Trail running
Via Valais Zinal - Turtmann Hut (Stage 6)
Zinal
3/14°
Change your "hellos" into "Tagwohls" as you cross the border between French and German-speaking Switzerland on this sixth, 19-kilometre, uphill leg.
Difficulty
IntermediateLength
21.95 kmDuration
5:10 h
Description
After your night in Zinal, a steep path from the village provides an instant wake-up call. The itinerary follows the famous finish of the Sierre-Zinal mountain race but in the opposite direction. Climb above a larch forest to reach a pleasant, gently sloping single track that takes you to the Tsahélet farm. The path then becomes steeper as it heads for the Forcletta pass, which connects the Zinal and Turtmann valleys. This point is the start of both a change of language and rhythm. After a long ascent, it is now time to start a long descent that takes you to the Turtmannsee before a final ascent to the Turtmann hut at 2,523 m with a stone terrace overlooking the glaciers, the Bishorn, the Weisshorn and other impressive 4,000m peaks in the region.
Turn-by-turn directions
Begin your trip with a steep ascent on the path that leaves from the village of Zinal. At every intersection you come across in Chiesso, Les Virons and Tsahélet respectively, make sure you choose the path heading for the Col de la Forcletta. Once on the other side, continue downhill towards Chalte Berg before reaching Lake Turtmann. To reach the Turtmann hut, follow the path that passes below the hut before the last particularly steep climb that takes you to the goal.
Zinal - Le Chiesso - Les Virons - Tsahélet - Col de la Forcletta - Chalte Berg - Turtmannsee - Turtmann Hut
Start
Zinal (1669m)
Destination
Turtmann Hut (2519m)
Author's recommendation
If you’re lucky, the hut will be serving it’s famous Black Forest Cake, a well-deserved treat after so a lot of uphill.
Technical information
Altitude
2874m
1671m
Ascent
+1783m
Descent
-933m
Technique
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Best time of the year
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Tags
Getting there
Information
Public transport
For the 1st Stage Via Valais : Take the train to Martigny station, then to Le Châble. Take a first gondola lift between Le Châble and Verbier, then a second one from Verbier to Les Ruinettes in order to get to the start of the trail.
Approach
For the 1st Stage Via Valais : Take the A9/E62 motorway to Martigny, then continue on the Grand-Saint-Bernard/route 21 via Sembrancher to Le Châble. It is advisable to use public transport however as this is a multi-leg route that ends in Zermatt.
Parking
For the 1st Stage Via Valais : 240 free parking spaces are available at the Le Châble Aerial Cableway station for a maximum of 10 days.
Source
This activity is brought to you by Valais/Wallis Promotion
