The Swiss Alps. Kev Reynolds
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 now famous dinosaur footprints.
THE VIEUX EMOSSON DINOSAURS
Discovered above the southern end of the Lac du Vieux Emosson by a French geologist in 1976, a group of fossilized tracks has been identified as those belonging to dinosaurs that lived around 240–65 million years ago. The rock slab in which the surprisingly small footprints are embedded, was once part of a sandy beach frequented by the herbivorous creatures. Laid down in shallow water during the Triassic period (about 230 million years ago), the sand and sediments were compressed and hardened as earth movements led to the disappearance of the ocean with the collision of continental tectonic plates. As the African plate shunted against its Eurasian neighbour, so the Alps were born, and rocks that had been formed below sea-level were thrust up and outward to reveal evidence of creatures that roamed long before the mountains came into existence.
The dinosaur footprints are only a few centimetres long, and as the site is the most important yet found in Europe, it is protected by chains to prevent visitors from clambering over it. Further information is available at the tourist office in Finhaut (www.finhaut.ch), and at the Vieux Emosson refuge.
Carrying the Franco-Swiss border, the combe containing the Vieux Emosson lake and the dinosaur prints is formed by a rocky crest, much of which falls on its west flank into the Giffre valley, and which runs from Point de la Finive in the north across the Tête du Grenairon and Le Cheval Blanc to the Pointe de la Terrasse above the little Val de Tré les Eaux in the south. Within that crest will be found several crossing points, among them Col du Grenairon (2685m), Col du Vieux (2569m), Col des Corbeaux (2603m) and the 2645m Col de la Terrasse, which lies northeast of Pointe de la Terrasse. But it’s also possible to cross the ridge over Le Cheval Blanc, as is the choice of the Tour du Ruan. However, not all these crossings are straightforward, and concentration may be required to find the way – especially in misty conditions.
An interesting return to Col de la Gueulaz and the Lac d’Emosson could be made by crossing Col de la Terrasse, descending on the French slope to the Chalets de Loria above Vallorcine, then making a long contour north across the steep hillside on a path which leads directly to the Emosson dam. An easier alternative is to follow the clear path round the north shore of Lac du Vieux Emosson, pass through a short tunnel at its eastern end and descend to the road at Refuge Vieux Emosson. The metalled service road which dates back to the building of the dam nearby, can now be followed down to Lac d’Emosson, or you could take the path which drops below the hut, goes through the Gorge du Vieux and brings you onto the road at a hairpin bend above the lake’s western end.
The Upper Vallée du Trient
To conclude our survey of what we loosely term the Chablais Alps, we stray south of the Gorges du Trient to the very edge of the Mont Blanc massif where the upper reaches of the Vallée du Trient are neatly contained by clearly defined ridges; rocky and uncompromising in the southeast (the highest point being the 3540m Aiguille du Tour), but steeply wooded where they spill down towards the gorge at their northernmost limit. The French border traces the most westerly of these ridges, but only as far as Col de Balme. Here the ridge kinks northward from its former northwest alignment, but the frontier line ignores this slight change of direction and cuts straight down the slope to the Eau Noire stream and the Barberine chalets, before climbing the opposite slope to Lac d’Emosson.
Col de Balme is the only obvious crossing point in this westerly ridge. A broad grass saddle at 2204m, it is a justly famous vantage point with a direct view of the Aiguilles Verte, Drus, Charmoz and Blaitière, the graceful snow dome of Mont Blanc with the Chamonix valley below, and the Aiguilles Rouges forming its right-hand wall. Baedeker called it ‘a superb view’, while alpine connoisseur R L G Irving summed it up with the words: ‘if that view does not thrill you you are better away from the Alps.’ It’s a view known to thousands of skiers who throng there in winter, and to the countless trekkers who make the crossing each year whilst tackling either the Tour du Mont Blanc or the Walker’s Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. On the pass itself stands the solid, gloomy, and privately owned Refuge du Col de Balme, which is manned in summer and has 26 dormitory places (tel 04 50 54 02 33).
The Trient glacier retreating into the upper reaches of the valley
Reached by a good path in little over an hour from the col, another refuge stands on the Swiss flank below the Glacier des Grands at 2113m. Refuge Les Grands has 15 places but no permanent guardian; self-catering facilities are adequate but visitors need to provide their own food (for reservations tel 026 660 65 04). There are no views of Mont Blanc from here, for the hut has its back to the mountains and instead faces the valley’s east wall across the deep trench scoured long ago by the receding Trient glacier. Of a summer’s evening the sun’s glow lingers on the Pointe d’Orny and the rocky needles that spread from it, and the only sounds to be heard are those of running streams and the occasional rattle of a stone falling through a distant gully.
Despite foreshortening, a