Hiking Tour in France into Vanoise National Park and Mont Blanc Massif

The Trip

Vanoise National Park and Mont Blanc Massif Hiking Tour

Sporty hikes in the mountains between the Southern Side of the Mont Blanc Massif and the Vanoise National Park, which was the first French National Park born in 1960. Together with the Italian Park of Gran Paradiso, they form Europe's largest protected area: we will walk into the heart of these protected and wild mountain areas. Great Alpine Landscapes during the day and the comfort of a cozy Hotel down the valley in the evening.

You will discover, together with your Trekking Guide, great wild hikes, far from the world but a few steps from civilization, to which we will come back in the evening finding the comfort of our Hotel: it will be our real Base Camp in the middle of the mountains. We will take paths, and often fairly easy off trails, to find the most beautiful view points. Do not look for the paths on the maps, only our Guides know them.

The Program

The Program of the Hiking Tour between the Vanoise National Park and Mont Blanc Massif 

DAY 0 - Sunday - night in ** Hotel in Séez

Arrival in the afternoon at the hotel Auberge du Val Joli in Bourg Saint Maurice / Seez: possible from 2:00 p.m.
Meeting with the Trekking Guide at 6:00 p.m. for briefing and backpack check.

DAY 1 - Monday
ROSUEL - BETWEEN THE LAKE - ROSUEL

Night: ** Hotel Auberge du Val Joli
Walking time: About 6 h
Vertical Drop: + 650 m and - 650 m approximately 14 km.

You will leave in the Vanoise National Park, the path climbs steadily, in the shade of the Larches and Spruce trees, we may see the Lammergeier which nests in the cliffs between the Dôme de la Sache (3588m) and the glaciers of the Dôme de Platière. The day is short to warm up, we will eat at Lac de la Plagne, those who want to take a nap are in Paradise, those who want to walk a little more, can continue further with the Guide to then walk back all together to the mini bus to return to the hotel at the desired time, a small group gives the freedom to choose.

DAY 2 - Tuesday
COL DU PETIT SAINT BERNARD - BASSA SERRA - COL DU PT ST BERNARD

Night: ** Hotel Auberge du Val Joli
Walking time:  6 to 7 hours approximately
Vertical Drop: + 1000 m and - 1000 m approximately 15 km.

Today direction towards the Mont Blanc Massif on its southern side, you will discover a wild valley between France and Italy in order to reach one of the most beautiful Belvederes on the South Face of Mont Blanc: here you will find a bit of an Himalayan air, but at the heart of the Alps. The 3000 meters Wall of Ice and Granite is magnificent. The off-trails allow us to be alone in the middle of the Great Outdoors, you will return on an off-trail loop along beautiful lakes ...

DAY 3 - Wednesday
THE CHAPIEUX - COL AND LAKE OF MYA - THE CHAPIEUX

Night: ** Hotel Auberge du Val Joli
Walking time:  6 to 7 hours approximately
Vertical Drop: + 1000m and -1000m approximately 12 km.

Today you will discover further the Mont Blanc Massif: you will leave the charming village of Chapieux to head towards the Col de Mya and its Lake. The Guide could choose a small variant with you, depending on the group level. The Aiguille des Glaciers and Mont Blanc will be on your background the whole day.
On your way back you will take the time to know and enjoy the cheese production in the Alpine Pastures: Beaufort and Sérac are the typical local cheese produced in the Farm in the Ville des Glaciers: tonight's aperitif should be excellent ;)
Before returning to the minibus in Les Chapieux, you will walk down by a path that runs along the torrent of the Glaciers in front of the cliffs of Séloge.

DAY 4 - Thursday
VAL D'ISERE - PETIT COCOR - VAL D'ISERE

Night: ** Hotel Auberge du Val Joli
Walking time:  6 to 7 hours approximately
Vertical Drop: + 1000 m and - 1000 m approximately 12 km.

Today you will head towards the Italian border, in the Grée Alps, the Gran Paradiso massif will be very close. You will climb through the Gorges de Malpasset, an easy but vertiginous path, the Prariond refuge which has just been rebuilt will be an excellent coffee break. Before leaving for the summit of the week, the Petit Cocor (3018m) facing the Gran Paradiso (4061m) above the glaciers of the Grande Aiguille Rousse (3482m) and its lake. The landscape up there should leave you with lovely memories and photos in mind. You will walk back down almost on the same path.

DAY 5 - Friday
LE CHATELARD - COL AND LAKE DU RUITOR - LE CHATELARD

Night: ** Hotel Auberge du Val Joli
Walking time:  6 to 7 hours approximately
Vertical Drop: + 1000 m and - 1000 m approximately 12 km.

For the last day, you will take the path to the Col du Ruitor: tis was the path that Porters and Smugglers took to bring goods from Aosta Valley, the nearby Italian region where people have been speaking French since many years. Until 1860 and before the attachment of Savoy to France, the Alps here formed a single country, the Duchy of Savoy and Piedmont-Sardinia.
From the Lac du Ruitor you will get a perfect view on the Mont Pourri massif (3779m) and the Dôme de la Sache glaciers. One last swim before heading back ... We should make a nice loop to get back to our mini-bus.

