(right) flank having been dealt with from Cabane du Mont Fort, we will look at the south side, and in particular the route to Cabane de Panossière, for this is the way chosen by climbers bound for the Grand Combin. This 4hr walk begins by crossing the Drance de Bagnes at Fionnay on a footbridge, then climbs steeply above a small lake to pass some ruins after about 1½hrs. The well-trodden path then swings to the south into the valley scooped out by the retreating Corbassière glacier, and comes to Plan Goli, a beautiful area of grass, flowers and streams in an ablation trough backed by old moraines. Now the way twists up to a tiny pool and continues along the moraine crest to reach Cabane de Panossière (Cabane F-X Bagnoud: 2645m). A splendid hut, built in 1996 to replace a former refuge destroyed by avalanche, its setting is magnificent with a direct view along the icy highway of the Corbassière glacier to the North Face of the Grand Combin, while directly opposite rise the Petit Combin and Combin de Corbassière. Although the former hut was owned by the SAC, the present building belongs to the Association François-Xavier Bagnoud of Sion. Of modern design, it has dormitory places for 103 and a resident guardian in April and May, and from July to September (www.cabane-fxb-panossiere.ch).
Cabane de Panossière, base for climbs in the Combin massif
Climbers and ski-mountaineers will naturally focus their attention on assorted routes on the Combin massif (see below), but walkers have several options to consider when it comes to leaving the hut. The easiest of these simply reverses the approach route from Fionnay described above. Another, adopted by the Tour du Val de Bagnes (see box) descends into Plan Goli, then crosses the glacial torrent to a continuing path that works its way round the mountainside to Cabane Brunet in 2½hrs. A third option also makes its way to Cabane Brunet, but instead of descending to Plan Goli, it crosses the lower reaches of the Corbassière glacier, then tackles Col des Avouillons for a more direct approach. And a fourth option entails crossing the 2846m Col des Otanes east of the Panossière Hut, followed by a steep descent into Val de Bagnes at Mauvoisin. Reached in just 40mins or so from the hut, the col makes a wonderful vantage point from which to study the Combin massif – a view of big mountains, sweeping glaciers and ice-bound cirques. Given sufficient time, it would be feasible to make an ascent of the 3158m
Seen at its best from either Cabane de Panossière (for a close view), or the Sentier des Chamois (for a wider perspective), the Grand Combin is a major massif; high, majestic and complex, with an extensive glacier system, huge walls of rock on the south side, and on the north giant serac barriers, ice terraces and three distinct 4000m summits, namely: Combin de Grafeneire (4314m), Combin de Valsorey (4184m), and Combin de la Tsessette (4141m). Another 4000m top, the 4243m Aiguille du Croissant, was once considered the massif’s highest point, but is in fact a secondary point on Combin de Grafeneire’s snow dome, while other neighbouring mountains such as Combin de Corbassière and the Petit Combin, though not reaching the magical 4000m spot height, also make worthwhile goals.
It was three Val de Bagnes men, Benjamin and Maurice Felley, with Jouvence Bruchez, who in July 1857 discovered the route taken until recent years by most parties heading for the
The regal Combin massif and the long Corbassière glacier
Combin de Valsorey is the West summit, and the massif’s second highest. A broad snow ridge links it with Combin de Grafeneire, and it is usually tackled from the nearer Cabane de Valsorey (2:2), but since the NW Face route is gained from the Corbassière glacier, approach from Cabane de Panossière is equally valid.
Combin de la Tsessette stands northeast of the main summit of the Grand Combin. From it a ridge pushes north then northeast to contain on its west side the glacial Corbassière valley, while the east flank of this ridge holds the little Tsessette glacier, which hangs above the southern end of the Mauvoisin lake. Rising from the Tsessette glacier, the impressive SE Face is climbed by three or four routes, each of which, being hampered by poor rock, requires good cold conditions to give some stability. These routes would best be tackled from a bivouac high above Lac de Mauvoisin, but the Panossière Hut is a practical base for climbers approaching via a course that diverts from the standard Grand Combin climb on a ridge-walk from Col du Croissant.
At 3715m Combin de Corbassière makes an obvious goal across the glacier southwest of the Panossière Hut, from which several routes are feasible. The South Ridge is the shortest and most frequented (3½–4hrs; PD-); the NW Face gives an AD climb of about 5hrs; while the NE Face, clearly seen from the hut, has three couloirs prone to stonefall danger (PD).
Petit Combin (3672m) lies just to the northwest of Combin de Corbassière and is often combined with a traverse of the latter peak. However, when conditions are favourable, an ascent by way of the Follets glacier and SE Face offers the most direct route (4hrs) from the Cabane de Panossière, while routes on the NW Face and NW Ridge are usually tackled from a base at Cabane Brunet.
The Upper Val de Bagnes
Leaving Fionnay on the final stretch to the Mauvoisin barrage roadhead, the valley opens a little on the approach to Bonatchiesse (1565m), a small hamlet with a café and a large campsite, Camping Forêt des Mélèzes. Beyond this lie small patches of open meadowland, then where the road swings right to cross the river before the final hairpin ascent to Mauvoisin, a 50m limestone crag known as the
Le Pleureur and Lac de Mauvoisin in the upper Val de Bagnes
Cabane de Chanrion
At the 1840m roadhead there’s a small chapel and a hotel. Open June to September, Hotel de Mauvoisin has 20 beds and 30 dorm places (www.mauvoisin.ch). Behind it towers the massive 250m high dam wall holding back the Mauvoisin reservoir which forms part of the elaborate Grande Dixence hydro-electricity
