tdiddy23

Hi everyone,

I can't seem to find a reliable way to transfer luggage from Chamonix to Zermatt while hiking the walker's haute route.
I have contacted several hiking agencies that offer this service on their website, but all have refused to take 1 suitcase for an independent hiker. I' m assuming someone has run into this problem before, were you able to find a company to take the luggage?

I have considered the regular post, however because it is international it is more expensive than say posting from Geneva as I'm sure many do. Also, the post office in Chamonix appears to be closed Sunday the day we are to depart.

Should we post it on a Saturday from Lyon?

any tips would be appreciated!

neckervd

http://www.post.ch/en/post-startseit...land-paket.htm
There is a Swiss Post Office at Finhaut railway station, open from 8.30 until noon and from 13.30 until 17.30. Tel. 0848 888 888
Finhaut is 24 km north of Chamonix (1 hr by train if they are no works along the railway line).

neckervd

If you go by train from Lyon to Chamonix, you may travel via Annemasse and go from there to the Swiss Post Offfice of Thonex, open Saturday until 3pm and then back to Annemasse in order to board a later train.

BTW: all Swiss Post offics are closed on August 1st, that of Finhaut on August 15th too.

tdiddy23

thanks for the help!

I'm now considering taking an early train from Lyon to Geneva; posting it there somehow, and then using a charter service to get to Chamonix. I'm thinking this may save us a bit of time as the train from Lyon-Chamonix was 4 hours. However, when I search the swiss post website, it doesn't seem the post office in central Geneva or at the airport is open on Sundays? I guess I could always buy a rail ticket to Zermatt and put the luggage on that.

If we don't get there before early afternoon we will lose a day of hiking and through off the whole schedule.

the other option that I had thought of was having a rental car to get these things done faster, but I cannot seem to find a provider who will rent a car one-way drop off in Chamonix.

tdiddy23

actually on second look Finhaut may be the best option...

its only 10km north of Trient, one of the stops on the haute route, so we wouldn't lose any time

thanks again

BiarritzTaxi

There is only one hire car company in Chamonix - Europcar. If you hire a car in Lyon (I assume that is where you are flying into) then you should be able to hire from Europcar there and drop it in Chamonix.

Most shops and businesses will be closed on Sundays most likely including the Europcar office.

There are several transfer companies in Chamonix that will transfer you directly and luggage separately but it won't be cheap.

Bear in mind that if you are thinking of getting the train to Finhaut there are currently works on the line between Saint Gervais and Chamonix and then between Montroc and Chatelard. More info; http://www.tmrsa.ch

tdiddy23

Thanks for your reply. Yes I see Europcar does have a station there (not sure why it hadn't shown up for me before, maybe because its closed on my drop off day). I'm sure they would have an overnight drop-off type setup.

Good tip about the train line work, maybe the extra $$ for rental car would be worth it.

last question on this... I called SBB and spoke with someone from customer relations. She told me that for 20 CHF I could put the suitcase on the train from Chamonix to Zermatt. I confirmed that this was a french rail station, and that the suitcase would cross the border and she said it wasn't an issue. This seems to good to be true? Is it really that simple?

I guess I could go with this, and if she is wrong just drive back from Zermatt after and pick it up from a left locker... although would really ruin my plans of driving to bernese oberland that day.

xanthippe

We recently sent two suitcases from the train station in Wengen to the train station at the airport in Geneva -- for 12 CHF each. The price would have been higher (double, I think) if we had wanted next day delivery, but two days was fine for us. The price might have been that cheap because we had train tickets for that journey for ourselves. Our cases were waiting for us in Geneva.

BiarritzTaxi

The border wouldn't be an issue but the fact that the suitcase will have to be taken on and off several different vehicles on its way from Chamonix to Zermatt would worry me.

neckervd

If you prefer Bernese Oberland to Zermatt, you may just hike from Hotel Weisshorn to Tignousa - Illpass - Illsee - Meschlen - Pletschen - Leuk - Albinen - Leukerbad - Gemmipass - Kandersteg - Bluemlisalp Hut - Gspaltenhorn Hut - Sefinafurgga - Muerren instead of - Meiden/Gruben - St. Niklaus - Europaweg - Zermatt.

