The Swiss Alps. Kev Reynolds
mountaineering courses (www.lafantastique.com).
Before leaving Verbier it is worth mentioning the 2473m rock tower of
Cabane du Mont Fort
To the east of the resort Cabane du Mont Fort is perched on a bluff at 2457m under the Monts de Sion. Property of the Jaman section of the SAC, the hut was refurbished in 2002, and its 66 places are now divided between conventional dormitories and 2, 4 and 6-bedded rooms (www.cabanemontfort.ch). Staffed in winter (December to mid-May) and from late June to mid-September, it’s reached by a 3hr walk from Verbier, or 1¼hrs from the Ruinettes gondola. Although there are cableways nearby, the outlook from the hut is magical, with the Mont Blanc range concentrating one’s attention.
The Mont Fort Hut is well-used by walkers in summer, for there are several rewarding routes to follow, including the ascent of Mont Gelé (3023m), for example. Having been assaulted by the ski industry, the mountain has lost any sense of isolation, but the cableway which rises to within a few metres of the summit does not operate in summer, and the uncomplicated 2hr walk and scramble from the hut via Col du Mont Gelé is made worthwhile for the extent and variety of the views. These include the Mont Blanc range, the Combin massif, and the western end of the Bernese Alps.
The 3336m snowpeak of Rosablanche rising some way southeast of the hut, but unseen from there, is another temptation for first-season alpinists, for whom the 4hr ascent via Col de Momin and the Grand Désert glacier is only graded F. Rosablanche is also climbed from the St Laurent (2:4) and Prafleuri (2:5) huts, the latter giving a much shorter climb of just 2½hrs.
For the general mountain walker the number one route to take from Cabane du Mont Fort is without question the sensational Sentier des Chamois, which follows a belvedere course southeastward along the mountainside some 1600m above the valley bed. Narrow, exposed and safeguarded in places by fixed cable or chains, this is not a path to take in adverse conditions. But in summer when snow and ice have cleared and the weather’s fine, the Sentier gives a memorable excursion. A sighting of ibex and chamois is almost guaranteed, and the direct prospect of the Grand Combin is unbeatable. Col Termin at the southern end of the Sentier gives a choice of continuing routes. One descends to Lac de Louvie, while another swings northeast towards Col de Louvie – this latter option being taken by trekkers on the Walker’s Haute Route. Before reaching Col de Louvie, however, another trail cuts up to the left on a scrambly ascent to Col de la Chaux (2940m), over which a descent (confused among rocks and boulders) could be made back to the Mont Fort Hut.
A descent path from Col Termin enters a little hanging valley at whose southern end lies Lac de Louvie. As you approach the tarn, careful to avoid boggy patches advertised with cushions of cotton grass, the Combin massif once again draws your attention. At the far end of the lake, and standing a few metres above it on a 2207m bluff, Cabane de Louvie was built by the Bourgeoisie de Bagnes. This light, modern hut has 54 dorm places and is manned only in the high summer season from July to mid-September (tel 027 778 17 40) – there’s no winter access. Two onward routes are worth mention: the first is a direct 2hr descent to Fionnay; an extremely steep zigzag path with occasional fixed chains for safety. The other takes the path of the Tour du Val de Bagnes (see box) on a demanding and exposed up and down route, before slanting down to Mauvoisin (4½–5hrs).
View from the terrace at Cabane du Mont Fort
Le Châble to Fionnay
‘The lower part of the Val de Bagnes,’ said R L G Irving in The Alps, ‘is full of smiling villages. All the way up to Lourtier the valley bed is wide enough to allow plenty of room for road and stream and cultivation.’
Beyond Le Châble the main road bypasses Montagnier on the opposite bank of the river, but goes through Versegères and Champsec where it then crosses to the north side of the Drance de Bagnes and enters Lourtier (1072m). Having a supermarket, this is a useful place for stocking with supplies for the mountains. Overnight accommodation is possible here at La Vallée, which has 33 beds and 88 dormitory places (www.vallee.ch).
On the edge of the village a secondary road breaks away, recrossing the river to make a long winding ascent of the southern hillside, on the way topping a promontory known as La Ly to reach Cabane Brunet (Cabane Marcel Brunet: 2103m), which has a small pool lying before it. Owned, like the Cabane de Louvie, by the Bourgeoisie de Bagnes, this is understandably popular with day visitors for whom lunch with a view of the distant Dents du Midi makes the drive worthwhile. But it is also well used by ski-mountaineers in springtime, and by walkers tackling both the Tour des Combins and Tour du Val de Bagnes. Permanently staffed from July to September, and partially open from mid-December to the end of May, it has 65 dormitory places (tel 027 778 18 10) and a homely restaurant-dining room.
A little over 12km from Le Châble the main road enters the hamlet of Fionnay (1490m) trapped below soaring mountain walls. (For tourist information tel 027 776 16 82). This one-time mountaineering centre has a small shop, a post office and the 2-star Hotel du Grand Combin which has 48 dorm places as well as standard rooms (www.fionnay.ch). From Fionnay paths climb steeply on the northern side of the valley to Cabane de Louvie and the ruins of Le Dâ (above which Col de Severeu suggests a way over the mountains to Val des Dix); another makes the ascent eastwards to the Louvie–Mauvoisin high trail which it meets at Ecurie du Crêt; and yet another strikes south up the mountainside on the way to the Panossière Hut. Only a walk along the valley bed can be made without too much effort.
The valley’s north (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