Jonathan Williams & Kev Reynolds 
Trekking in the Vanoise [PDF ebook] 
Tour of the Vanoise and the Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise

This guide describes the eleven-day 163km Tour of the Vanoise and the five-day 72km Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise, two fantastic hut-to-hut treks through the pristine Alpine landscapes of France’s Vanoise National Park. Three other short treks – the Tour of the Eastern Vanoise, the Tour of the Western Vanoise and a Traverse of the Vanoise via the GR5 and GR55 – are also summarised. The routes tackle several passes in excess of 2500m but there are no glacier crossings, no significant scrambling and no lengthy paths exposed to either stonefall or vertigo-inspiring exposure (though optional variants may involve some slightly more challenging sections), and waymarking is usually clear – making this an ideal route for those new to Alpine trekking.

The guide contains everything you need to plan and walk the routes, with advice on travel to the region, accommodation and recommended kit. Clear route description, mapping and overview statistics are provided for each day stage, there are notes on the region’s plants and wildlife and other points of interest, and accommodation listings and a handy glossary can be found in the appendices. Completing the package, the beautiful colour photos will call to your wanderlust.

The Vanoise is less well known than its neighbours Mont Blanc and the Ecrins massif but is equally beautiful. The scenery is quintessentially Alpine, with 3000m peaks decorated with gleaming glaciers and snowfields, valleys glistening with lakes and streams, towering moraine walls, impossibly steep rock slabs and, in the early summer, meadows extravagant with a riot of alpine flowers. A well-appointed network of refuges promises a warm welcome at the end of each day’s walking. It’s a perfect place to experience the pleasures of Alpine trekking and these routes offer the ideal opportunity to explore this magnificent region.

Table des matières

Map key

Overview map

Route summary tables

Introduction

Tour of the Vanoise

Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise

Short tours in the Vanoise

When to go

How to get there

Accommodation

Notes for walkers

Recommended maps

Equipment

Safety in the mountains

The Vanoise National Park

Wildlife and Alpine flowers

Using this guide

Tour of the Vanoise

Stage 1 Modane to Refuge de l’Orgère

Stage 2 Refuge de l’Orgère to Refuge de Plan Sec

Stage 3 Refuge de Plan Sec to Refuge de l’Arpont

Stage 4 Refuge de l’Arpont to Refuge du Plan du Lac

Stage 5 Refuge du Plan du Lac to Refuge du Vallonbrun

Stage 6 Refuge du Vallonbrun to Bonneval-sur-Arc

Stage 7 Bonneval-sur-Arc to Val d’Isère

Stage 7A Bonneval-sur-Arc to Refuge de la Femma

Stage 8 Val d’Isère to Refuge de la Leisse

Stage 8A Val d’Isère to Refuge de la Femma

Stage 9 Refuge de la Leisse to Pralognan-la-Vanoise

Stage 9A Refuge de la Femma to Pralognan-la-Vanoise

Stage 10 Pralognan-la-Vanoise to Refuge de Péclet-Polset

Stage 11 Refuge de Péclet-Polset to Modane

Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise

Stage 1 Pralognan-la-Vanoise to Refuge de la Valette

Stage 2 Refuge de la Valette to Refuge du Fond d’Aussois

Stage 3 Refuge du Fond d’Aussois to Refuge de l’Arpont

Stage 4 Refuge de l’Arpont to Refuge de la Col de la Vanoise

Stage 5 Refuge de la Col de la Vanoise to Pralognan-la-Vanoise

Short tours in the Vanoise

1 Tour of the Eastern Vanoise

2 Tour of the Western Vanoise

3 Traverse of the Vanoise via the GR5 and GR55

Appendix A Useful contacts

Appendix B Accommodation

Appendix C French-English glossary

Appendix D Bibliography

A propos de l’auteur

A lifelong passion for the countryside in general, and mountains in particular, drove Kev’s desire to share his sense of wonder and delight in the natural world through his writing, guiding, photography and lecturing. Spending several months every year in various high-mountain regions researching guidebooks made him The Man with the World’s Best Job.

Kev enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Cicerone from the 1970s, producing 50 books, including guides to five major trekking regions of Nepal and to numerous routes in the European Alps and Pyrenees, as well as walking guides for Kent, Sussex and the Cotswolds. ‘A Walk in the Clouds’ is a collection of autobiographical short stories recording 50 years of mountain travel and adventures. He was also the contributing editor of the collaborative guide ‘Trekking in the Himalaya’ and Cicerone’s celebratory anniversary compilation ‘Fifty Years of Adventure’.

A frequent contributor to outdoor magazines, Kev also wrote and illustrated brochures for national tourist authorities and travel companies. When not away in the mountains, Kev lived with his wife in a small cottage among what he called ‘the Kentish Alps’, with unrestricted walking country on the doorstep. But he also travelled throughout Britain during the winter months to share his love of the places he wrote about through a series of lectures.

Sadly, Kev passed away in 2021. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him and by many more he inspired through his writing and talks.