Rifugio Dondena (via Col Laris) – Château (Champorcher)
This is an opportunity to look out over Piedmont, passing two hills and four lakes.
On the downhill sections, the trail is not always very visible, and in some places it is a bit exposed. Today's stage winds through a less-traveled area, which requires some attention to find the right path, but is rewarded by the wilderness. If you are tired, once you reach the village of Laris, where there is a restaurant, you can descend to the valley using the ski lift to reach Chardonney.
Most usefull data
| Difficulty | E |
|---|---|
| Uphill slope | 540 m |
| Total length | 16.900 m |
| Total time | 5h 5m |
| Assiduity | medium |
| Recommended period | Jul - Aug |
Map
Other technical data
| Start point | Dondena Refuge (Champorcher) |
|---|---|
| Start elevation | 2.192 m |
| Arrival point | Château (Champorcher) |
| Arrival elevation | 1.412 m |
| Max elevation | 2.584 m |
| Exposure | alcuni |
| Downhill slope | 1.315 m |
|---|---|
| Uphill time | 2h 15m |
| Downhill time | 2h 50m |
| Trail sign | 6, 4F, 5 |
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 village, turn left at the traffic circle in the direction of Champorcher.Pass through the village of Hône and enter the Champorcher Valley.Pass Pontboset and continue until you reach Champorcher.At the end of the village, turn right in the direction of Dondena.
Continue up the mountain slope until you pass the parking lot of the Barbustel refuge, where you continue on an unpaved, uneven road to Dondena, where there is a traffic ban. From the Verrès tollbooth, turn right in the direction of Turin, pass Arnad and at the traffic circle turn right in the direction of Champorcher.
Trail description
From the hut take the rural road traveled the previous day, at the fork continue straight ahead in the direction of the stream. You now follow the dirt road that, with a series of hairpin bends, takes you to Cimetta Rossa, the upper station of the Champorcher ski lifts. You descend to the right along an old track until you reach the royal mule track.
You follow the mule track uphill, pass near Lake Laris, and then reach the pass overlooking the Soana valley in Piedmont. From here you cross to the left, reaching another pass in a short time. From the pass, you descend into the wide basin, cross to the left, and pass high above Lake Mulère and Lake Piana.
At this point, you veer sharply to the left and reach Lake Vercoche. You skirt the entire lake on the right, where, just after the small dam, there is an always-open building that can be used in case of emergency. At the end, the trail climbs slightly and crosses steep slopes, gravel in some places, until you reach a ridge of red rock.
Once over the ridge, you cross to the left some sections of scree until you reach the larch forest. You cross the stream and, skirting the ski slope, you reach the arrival of the Laris cable car, which can be used to descend to the valley.
From the arrival of the lifts, you continue along a dirt track until you reach the first houses of Chardonney. Crossing the bridge, you skirt the headquarters of the "Lou Dzeut" cooperative, which uses hemp to create excellent artisanal products.
We pass between the houses until we reach the large parking lot, from where we follow the car road for a short distance and then cross the picnic area and the stream. We continue on the right side of the stream until we find, just before the main town of Champorcher, a bridge that takes us back to the orographic left and along the sidewalk in short order to the main town Château, where we can admire the church and tower.
