Hiking the Tour de Monte Rosa, High Route & GR5 to Geneva

During the previous Alp walk, we became aware of the Tour de Monte Rosa - a walk around the Monte Rosa Massiff, and decided to couple it with the Walkers High Route from Chamonix to Zermatt, and add on a section of the GR5 to Lake Geneva.  The question them became in which order to do the walk and that was soon solved when a little research revealed the high mountain passes of the Monte Rosa had to be done in mid summer.  

And so it was that our trip was delayed until August instead of June.  We also decided to walk the circuit in reverse, avoiding a 3,300 metre climb on the first day, which then followed that we needed to hike the Walkers High Route in reverse from Zermatt to Chamonix.  

The Cicerone walking books Tour of Monte Rosa by Hilary Sharp, Chamonix to Zermatt (The Walker's High Route) by Kev Reynolds and The GR5 Trail by Paddy Dillon were invaluable in planning the walk as they give a detailed account of the walks together with suggested alternatives.  I used these books to help map out a route, making my own adjustments along the way. You will see in the planned itinerary, that each day lists the route description with a few accommodation possibilities -all of which can be changed if needed.One week before our trip began I booked all accommodation for the first 10 days around the tour de Monte Rosa - the busiest time of the year.