Sport Itineraries: Étroubles

Climbing up towards the Great St Bernard Pass, the first centre you come to is Gignod, which features a picturesque church with a Gothic entrance.
Continuing the ascent, you reach the mediaeval village of Étroubles, and a few kilometres further on, you pass through Saint-Oyen, a small village with traditional Val d’Aosta style houses.
At the foot of the main village, you can see the Great St Bernard charitable home run by monks, and the Regina Pacis monastery.

The last municipality on the Italian side is Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses, famous for its DOP raw ham called “Vallée d’Aoste Jambon de Bosses”.
Before entering the village, you turn right onto the road which, in 10 kilometres, leads you to the Great St Bernard Pass. The Celts, the Romans and, from the Middle Ages, numerous pilgrims who traveled the Via Francigena in the direction of Rome passed through this Alpine pass. The most famous crossing was that made by Napoleon. Just a few metres across the Pass, on the Swiss side, stands the famous hospice where they breeded St Bernard dogs.

Places you go through on the route:
- Aosta (590 m)
- Arpuilles junction 1.9 km (690 m)
- Valpelline junction 3.8 km (780 m)
- Gignod 8 km (960 m)
- Etroubles 16.4 km (1,265 m)
- Saint-Oyen 18.1 km (1,350 m)
- Great St Bernard Pass junction 20.3 km (1,490 m)
- Saint-Rhémy 22.2 km (1,615 m)
- Great St Bernard Pass 35.1 km (2,473 m)

Route included in a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 1973 (Geneva/Aosta). Stage won by Merckx (Belgium).

You can immediately take the Great Saint Bernard Valley or lengthen the road a bit, choosing the variation that will take you to Doues, picturesque village in the middle of the mountain, in a prime panoramic position.

Another location to “taste”, in every sense of the word, is Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses, where the renowned Jambon de Bosses was born, a genuine gastronomic rarity, celebrated every year in July with a big festival.

Past Saint-Rhémy, the road climbs up to 8114 feet of the* Great Saint Bernard Pass* (don’t forget gloves and heavy sweater!), important alpine passage used since antiquity, as attested to by numerous archaeological finds. It was Saint Bernard himself who constructed here, in the 11th century, the grand hospice that for a long time gave assistance to travellers. Behind his statue, which today dominates the pass, the ancient Roman road carved into the rock is still quite visible.

Leave the car at the mandatory point near the hamlet of Chez-Les-Blancs Dessus, in the municipality of Etroubles, and take route 4 which initially goes along the valley floor, then moves towards the ridge which goes up to Praz-Gallet (1626 m). After a few dozen metres on the private road, before the cabins you come to a crossroad and continue on the left, still on route 4, until you come to Alpe Ars (1975 m). From here, continue along the same dirt road, or alternatively, along the path below the pasture, until you come to Alpeggio Tardiva ( 2220 m) and, continuing along the path to Col Tardiva. Now take route 3 on the right, and follow the crest that bends to the left until you come to Pointe Chaligne.

Arriving from Aosta, before a viaduct and the Chez-Les-Blancs sign, turn left for Echevennoz and park your car.
Go back on foot about 200 meters in the direction of village Chez-Les-Blancs-Dessus until you reach a stable where the indications of the Via Francigena are visible, yellow arrows or signs 103. This section also coincides with the path 1 which reaches Plan d ‘Avie in Aosta.
Upstream of the stable, turn left and follow the path entering the* wood* which, except for rare stretches, will accompany us along the whole route. The path is flat with rare ups and downs, pay attention at the intersections with the farm roads and always follow the 103 signs. Along the way you can find benches to rest. Shortly before arriving at the end of the route, crossing the Buthier stream, you arrive at the “Je te salue” cave with the famous Madonnina.
Another ten minutes and a large sign with information on the Via Francigena marks the final crossroads of our route. From this point, if you do not want to retrace the same stretch, going down to the left, continue on route 103 and you will arrive at Gignod Capoluogo where, eventually, you can take a bus for the return.
If you want to shorten the route by twenty minutes it is also possible to start from the village La Clusaz, from the large square to the left of the homonymous restaurant and going up about 200 meters of the dirt road that starts from the parking lot you reach Via Francigena. From this point, with direction Gignod, the route is about 3.7 km.

In Eternod, a hamlet of the municipality of Etroubles which can be reached by car or mule track, take route 17 which goes up to reach the private road for Montagne Barasson (1868 m). Just before the cabins, on the right of the road the path starts again which takes you into the valley and Montagne Crétoux (2074 m). The trail veers right, goes down to the stream and starts again on the other side of the stream. In a short time you come to a crossroad. Ignore the branch on the left marked 16, then turn right until your reach an altitude of approximately 2260 m, where the trail bends left and takes you to Montagne Paglietta (2320 m). From here, the same itinerary takes up up the last rocky step and, turning right at a crossroad, you come to the summit of Mont Paglietta.

