Meidpass: From St. Luc to Gruben in Valais

Location: St. Luc, Val d'Anniviers, Canton Valais

Distance: 10km /6 miles one way

Duration: 5-6 hours

From French to German on the Haute Route

This beautiful pass is a less-frequented alternative on the Haute Route. But since most Haute Route hikers tend to stay higher up in the Val d'Anniviers and cross at the Forcletta Pass, the Meidpass is often overlooked. Too bad-because it's a more appealing pass in many ways, and offers several scenic lakes and commanding views along the way. This hike can be done as a one way hike from St. Luc to Gruben (in either direction) or as an out-and-back from St. Luc to the Meidsee and returning to St. Luc.

Leaving St. Luc

You can begin from the Le Prillet area of St Luc and along the waterfall, adding about an hour to your hike on a beautiful ascent through the forest. Alternatively you can take the quick-start option by taking the funicular from St. Luc to Tignousa, putting you at a starting point right at the treeline.

Planet Trail

As you depart the Tignousa funicular station, following the signs pointing south in the direction of the Meidpass, you'll also taking a virtual tour of the solar system along the Planet Trail, a 6-km long interpretive trail that leads up to the Hotel Weisshorn and has scale models of the planets positioned at correct intervals all along the way. The Planet Trail is a part of the Francois Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Observatory which you'll see on the hillside above.

To ascend the Meidpass you can follow the trail leading up the hillside to the east behind the Chalet Blanc dairy or continue on the roadway for another kilometer and take a well-marked and more widely-used trail than ascends along a mountain stream. This pleasant ascent soon arrives at the Lac de l'Armina at 2562m/8405 ft. From here the pass--at 2790m/9153 ft, one of the lower and easier Haute Route passes--is just ahead.

Descent to Turtmantal and Gruben

At the pass you can drop your French and start speaking German, since the Turtmantal residents to the east are German speaking. At the saddle of the stony pass, with the Meidspitz to the north and the Pigne de Combavert on the south you'll have views to the west that include Mont Blanc de Chelion, the Grand Combin, and even Mont Blanc in France.

From the pass you have many options, including a return to St. Luc, or descending to the Meidsee below and then on to the seasonal hamlet of Grüben. If you want to prolong your time in the mountains, you might want to consider a stay at the restored Hotel Weisshorn, a Belle Apoque treasure with commanding views of the Rhône Valley or the Cabane Bella Tola, with a more Spartan standard of accommodation but equally superb views.

This hike is featured on Alpenwild's Deluxe Haute Route, and Chamonix - Zermatt Haute Route trips.