STAGE 7

The Queen Stage of the Via Valais! You'll want an early start from the Turtmann Hut, and you'll want some day food to carry. It's a long, difficult day that has you as high as 3610 meters, if you include the bonus Barrhorn peak, and without food availability.

From the hut, you'll quickly find yourself in a barren, alpine landscape. If you choose to do the Barrhorn, you'll leave the Schöllijoch trail at 3100 meters and veer north traversing beneath the west side of the high ridge. The detour to the Barrhorn is well worth the 90-ish minutes and you'll be happy to know it's the highest official trail in the Alps. If you're skipping the Barrhorn, you continue east to the low spot on the ridge and the Schöllijoch at 3350 meters. 

Crossing the Schöllijoch

Crossing the Schöllijoch brings new challenges to the Via Valais route and may be the crux for many people. Before crossing the pass and descending its eastern side, the overall difficulty and elements should be considered. The decision to cross or not cross the pass should be committed to prior to heading to the Turtmann Hut. Your decision to cross the pass will be based on your comfort level in very exposed terrain and conditions, both weather and snow and/or ice. If you do commit to the Schöllijoch it's a good idea to check in with the hut keeper, at either the Topali or Turtmann Hut, about conditions, and be sure to have a good weather forecast for the crossing.

While being an official alpine trail, the Swiss idea of “trail” can be very different than what others, especially Americans, expect. Crossing the Schöllijoch requires an 80 meter descent down an exposed, steep, rock wall to a glacier.

The descent is fitted with cables, ladders and iron rungs that are maintained by the region. The route is well traveled and done fairly frequently. While protected with all the iron work, it is very exposed and a fall would likely be fatal. The Schöllijoch requires movement on rock more like climbing than simply using a ladder. At the bottom of the wall are fixed ropes to pass a bergschrund (a wide gap where the glacier and rock meet). Hand over hand, you make your way down to the glacier. Once on the glacier, it is a low angle cruise downhill for about 600 meters to meet dry ground. The glacier, as of 2024, has no crevasses but depending on conditions, will either be exposed glacial ice (no spikes needed), or a sloppy, snowy descent to dry ground.

Warning: Do not stop at the base of the Schöllijoch descent once you reach the glacier. Move down and away from the rock face to avoid possible rock fall.

While the glacier itself holds no real challenges, crossing it or the Schöllijoch in low visibility, or a storm, could be a bad situation. This is the crux of the tour and should be taken seriously. If you have doubts about your skill level in this type of terrain, consider a guide.

Once you're over the Schöllijoch, a 2000-meter drop separates you from Randa. This is some hard earned terrain that only the most dedicated get to pass through. The prize is that it truly is an extra beautiful, and lonely, piece of the Alps, complete with glaciers hanging above green hillsides, the enormity of the 4505 meter Weisshorn towering above, glacier carved valleys you'll move in and out of, and the expansive views to all the 4000 meter peaks of the Mischabel group. But, you won't be cruising on auto pilot for this descent. While it does have a whole lot of smooth running, it's very long, can be technical, and includes a surprising amount of up. For all these reasons, for many runners this descent is the most memorable of the Via Valais.

*This is Stage 4 of the 6 Stage Option and follows the full Via Valais route.