Rifugio Elisabetta-Rifugio Cabane du Combal-Pointes des Charmonts-Rifugio Maison Vieille-Plan-Chécrouit-Dolonne
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 11 mi
- Elevation gain
- 1,886 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 4,718 ft
- Max elevation
- 7,989 ft
- TrailRank
- 32
- Min elevation
- 4,188 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Moving time
- 4 hours 55 minutes
- Time
- 9 hours 46 minutes
- Coordinates
- 3003
- Uploaded
- June 25, 2023
- Recorded
- June 2023
near Porassey, Valle d’Aosta (Italia)
Viewed 122 times, downloaded 1 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Part of the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trail.
Descend to Ponte Combal from Rifugio Elisabetta, an easy descend with mostly flat dirt trail. From Ponte Combal, ascend to Pointes des Charmonts, the trail is initially steep and goes through bushes and forest. Further uphill, the trail becomes scenic and less steep with constant views of glaciers and Mont Blanc. On the path uphill, you will also come across plenty of gushing streams, which you may have to cross at a few places.
Once at the peak, you will have an astounding panoramic view of Val Veny and the surrounding mountains (including Mont Blanc). You can also see Marmots running around and colourful blooms on the alpine green meadows.
The descend from the peak is slightly steep and gets slippery if there’s melting snow along the path. During the descend you will come across plenty of tiny lakes. Lac des Vesses and Lac Checrout are the two prominent lakes where you can sun bath or go for a swim or soothe your aching feet.
After descending for about 2 - 3 hours, you will reach Rifugio Maison La Vieille where you can take a break to rest your knees for a little while or have a nice cold gelato while watching herds of cows grassing around the meadows. The descend from the Rifugio Maison La Vieille is not super scenic but provides you with good views of the Courmayeur town. After about 30 minutes of downhill walking, you will reach Plan Checrouit.
From Plan Checrouit, the descend to Dolonne gets super steep along the forest, so expect only to be surrounded by trees and bushes. Once at Dolonne, You can return to Courmayeur either by walk or by taxi (around 10 euros) or by bus.
Overall, this trail requires a steady downhill hike with an elevation loss of around 1500 m. So owning a pair of knee braces and hiking poles would be a God send.
PS. It’s trail no. 2 on the TMB route. There are cable car and chair lift options in the summer, if you don’t want to hike the entire trail. Please check with the Courmayeur Tourist office for the timings.
Also, if you are a person like me who takes breaks every few min of walking then expect the day to be long. Do not descend from Plan Checrouit to Dolonne when the weather is bad. Do not take this trail if you have bad knees or leg issues.
Safe and happy hiking :)
Descend to Ponte Combal from Rifugio Elisabetta, an easy descend with mostly flat dirt trail. From Ponte Combal, ascend to Pointes des Charmonts, the trail is initially steep and goes through bushes and forest. Further uphill, the trail becomes scenic and less steep with constant views of glaciers and Mont Blanc. On the path uphill, you will also come across plenty of gushing streams, which you may have to cross at a few places.
Once at the peak, you will have an astounding panoramic view of Val Veny and the surrounding mountains (including Mont Blanc). You can also see Marmots running around and colourful blooms on the alpine green meadows.
The descend from the peak is slightly steep and gets slippery if there’s melting snow along the path. During the descend you will come across plenty of tiny lakes. Lac des Vesses and Lac Checrout are the two prominent lakes where you can sun bath or go for a swim or soothe your aching feet.
After descending for about 2 - 3 hours, you will reach Rifugio Maison La Vieille where you can take a break to rest your knees for a little while or have a nice cold gelato while watching herds of cows grassing around the meadows. The descend from the Rifugio Maison La Vieille is not super scenic but provides you with good views of the Courmayeur town. After about 30 minutes of downhill walking, you will reach Plan Checrouit.
From Plan Checrouit, the descend to Dolonne gets super steep along the forest, so expect only to be surrounded by trees and bushes. Once at Dolonne, You can return to Courmayeur either by walk or by taxi (around 10 euros) or by bus.
Overall, this trail requires a steady downhill hike with an elevation loss of around 1500 m. So owning a pair of knee braces and hiking poles would be a God send.
PS. It’s trail no. 2 on the TMB route. There are cable car and chair lift options in the summer, if you don’t want to hike the entire trail. Please check with the Courmayeur Tourist office for the timings.
Also, if you are a person like me who takes breaks every few min of walking then expect the day to be long. Do not descend from Plan Checrouit to Dolonne when the weather is bad. Do not take this trail if you have bad knees or leg issues.
Safe and happy hiking :)
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