Sport Itineraries: Valgrisenche

From the fork before the hamlet of Usellières, where the Valgrisenche paved road comes to an end, take the dirt road that runs alongside the stream and leads to the pastures of Tsalé and Saxe Savoie. From here, continue along route 12, which leads to the Bezzi refuge.

After leaving Surrier parking lot, take the almost flat path that follows a gravel road that enters the valley along Dora of Valgrisenche torrent.
After about 10 minutes don’t consider the fork on the left for Chalet de l’Epée mountain hut and continue straight on until the end of the gravel road where a narrow and steep path leads to the mountain hut.
Along the walk you can enjoy a beautiful landscape full of flowers, waterfalls and streams.

From Valgrisenche, continue along the paved road that leads to Bonne. Go past this village and ignoring the dirt road on the right for Arp Vieille, you come to another crossroad near Rognettaz Désot and Damon, where you can leave the car.

Ignore the branch of the road that goes down to Usellières, take the branch on the right to Grand’Alpe. Now follow the dirt road signposted 13 and go to the end of it. Continue on the left along route 13 to Col du Mont.

From Usellières hamlet take the gravel road with signpost n.12 that goes up towards Bezzi mountain hut.
After about 10 minutes, always on gravel road, turn left and follow the path n.9A (and 10) towards Chalet de l’Epée.
Once you arrive at Arolla mountain pastures, leave the gravel road and turn right. The path crosses the monumental forest and reaches Mont Forchat mountain pasture in Invergnau valley.

From Vieux Menthieu hamlet, after the Valgrisenche centre, follow the signs for Rifugio degli Angeli Mountain Hut, taking route n.16.
The path first crosses a coniferous wood and then comes out in the wide high-altitude pastures of Arp Vieille, from where you can enjoy a beautiful view on mountains and glaciers of the other side of the valley.

Day one
From Usellières, follow the farm road, closed to unauthorised traffic, that enters the valley. After a couple hundred meters you’ll find a road on you left that rises to Mont Forciaz. The road soon enters a wood, winding in wide curves. Taking the left fork for Alp l’Epée, continue on your right to Mont Forciaz where the road ends.
Continue on the path to the right that winds through the pastures on the right bank of the stream. Continue on the moraine to the valley scattered with sediment. The path is concealed at times. After you leave the valley, turn slightly to the right to the moraine ridge and follow it - lastly on easy rocks - to the Ravelli camp.
Day two
From the camp, continue up the moraine that ends on the right branch of the Invergnan glacier. Continue south-east on the steep glacier, careful of the crevasses. Hug the rocks on the north-west spur to the steep slope that leads to Colle della Grande Rousse. From the pass, turn to your left and climb the rocky south ridge which has two cliffs (a III level climb), and the difficult climb to the northern peak.

Descent down the upward itinerary.

This itinerary requires experience of high mountains and it is recommended that you get a mountain guide to accompany you.

Day one
From Usellières, follow the farm road, closed to unauthorised traffic, to the Saxe Savoie mountain pasture. Continue along the east path that hugs the right bank of the stream and crosses the narrow part of the valley where you will usually find a small snowfield. Climb up the pastures and where you’ll find the Bezzi hut after the grassy rises.
Day two
From the hut, take the path with several hairpins that climbs the slope behind the hut to the Piano del Vaudet. At the edge of this grassy and stone covered area, leave the path and follow a watershed to the moraine on the left edge of the Bassac glacier. Climb the rocks that rise to altitude 2,870 m where the glacier starts. Still on the rocks, keeping to the left of the crevasses, you’ll reach a wide gap at altitude 3,414 m between Grande Traversière and the south Bassac peak. From the depression, cross the easy snow and then rock ridge to the top.

Descent down the upward itinerary.

This itinerary requires experience of high mountains and it is recommended that you get a mountain guide to accompany you.

Day one
Leave your car at the tunnel exit on the road for Usellières that hugs the right bank of the Beauregard basin and take the farm road that climbs towards the Plontaz basin pastures. At the fork, keep to your right until you find the hairpin where, again on your right, a path enters the woods. Continue along this marked path that carves a diagonal and cross the bridge over the stream that originates in the pass above. You’ll finally reach Alpe l’Epée and the nearby Chalet de l’Epée hut after several hairpins.
Day two
From the hut, turn immediately to the left and climb the wide route that enters the pass, hugging the stream, Higher up, the path crosses the stream and, after the pasture, continues towards the Vallone del Bouc. Continue along the stream on the Alta Via n. 2 path in Valle d’Aosta until you pass the rocky ledge at altitude 2670 on the opposite bank. Leaving the path for Col Fenêtre, pass the stream to the Bouc glacier moraine and work the slope that becomes suddenly steep. This will take you to the final rocks, about one hundred meters and easy to cross to the peak.

Descent down the upward itinerary.

This itinerary requires experience of high mountains and it is recommended that you get a mountain guide to accompany you.

Take the road that leads to Usellières along the left-hand side of the valley to the fork for Arp Vieille: turn right and follow the snow-covered farm road (often beaten) that climbs with a couple of bends to a wooden panel that points to the left to Arp Vieille - Forcla de Bré.
The path gives breathtaking views of Pointe de Feleumaz and Becca di Tos (on the other side of the valley) as well as the Pointes de Ormelune on the valley floor. You’ll reach the Bochat mountain pasture after a couple of bends.
Cross the pasture and start on the series of curves that rapidly climb a hundred meters to the mouth of the basin under Mont d’Arp Vielle. The settings slowly change: the sparse larch woods are left behind, opening onto a short level crossed by several hair-pin turns where you will start to glimpse the Meillares ruins. You’re nearing the end. After Meillares, follow the farm road first towards the Mont d’Arp Vielle peaks and then turn right to the Arp Vielle houses.
Continue along the summer path, climbing the ridge on the left to its peak where you’ll find the Capitano Crova hut houses.

Continue along the lane leading to Usellières going alongside the artificial lake of Beauregard. The first part of the route is amost flat and after going through a tunnel carved in the rock, you reach the junction for Rocher and from here you start to climb.
You turn left and start to climb along a snowy track often beaten by ski-moutaineers on their way home. After four hairpin bends you reach a junction: you turn right following the directions towards Plontaz and Quattro Denti. You enter a wood of mainly larch trees making your way along a lengthy, almost straight section; after going past a avalanche mound, you reach a splendid clearing below the abandoned Alpine pastures of Bouque, which you come to after taking a long bend to the left. Once past Bouque, you enter the wood again and climb up the ridge taking a number of hairpin bends until you reach the turn-off for the refuge: you follow the directions for Epée leaving behind the path followed as far as here.
Following the track, which is generally visible, you enter the Bois de Mugner among some imposing larch trees and a few red spruce trees. This stretch, which is slightly uphill, is a mixture of easy level sections and some not-so-easy transverse sections. Gradually you begin to go round the slopes of the Truc de la Seyaz emerging from the wood in view of the summer road which climbs up from Usellières. You take another brief section across the mountainside, entering the snowy bed of the Torrent de Bouque, which you climb along to the foot of the Epée. Your destination is now almost in sight: you make your way across the level area below and finally come to the Chalet de l’Epée.