badly shaken. We press on so that Gerome can assess if it is safe to proceed and thankfully we can. Later we stop for lunch at the base of the final section - a steep 400m climb to the Bertol Hut itself, which we reach by 2pm but not before having to negotiate the one foot wide ledge, 25 ft long around a 100ft drop to get to a metal ladder up and into the Hut itself!!! We agree, this is easily as daunting as the six hour climb up...and we have it too look forward to in reverse to get out of the Hut in the morning. The remainder of the day is spent re-hydrating, resting and eating for the final day.

Day eight - Friday 9th April 13:20BST: It's all over! Just had a call to confirm that the chaps have arrived in Zermatt. Sounds like there will be a few bottles of champagne consumed over lunch, which seems more than reasonable. Despite taking a route that seems somewhat different to the one originally talked about at the planning stage, Mark, Huw, Clive and Gerome have completed the Haute Route in weather conditions far worse than anyone could have expected - nice one chaps! Post-lunch, there'll be a three hour cab ride back to Chamonix and to the hotel. Tomorrow is a rest day and the team will fly home on Sunday. No doubt there'll be photos and anecdotes from all concerned popping up on the website in the coming days - watch this space!

TTFN, Andy

The defining moment of the trip takes place at 7.30am. Gerome ropes us up and we make our way back onto the snow from the heights of the Bertol Hut, easily the most impressive building any of the team have stayed in, to assess whether we turn right and return to Arolla or left to Zermatt.Yet again there has been snowfall all night and the visibility is down to a few feet. However, we go left, onto the snow field to start the final trek to Zermatt. We climb for 3 hours, all the parties from the Bertol Hut moving together in a line and the respective guides working as a team to search for the safest route. Over Tete Blanche and passed the Matterhorn - none of which is visible. Today's main danger is frostbite but at 12 noon we reach Stefalalp and the jouney is nearly over... just lunch and a bottle of champagne at Zum Zee on our way to take the taxi back to Chamonix!