which rises steadily from one natural step to the next until rolling grassland gives way to more savage terrain. And there, above the trail to the right, stands Refuge de Péclet-Polset.
South of the refuge stony mounds and scree-runnels, hollows and boulder tips make an uncompromising scene. But there are also poor patches of grass and a few small pools to brighten an otherwise drab landscape. Col de Chavière is reached in less than an hour and a half from the hut. A narrow saddle in a sharp crest of stone, it is without question the finest true col on the Tour of the Vanoise. Marked by a large cairn, both sides plunge steeply to scree and rock, and on the proverbial clear day views are impressive. To the north-east Mont Blanc can be seen, while to the south-west Mont Thabor and major summits of the Écrins massif swell against the horizon.
Descending scree at first, the southern side of the col soon leads to a choice of routes. One leads down the right-hand side of the Tête Noir’s dividing bluff into the glen drained by the Ruisseau de St Bernard, the other traces the east flank of Tête Noir before dropping steeply to Refuge de l’Orgère. Both routes combine in forest to the south and descend directly to Modane in the Maurienne.
To summarise, the Tour of the Vanoise makes a very fine circuit; not too demanding but scenically delightful throughout. Accommodation is plentiful, trails good, waymarks sufficient without being intrusive. But as the Vanoise National Park is extremely popular during the main summer season, walkers intending to tackle this route, especially from mid-July to mid-August, are advised at least to telephone ahead to reserve places in mountain huts. Note that snow often lies across some of the higher trails well into July, and caution is then advised.
| Day 1: | Modane – Refuge de l’Orgère |
| Day 2: | Refuge de l’Orgère – Col du Barbier – Refuge du Plan Sec |
| Day 3: | Refuge du Plan Sec – Refuge de l’Arpont |
| Day 4: | Refuge de l’Arpont – Refuge du Plan du Lac |
| Day 5: | Refuge du Plan du Lac – Turra de Termignon – Refuge du Vallonbrun |
| Day 6: | Refuge du Vallonbrun – Bessans – Le Villaron – Bonneval-sur-Arc |
| Day 7: | Bonneval-sur-Arc – Col de l’Iseran – Val d’Isère |
| Day 8: | Val d’Isère – Pas de la Tovière – Col de la Leisse – Refuge de la Leisse |
| Day 9: | Refuge de la Leisse – Col de la Vanoise – Pralognan |
| or: | Refuge de la Leisse – Refuge de la Femma – Refuge d’Entre Deux Eaux |
| Day 9a: | Refuge d’Entre Deux Eaux – Col de la Vanoise – Pralognan |
| Day 10: | Pralognan – Refuge de Péclet-Polset |
| or: | Pralognan – Col de Chavière – Refuge de l’Orgère |
| Day 11: | Refuge de Péclet-Polset – Col de Chavière – Modane |
The Eastern Graians
To all intents and purposes the Eastern Graians mean the Gran Paradiso and its national park, a rewarding area that comprises a substantial block of crystalline mountains lying south of the Valle d’Aosta across which glorious visions of Mont Blanc, Grand Combin and assorted giants of the Pennine Alps are revealed to the fortunate wanderer.
The Gran Paradiso National Park boasts no less than 57 glaciers and dozens of peaks in excess of 3000 metres, while the mountain after which it is named is, at 4061 metres, the highest entirely in Italy and, incidentally, generally reckoned to be the easiest to climb of all Alpine 4000ers. Created in 1922 the Gran Paradiso was the country’s first national park, a landmark in the protection of wildlife in general and the ibex in particular. Formerly a royal hunting ground for Vittorio Emanuel II, some 2000 hectares were ceded to the State in 1919 by one of the hunter king’s successors, and since the park’s inception three years later the area has expanded to include some 70,000 hectares, or more than 700 square kilometres. Within the park’s boundaries roam 5000 ibex, around 8000 chamois and 10,000 marmots, so it will be a rare summer day’s walking here that fails to conjure sightings of wildlife.
The range spreads eastward from the French border to the southern curve of Valle d’Aosta where the Dora Baltea sweeps out of the mountains toward the Po, its northern limit being defined by the Valle d’Aosta itself where French has been the official language since 1561, its southern by the Valle di Susa dominated by Turin. This is a sizeable chunk of country, but so far as this chapter is concerned we will concentrate only on the central block, and the four main valleys on the northern side. Naming from west to east these are Val Grisenche, Val di Rhêmes, Val Savarenche and the Valle di Cogne with its lovely tributary glen, Valnontey. Of these, only Val Grisenche lies outside the national park’s boundary. The southern valleys may be less popular, the scenery not quite so dramatic as on the northern side, but the landscape is somewhat wilder and with trails that one could enjoy in peaceful isolation from the crowds.
Naturally Valle d’Aosta holds the key to all vehicular approach from the northern side of the mountains, with public transport focused on the old Roman town of Aosta itself, athough it must be said that some of the bus services to more remote areas are either greatly reduced or suspended outside the high summer months of July and August. Mid-summer is exceedingly popular in the honeypot areas, and trails and huts can be uncomfortably crowded. However, in June and September it’s easy enough to find routes to wander in solitude, when the true delights of the area can be properly absorbed, although as in most regions of the high Alps snow conditions may prevent some of the loftier routes from being tackled until late June or early July.
Hotels, campsites, mountain huts and a number of bivouac shelters on the northern side of the ridge that divides the autonomous region of Valle d’Aosta from Piedmont, provide a range of accommodation to suit most tastes. With some 450 kilometres of footpaths to choose from it will be seen that countless permutations of walks exist to suit activists of every persuasion. Trails are in the main clearly defined with waymarks and occasional signposts, including a number of old mule-tracks created for Vittorio Emanuel’s hunting parties, and two multi-day routes marked on the map suggest ways of exploring the region in the best possible manner. The first of these is the Grande Traversata del Gran Paradiso (GTGP) which, after crossing dividing ridges on the northern side, then makes a high-level traverse of the southern flanks; the second is the Alta Via della Valle d’Aosta No 2, making an eastbound traverse from La Thuile below the Col du Petit St Bernard to Champorcher. (Alta Via No 1, the so-called ‘Giants’ Trail’, makes a traverse of the mountains north of Valle d’Aosta and is mentioned in the Pennine Alps chapter.)
In the following pages an outline of both long routes will be provided, following a study of walking prospects in the four north-flowing valleys, beginning first with Val Grisenche.
Val Grisenche
Flowing roughly parallel with the Franco– Italian border, this is the least-visited of the four valleys; partly because it lies outside the national park’s boundary and therefore receives less publicity than the others, partly because it is farther away from Aosta than any of its neighbours and partly, no doubt, because it has the least amount of accommodation available to the visitor. Among its scattered hamlets not one amounts to anything resembling a resort, and the road that climbs into the glen is rather tortuous and narrow, managing to veil its true nature until the traveller has made his commitment to enter. However, Val Grisenche is not without its charms, either in scenic values or walking possibilities, and prospective visitors