Some snowshoes itineraries

Continue along the road for Turlin: after about ten minutes turn right onto the slope that climbs the mountain side. Pass the isolated La Premou house (1685 m, 0h45’): an isolated house with a view of Mont Blanc. Continue a couple hundred meters more to the fork: turn 180° and head North. You’ll slowly return towards the central valley and the unmistakable peaks of Mont Fallère, Pointe de Chaligne and the further away peaks of Mont Velan and Grand Combin will start to appear. Still climbing, you’ll reach the Titeun mountain pasture. Cross the pasture veering towards the right until you reach a delightful plain. Cross the snow-covered fields on the right as you please, following the almost always present markings. You’ll soon reach the Alpe Rond-Perrin. Climb the snow-covered ridge after the woods, crossing the farm road a couple times to the Alpe Champchenille.
Hug the pasture and turn left starting up the steepest but most beautiful part of the climb. After the last larch trees, head straight for the forepeak on the snow white slope. When on the peak, cross upwards to the foot of the cross. Pointe de la Pierre is just minutes away.

From Chez les Chenaux, continue West along the snow-covered road. Walk along the side following a couple of watersheds to reach Grand Rond in about 45 minutes. Leave the slope and continue on your right, entering the woods to climb the short peak to another slope: finding your way may be difficult in this segment since there are no markers. Continue north until you reach the slope coming from Ruz near the Moulin stream. Turn right and, following the slope, you’ll be led to the knoll before your destination. Exit the woods where you see the pasture: continue straight towards Alpe Berrier, taking in the exciting views of the nearby Becca di Luseney.

We only recommend you take this route in excellent weather conditions.

Particularly suitable for children and adults curious to discover the secrets and silences of the winter forest.

Follow the farm road untill you reach at first the village of Servaz, where you can see the typical rascard, the stone and wood buildings of Walser origin. Going left to the snowy pastures you arrive at Crépin, where you can admire part of the massif of Monte Rosa. Continue on the path through a dense coniferous forest and reach a small clearing where the chapel of Praz Charbon is located. Then go down towards Extrapiéraz.

Climb from the parking lot until you find the signpost for the Arp Refuge: turn left and climb the slope. After the renovated chalet, turn right and then left, following the signposts for the refuge. When you reach the ski slope, climb it on the right until you find the snow-covered road: turn left and continue to the Chanlochère mountain pasture. After a couple of turns, you’ll gain altitude where you can cross the ski slope to the Chavanne mountain pastures. Turning to the right, enter the valley under Punta Valfredda. Still climbing a couple of bends, you’ll reach the fork for Lake Litteran: ignore the fork and continue across the rugged peaks on Mont Bieteron. Be careful along this section since the steep peaks above the route and susceptible to spontaneous avalanches when snow conditions are not stable.
You’ll find a signpost at a fork at the end of the crossing: leaving the normal summer route on your right, take the long summer route that leads to the Plasina Lakes. You’ll reach a mountain pasture after a couple of curves. Turn right and then slightly to the left to the stream flowing from the Valfredda lakes. Cross the stream which may be totally covered in snow and climb the steep slope to the refuge. A last push and you’ll finally reach the Arp Refuge (2246 m).
In then event of adverse weather conditions, you should climb to the refuge along the lower paths in the Valfredda valley.

The itinerary crosses snowy meadows and climbs in the fir woods to the pasture of Court, sentinel of the village of Extrepieraz and from here briefly on the farm route you can reach the pastures of Salomon, an evocative panoramic view on Brusson and the val d’Ayas.

Take the snow-covered path that quickly climbs towards the Veulla church. The path flattens out near the church and, following the wooden fence, continues towards the rugged profile of Mont Avic. After crossing the wooden bridge, climb the road to reach Crest: path 7 that leads to Praz Orsie starts here. Ignore this path and continue straight along the road bordered by the signs installed by the Park institute to provide information on the details of the ecosystem in the protected area. Slowly enter the woods populated by confers and the particular uncinate pine: the absolute predominance of this specie is rare in the Alps. After crossing another wooden bridge, the path becomes steeper until you reach the site called Magazzino: the small field includes an information panel with a map of the Park routes. Turn to your left following the directions for Servaz and Coucy on path 5C. After a short flat segment, the path turns downwards and only starts to climb after crossing the wooden bridge over the Chalamy stream. After another wooden bridge that crosses a crystal clear mountain stream, continue under a rock ledge to the base of the pasture. The road turns a few times before reaching Servaz desot.
Pass under the rural mountain buildings to the signpost that points to the right heading for the lake. The path immediately climbs the snow-covered slope: the gradient significantly changes. The route continues along rather varied ground with some quite steep segments. At about 1700 m, the path slightly flattens crossing a small group of rocks to then climb the last push. The end is near and the path starts to flatten to reach lake Servaz in just a couple of minutes (1806 m).

Take the paved road from the parking lot to Blanchard: cross the bridge over the Evançon stream and put on your snow shoes.
Climb the summer path to Piani di Verra, quickly entering the larch woods. Follow the series of curves upward to the fork for the small village of Fiéry: turn left for a small visit and then back-track continuing to the right to enter the plain where there are some buildings. Walk around the buildings and cross the bends in the woods, exiting at the edge of the lower Pian di Verra.
Cross the small bridge over the Verra stream as soon as you enter the Verra plain. After crossing the stream, keep to the left side of the valley. Cross the descending slope until you find the sign that indicates the fork for the Ferraro Refuge. Turn left and start to climb the woods crossing the Palon de Résy peaks. After a short climb, exit the woods and head East towards the village of Resy where you will find the Ferraro Refuge (2066 m).
From the refuge, take the summer path that leads to Saint-Jacques: the descent is rather steep and leads around some isolated houses to the starting point.

The route starts by crossing the village of Mandriou following path no. 3. After a few minutes you meet a snowy path which leads to a house a little further on. Ignore the track on the right and climb upwards through the beautiful Bois de Vachère with its larch trees. You come out of the wood into a lovely clearing at he foot of the La Tschavana agriturismo: you go across it until you reach Ru Cortod. From here you climb the gradual slope following the fencing that leads you to the right of the group of houses. You then continue on through another stretch of larch trees which soon disappear giving way to the steep slopes that descend from Mont Facebelle. The next part is a little more arduous but undoubtedly worth the effort with the stunningly beautiful views over Mont Zerbion and the particular mountainslope which separates Val d’Ayas from Valtournenche. You gradually make your way to the foot of Vascotchaz: here you catch a glimpse of the white Sarteur Chapel with its metal cross. You cover the last, short, uphill stretch on unbeaten tracks until you finally reach the Alpine pasture of Vascotchaz. You now continue a fairly steep climb up the mountainside, by trying to perform a number of turns which do not reduce the steepness too much. You bear to the right and once past a rather steep section of the slope, you go across a last sideways section to the left until you reach the ridge: you follow the ridge until you come to the peak where you can enjoy a beautiful view over the whole Monte Rosa massif.

The excursion starts from the Town Hall of Ayas, just above the parish church of Antagnod. The trail number of the path is 105, which climbs among the conifers until reaching the small hamlet of Barmasc, which welcomes hikers with one of the now famous colorful  "Big Benches".