The Swiss Alps. Kev Reynolds

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      The road actually continues a short distance beyond the hotel to the barrage, and through tunnels emerges in the upper reaches of the valley on the west side of Lac de Mauvoisin, where a track (banned to private vehicles) continues almost as far as Cabane de Chanrion. On the east side of the barrage another track goes through more tunnels before heading south high above the water level. This is the preferred route by which to approach the Chanrion Hut, for about 30mins beyond the barrage a waymarked path strikes up the hillside, and crossing pastures eventually leads to the Lacs de Tsofeiret. Across the valley the abrupt wall of Combin de la Tsessette’s East Face makes an impressive show. About 70m above the largest of the three lakes, Col de Tsofeiret is very much a col of two sides; on the north it’s a grass slope, but the south side is precipitous rock down which steep zigzags lead to a chain-assisted stretch, then wood-braced steps before tucking against crags and descending to a moraine wilderness deposited by the Glacier du Brenay. About 40mins from the col you arrive at the Cabane de Chanrion (2462m), set in a basin of grass bluffs, pool-filled hollows, and mountains hung about with small glaciers, 3½hrs from the Mauvoisin roadhead (www.chanrion.ch).

      When Whymper passed the night of 5 July 1865 at what he referred to as the chalets of Chanrion he was not impressed: ‘a foul spot, which should be avoided’ was his opinion. Cabane de Chanrion is very different. Owned by the Genevoise section of the SAC, it has 85 dormitory places and is permanently staffed from mid-March to the middle of May, and from mid-June to mid-September.

      Using this as a base, a number of possibilities arise. For walkers a visit to the 2797m Fenêtre de Durand on the frontier ridge southwest of the hut is an obvious attraction. There’s nothing difficult about it, for a decent path mounts the flower-carpeted left bank lateral moraine of a small glacier in just 2½hrs, and views in all directions are very fine – the Gran Paradiso range especially catching your attention on the Italian side. The pass makes a natural crossing point between Val de Bagnes and Val d’Ollomont, and is used by trekkers tackling the Tour des Combins (see 2:2). Above the pass to the west rises a ‘wonderful slag heap of shale’ (Lindsay Griffin in the AC guide Valais Alps West). This description of Mont Avril (3347m) may be apt, but the easy 1½hr ascent via an unmissable trail is worth the efforts of walkers, for the summit view on a good day is truly uplifting.

      One of the most attractive peaks on show from the Chanrion Hut is the Bec d’Epicoune, an elegant 3528m Ober Gabelhorn lookalike which stands on the frontier ridge southeast of the hut. Not surprisingly it’s a popular goal for climbers, for whom the North Ridge is generally reckoned to offer the best route to the summit (PD; 5hrs). Looming over the hut to the east, the 3403m rock pyramid of the Pointe d’Otemma is another popular target for climbers based here for a few days. It has three prominent ridges; the NE, South and West, each of which may be climbed by PD+ routes.

      Then there’s the 3875m La Ruinette, another pyramid-shaped peak, this one located north of Pointe d’Otemma from which it is separated by the Brenay glacier. First climbed by Whymper with Christian Almer and Franz Biner on 6 July 1865, it is a tremendous vantage point, as Whymper was at pains to point out. ‘As a standpoint it has not many superiors. You see mountains, and nothing but mountains. It is a solemn … view, but it is very grand. The great Combin, with its noble background of the whole range of Mont Blanc, never looks so big as it does from here. In the contrary direction, the Matterhorn overpowers all besides’ (Scrambles Amongst the Alps). Whymper also stated (and there’s no reason to contradict him) that ‘There is not, I suppose, another mountain in the Alps of the same height that can be ascended so easily. You have only to go ahead: upon its southern side one can walk about almost anywhere.’ Although his route of ascent is rarely followed these days, the voie normale by the Col de Lire Rose and the SW Ridge gives an enjoyable 5½hr PD- climb.

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