New Haute Route Speed Traverse Record

Just recently, French skiers Laurent Fabre and Yann Gachet, beat the previous speed traverse record on the Haute Route.  The speed traverse route starts in Chamonix and finishes in Zermatt.  In 2008 Stephane Brosse and Lionel Bonnel completed the traverse, for the first time in a day, in 21 hours 11 minutes.  And now Fabre and Gachet have just taken the new record completing the traverse in 20 hours, 28 minutes, 5 seconds.  


Originally three skiers to start, Anthony Frassard abandoned in the afternoon, with Fabre and Gachet continuing.  To make the trip harder, they were forced to break trail through large amounts of new snow, and still make it!   These race style efforts truly are the sharp end of where ski mountaineering is heading.  Light and fast efforts, over vast amounts of terrain, with monstrous amounts of elevation gain and loss.  With efforts like these it shows that we haven't yet scratched the surface of what is possible on skis yet.  Well done gentleman.  (Photo Left:  The three at the start in Chamonix Credit:  Lindsay Meyer the Examiner news)


For more info check out the Examiner's article here, and skimo.org's here.