Sport Itineraries: Saint-Rhémy-En-Bosses

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.

When you get to Saint-Rhémy, continue by car along the Gran San Bernardo road until you get to Baou, about 2 km from the mountain pass on the border. Park the car and leaving the pasture on the left, take route 13A which bypasses a path on the left, crosses a stream and goes up to a plateau surrounded by the peaks of Mont Fourchon, Drône and Grande Chenalette. When you come to another crossroad, keep on the same trail on the right and after crossing back over the stream, go across alpine meadows then debris terrain until you come to Fenêtre de Ferret.
It is possible to continue into Swiss territory along the red and white trail, which takes about 40 minutes to reach the Ferret lakes.

From the parking lot of Crévacol, continue along the dirt road that passes under the viaduct. Cross a bridge and after a few hundred meters you will find the deviation on the left to reach the same destination on path 9, shorter but steeper. Keep on the main farm road to the bottom of the valley. Here there is a crossroad that leads to a small group of houses but we continue on the main road to the left where the chapel of St. Michel is located. The road continues steeper and after a series of bends, it leads us to Arp du Bois village, the destination of our journey.

This itinerary is a section of Alta Via 1, AV1. From the village of Saint-Rhémy, cross the Grand-Saint-Bernard stream and 100 m after crossing the dirt road, take the wide path on the right that goes up to the residential area of Laval. Follow the paved road through Couchepache and Mottes then, after a brief section in descent, take the dirt road on the right, which goes under the motorway overpass and continue on level ground to the pasture Devies.
Just after this point, take the path on the right that runs along the dry-stone wall, which goes up through the meadows until it comes to the pasture of Merdeux Inferiore. From here, a short section on the dirt road takes you to the pasture of Côtes, then continues on the path, which runs up the hillside towards the pasture of Moindaz. Go up the wide green meadows until you you come to the pasture of Tsa de Merdeux and then, after crossing several streams, and going up a steep grassy crag, you come to the plateau of Lake Merdeux. From here, the trail rises in altitude and lead to a debris basin surrounded by a beautiful, jagged, rocky crest. Cross the basin and take a diagonal slant to the left, and after a few narrow bends you come to the final steep debris slope that leads up to Col de Malatrà.

Description from the Alta Via 1 leaflet

When you get to Rosière, in the municipality of Saint-Rhémy, where there is parking space near the Crévacol lift facilities, take the road for Farettes, soon reached after going under the overpass across the road towards the tunnel. From here, leave the road and continue left on route 9, until you come to Arp du Bois Désot (1936 m). Continue up on a short section of the dirt road until you meet route 9 again on the left. From here continue until you get to Col Serena.
This easy climbing excursion in the pastures of the high valley of Gran San Bernardo, amidst the spontaneous flora, white limestone rock, and the fauna that inhabits this wonderful area of the Alps. From the mountain pass, the valley opens onto the magnificent Vertosan basin, dotted with pastures and almost unknown.

From Saint-Rhémy town hall, go down the road that leads to Pleiney. After Comba and Pont cross the bridge over the Artanavaz. Continue after the bridge on the road that leads to Alpe Citrin Desot, until you come to trail 8 on the left, which you should climb. After crossing a forest road, during the climb you can make out the ferruginous Citrin spring on the right. Continue up Alpe Citrin di Meiten and cross Alpe Citrin Damon. Just before you get to the pass, near a crossroad, ignore signpost 8A, which leads to Lake Citrin, and continue left on route 8 until you reach the hill.
The itinerary also corresponds to a section of the Via Alpina (VA).

In Saint-Rhémy, take route 13B, which goes through the village and comes to a paved road, which heads towards Col Gran San Bernardo. Take this road on the left, and after 250 metres, leave it on the right for the dirt road that runs parallel to the stream, and gently gains altitude. Cross several streams until you come to route 13B, which goes off to the right and winds gently upwards.
Continue until you come to the point where the trail joins route 13, signposted as the ancient Napoleonic road, and from here, continue in the direction of Cantine (2203 m). Here the trail veers right onto the high-altitude meadows, and crosses the paved road several times on its way up to Plan de Jupiter and, along the paved road, towards Col Gran San Bernardo.
Nearby you will find the lake of the same name.

