The Swiss Alps. Kev Reynolds
whichever route is taken to get there, a few days based at the alpage will not be regretted. By day there’s plenty to see and do, while a night spent there has its own very special atmosphere.
The main block of the Dents Blanches, which rises some 1200m above the Barme pastures, has obvious appeal for climbers, but there’s also a line of crags with routes up to 60m high; there are several paths for short walks and longer circuits that involve crossing cols, among them Col de Cou (Col de Coux: 1920m) and the slightly higher neighbouring Col de Bretolet that are noted as being on the route each autumn of large flocks of migrating songbirds heading south across the Alps to winter in Africa or the Mediterranean basin.
Around the block of the Dents Blanches a three–four day trek has been created, most of which takes place on the French side of the mountains, and the suggestion here is to make a counter-clockwise tour, beginning at the Barme pastureland. (For information visit www.tour-dentsblanches.com).
Day 1: From one of the mountain inns at Barme, go up to the Col de Cou and follow GR5 waymarks on the French side below the Terres Maudites cliffs. Continue round to the Col and Refuge de la Golèse then, leaving GR5, branch away up to the Refuge de Bostan-Tornay which stands at 1763m below the Dents d’Oddaz, to conclude a short day’s trek of about 4hrs. The refuge has 100 places and is manned from mid-June until the end of September (www.refugedebostan.com).
Day 2: The second stage is much longer than the first, during which you lose more than 800m of height by descending to Les Allamands and then curving round Le Crêt, followed by a long climb to Refuge de Folly, and an even longer ascent to Combe de Puaires just south of Pointe de la Golette at 2300m, about 7½hrs after setting out. A 300m descent brings the trekker to Lac de la Vogealle in 40mins, with another 20mins needed to reach Refuge de la Vogealle at 1901m. This hut has 40 places, and is manned from mid-June to mid-September (tel 033 450 89 77 59).
Day 3: Returning to Swiss territory by way of the 2395m Col du Sageroux 1½hrs after leaving the Vogealle refuge (beware of stonefall during and after heavy rain), the route of the TDB remains high along the frontier ridge west of Mont Ruan, then uses Col des Ottans (2496m) to descend into the stony Susanfe basin below the Dents du Midi. Reaching Cabane de Susanfe 4hrs after departing the Refuge de la Vogealle, it might be tempting to book a bedspace for the night, as there’s still another 2½hrs or so of trekking left (including the crossing of a minor pass) before reaching Barme. But if you’re not short of time and have plenty of energy, continue downvalley to descend the steep and exposed Pas d’Encel above a ravine, sharing for a while the Tour des Dents du Midi, then break away from that route by a stream, and head across a steep hillside to the privately owned Cantine de Bonavau. Above this a short but steepish climb brings you onto a narrow grass saddle on a spur overlooking the Barme pastures, with a steady descent of the west slope to conclude the trek.
South of Col de Bretolet, the 2406m Tête de Bossetan more or less marks the western end of the Dents Blanches wall, which should not be confused with the better-known 4356m Dent Blanche in the Pennine Alps (see 2:6). While a short spur continues roughly westward, carrying the spectacular cliffs of Les Terres Maudites, the frontier ridge turns to the east, then kinks southeast across Col de Bossetan (2289m) before rising for almost 400m to the Pointe de la Golette which effectively marks a junction of ridges. To the southwest the crest of Les Dents d’Oddaz projects well into France, but the Dents Blanches ridge stretches a little north of east over a succession of minor summits and cols. Its precipitous north wall, whose highest point is the Dent de Barme (2759m), usually holds onto pockets of snow throughout much of the summer. According to an early Baedeker guide, its ascent from the Barme alpage was (in wonderfully restrained 19th-century prose) a 6hr climb ‘without danger for proficients’.
Not surprisingly it is the block of the Dents du Midi that attracts most of the attention of visitors to the Val d’Illiez. Seen from almost everywhere in the valley this abrupt wall, with its clean strata lines picked out by snow from autumn through to early summer, culminates in a row of seven prominent peaks – the famed dents or teeth. Aligned roughly northeast to southwest, these seven dents are: Cime de l’Est, La Forteresse, Cathédrale, Eperon, Dent Jaune, Les Doigts, and the highest of them all, the Haute Cime at 3257m.
Although not particularly high by comparison with summits in the nearby Mont Blanc or Pennine ranges, the Dents du Midi give every impression of being big mountains, and while there are only three small glaciers, and the rock is said to vary from good to mediocre and even bad, the range offers some fine expeditions. Generally speaking, the easiest routes are to be found on the west and south sides; the more difficult ascents being made on the north and east flanks. Most of the climbing takes place in the snow-free months of July to early October, but the Haute Cime is also climbed in winter on ski.
Signal de Soi gives a clear view of the Northwest Face of the Dents du Midi
There are huts on both the north and south sides from which to make a base. On the north there’s the unmanned, eight-place Refuge de Chalin (2595m) which is owned by the SAC (www.cas-chaussy.ch), and the nicely situated, privately owned Cabane d’Antème (2037m) which has 35 places and is manned from July to mid-October (www.vs-wallis.ch/wallis/huetten/enteme). On the south side of the massif the Cabane de Susanfe (2102m) is SAC owned, with 72 places and a warden in residence from mid-June until early October (www.susanfe.ch); while high on the southeast flank close to the Plan Névé glacier, the SAC’s Refuge des Dents du Midi (2884m) has just 20 places and self-catering facilities (info: tel 024 466 15 30), while overlooking the dammed Lac de Salanfe, the Auberge de Salanfe (1942m) is owned by the Commune d’Evionnaz. With 120 places, the auberge is manned from June to the end of September (www.salanfe.ch).
Since very little information about the Dents du Midi appears in English, a brief summary of routes on the main dents is offered here. But for a full run-down, see the SAC guide Chaîne franco-suisse (in French).
Cime de l’Est (3177m) is arguably the most impressive of all the peaks, but standing at the northeastern end of the chain (thus being the farthest from Val d’Illiez) it is seen at its best from the Rhône valley side where its triangular NE (St Maurice) Face tapers to a sharp point some 2800m above the valley. First climbed in October 1943 by André Roch, with P Bonnant