The Haute Route
The Haute Route, the most famous ski tour in the world, is deserving of its reputation—starting in Chamonix, the heart of French alpinism, it winds for 80 miles and climbs 14,750 feet through the heights of the Pennine Alps, ending in Zermatt, the epicenter of Swiss mountain culture. So when four of skiing’s most influential freeskiers decide to spend nine days on the Haute Route searching for new lines and unexplored zones, they write an impressive chapter in the annals of skiing’s most legendary tour.
Words Maike Hovey
Julien Regnier, Seth Morrison, JP Auclair and I step onto the Grand Montets tram in Chamonix, France. We are a few thousand feet from the top of Mont Blanc, the start of the world’s most famous and classic ski tour, the Haute Route, with three freestyle legends.
There are 10 of us total: along with Regnier, Morrison and Auclair are guides Stephan Dan (Fanfan) and Francois Regis-Thievenet; Poor Boyz Productions cinematographer Tyler Hamlet; photographers Dom Daher and Jeremy Bernard; and porters Bruno Compagnet and myself.
As we board the tram, our group grows. Glen Plake, mohawk and all, is aboard, chatting with Regnier in one corner. Famed Chamonix extreme-skier Andreas Franzen laughs with JP in another. I overhear Regnier tell Plake our plans, and his excited response echoes through the tram, accompanied by nods of approval and respect from the other passengers. He asks if he can join us; we answer yes, obviously…