Walking and skiing in the Val d'Anniviers

by Paul McGuire

The Val d'Anniviers is one of the less well-known valleys in Switzerland, running south from the Rhöne valley at Sierre. The valley is mentioned by Whymper in his 'Scrambles Amongst the Alps', in which he describes staying above Zinal in a 'hovel growing ...out of the hillside... surrounded by quagmires of ordure and dirt of every description.' Fortunately the conditions have improved since then and there are some good hotels and restaurants in the valley.

Lac de Moiry

The valley has three main walking and skiing villages, Grimentz, St Luc and Zinal. All three villages are linked by bus to the central village in the valley, Vissoie, and travelling around the valley on the bus service is easy. The villages are partly traditional in style dating back several hundred years and have retained traces of their quaint charm with a mixture of newer chalets and old hay barns, some of which have been turned into tiny chalets.

As you drive south through the valley you get a glimpse of some of the major peaks that surround it. At the south end, the valley is dominated by a circle of 4000m peaks - the Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Obergabelhorn, Matterhorn and the Dent Blanche - and you see these mountains on many of the walks around the valley. There is a wide variety of walks in the Val d'Anniviers ranging from easy strolls along flattish paths through interesting ascents of 3000m mountains to serious mountaineering objectives.

St Luc is a picturesque village situated at 1650m on a sunny shelf on the east side of the valley. From St Luc you can take the funicular up to 2000m and walk to the Hotel Weisshorn, established in 1891. Or you can walk all the way up from the village on a steep path that follows the river (the "Cascades"). An easy walk from St Luc is to take the path through the woods tp Chandolin, the next village. Mountains that are relatively easy objectives include Touno (3018m) and Bella Tola (3025m). There is also a beautiful footpath from St Luc to Zinal.

Grimentz, which is more developed than St Luc, is situated at 1570 m on the opposite side of the main valley. A side valley runs south from Grimentz to the Lac de Moiry. An easy walk in this area is around the lake, which is often an unbelievable shade of blue. From the Moiry dam a relatively easy walk is to ascend Come de Sorebois (2896m). From there you can descend the other side and walk to Zinal. You can also walk from the south end of the Lac de Moiry to the Cabane de Moiry. Tougher walks include Sasseneire (3253m) from the Moiry dam.

Besso, Obergabelhorn and Matterhorn from Val d'Anniviers
Photos by Paul McGuire

Zinal is located at the south end of the main valley. Walks from the village include the ascent of Roc de la Vache (2581m) and the path to the Cabane du Grand Mountet, a spectacular location surrounded by the 4000m peaks and glaciers.

In addition to the main centres there are several charming smaller villages. Fang, near Vissoie, at the end of a lovely walk down through the forest from St Luc, has an interesting museum of local artefacts. It is also possible to do a 4 day circuit of the valley, starting at Vercorin at its north end (reached by cable car from near Sierre), along a ridge to Grimentz, then over Corne de Sorebois to Zinal, returning to St Luc and back to Vercorin.

In the winter the valley offers varied skiing and over the last 4 or 5 years has become better known to British skiers. Some of the pisted runs are long descents of up to 1300m, such as from the top of the Bella Tola lift to the edge of St Luc village at Prilet and the Lona run, which takes you all the way from the top of the Grimentz ski area down to the village. There are also extensive off piste skiing possibilities.

In addition there are some very enjoyable snowshoe walks either through the woods or above the tree line. For example, the walk from St Luc village through the woods to the Hotel Weisshorn (700 m ascent) is the perfect way to develop an appetite for lunch with a panoramic view at the top, before returning by a different path to the village.

The best time for walking is from July when the snow has melted higher up until the autumn when the larches have turned golden.

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