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Hi Dan and the alpsinsight-team! I was just looking at the photos (for about the 100th time...) from our Via Valais trip this august and I wanted to thank you for sharing this route. It was such a great experience, each day brought something new and each day was beautiful. We enjoyed each of the 9 days and it is safe to say that this was the most amazing trip we've ever been doing. THANK YOU, dear alpsinsight-team!

Hi Everyone! My partner and I will be setting out on stages 1-5 on September 4th. We will be driving from Nurnberg and are looking to leave our car somewhere between Verbier and Zinal while we run the route. Does anyone have any recommendations where we might be able to park it for 5-6 days? Thank you!

Hi, could anyone please provide the advertised length of each day in hours for hikers (according to the signs)?

Hi there! We are planning to do the Via Valais starting on august 21st and are really looking forward to it. Has anybody done it lately and can tell something about the condition on Schölljoch? Is it recommended to take micro crampons (on Schölljoch or general)? And a question to you Dan, do you need to have special mountaineering knowledge to reach Pigne de la Lé? Thanks a lot, Barbara

Hi There, Like Dan mentioned below, we did the trip from 4 to 11 july and had lots of snow especially in the Col de Forcletta and the Scholijoch but to be fair every Col from day one was covered with alot of snow, the upper 2 we needed the crampons the rest was doable, then after Col de Louvie the gpx takes you on the left of that lake, DONT use the footsteps (if there is still snow) which goes allthe way around ond the right hand side of that little lake, it will save you alot of time and kneedeep fighting with snow and water! You cab see our routes by checking my Strava account, due to bad weather we shortened track 4 and 5 (which we planned on doing in 1day) and were glad we did, it rained from 2pm till 6am the next day non-stop, meaning 15cm of fresh snow above 2400m, wonderfull views but hard work :o) This 9day Route spread out over 6 days was one of the most beautiful things I've "ran" or hiked because as I already told Dan and his crew, for some low-landers like us with a pack varying between 6 and 9kg (food water sleeping gear due to Covid biggersleepingbag and al teh safetystuff ) the runnable miles are rare, If you can go light-packed GO ! So once again thank you guys at Alpsinsight for this wonderfull trip, it was truly amazing and worth a repeat cause no one has claimed an FKT on the original route I saw :o) If one is interested in our pics, to see the snowconditions 2 weeks ago here you go : https://photos.app.goo.gl/JZkgoyexGZUMdYSx9 https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q3Rz6L6KxXLBN9zh6 https://photos.app.goo.gl/MDe5hNQQF1MApvAq9 Warm Greeting from Belgium Bart,Erik and Andy

Hi Guys! Travel report from our Via Valais 28/8-6/9 It is truly a fantastic epic trail you have found! Unfortunately we were hit by snow&wind day 2-4 so instead of going to AIGUILLE ROUGE day 2 we were forced down to lower altitudes to the village of Evolene. Day 3 the Bec the Bosson closed due to weather conditions so we went to Vercorin instead. Day 4 we went to Zinal . Day 5 the snow was melting and the sun started to shine, so we passed a snowy forcletta pass but we didn´t dare go the Schöllisch the day after, (because of the snow) so we went to Gruben instead of Turtmanhytte. Day 6 we took the Augustboardpass to St Nicolaus for lunch and then up to Topaliihytte were we spend the night. After that the sun shined from a blue sky the rest of the days and we follow your trails. Our adventure will be one for the books, truly epic. Suz, Challis and myself sends you all in the team a great hug for creating this andventure, we really enjoyed every bit of it, even if some days were cold with wind and rain. But that is a part of a great adventure, isn´t it 🙂 / Jacob

Hi! We are three people going Via Valais 28/8-5/9 and are absolutely thrilled for this adventure!! We have however a problem: We are trying to send bags to Zinal and Zermatt, but they need a Swiss telephone number... anybody who has the same problem?

Thanks for drawing up this route for everybody! It's a great trip! My wife and I just did the 6-stage version from Aug 3 - 8. The first couple days it was snowing but, everything was melted out by the time we got to the Schollijoch. You've gotta bring some more stuff for COVID at the moment, but we were able to get a private room at all of the alpine lodging. For anybody interested in this in the near future, Zermatt is getting back to its normal busy self, and the Turtmann Hut was quite busy as well. On all the other sections, we saw almost no one. Stay safe!

Hi, If traveling is possible by mid/late June I’m hoping to attempt the 9 stages in one push. Anyone with local knowledge about snowpack this early on the season? Also will ladders, chains etc be in place to make the big descent on stage 7 possible? Many thanks for the route descriptions. /H

We're going July 6 to 12, a bit early but we already did Haute Route 4 years ago on this week and it was fabulous. We're doing the 6 stages in 5 days, adapting a bit stage 1 and 2 to reduce the overall distance. We know these trails from previous Haute Route trip. We're going to book the huts, and planning the whole trip. Since we'll use the train to Sierre we're considering sending some stuff directly to Zermatt to be there when we arrive. Hope the Charles Kuonen bridge is open this year... We're eager to go, although this is the obivous part.