DAY 6 - Saturday
Breakfast at our hotel and end of our adventure!

The Budget

The Budget for the Hiking Tour between the Vanoise National Park and Mont Blanc Massif 

The price includes

• assistance of a certified mountain guide from our Team;
• Half board accommodation as described in the program (5 guided days & 6 nights);
• Picnics, every day;
• Mandatory transports along the program.

The price does not include

• Cancellation / interruption of stay / luggage loss and accident insurance;
• Cable car tickets (optional on free time);
• Drinks and personal expenses;
• Additional nights outside the program;
• All that is not indicated in the section "The price includes".

Your expenses on site

• Drinks;
• Out-of-program visits and transfers;
• Tips.

Equipment

The Equipment for the Hiking Tour between the Vanoise National Park and Mont Blanc Massif 

The backpack

If possible take a light backpack with good carrying, the backpack should not exceed 1.5 kg.

Backpack for 5 to 6 days:

Leters:

• Small people: 40 liters max
• Tall people : 50 liters max

Your backpack must have 10 to 15 liters of space for picnics that you will carry for lunch.

Kilos to carry - It is better to wash than to carry:

• Small size: 6/7 kilos max, without water and food
• Large size: 8/9 kilos max, without water and food

Count 2 liters of water and 1 kg of food for the day.
Count an extra kilo for 10-day treks.

Head-to-toe material for the Trek:

• 1 cap or hat for the sun
• 1 Hat for the cold
• 1 optional buff or choker but very pleasant in bad weather
• 1 Jacket Type Gore Tex or similar windproof and waterproof
• 1 pair of gloves, waterproof if possible
• 1 additional pair of ski warm gloves for altitude treks
• 1 warm fleece or thick down to withstand negative temperatures
• 2 sweater: a light one and a warmer one, if it's cold you can put all the layers on
• 3 Technical T-shirts
• 3 underwear and 3 - 4 warm socks, you can wash them in the torrents near the shelters (1 solid soap to wash)
• 1 Warm pant
• 1 Tight
• 1 Lighter pant, there are pants that you can zip off to make shorts
• 1 Short
• 1  waterproof over-pant  (Gore tex or other) for Trek with altitude passes around 3000m.
• 1 light rain hood or waterproof bag protector
• 1 waterproof bag to keep items dry inside your backpack
• 1 bag for dirty things
• 1 light sheetbag for sleeping at the huts
• 1 pair of light slippers for the refuge, in case you do not want to wear the hut' slippers or a pair of light Trail shoes.
• 1 pair of mountain shoes with Vibram type sole of good quality or similar: if possible try ans wear your shoes before the trek, watch out for old shoes which can deteriorate very quickly in the mountains.

Do not forget  :

• Sunscreen index 30 to 50
• one pair of sunglasses category 3
• one front lamp
• cash money for huts and documents

Toiletries  :

• 1 Lightweight Quick Dry Toilet Towel
• 1 Body soap
• 1 Toothbrush with small toothpaste or a started one
• 1 small shampoo (small format - specialized stores sell small bottles that you will keep your hiker's life).
• 1 pair of earplugs to better sleep at night in a refuge

Pharmacy & others:

• Your Usual or Personal Treatments
• 1 Light Survival Blanket
• 1 nail clipper
• What to make small dressings
• Some compresses and plaster or better Strappal

Your guide will have a more complete pharmacy in the event of a larger accident.

For realx time: A small book or Card game (less than 150 grams)…

Necessary for meals:

• 1 TuperWare large enough to contain a nice salad for lunch
• 1 light knife: Opinel type
• 1 Fork and 1 Spoon
• 1 nice specialty to share with the rest of the Team, liquid or solid

The hiker's enemy is weight, but a frozen or soaked hiker is a hiker without pleasure, so take the time to properly pack your bag.

Useful Information

Insurance

Cancellation and repatriation insurance is advised as well as other insurance guaranteeing search and mountain rescue.

ACCESS
How to reach Bourg Saint Maurice, 73700:

• By train, access by TGV to Bourg Saint Maurice station - the hotel will be reachable by shuttle;
• By car from Albertville, access by expressway to Moutiers - Bourg Saint Maurice is 2.5 hours from Lyon.

Night before the trip and last night after the activity

We have chosen to include in the price the night before the trek beginning and the night after the end of the trek, in order to allow you to better organize your transports and to avoid to rush, as well as making your trip easier without having to worry about additional nights.

Upon your arrival on Saturday: shuttles bus from Bourg Saint Maurice to Seez are available (€ 2 one way, at 11:30 am and 4:30 pm, departure from Bourg Saint Maurice station).

Meeting with your Guide at 6:00 p.m. for briefing and backpack checking.

Check-in possible starting from 2:00 pm.

Accommodation during the stay:
Given the post-Covid 19 situation, to guarantee you a better standard, the Hotel ** Auberge du Val Joli chosen for your stay is a cute and comfortable 2-star hotel, where you will be accommodated in double / triple / quadruple rooms or in suites, with the other members of your group.