Easy Mountaineering Paradise: the Vanoise National Park

Trip

The Vanoise is the Easy Mountaineering Paradise for beginners who would like to try the thrill of walking on glaciers, with beautiful landscapes as background at the heart of the Vanoise National Park.
The days are not too long, far away from the crowds of Chamonix cable cars and in company of Ibex and Chamois, during our approaches.
We discover the frontier peaks of Galise (3,343 m) and Grande Aiguille Rousse (3,482 m), above the Refuge de Prariond, which will be our Base Camp. We will also discover a beautiful Via Ferrata in Val d'Isère and we will finish with a Via Cordata and rock climbing at Le Crôt. Two days of rocks and two days of glaciers, a bit of everything to approach the mountaineering world…
A week that mixes Via Ferrata at first to get you used to the equipment and rock walls before discovering the glacier summits on the Italian border, from where we will have a great view of Gran Paradiso and Mont-Blanc. Some beautiful glacier itineraries thought for beginners, to then end the week with rock climbing once that you are fitter and and learn new techniques.

Program

DAY 1 - MONDAY:
Via Ferrata in Val d'Isère - Climb to the Prariond Hut

Elevation: + 650m and - 650m for via Ferrata then + 300m for the climb to the refuge
Length: About 7 h

Meeting in Bourg Saint Maurice at the Funicular car Parking at 9 a.m. You can park your car in the parking which is free in summer.
For those who have a long transport you can stay in Hotel in Bourg Saint Maurice before and after the activity.

If there are 5 of you, you can carpool to Val d'Isère and the Guide will take part of the group in his car.

For those with long journeys, you can stay in a hotel in Bourg Saint Maurice or Séez before and after the activities.

Auberge du Val Joli

Hôtel Base Camp

Hôtel L'Angival

Today we will head towards the Via Ferrata du Roc de Tovière which overlooks the Tignes Dam lake with the Glaciers of Dôme de la Sache (3,588 m) and Mont Pourri (3,779 m) on the background. The Via Ferrata is made up of several parts which gradually become more difficult. In the Roc de Tovière wall, if you are comfortable we can do the full route, otherwise we are not obliged to and we can quietly walk up to the Hut without arriving too late in the afternoon.

DAY 2 - TUESDAY:
Refuge de Prariond - Grande Aiguille Rousse (3482m) - Refuge de Prariond

Elevation: +1200 m and - 1200m
Length: 7 to 8 hours approximately

We will leave early for our first Mountaineering day on the glacier that gives birth to the Isère river. The walk  to reach the glacier is quite fast, then the progression on the glacier to reach the Col between the Petite and the Grande Aiguille Rousse is quite easy. We will arrive at the top of the Grande Aiguille Rousse and enjoy a great view on the Italian Gran Paradiso (4,061 m) before descending to the glacier where we will do ropes handling and some learning sessions.

DAY 3 - WEDNESDAY:
Refuge de Prariond - La Galise - Col de Fons - Refuge de Prariond

Elevation: +1,450 and - 1,450 m
Length: 7 to 8 hours approximately

We leave at night in the direction of the Galise and the Bassagne Glacier, we can climb by more or less steep passages depending on your shape before arriving at the Bassagne Glacier and at the top of Galise. If you are fit, we can descend to the Italian Glacier of Basei and bypass the Roc de Bassagne to the walk back up again by the Col de Fons and finally walk down on the French side to make a loop from the Thenn de Rhême to the Prariond Hut, where we will have a well deserved rest.

DAY 4 - THURSDAY:
Refuge de Prariond - Via Cordata at Le Crôt then climbing initiation at Le Crôt or Plateau de la Sassière.

Elevation: - 300m then + 400m and - 400 m
Length: around 6 hours

We will descend from our Base Camp to discover another beautiful area. Depending on your wishes and on weather you can decide with your guide either to take the Via Cordata du Crôt with the possibility of some rock climbing nearby or climb higher for the day on the cliff of Sassière, in a beautiful place just aside the torrent with marmots to make you some company.
The guide will take you back to the Funicular where you met on Monday morning.

End of the day around 6 p.m. or stay a few days in the hotel of your choice.

See you soon for new adventures!

Equipement

TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT

• Hiking Goretex Boots (category C) suitable to crampons
• crampons
• walking poles
• iceaxe
• helmet.

HOW TO DRESS

First layer on the skin:

• (merino wool) thermal/breathable long sleeve
• (merino wool) long thermal/breathable underwear
• woolen warm socks

Second layer:

• warm technical sweater
• waterproof & windproof hiking pants

Third layer:

• thin but warm duvet (to wear just in case of cold temperatures)

Last layer:

• waterproof & windproof Goretex jacket

Important Additionals:

• sleeping sheet for the hut
• warm winter hat
• buff/head-neckband
• warm winter gloves
• headlamp
• suncream (protection factor 50+)
• sunglasses
• camera

If you have any doubts or simply need clarification on what gear to take for your climb, you can take a look at our Blog page "What gear for mountaineering?"

N.B. Consider a change for when you are back to the hut (you can leave some stuff at the hut).

IMPORTANT: if a person is not properly equipped and dressed, the mountain guide may decide not to allow him/her to take part in the climb. We ask you to read carefully the equipment list provided in the programme PDF and to call us if you have any doubts.

Level

Level needed

This is a program that perfectly suits people who want to approach the mountaineering world.
The ascent does not present special technical difficulties, but it is mandatory to use harness and crampons: it is necessary to have good physical training and good resistance to walk for long hours as the second day counts a total of 6 to 8 hours walk, depending on the training and speed of the group.

Useful infos

Useful information to plan your mountaineering course week

Insurance

Cancellation and repatriation insurance is mandatory, as is mountain search and rescue insurance (minimum cover of 10,000 Euros).

Esprit Montagne offers the following insurance: https://www.assurance-multi-sports.com.

Access

How to reach Bourg Saint Maurice, 73700

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

Meeting on the first day

On the first day, the meeting will be at 9:00 am directly at the Funicular car parking next to Bourg Saint Maurice train station. Those arriving by train are 2 minutes walk from the car parking, those arriving by car can leave it in the free parking during the whole week.

Car sharing

When you register online, you can choose whether or not you wish to take part in the car-sharing scheme to get to the starting point of your course. Once you have made your booking, you can log back into your Esprit Montagne account to access a section dedicated to carpooling. Here you will find the contacts of the other participants who are interested in car-sharing, so that you can contact them directly.