Hello. I am planning a Via Valais trip in early September 2020 with a few friends. Will the huts need to be booked in advance for this? If so, when would be the time to book them? I am worried about them filling up. but not ready to lock in dates yet. Thanks!

Where to begin!! From the moment this was presented to me about 6 months ago, it seemed like a dream. We(myself and 2 friends) did the Via Valais starting on 9/6/2019 and ended on 9/14/2019. Kim Strom was an amazing help all along the way and it was such a pleasure to meet Dan and Janine Patitucci. The challenges were real, but every bit worth it. Everyday was different and every stay in the huts/hotels along the way were beyond memorable in different ways. Having done the Haute Route 5 years ago almost to the day, I have to say that the views and staying up high is well worth the extra miles and vertical feet. We had rain, snow and lots of cloudy weather the first few days, but were then blessed with bright blue skies and temps in the high 60's. I would Highly recommend this adventure to any outdoor enthusiast that has a thirst for challenge. My hats off to the crew who created the VIA VALAIS!!!!

Hi, I am planning to do this amazing Via Valais next year and have a few questions. 1) which month offers the best weather to do it between June-August? 2) Which stages are easier and can be connected and done in one day instead of two? I'd like to do it in 4-6 days. I have just finished a fastpacking trip 465 km/ +14000 m in 9 days . 3) Is it safe to do it alone in terms of glacier crevasses, etc.? Best regards, it seems you created a real gem, I can't wait to be there!

Hi there, I can imagine it's not always easy to quit the stages. Which two stages do you recommend doing if I only have two days of time?

Finished the 7 first days of the Via Valais on Friday! First of all, many thanks to AlpsInsight for creating this amazing tour; we had soooo much fun!! 🙂 Reading through Loic and Chelsea comments, we can confirm that some of the GPS tracks did not match the distance covered according to our Garmin watch (we traveled more distance than what was described); espacially stage 3 probably due to the straight line through Evolene. On day 7, the rocky trail that follows the Schöllijoch was not our favorite part as it was more climbing/trekking than trailrunning.. And the trail to Randa was closed, so that we had to change our itinerary and head to St Niklaus. But overall it was an incredible experience, with most of the time sunny and warm weather, and just one rainy day (that happened on day 4 from Cabane de Moiry to Zinal, but we are sure the views must have been fantastic!). The views along the way are breathtaking and the steep climbs to the peaks/passes are well worth the sweat! We are happy we stopped after 7 days as our knees were suffering from the steep 2200m descent to St Niklaus on the last day. But we would like to finish days 8 and 9 someday and discover these running trails around Zermatt! We were very satisfied with all the huts, the staff was always welcoming and the food was great. We even had the chance to attend a concert of "Les Poissons Voyageurs" at the Cabane des Becs de Bosson; we had a fantastic night! We also saw a lot of wild animals throughout the week (tooons of marmots, deers, ibexes, sheeps, foxes, .. :)). We particularly enjoyed waking up and setting out early so that we could chill at the hut (with a piece of cake mmmmh) in the afternoon 😉 Again a big thank you to the whole team for sharing the gear you packed for the tour; we bought the filter and it was definitely worth it (felt very autonomous and saved a lot of money!). Our Kalenji 15L backpack weighed 4kg without water/food and therefore very light and comfortable for running. We are sooo happy and proud of what we have accomplished and recommend the Via Valais to everyone loving nature, incredible views, the contact with people, stiff legs after a long run (:-P) and of course trail running!!

Just back from it. Will post a more detailed report, but a couple of points to check: - Stage 3: (i) it seems like GPS was off through Evolène, there is a straight line; actual distance might be 2km more, and go through city (for coffee and pastry 😉 ) (ii) there is a shorter track going straight up to Bec de Bossons via L'A Veille (and nice restaurant to refill) - Stage 4: there is a pretty long switch back on the forest road; I did not try it, but it might be fun and similar time (-1km, +200m more ascent) via points 2397m / 2554m /2548m - Stage 7: (i) heard the trail to Randa got wiped out and there is now a new one; not sure if the GPS track accounts for that (ii) small section between 5.2km and 5.5km where the track does not follow the actual marked trail (you might have done it in snow ?) - Schöllijoch: it is Stage 7, not Stage 6 - I believe there is a typo in the FAQ - Pas de Chèvre: Stage 2, not Stage 3 ? Same issue in FAQ, or maybe I am confused and lost too many brain cells high-altitude 🙂

From what I see it's not possible to download the GPXs from fatmap.com, not even after having created a standard account. Is this the expected behavior? The 3D maps are beautiful, but without a GPX are worthless.

The SBB luggage transport system is only working with a valid train ticket for the same distance as the bag is going. Or if you've got a GA. 😉 Or have you found out a trick and are willing to share?

First an amazing book and now the Via Valais. Your project is extremely well designed with amazing maps and perfectly fitted for trail runners. I know now what to do this summer! Do you plan to organise running camps in the future?

I suppose we are the first ones who get to post here as we're the only ones who have done the Via Valais. We thought it was so good that we decided to introduce it to the world and build this beautiful guide to it. Now it's your turn to discover this tour and share your thoughts. Enjoy! Dan, Janine and Kim - aka, the ALPSinsight Team