Mont de la Saxe, from Raffort
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Description
0h00' Leaving the car in a small car park after the village (note: there are not many parking spaces, so it is advisable to park further down to avoid obstructing residents), continue along a small road that is first asphalted and then, at a chalet on the left, unpaved. Take a tree-lined lane up the orographic left of the Val Sapin stream. After about 5 minutes, you come to a panel with a thematic map of the paths in the Espace Mont Blanc and a signpost indicating the itinerary to follow to reach our destination: path
.
You pass a bar and continue on the dirt road; after a few metres, cross the stream on a small concrete bridge and climb up this stretch of road without too much of a slope, which offers beautiful views of Mont Blanc, the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey and Mont Chetif. After a 20-minute walk, on the bend in the farm road, we come to the crossroads for Belvedere (1580m, 0h45'), trail (37), and for La Saxe (1226m, 0h30'), trail (34). We continue along the road, which crosses a Scots pine and birch forest without any particular difference in altitude and enters the Val Sapin. After about 25 minutes we come to the junction for the refuge, following path
.
We turn left and begin to climb up a beautiful path through a verdant forest; after 0h40' we come to a monument dedicated to the Aosta Battalion and its unmistakable motto!
We continue up into the forest, enjoying sudden panoramic views of the surrounding mountains: in the distance the mountains of La Thuile and in the foreground the mighty Mont Crammont. After about an hour's walk, the path flattens out slightly, heading south and then starts to climb again on the last stretch of the route. Having passed a rudimentary stone bench, we finally leave the last strip of larch woodland and after 1h 25' we reach a signpost at the foot of the hut: in front of us emerges in all its splendour Mont Blanc and the unmistakable silhouette of Mont Chetif: from here we reach the hut in five minutes.
Just above the hut we find the alpine pastures of Le Prรฉ (2000m) and an orientation panel to enjoy the fantastic panorama of the entire Mont Blanc Massif.
From the col, go up the grassy slope following the signs for Testa Bernarda until you reach the characteristic grassy ridge at the foot of the Mont Blanc Massif
.We have been there
Edited by:
Ermanno Panara
Mont de la Saxe
Gita al Rifugio Bertone con prolungamento sino al sovrastante Mont de la Saxe, difficile da individuare esattamente perchรจ non c'รจ una vera e propria cima, ma รจ un lungo crinale che porta a Testa Bernarda. Noi ci siamo fermati a quota 2220. Un vero peccato le nuvole che cingevano tutta la catena del Bianco. Si tratta di una localitร che merita di essere raggiunta con condizioni meteo perfette, per godere di uno dei panorami piรน belli delle Alpi. Ora รจ possibile parcheggiare molto piรน avanti rispetto alle indicazioni della relazione. C'รจ un parcheggio sterrato (una ventina di posti) poco prima del ponte, dove ci sono le paline e il tabellone. C'รจ una strada sterrata ma carrozzabile (che non ricordavo) che prosegue ben oltre il ponte; la si segue per un breve tratto e poi si trova, sulla destra, il sentiero. Dopo una ventina di minuti la si incrocia nuovamente; la si percorre pochi metri verso destra e si riprende il sentiero che riparte sulla sinistra. Per il resto รจ tutto sentiero ben descritto nella relazione.