Proceed West along the slightly ascending snow-covered slope, leaving the covered road to the Gran San Bernard tunnel on your left. When you reach the slope that returns to the Crévacol lifts, continue straight until you enter the wide snow-covered Plan Praz pasture. You’ll find the track marked by specific signs on your right: turn, practically reversing your steps, and continue along Ru d’Arc. The route is flat passing under the beautiful Henvy house and, just after a left turn, you cross a steeper segment (the only difficult one) which returns to the easy route that quickly leads to the Chantel desot buildings. Enter the woods until you find another slope: turn left and cross a pleasant wooded section. After exiting the woods, you’ll find the Chantel damon houses standing on a short plain. Re-enter the woods and start the gentle ascent among the larch trees full of lichens. When you reach the slope, cross it and follow the signs for the bar. The route ends with an ascent out of the woods to the Arp du Jeux pastures (1970 m) just in front of the ski slopes.
Return back down the route up or climb straight down to the valley floor until you reach the route you took up, following it to the parking lot.

Follow the directions for the Col Serena, making your way along an almost flat stretch of track which passes under the viaduct of the Great St. Bernard tunnel. Cross the Torrent de la Belle Combe and walk along the side of a few Alpine pastures before entering a small larch tree wood near the torrent. You emerge into a beautiful clearing and then continue walking along the side of the torrent, and further on you turn left and continue on as far as the Chapel of Saint-Michel. Veer to the left and make your way towards the Eteley Alpine pasture, and then continue on, following the track that climbs up along the ridge with a number of hairpin bends. As the path gradually continues its climb, the steepness of the ridge diminishes until you come to the Alpine pastures of Arp du Bois Desot. Make your way past the houses on the left and continue a short climb until you meet the farm track once more: turn right and go round a short relief. You go past the Alpine pastures of Arp du Bois du Meiten and finally you climb steeply uphill around a couple of wide bends and take a beautiful diagonal path to reach the Alpine pastures of Arp du Bois Damon.

From Saint-Rhémy, briefly climb the road for Gran San Bernardo to the left hair-pin curve: here you’ll find the Alta Via 1 signposts that indicate the route along a beautiful snow-covered path. After an initial downward slope, you’ll start to climb to the fork for Saint-Oyen, marked by another signpost. The route is well-marked and a large left bend leads to the southern-exposed ridge. After several more curves you’ll reach the Plantaluc mountain pasture.
A few more curves leads into the beautiful Bois Coupé fir wood. The climb is never too intense and is extremely pleasant, especially with fresh snow. You’ll find a slope at a hair-pin turn: turn left ignoring the fork for Barasson and continue along the practically straight path. After two more long curves you’ll find the last part of the path.
You are near the end. After the last straightaway, you’ll find a small building and, just beyond, you’ll exit the woods in Plan Puitz with its characteristic grotto fortifications.

Park your car in the square at the Crevacol ski-lift facilities and follow the road that passes under the viaduct then pass on the left side of the river. Follow the estate road for a stretch, then head up to the left as far as an Alpine Hut and pick up the inter-estate road. Follow it, cutting across it in certain parts along pretty slopes as far as the Bois Bas mountain pasture. After a while, cross over to the left between the larches and climb up the vast valley in the direction of the pass with a non-obligatory route.
Descend the upward itinerary.

From Cerisey, follow the stream until you start to climb South-West towards the Citrin Inferiore pastures. Cross the valley (at times invaded by avalanches) and climb in the steep woods trying to follow the summer trail. At the Citrin di Mezzo pasture, cross the unmarked valley heading for the hill. Just before the first rise, turn right and enter a beautiful valley that leads to a gap in the North-East ridge. Climb as far as possible on skis and then continue on foot.
Descent down the upward itinerary.
In safe snow conditions you can also directly descend the steep southern slope.

From the parking area to the pass you go up the paved road to the left, before reaching the hill, until you reach the museum and the historic dog breeding facility. A muletrack breaks off from the facility, to the left, and, in about fifty meters, reaches the very old cableway facility. To the right a trail can be seen, marked with white lines. You climb up a very severe environment, passing a few fields to the left and going around some rocky gorges to the right. The aim is to reach the arrival aerial station of the Ospizio (hospice) at 2770 meters.
Therefore, continue to the right, always in ascent, (written Ferret red) on the broken path always on the trail marked by lines with three danger triangles… Once at the third mark there is a metal ladder that passes an overhang and leads to a cable. A second ladder leads to inclined rocks that allow you to go on the ridge. Proceeding to the left for a few meters you reach the peak of the Grande Chenalette which is distinguished by a metal pole. Be very careful in the winter because the broken area looks like a huge snow pile. The trail’s difficulty increases at the PD. The descent is carried out along the itinerary of the ascent.