Menabreaz Bivouac, from Grand Brissogne

Introduction

The bivouac building is made of stone: it is very spartan and only sleeps four. It is attached to the hunting lodge of the Beck Peccoz barons and close to a forestry building. The environment is one of the most solitary and wild in the valley, and the hike is recommended for those who like to venture far from the busy places.

Description

From the no-trespassing sign, continue along the inter-pasture road that enters the Laures valley and ends near a water intake near the stream (0h30'). Take the path that starts immediately to the right of the outlet and, having passed a few wooden bridges, reach some huts near a fork in the road (1h30'). Here, take the path indicated by a post with a number that goes up to the right and not the one that goes straight ahead, which with narrow hairpin bends passes through a characteristic overhanging balcony over the falls of the Laures stream. After crossing the stream on a bridge, you reach the Vieille Alp (1623 m), continue through sparse larch trees, accompanied by the view of the Breithorns, and cross a few small wooden gates to reach the Le Tramail Alp (1951 m) at the foot of the Becca di Seneva. Further on, cross the stream twice more and continue on open ground to a crossroads: from here, leaving behind the old, now impassable mule track that crossed the stream and climbed in hairpin bends, it is instead necessary to climb a steep little path indicated by stone cairns and a few markers that reaches the stream in a hollow where it can be easily crossed. At the end, going along slopes that are less and less steep and leaving a chapel on the left, you climb over the hump that forms the shore of the Lago Inferiore di Laures, descend briefly and reach the hunting lodge and the bivouac. From here you can admire the east face of the Emilius.
For those who want to, and still have some "petrol" left over, it is advisable to continue along the path to the left, which immediately crosses the lake's small tributary and then continues, without an excessive gradient, to reach the Lago Lungo (2632 m 0h15' from the bivouac): during the approach to this lake, it is worth casting a panoramic glance northwards towards the Lago Inferiore below with the bivouac and the distant Grand Combin. Continuing now to the right of this lake and ascending, still on a track, between some sparse grassy expanses and a few rocky outcrops, you will reach the Lago Superiore di Laures (2787 m 0h40' from the bivouac).

The return is along the same route as the ascent.