Place Moulin – Aosta mountain hut

From the Aosta motorway tollbooth, take the gallery towards the Great St. Bernard Pass. Turn right for the Valpelline, drive past it and continue on to Bionaz. Take left for the Place Moulin dam, and park there.

The Aosta mountain hut is located at the end of the little valley that leads to Tête de la Valpelline. This long, narrow valley remains wild and unspoilt and perhaps merits a more “spiritual” journey rather than a merely recreational journey.

From the Place Moulin parking area, continue along the dirt road that starts with a short rise an then continues along the flat right around the artificial lake (5 km) to the Prarayer mountain hut (2005 m).
From the mountain hut, continue through the valley, following path no. 10A, ignoring the paths that take up to the right (first for the Livournea valley and then for the Alpe Bella Tsa mountain pasture). Path 10A climbs up on the left, where it meets a magnificent 500-year-old larch tree, which has today reached a height of over 24 metres. The path then makes its way through the large main valley, until it reaches a walkway of 2520 metres. Here, instead of continuing towards the valley bottom (along an old equipped path that is now dangerous as a result of falling blocks of ice), head east towards a large moraine; climb up it and walk along it until the point where it meets the valley of the Tête de Valpelline glacier. After a brief descent, go back onto the path, which, after a series of little bends, reaches the mountain hut.