117 CH-VS T4 Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard Pointe de Drône Tête de Fonteinte Lac de Fenêtre Monts Telliers Col des Chevaux

Date : 2023.08.20
Duration on paper : 06h51
Duration real with breaks : 09h52
Difficulty for me : T4 (T5 with tête de Fonteinte)
Physical : extreme
Technical : difficult (very difficult with tête de Fonteinte)
Fear : high ( very high with tête de Fonteinte)
Average Slope : +20.4% -18.0% (-13% max recommended)
Attendance ascent/summit/descent : high/high/low
Comment : I DO NOT RECOMMEND FOLLOWING ME EXACTLY
- Tête de Fonteinte I descended in 90-96% slope on loose rocks (a several tons boulder almost went down) that required calm and experienced pathfinding with 3m downward climb back against the void, this was T5 no room for errors (poles mandatory)
- Monts Telliers has no official trails, my ascent path was technical requiring experienced pathfinding and knowing where to put your hands and feet, any mistake = serious injury of worse, the preferred path which is what I descended is much less steep and easier to walk but there are no visible path and it's a long detour, a preloaded map on your phone or watch is mandatory to descend after the summit I had to check every 10s where to go everything looked the same from above but the differences in slope % are massive if you go left or right I would rank it T3+ because of the lack of clear trail, it's not something an amateur should attempt, it's worth it but it'll drain your energy more than a "railroad" official T3 trail
- and finally doing 3 climbs with off-trails even with "low" elevations was spirit-knees-feet-thighs breaking it will take me several days to recover
RECOMMENDED HIKE INSTEAD : Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard -> Grande Chenalette -> Pointe de Drône -> Fenêtre d'en Haut -> Lacs de Fenêtre -> Col du Bastillon -> Pas des Chevaux

Now that the bad things are out of the way...This hike has absolutely wonderful views there are small and large lakes everywhere, so many we skipped 3/4 of them because of time/distance.
At Grande Chenalette before starting the white-blue trail you need to store your poles if you have any, and get your gloves out because that's a real, if not too dangerous T4 you'll grab chains, ladders, lots of rocks the trail also goes near the void so if someone is scared of heights you should take the T3 trail through Fenêtre de Ferret instead.
Ascending both Col du Bastillon and Pas des Chevaux in one day is physically straining already you better have strength left for both, I totally didn't thus the long time for something that looks easy on paper.
With the off-trailsI did, I would rank this hike in physical effort 2nd after my 31km 2200D+ hike 090 it's that bad, the trails except near the lakes aren't easy to walk and when there's no trail it's a whole different level of physical strain.

YOUTUBE WIKILOC HIKES 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Pb8QVMKa0&list=PLOCc4Atr-UDdfNBqAYLqx-Za4u_53-FOG&index=86
YOUTUBE WIKILOC 360° CAMERA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLj3EzrUEEA&list=PLOCc4Atr-UDerqBhpqpCMGgjAq-KgyRMA&index=41