parishioners with whom he had frequent quarrels, and felt severely restricted by the limitations imposed by his valley. Perhaps this was why he climbed Haute Cime alone. According to a letter published in the Journal de Lausanne, he climbed what he termed ‘two central peaks’ on 22 August 1788. Although his description of the climb does not make it easy to identify his ‘two central peaks’, it has long been assumed that the Haute Cime was one of them. ‘The weather was fairly fine,’ he wrote, but despite the quality of the view from the summit, he was apparently not sufficiently inspired to describe it. ‘The time I spent on the top was too short to enable me to give a useful and interesting account of the things which struck me. It would require a second climb, which I shall never make unless with a companion.’ After that he abandoned any desire to climb elsewhere.
The Tour des Dents du Midi (TDM) makes a rewarding trek. Although its full length is only about 42km, the terrain is such that most trekkers take three–four days to complete it. The scenic quality is high, with waterfalls cascading from steep slab walls; there are lakes and pools, and flowery pastures in which it’s possible to study chamois and marmot. Accommodation is in gîtes and both privately owned and SAC huts, and there’s a choice of at least three starting points: i) Champéry in Val d’Illiez, ii) La Doey above Vérossaz on the Rhône valley side of the mountains, reached by postbus from St-Maurice, or iii) Mex which stands above Evionnaz. In this brief summary we begin at Champéry, and tackle the route in a counter-clockwise direction (for information see www.dentsdumidi.ch).
Day 1: Wander upvalley from Champéry to the Cantine de Bonavau at 1550m. Shortly after, cross a stream to join the main path of the TDM which now climbs against steep slabs supporting the Dents de Bonavau (fixed cables and chains), then up the side of a ravine into the rocky groove of Pas d’Encel. Above this lies the small but wildly attractive Susanfe valley, and the SAC-owned Cabane de Susanfe (see above) standing at 2102m, about 3½–4hrs from Champéry.
Day 2: Aiming for the head of the valley among limestone ribs and rocks, this stage then rises over mounds of shale and grit before zigzagging up to the 2494m Col de Susanfe after 1hr. Lying between the Tour Sallière and the 3257m Haute Cime, the col provides an opportunity (given time and favourable conditions) to make the 2–2½hr ascent of the latter peak – allow 1½hrs back to the col. From the col either plunge directly down a steep slope of snow and scree, or follow a vague path down to a rock barrier and along an exposed ledge to join the direct route in a marshy meadowland a short distance from Lac de Salanfe, at the northeast end of which stands the Auberge de Salanfe (see above). This is reached in just 2½hrs from Cabane de Susanfe, or 6hrs including the ascent of the Haute Cime. If the latter has been climbed, then an overnight will be required here, otherwise it would be worth continuing as far as Mex (see below).
Day 3: The continuing route immediately heads for Col du Jorat (2210m) on a spur of the Dent du Salantin, reached in just 45mins from the auberge. From the col you look north down a steep slope, with the Rhône valley seen in the distance. A good path descends across screes and over high pastures, soon gaining views of the Cime de l’Est above to the left, and a little under 3hrs from Salanfe, arrives in Mex, a small huddle of a village at 1118m. Accommodation and refreshments are available at the comfortable Auberge de l’Armailli (www.armailli.ch) which has 18 dormitory places. A mostly woodland walk carries the route beyond Mex and into a combe north of the Cime de l’Est, followed by the ascent of a steep grass slope to the Crêt de Jeur (1555m) and on to the gîte of Alpage de Chindonne at 1604m (79 places in dorms and rooms, open June to end October; tel 024 471 33 96), about 7hrs from Salanfe.
Day 4: This final stage takes the route on a long traverse below the NW Face of the Dents du Midi, with some of the finest views of the whole tour, but with several high points to cross, this is also the most demanding day of all. Passing below hanging glaciers, it cuts into combes and crosses several glacial torrents, and about 3½hrs after leaving Chindonne, arrives at the little privately owned Cabane d’Antème (see above), set just below the Antème lake in a cirque at the foot of the Haute Cime. After crossing the lake’s outflow, the TDM begins a long descent that passes the chalets of Métécoui, and 30mins later comes to a stunning viewpoint from which to study a long-drop waterfall cascading from a ravine below the Susanfe glen. Later, cross the stream below this waterfall at the lowest point of the whole tour, and in another 10mins desert the TDM proper to return to Champéry by way of the Cantine de Bonavau, at the end of a 6–7hr stage.
Reached from Champéry, the Cantine de Bonavau stands just off the Tour des Dents du Midi
1:3 Vallon de Susanfe
Trapped between the western end of the Dents du Midi and the Dents Blanches–Mont Ruan–Tour Sallière wall, the Susanfe basin is a romantically wild mountain sanctuary rimmed with shrinking glaciers whose waters funnel through the Pas d’Encel ravine as the first major tributary of La Vièze, the river that drains the Val d’Illiez. As such it is really part of the Illiez valley system, but it seems so remote from that valley, and so distinctly different, that it deserves to be treated here as a separate entity.
There is no access by road, and apart from the Pas d’Encel route at 1798m, all other cols of entry are well above 2300m and likely to be confused with snow and/or ice until at best early July. Naming from west to east, these are the steep 2395m Col du Sageroux on the frontier ridge between Mont Sageroux and the Tête de Ottans; Col des Ottans at 2496m which forms a link with the former col; the glacial Col de la Tour Sallière (2834m) which offers a way down to Lac d’Emosson; and, easiest of all, the 2494m Col de Susanfe which gives access to the Salanfe basin and is used by trekkers on the Tour des Dents du Midi.
Within the valley, just an hour’s walk away from Col de Susanfe, stands the Cabane de Susanfe in a landscape of rock-and-grass hillocks at 2102m (for details see the Dents du Midi section in 1:2). This well-sited hut is useful as a base for a wealth of expeditions, not least a range of climbs on Mont Ruan which rises to the south, and on the Tour Sallière which forms the glen’s massive southeast cornerstone.
Located between Mont Ruan and the Dents du Midi, Cabane de Susanfe makes a useful base
Although by no means the highest peak in the district, the handsome 3057m
