Chamonix → Matterhorn

25–28 Sept 2026 · 13 people · Praha out and back · everything on foot, zero lifts

13people
1 980km driving
2 700m ascent
3 096m high point
10–11 hlongest day
01

Day 1 of 4

25Fri · Praha → Argentière984 km
06:30D5 → Nürnberg, then A6/A8 west toward Karlsruhe. Fuel up in Czechia.
~13:30Down the A5 past Freiburg and into Switzerland at Basel. Vignette already on the car.
~15:30Bern → Vevey → Martigny. Driver swap.
~19:00Arrive. Sunset 19:25 — pitch fast.
Buy food at the Migros in Martigny — open until 20:00, right off the motorway.
02

Day 2 of 4

26Sat · Vallorcine — Mont Buet19.8 km · +1 730 m · 3 096 m
06:00Breakfast, packed — this day needs the daylight.
06:30Drive to Le Buet, 6.5 km, ~10 min. Parking du Buet, €5 a car for the day — the path starts a few minutes’ walk away.
07:00Walking from Le Buet, 1 330 m, up the Bérard valley.
~07:40Cascade de Bérard. Forest, then the valley opens out.
~09:15Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard, 1 924 m. Likely shut for the season — carry all your water from camp, 2½–3 L each.
~11:00The boulder field, marked with white poles, then very short, steep zigzags up to the ridge. Spread out, poles in hand, nobody standing below someone on the blocks.
~12:30Mont Buet, 3 096 m. Mont Blanc massif front to back. Old hard snow can sit just below the top — walk round it on rock, or use microspikes if you have them.
13:00Hard turn-back, on the summit or not.
~15:00Back past the refuge. 1 766 m of descent; poles.
~17:30Le Buet. Drive back by way of Marché U in Argentière — open until 19:30, and buy for Sunday too — then camp.
21:00Sleep. Alarm 04:00.
10–11 h for thirteen against komoot’s 8 h 07 for one fit hiker, so the 13:00 turn-back is the whole plan — sunset is 19:22 and there is no hut to wait in. It is out and back, and that is the safety valve: anyone slower can turn round at any point and walk down to Le Buet, in pairs agreed at the car park, never alone. Send a driver down with the first pair back, so their car can leave and nobody sits for hours waiting on a key. Picked on the 23 Sept forecast: clear and dry, gusts around 25 km/h on top, 1–9 °C and feeling like −3 early, and no snowfall at 3 096 m in 45 days.
03

Day 3 of 4

27Sun · Zermatt — the 5 lakes15.1 km · +970 m · 2 560 m
05:30Depart → Täsch.
08:12Shuttle to Zermatt. On foot from the Sunnegga valley station, 1 610 m.
~12:30Blauherd, 2 571 m. The top of a long climb — ~950 m, most of the day’s work.
~13:00Stellisee, 2 537 m. The reflection shot — at lunchtime rather than mid-morning, so it needs a calm day.
~13:15Grindjisee below the path — larches, the quiet one.
~14:15Moosjisee and Leisee, above Sunnegga.
~14:45Findeln, the hamlet. Then down through the larch forest.
~16:15Zermatt. Shuttle to Täsch — every 20 min — then 4 min to camp.
~17:00Camp. Check in before the office shuts at 19:00, tents up, then RandaBoulder at 19:45.
Komoot’s 6 h 24 is for one fit hiker — about 7½–8 h for thirteen, which is what the times above assume. It is komoot’s own loop from the Sunnegga valley station, all on foot, and it skips Grünsee, the one lake of the five that is off this line. The lifts are plan B after Mont Buet: the loop runs right past the Blauherd gondola, and Blauherd runs until 4 Oct and Sunnegga until 11 Oct, so both are open on the 27th. Ride up and it becomes a half day, at a cost per head for thirteen.
04

Day 4 of 4

28Mon · Randa → Praha862 km
06:30Visp → Bern → Basel → Nürnberg → Plzeň.
~18:30Home. 10 h driving, ~12 h with stops.
01

