long Tunnel du Grand St Bernard (open all-year, toll charged). The upper valley is clothed with rough slopes of grass, alpenrose, heather and scrub, but there’s skiing on the north-facing slopes of the east flank at the so-called Super-St-Bernard resort, served by the Menouve télécabine whose valley station stands beside the road on emerging from the avalanche protection galleries at Bourg-St-Bernard. A 20min walk from here leads to the Refuge du Plan du Jeu, which has 26 dormitory places (tel 027 787 12 35).
Impassable to traffic in winter, the final approach to the pass goes along the fearsome-sounding, avalanche-prone Combe des Morts before arriving at the Col du Grand St Bernard and the frontier with Italy. For users of this guide its place in history is possibly more interesting than its present (see box), for although the views can be enticing, and there are various walks and climbs to be tackled from the pass, including the ascent of the 2949m
2:3 Val de Bagnes
From its headwall backing pastures and old moraines south of the Mauvoisin reservoir, to the confluence of the Drance de Bagnes with that of the Entremont at Sembrancher, Val de Bagnes carves a deep swathe through the mountains east of Val d’Entremont. For the most part it’s a narrow valley, steep-walled on its east flank, less so (except near its head) on the west where a few hamlets are set among meadows and fringes of woodland. A string of small villages and hamlets line the valley bed, and with an area of 295 square kilometres the Bagnes commune claims to be the most extensive in all Switzerland.
Mountaineering interest is concentrated on the great Combin massif, but lesser summits grouped near the valley head have value too, and the Brenay and Otemma glaciers provide routes of access to peaks further east. Skiers working their way towards Zermatt on the Haute Route cross the Combin massif to use Cabane de Chanrion as an overnight stop before heading for the Vignettes Hut, while crowds of downhill skiers flock each winter to the slopes of Verbier. As for mountain walkers, there’s enough to keep enthusiasts happy for many a long day, although some of the routes can be brutally steep.
The branch line served by the St Bernard Express runs from Martigny to Le Châble via Sembrancher. An unpretentious stone-walled village, Sembrancher (717m) has limited pension accommodation, a campsite, foodstores and a restaurant. A little over 5km to the east, and surrounded on three sides by meadows, Le Châble (821m) is the main village of the valley. This too, is very modest in size, with some old buildings forming a square on the left bank of the Drance, while neighbouring Villette across the river has more modern development. Taken together there are just three hotels, several apartments, a post office, a handful of shops and restaurants and an Office du Tourisme located at the valley station of the cableway to Verbier (www.verbier.ch). The railway terminates here, but the postbus serves the rest of the valley as far as Mauvoisin, and also carries passengers up the northern hairpins to Verbier. A side road breaks away from Le Châble and winds through meadows to Bruson, above which small groups of commuter homes and holiday chalets enjoy a sunny aspect. Higher still, a few ski tows exploit the slopes of Six Blanc, from which the Dents du Midi can be clearly seen to the northwest.
The Walker’s Haute Route comes through Le Châble, as does the Tour du Val de Bagnes, a fairly demanding six–seven day trek which adopts some dramatic trails that seek out a number of incomparable vantage points.
With the option of a start by cableway, and with six huts and a hotel from which to choose accommodation, the TVB enables walkers to select their own itinerary. The first stage, for example, could be spent mounting the steep 1600m of hillside above Le Châble to reach Cabane du Mont Fort. But an alternative would be to ride the gondola to Verbier, thus avoiding the main climb, then take another to Les Ruinettes, and walk past the Mont Fort Hut to spend the first night at Cabane de Louvie. At a later stage of the Tour, there’s the option of having a short day’s walk from the Panossière Hut to Cabane Brunet, or of continuing to Cabane du Col de Mille. Much will depend on weather conditions, time available, and the fitness of the individual walker.
Day 1: From Le Châble cross the river to nearby Villette and take a series of linking footpaths up the steep slope to Les Verneys, and on to the suntrap of Clambin, where there’s a restaurant. Above this the way continues to climb over open slopes, until a bisse is joined which leads round the hillside, and from which a final uphill drag brings you to Cabane du Mont Fort (2457m), about 6–6½hrs from Le Châble.
Day 2: A short but scenically spectacular day’s walk takes the TVB along the exposed path of the Sentier des Chamois, with the Grand Combin fully displayed across the valley. Col Termin then directs the route northeastward above the Louvie combe, with a path descending to Lac de Louvie and (3hrs from Mont Fort) the cosy Cabane de Louvie (2250m) built in 1997 by the Bagnes commune.
Day 3: This is a demanding stage; not long (4½–5hrs) but reasonably tough and with exposed sections of trail that demand caution. It begins by climbing steeply to cross a ridge spur at about 2490m, the east side of which is exposed and precipitous. Descending into a hanging valley, the way then climbs again to cross the Tête du Sarclau, followed by a long descending traverse path that eventually reaches the valley bed at Mauvoisin, where a small hotel sits in the shadow of the massive concrete barrage wall.
Day 4: From Mauvoisin to Cabane de Chanrion near the head of the valley is a 3½hr delight. A road tunnel leads onto the dam wall, and on the eastern side of Lac de Mauvoisin a track gives 30mins or so of easy walking before you break away on a zigzag path rising into pastureland where ibex, marmot and chamois may all be seen. Passing between the Lacs de Tsofeiret the TVB mounts a grassy spur to Col de Tsofeiret; grass on one side, a steep rocky descent with fixed chains and timber steps on the other. (Some stonefall danger.) The trail continues across a wilderness of moraine to reach the SAC’s Cabane de Chanrion at 2462m.
Day 5: Reversing Day 3 of the Tour des Combins (2:2), this 7½–8hr stage returns along the west flank of the valley on an undulating trail passing small tarns, pools and shepherds’ huts, via rocky sections and long open pastures with views through the Val de Bagnes. A steep 700m climb to Col des Otanes (2880m) is rewarded by a sudden spectacular panorama that includes most of the Combin massif and its glaciers. A 200m descent then leads to the well-appointed Cabane de Panossière on the right bank moraine of the Corbassière glacier.
Day 6: After descending below the glacier, the TVB then wanders across a hillside carpeted with alpenroses, cuts into a cleft-like valley and climbs steeply to reach the privately owned Cabane Brunet (2103m) after about 2½hrs. Another 3hrs will be needed to complete this stage, which is mostly pastoral and with views of the Dents du Midi in the distance. Gaining Col de Mille in the valley’s west wall, a few paces on the other side reveals the little Cabane du Col de Mille at 2472m.
Day 7: Less than 30mins after leaving the hut you stand on the modest summit of Mont Brulé from which the Mont Blanc massif is displayed in all its grandeur. That view remains as you wander along the ridge towards Six Blanc. Turning through a grassy col the Dents du Midi then take the place of Mont Blanc, before you descend through
