Mike and I on the way down from Grepon Blanc above the Grepon Poma
The last time we hiked up to Le Grepon Blanc and the ridge along to Veysonnaz was in 2018 See Link to post for one of Mike’s birthday treats. The weather today was set fair and we both thought it would be a perfect day for this hike.
A chilly start as the chair up to Combatseline (2240m) was still in the shade but as soon as the sun hit us we soon warmed up. We started with a nice gentle warm up to the Grepon ski run, a black slope, which we then zig-zaged our way up trying to stay out of the wet patches churned up by the cows who had recently been moved down the mountain. Nice stop half way up for a sarnie and some tea. The ascent to the top of the lift was much easier than I remembered and it was nice to be doing it on a cool day. This is one of our favourite black runs especially after fresh snow as it has a consistent slope and plenty of width to pick a great line down.
Views from the col were outstanding with the Matterhorn clearly visible. Glad that we had the ridge to ourselves as we hiked up to Grepon Blanc (2713 m) and enjoyed playing around taking some video and pictures. Which I now have to learn how to process on my new computer and software.
As we were feeling in good shape once we had descended back to the col we decided to hike along the ridge to Mount Rouge, so named because the summit is bare of vegetation and a red colour from the eroded rocks.
Previously I had found this ridge quite nerve racking in places but my balance must have improved as I felt very comfortable today and enjoyed the hike and views. We started to encounter a few people walking in the opposite direction to us but in our direction it was clear which was nice.
We decended off the ridge at the col just before Mount Rouge and admired the autumn reds on the slopes we were hiking next to. Had our lunch on a small outcrop which had also been favoured by many cows. Fortunately their pats were dry and there were no flies! It was then a relaxed walk across slopes we have enjoyed skiing and skinning up down towards Siviez.
We decided that we had not quite gone far enough as part of our ‘get prepared’ for the Hinterland hike in Queensland this November. So when we reached the road up to the barrage we turned left, rather than right towards the beers we had promised ourselves! Although the initial hike up the road was a bit of a slog, and quite warm, we soon found a crossing across the Printse river and had a lovely circuit through the meadows and woods that we have hiked before when we come down from the Lac de Cleuson barrage. All in all a worthwhile extension as it got us up to 16 km and about 700 m of ascent. We still had time for a couple of beers before heading home and footie on the telly for Mike. Liverpool won so a good result.
As an add on, a couple of days later after a trip to the valley to buy a new computer for me as mine is no longer man for the job. We decided to cycle up to the Barrage on our Giant e-bikes. We brought these over from the UK as we thought they would be perfect for some of the steeper slopes in the Alps which we would struggle to get up on our regular mountain bikes.
Again another perfect day, bit cool but no wind and bright blue skys. The gravel road up was a consistent 9 – 10 % with a few sections topping 12%. So the motor was very helpful. Now thinking about getting range extenders for those times we want to go further as we used about 50% going up 850m in 13km. Pace was fast as we did it in just over an hour. Definately a workout!
The coming down was quite tough on my hands and I had to really concentrate as the surface was very mixed with a lot of loose gravel, ruts and drainage channels. However great fun. It was good to be able to stop for coffee in Planchouet on our way back without worrying about climbing out of the valley. Overall as a round trip we did 36.5km just over 1,200m using about 70% of our battery. Re-fueled with a pizza that evening which was a very nice end to the day.
See below for a video of our photos and experiences on our hike as well as a map which you can click on to learn more and get the GPX track. Note to see the full controls on the video click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.