Hikes

RouteDistAscentTimeHigh
Mont Buet via Vallorcine ↗Chamonix · Sat · HardSaturday’s route. Out and back from the car park at Le Buet, ten minutes’ drive from camp. 10–11 h for thirteen.19.8 km+1 730 m8 h 073 096 m
5 Lakes Trail — loop from Zermatt ↗Zermatt · Sun · HardSunday’s route. All on foot from the Sunnegga valley station, back down through Findeln. Skips Grünsee.15.1 km+970 m6 h 242 560 m

Komoot times are for one fit hiker. Thirteen people regrouping, eating and queueing adds 20–30% — that is what turns Mont Buet’s 8 h into 10–11 h. Routes picked on 23 Sept from the forecast: a dry weekend with the freezing level around 4 000 m. Mont Buet takes the clearest, calmest day, and the 5 lakes follow on legs that have just done 1 766 m of descent.

02

Pins & parking

StopWhereCost
FriPraha → Argentière · 984 km—Route ↗
Fri shopMigros Quartz Center, Martigny
Food for Friday night and Saturday, and where the cars regroup before the pass. Off the A9 at Martigny-Fully, 300+ spaces, open until 20:00.		—Pin ↗
Camp 1Camping Glacier d'Argentière
€311 + €14 electricity · €25 each		€325Pin ↗
Sat hikeParking du Buet
10 min from camp. First 2 h free, then €5 a car for the day. Fills by mid-morning in summer — be parked by 06:45.		€5/carPin ↗
Sat shopMarché U, Argentière
On the way back from Le Buet, open until 19:30. Buy for Sunday too — Swiss shops are shut on Sundays.		—Pin ↗
SunArgentière → Täsch · 136 km
About 2 h. Leave at 05:30 for the 08:12 shuttle.		—Route ↗
Sun hikeMatterhorn Terminal Täsch
CHF 11 in the garage over the road		CHF 16/carPin ↗
Camp 2Camping Attermenzen, Randa
CHF 24 each · cash only, CHF or EUR · no reservations · check-in 08:00–19:00		CHF 305Pin ↗
MonRanda → Praha · 862 km—Route ↗

Trail maps: SwissTopo (the 5 lakes) · IGN (Mont Buet).

Convoy · 13 people, 3–4 cars

  • Swiss vignette is CHF 40 per car, not per group. Every car needs its own before the border — buy them all at once on via.admin.ch.
  • Don’t drive in convoy. Over 980 km you will separate at the first services. Agree fuel stops and regroup at the Migros in Martigny instead, and put one person from each car in a group chat.
  • Saturday, drive to Le Buet. It is 6.5 km and about ten minutes from camp, and the car park is a few minutes’ walk from the path — €5 a car for the day. It fills by mid-morning in summer, so be parked by 06:45. There may be temporary traffic lights for roadworks on the RD1506; allow a few extra minutes.
  • Sunday, Täsch is CHF 16 per car per day. Split the cars across both garages if the main one is full — the one over the road is CHF 11.
  • Email RandaBoulder before you book 13 entries. It’s 250 m² across two floors and unstaffed; a group that size needs warning, and possibly a slot.
03

Pack

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Hiking

Clothes

Camping

Essentials

Boulder

Car & docs

04

Before you go

DoWhen
Book Argentière, 2 nights — season ends 30 SeptNow
Book Attermenzen, 1 nightNow
Swiss e-vignette — CHF 40 × every car, via.admin.chNow
Email RandaBoulder — 13 entries, unstaffed hallNow
Name a route leader and a sweep — the group stays togetherBefore you go
Agree both turn-back times — 13:00 on Mont Buet, 13:00 at SchwarzseeBefore you go
Forecast + snow line — pick the hikes — Météo-France montagne, SLF for the Swiss side1 week out
Re-check forecast + webcams3 days out
Who owes whomSettle upWhat to buy54 items