Verbier to Cabane de Louvie

Now our adventure really starts. This is the first night we got to stay in a Cabane, more on that later. We would go three days with no luggage so our bags were heavier. We were going into the back country. We would not see very many towns or people. The next three days were rugged. They were filled with lots of Alpine hiking, very similar to Utah actually. So many mountain passes (Cols) and so much beauty. This day started off cloudy and with the constant threat of rain. Never a good way to start the day. We rode the gondola up a steep hill above Verbier where we started hiking. Between the bus and the gondola we missed a lot of uphill. I am a little sad about that but we didn't have the days to do it. We took one day to do what usually takes two. One last goodbye to Verbier after stepping off the gondola.

 A selfie.

 The clouds were very threatening.

 A hiking selfie, but really those mountain are AMAZING!

 Sometimes these signs were very confusing. Just thought I would throw that out there.

 Man the views we got to see on this day were indescribable. You just couldn't capture how grand it truly is with a camera phone, but obviously you try to.

We made it to the Cabane du Mt. Fort just before the lightning and rain, only two miles into our hike. We ended up taking about an hour break to wait out the storm. At this point we were above the tree line and were completely exposed. Not a good feeling when lightning is involved. I did that in the Tetons once and it was one of the few times in my life I thought hey I might die. Definitely wasn't putting myself in that situation again.

The rest was good because there were two trail options and I was having a hard time deciding which was best for our needs. I always wanted to just ask for advice but because of the language barrier I was not willing to just let others decide for me. The language barrier had caused some problems on day one and I didn't want those again. I got frustrated for a little bit but once I started hiking I was able to let it go. You can't be too mad when you have these views.

 Shortly after we started hiking again I rolled my ankle and tried to fall off of the side of the mountain. Seriously???? Not my favorite moment of the trip. It was a pretty bad roll because I fell but in the middle of nowhere there aren't a lot of options. I tightened up my shoelaces and limped for a little while until it started to feel better. This right ankle has given me some fits this summer. It was swollen and bruised by the time we finished hiking. And as a side note my heel is nasty. It got this weird blister/callous while hiking Timpanogos in June and it is UGLY. I feel like it might not ever be normal again. 

 The views helped take my mind off my frustrations.

 We made it to the col Termin and got to look at the Italian Alps as well as the Swiss Alps.

This was a beautiful place to look at some mountains.

The top one was the original and the bottom was all I could fit into my instagram square. As you can see it was missing some greatness.

Views from the Col Termin.

 So many mountains, I will probably say that a lot.

 Again I had to make a trail choice. There was a steep shorter route or a longer more gradual route. The more gradual route we would have to repeat the next day. Hard decisions. I chose the more gradual route and I can say it wasn't really that gradual of a descent so I am glad I went with that one.

Once we started our decent we rounded the corner and got the first view of our Cabane. The Cabane de Louvie. It's a little hard to see in this picture. Still over an hour away on foot but it's down there.

  A little closer. The anticipation is killing me.

Little hike across the meadow and we are done.

 Last one of the cabane I promise, but man it's such a great view. Those are the Italian Alps in the background.

 Finally done and soaking up the views. Looking to the back of the cabane.

The view from the front porch of the cabane.

This cabane is not on the actual Haute Route but our tour planner had us stop here because it is absolutely amazing. These were truly some of the best views I enjoyed on the entire trip.

So a cabane is a little mountain cabin. There are multiple rooms with beds. Showers for a small fee. A little mat to sleep on. They sleep a lot of people and are very nice, considering the alternative in the middle of nowhere is hauling a tent. They open one room at a time. You get put in the room based on the order of your arrival. Once that room is full they unlock another room. The bathrooms are all co-ed as are the sleeping arrangements. We came in and were the first ones to open a new room so we got to pick where to sleep. That really was fortunate. Here is a panarama of our room.

I think the last of our sleeping mates arrived at like 1am. Every bed ended up being used. It was quite stuffy. It wasn't the best nights sleep but it was way better then a tent. They also feed you dinner and breakfast as well as have refreshments for purchase. Overall it was a fun thing to experience and the location was perfect.