Difference between Zermatt area and Grindelwald area:

Zermatt is IN THE MIDDLE of the highest mountains of Switzerland, 32 of them are more than 4000m high:
Zinalrothorn (4221m), Obergabelhorn (4063m), Dent Blanche (4357m) in the West
Dent d'Herens (4174m), Matterhorn (4478m) in the South West
Breithorn (4164m), Gendarme (4106m), Roccia Nera (4075m), Polluce (4092m), Castore (4223m), Felikhorn (4063m) in the South
Lyskamm (4527m), Ludwigshoehe (4341m), Parrotspitze (4432m), Signalkuppe (4554m), Zumsteinspitze (4563m), Punta Dufour (4634m), Nordend (4609m) in the South East
Strahlhorn (4190m), Rimpfischhorn (4200m, Allalinhorn (4027m), Alphubel (4206m) in the East
Taeschhorn (4491m), Dom (4545m), Lenzspitze (4294m), Nadelhorn (4327m), Stecknadelhorn (4341m), Hohberglihorn (4219m), Dirruhorn (4035m) in the North East
Bishorn (4153m), Grand Gendarme (4331m), Weisshorn (4506m) in the North West

The following 17 glaciers can easily (on signmarked trails, without pick or rope) be reached on foot from Zermatt village by experienced hikers:
Schaligletscher (Weisshorn Hut trail)
Hohlichtgletscher (Mettelhorn trail)
Triftgletscher (Rothorn Hut trail)
Schoenbielgletscher (Schoenbiel Hut trail)
Zmuttgletscher (Schoenbiel Hut trail)
Matterhorngletscher (Hoernli Hut trail)
Furggletscher (Furggsee trail)
Theodulgletscher (Gandegg Hut trail)
Gornergletscher (Monte Rosa Hut trail)
Grenzgletscher (Monte Rosa Hut trail)
Monte Rosa Gletscher (Monte Rosa Hut trail)
Triftjigletscher (Stockhorn trail)
Findelngletscher (Fluhalp trail)
Laengfluhgletscher (Fluhalp trail)
Alphubelgletscher (Taesch Hut trail)
Weingartengletscher (Weingartensee trail)
Festigletscher (Dom Hut trail)
Another glacier (Breithornplateau, 3800m) can only be reached by gondola.

Wengen/Grindelwald are on the NORTHERN SLOPES of the Alps. The 6 (more than 4000m) high mountains of this area are all in the South of Wengen/Grindelwald:
Schreckhorn (4078m), Lauteraarhorn (4042m), Finsteraarhorn (4274m), Fiescherhoerner (4049m), Moench (4107m), Jungfrau (4158m).

The following 4 glaciers can easily (on signmarked trails, without pick or rope) be reached on foot from Grindelwald village by experienced hikers:
Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher (Gleckstein Hut trail)
Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher (Schreckhorn Hut trail)
Eismeer (Schreckhorn Hut trail)
Guggigletscher (Guggi Hut trail, begins at Eigergletscher railway station)
4 other glaciers can be reached from Stechelberg bus stop
Another glacier (Jungfraufirn, 3800m) can only be reached by Jungfrau railway (return fare about 150 USD).

tdiddy23

if anyone else is reading this for future reference, the sncf proved to be quite unhelpful in delivering the luggage. It turns out that the sncf from chamonix actually contracts out the luggage transfer to a private company (who do not open on Sunday despite what i was told over the phone)

so if you want to do this luggage transfer you either have to pay a taxi driver, drop it off at a train station in Switzerland or hope that one of the local hiking tour groups can accommodate you (no were able to in my case)

so we ended up just leaving the luggage in chamonix (in a hotel beside train station). we drove back in a rental car after the hike, it was only about 1.5 hrs out of the way, so in retrospect should have just planned that from the beginning rather then searching around for a solution