Château (Champorcher) (via Col Boset) – La Veulla (Pontboset)
This variant is used only to shorten the official stage, which is very challenging. It is a challenging descent, with a barely visible path across steep grass slopes, to be approached carefully and only by experienced hikers. The full route is described for convenience.
Most usefull data
| Difficulty | E+ |
|---|---|
| Uphill slope | 960 m |
| Total length | 17.600 m |
| Total time | 6h 50m |
| Assiduity | low |
| Recommended period | Jul - Aug |
Map
Other technical data
| Start point | Château (Champorcher) |
|---|---|
| Start elevation | 1.412 m |
| Arrival point | La Veulla (Pontboset) |
| Arrival elevation | 772 m |
| Max elevation | 2.037 m |
| Exposure | alcuni |
| Downhill slope | 1.600 m |
|---|---|
| Uphill time | 3h 30m |
| Downhill time | 3h 20m |
| Trail sign | 4A, AV2, 3B, 3A, 2 |
Start point description
At the Pont-Saint-Martin highway exit, turn left in the direction of Aosta.
At the traffic circle, continue on the left in the direction of Aosta.Continue until you reach Bard.After the town, turn left at the traffic circle in the direction of Champorcher.Drive through the town of Hône and enter the Champorcher Valley.Drive past Pontboset and continue to Champorcher.
Trail description
From Château, go back following the route of the previous day, cross the stream and then follow the rural road to the left. After a few hundred meters, go down to the left into a clearing with houses, until you reach a fork in the road.
At this point, you take the Orridi path to the left (with a small detour on the flat to the left you can admire the Goilli di Pourtsèt and the great work done by the waters). The path descends steeply until it skirts the stream and reaches the paved road, which you follow slightly uphill to Outre l'Ève.
Just before the chapel, to the right, the Alleigne Valley mule track begins, which you follow to Plan Bouc (at one point, to the left of the trail, you can admire a monumental ash tree) where you descend to the left to cross the stream. The trail continues through the woods until it reaches Col Boset with a final traverse to the left. From this point the variant begins. From the pass, descend steeply along trail tracks and then cross to the right to the Croset alp.
From the alp, continue to the right with some ups and downs to the Mandaz alp where the main trail is located. Cross to the right, following the flat trail, to reach Lake Champas, which we skirt to the left to enter the woods and descend steeply until we cross the stream and reach the Boset alp.
A nice mule track allows us to reach the various villages of Fournier, with its former 1888 school and chapel. We continue to descend until we reach the paved road, which we follow to the left until we reach the hairpin bend where the canal path is located.
Follow it completely flat (beware of some somewhat exposed sections) and, with a final steep climb, you reach the houses of Crest Dessus. After visiting the village, you descend along the mule track to reach Crest Dessous, where it is also possible to have lunch in a characteristic restaurant. You now follow the beautiful mule track that, passing through the village of Creux, reaches the valley floor, where you cross the bridges of the Vaseras and the Goillet, and then reach the village of Pontboset called La Veulla.