The itinerary starts on the road that connects Etroubles to Allein. A few metres past the bridge over the Menouve, turn into route 22, which crosses several points of the agricultural road for Cerisey (1411 m). The path goes through woods to reach Casa Guet (1681 m), then runs alongside the road that goes over Rû d’Allein. Cross the brook and when you reach around 1800 m altitude, the itinerary bends leftwards and later becomes flatter as it crosses the steep slope of the valley. At 2350 m above sea level, near Alpe Crou de Bleintse (2377 m), you meet the AV1 route, which goes up to Col Champillon, which is now visible.

From Etroubles follow the campsite road briefly, then take the private road along the exercise course (6C) towards the Saint-Oyen campsite. About halfway along the road, take route 6A on the left, which goes up into the wood, intersecting the road several times, until it comes to the military road marked 3C. After a few dozen metres on this road, take route 6A on the right, which takes you to Grande Tête.

From the large parking lot of Voulpellière of Etroubles, take the slightly uphill dirt road that goes into the *wood*s. Along the path, you can also push a stroller and use the sports equipment of the life path. After about 20 minutes slightly uphill, the road begins to descend gently, letting you see a campsite and a picnic area in the distance. Once you arrive at the picnic area, you can cool off at the fountain or at the camping or sports center pbar. The return is on the same path.

If you prefer to do a ring route (not with strollers), continue for about 200 meters on the left along the paved road passing near the ancient carpentry shop. Near the Pineta campsite you cross the bridge on the right and after a few tens of meters on the left you see the path that runs alongside the asphalt road. After a few tens of meters, the path joins the Via Francigena (trail marker 103). At this point, go right, cross the paved road and continue along the Via Francigena to the town of Saint-Oyen. Following the signs 103, you make a small zig zag between the houses, you get to Chateau Verdun, a pilgrimage stop, a further 200 meters up the slight slope along the paved road. You cross the state road where there is a large wooden statue. From there it is easy to see the path on the right that will take us back to Etroubles. If you choose the ring route, the overall length is about 5 km with a drop of about 80 meters and a journey time of about 1h15.

In Eternod, a hamlet of the municipality of Etroubles which can be reached by car or mule track to Vachéry, take route 16 which goes up to reach the private road for Barasson pasture (1868 m). Just before the cabins, on the right of the road the path starts again which takes you into the valley and Montagne Crétoux (2074 m). The trail veers right, goes down to the stream and starts again on the other side of the stream. In a short time you come to a junction. Ignore the right-hand branch signposted 17, and turn left to reach the base of a rock formation, where you turn right and higher up left, to go into a basin where the trail is not very clear marked. It becomes more visible a short distance ahead, on the grassy slope where it starts to climb towards the east hill of Barasson.

From Vachéry, a hamlet in the municipality of Etroubles, follow mule track 18, which leads left to Pallais Dessous. Cross the paved road and continue a few metres on the right until you reach a crossroad, where you ignore mule track 16, and continue on the mule track on the right marked 19A, and which intersects the paved road several times leading to Prailles Dessous. From here, continue along the mule track towards Praillles Dessus.

Follow route 6 “Vallone di Menouve”, along the road transformed in the recess the Super Saint-Bernard slope that quickly leads to the fork for Quaye. Climb the slope that crosses the lower part of the Menouve valley, entering the larch woods that provides a beautiful glimpse of Mont Velan. Cross the two long bends to the fork for Col de Champillon. Ignoring the fork on the right, cross several turns (some segments make the crossing a bit difficult) to then hug the lower edge of the woods to a fork: turn left and continue to the Combe German mountain pasture. Climb the short slope on the right of the mountain pasture, turning right to the Plan Bois buildings. After the houses, return into the woods until you hit the slope coming from Essanaz. Turning to your right and leaving the signposts for snow shoes, continue along the almost flat segment to the Menouve mountain pasture that leads to the steepest part of the route. Climb the short but rugged peak that leads to the farm road in view of the not so far off Tracaoudette mountain pasture. Continue along the unmarked path towards the pasture and cross to Tracaoudette. From the pasture, continue along the slope crossing the most difficult part of the route: you’ll cross rather steep peaks that require good snow stability. Snow drifts often make this part of the route a bit problematic. After the difficult part, you’ll near the Tsa de Menouve buildings: climb the valley towards the base where the Nord de Menouve hill already appears. Next, turn a bit to the left, climbing the last peaks that separate you from the top. After cutting across the farm road, you’ll first reach the buildings under the mountain pasture and, finally, Tsa Nuova.

From Prailles, 1,555 m, follow the farm road for several metres and turn left as soon as possible to climb the wide fields above. Cross the various Bezet pastures to the base of the woods. Head North and keep to the small wooded valleys until you see the Monteret peak, 2,307 m. Turn slightly right to the ridge, free of vegetation. Follow the marked route on the ridge to the top.