Our first and second days see us pass below the highest mountain in the Vanoise, the Grand Casse (3855 m). Should have bought two.My anti-clockwise route was to take me up the hill and along the eastern side of the range, round the north and then a high circuit before crossing two cols.This was a day of two halves, as the football guys say. You can book them through the PNV website, (• The huts do splendid picnics, especially if you like couscous. The climb to the first, the Grand du Grand Marchet at 2500m, was a good stern test, especially lower down when it used cables and ladders to cross expanses of steep and bare rock. The Glaciers de la Vanoise is a short trek around a high and glaciated range, almost a plateau, of peaks, the highest of which are the Dôme de l’Arpent and the Dôme de Chasseforêt (3586m). I carried microspike crampons, and used them once, on the final day.• Huts are open mid-June to mid-September. Probably one of the most impressive crossroads highways in the whole of the Alps, five major routes meet here, all of which are great routes, either exploring high valleys or traversing steep mountains. All are much needed as it fills a crucial spot, with other refuges several hours each way, and as a jumping off point for glacier routes it’s a busy place on summer weekends.Here I met up with the group of three I had passed on the first climb, not French at all but more Israelis exploring the range. A few ideas for climbs in the Vanoise area: - Le Mont Pourri 3779 metres - Le Dome des Glaciers 3592 metres jusqu’au refuge de la Dent Parrachée (nuit). Not well known compared with Mont Blanc, maybe, but still wonderful mountains.The Tour des Glaciers isn’t an official trail: it follows existing paths, including the GR5 and GR55 routes through the Vanoise to achieve its circuit. It also provides the greatest flexibility for a short or long trek. Un voyage de 6 jours en liberté où vous apprécierez le territoire sauvage et préservé du premier parc national de France, les hébergements co Sunrise, as you prepare to depart in the glow of your headlamp, the rhythmic clicking of the karabiners as you advance, the crunching of your crampons biting into snow hardened by the chill night air, the pure delight of looking out from the summit at an unsurpassable view of the mountains, the contentment of arriving back down in the valley after a perfect day, mountaineering can’t be beaten.Whatever your desires or your level, the skill and experience of your guide will enable him to ensure your safety and to provide you with the means of surpassing yourself, whether during a one-day outing or with a longer immersion course with nights spent in mountain huts or bivouacs.This is the type of unique experience that remains etched in your memory for a lifetime!Price: to be defined with the guide depending on the itinerary and the programme envisaged. Stretching over 53,000 hectares, this park is divided into two parts: a central area in the heart of the massif for ramblers and skiers only, and an outlying area grouping together the prestigious ski resorts of the Tarentaise area, as well as typical villages. Now the glimpses are more tantalising than overt. An IT and systems manager, he was a solid walker whose list of alpine treks was impressive. I was determined to hold my pace, not to stop, so it was a happy ‘bonjour’ and on and up as the trail steepened. Montée vers le refuge du Col de la Vanoise en marchant dans 40cm de neige ! Keeping us company on our trek is the Glacier de la Vanoise, a constant companion reminding us we are in the high mountains. It will be fully described in the new edition of the Wedged between Mont Blanc and the Massif des Écrins in Savoie, southeast of Chambéry and close to the Italian border, the With good reason the Vanoise has been described in its Alpine context as ‘a diamond in a necklace already hung with pearls’.The good news is that there is little late snow in this area and further south, so trekkers in these areas shouldn’t need to carry crampons or an axe. A helmet, an ice ax, a rope and a pair of crampons You are ready to discover the glaciers. On previous trips I had come and gone as quickly as possible, but a 6pm arrival meant I needed to stay in town at a small hotel near the station. Following a scenic route far above the valley, this hike offers great views and a direct proximity to the high mountains and their glaciers. Jour 2 : Du refuge, continuer le sentier balcon au dessus de la vallée de la Maurienne ( vue superbe !) The views south to Thabor and the whole of the Ecrins range were great but clouds were starting to gather, so it was time for second breakfast before the long descent of 1000m back to L’Orgère, a lunch of food not seen for several days (omelette and salad – green food!) RDV avec votre guide au refuge du Col de la Vanoise que l’on rejoint en 2h 30 à partir du parking des Fontanettes à Pralognan la Vanoise.
The hike around the Vanoise glaciers is a classic week long hiking trail that can be started in the Haute-Maurienne. But at night the trains were gone, the traffic fell away and the people came out and, surprise, Modane was a proper French town again. Du col, traversée jusqu’au refuge de l’Arpont (nuit). I just got back from a quick few days in late June in the Vanoise National Park, south of Mont Blanc, walking the Tour des Glaciers. The Vanoise massif is a mountain range of the Graian Alps, located in the Western Alps.After the Mont Blanc Massif and the Massif des Écrins it is the third highest massif in France, reaching a height of 3,885 m at the summit of Grande Casse.It lies between Tarentaise Valley to the north and the Maurienne valley in the south.