the Vieux Emosson refuge.
Day 3: Much of this day is spent working towards the head of the Giffre valley blocked by the Dents Blanche–Mont Ruan wall, and with the huge Tenneverge ridge which carries the Franco-Swiss border, soaring 1900m above to the right. A 1000m descent takes you down to the valley, at first on limestone, then through meadows lavish with flowers in early summer. Crossing the valley in its upper reaches near the Chalets du Boret, the way then climbs a little over 500m to gain the CAF-owned Refuge de la Vogealle at 1901m.
Day 4: The final stage of the Tour du Ruan returns to Switzerland at the 2395m Col de Sageroux, about 1½hrs above the hut, then cuts along the ridge heading east over the Tête des Ottans to Col des Ottans, which is 100m higher than Sageroux, and from where you descend steeply (caution required) into the Vallon de Susanfe. From Cabane de Susanfe head upvalley, cross Col de Susanfe and make the descent into the Salanfe basin to complete the circuit at Auberge de Salanfe at the end of a 6½hr day.
Mont Ruan and the Tour Sallière, seen from the Pas d’Encel
Clouds hang low over Lac d’Emosson
Lacs d’Emosson
In common with the St Bernard Express (see Chapter 2) the Mont Blanc Express which begins in Martigny must be one of Europe’s slowest ‘express’ trains. Grinding slowly along the left bank of the Gorges du Trient it has a station at Finhaut, an unpretentious resort whose buildings appear to cascade down the steep hillside. The tourist office is located at the railway station (www.finhaut.ch) at the lower end of the village which has a modest number of shops, a bank, a small choice of hotel and pension accommodation, and a 14-place dortoir, Les Alpes. A few kilometres further upvalley Le Châtelard marks the border with France, and it is here that rail passengers bound for Chamonix need to change trains. Le Châtelard has two hotels and a funicular, said to be the world’s steepest with a gradient of 87%, linking with a narrow-gauge tourist train and a ‘mini funicular’ to provide access with Lac d’Emosson (www.emosson-trains.ch). The same reservoir’s dam can also be reached in summer by road from Finhaut, and by a public bus service from Martigny.
The route to Finhaut and Col de la Gueulaz above the Emosson dam breaks away from the main Martigny to Chamonix road a short distance outside Le Châtelard. It makes for a scenically exciting drive, for as you sweep up the hillside a view opens through the upper Vallée du Trient to its glacier, then as you pass above Finhaut a retrospective view to the northeast reveals the Bernese Alps beyond the Rhône valley, and finally and most remarkably, Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles dominate the southern horizon with a vision of snow, ice and jagged granite ramparts.
Col de la Gueulaz (1965m) marks the roadhead with plenty of parking space, a bus stop, tourist information kiosk, a restaurant, public toilets, a small chapel and views overlooking the Lac d’Emosson. By walking up the steep path above the chapel for 10–15mins, the modest summit of Six Jeur unfolds a truly impressive panorama, and is recommended.
From the dam Lac d’Emosson is seen stretching north for about 4.5km towards the head of the Barberine valley where Mont Ruan and the Tour Sallière close it off with an arc of rock and ice. Despite the intrusion of the massive dam wall, it is an enticing, wild-looking district with several worthwhile outings for both walkers and climbers, but it’s difficult to resist speculating how lovely the valley must have been before the first dam was built here in 1926. Until then the Barberine valley was noted for its alpine pastures and small farms; it was visited by a few climbers, botanists and perhaps chamois hunters, and it was near the head of the valley on its west side that Jacques Balmat, who had made the first ascent of Mont Blanc with Dr Paccard, lost his life in 1834 when prospecting for gold.
The smaller Vieux Emosson lake which lies in a combe further to the west was dammed in 1950, then in 1975 the Barberine dam was superseded by a massive 150m high barrage created as part of a joint Franco-Swiss hydro scheme. This effectively drowned that part of the valley which had survived the initial flooding, including a number of chalets and an inn. Yet despite its effect on the valley, in truth the dam wall is not only a fine piece of civil engineering, but it makes an extraordinary vantage point, having an uninterrupted outlook to Mont Blanc in one direction, and to the Tour Sallière and the lake in the other. But it is also noteworthy for another reason – a line of holds has been fitted to make this one of the most impressive artificial climbing walls in the Alps.
On the east side of the lake a track extends towards the head of the valley, with a path cutting away from it two-thirds of the way along. This path climbs northeastward to the broad Col de Barberine (2481m) which lies at the southern end of the Pointes d’Abboillon, and is a wonderful viewpoint. In order to create a full day’s circular walk, it would be possible to descend from the col into the Vallon d’Emaney, and wander down that valley as far as the Emaney chalets at 1855m, then return to Col de Gueulaz and Lac d’Emosson by way of Col de Fenestral (2451m).
The 2834m Col de la Tour Sallière is a different proposition. Located on the valley’s headwall ridge west of the Tour Sallière, it is reached by way of the Glacier des Fonds, the upper reaches of which are sometimes threatened by stonefall. Once gained, the descent on the north side leads to Cabane de Susanfe in the Vallon de Susanfe (see 1:3) by way of the steep Glacier du Mont Ruan.
While the east side of the valley is contained, as we have seen, by the ridge of the Pointes d’Abboillon, the west side of Lac d’Emosson is largely overlooked by Pic de Tenneverge, a symmetrical 2985m pyramid of Jurassic limestone first climbed via its south flank in October 1863, nine years after his famous ascent of the Wetterhorn, by Sir Alfred Wills and C Gurlie starting from the Col de Tenneverge; a route today graded PD. Having been attracted to the Giffre valley on the French side of the mountain after climbing Mont Buet in 1857, Wills built a large chalet there, which he named The Eagle’s Nest. From there he made at least two new ascents of Pic de Tenneverge; the first by the south flank, and the second a year later via the ENE Ridge after making a traverse of the entire Prazon glacier from the Col du Sageroux.
The majority of walkers who come here, however, make their way to Lac du Vieux Emosson with the aim of seeking out the dinosaur footprints discovered above the lake at an altitude of about 2400m in 1976. With a small refuge standing just below it, this lake is on the route of the Tour du Ruan, outlined in the box above, and is bounded by cliffs and screes to create a much more wild scene than that of its larger neighbour. After crossing the Emosson dam a narrow service road cuts roughly westward along the south side of the reservoir and actually goes all the way to Lac du Vieux Emosson via a couple of tunnels. If followed all the way, this walk would be achieved in about 1hr 20mins from Col de la Gueulaz; although it’s possible to avoid the last third of roadway by taking an unmarked path through the steep little Gorge du Vieux which leads directly to the Refuge Vieux Emosson (2200m), a low, single-storey timber built hut (www.cabaneduvieux.ch) overlooking the Emosson lake to the east. Topos of local climbs are available at this hut.
A better option is to break away from the road at the second path junction where a sign directs a cairned and sparsely waymarked route to the dinosaur tracks in 2hrs. This path avoids the road altogether, and cuts through the peaceful Gorge de Veudale (much longer than the Gorge du Vieux) and is the one to take unless, that is, your plan is to go only as far as the refuge at Vieux Emosson, in which case the better plan is to remain with the road. The cairned footpath route leads to the southern end of Lac du Vieux Emosson, about 45mins beyond the refuge, and continues to the site of the
