Walking in the Tarentaise & Beaufortain Alps

The mountain area south of Mont Blanc includes the Maurienne, and the Vanoise and its National Park. 53 day walks, 5 tours between 2 and 8 days’ duration, plus 40 short outings. Covers Col de la Madeleine; Méribel, Courchevel & Pralognan; between Bourg St Maurice and Champagny; Beaufortain and Northern Tarentaise; Les Chapieux to Nant Cruet; Val d'Isère.

This book has been written to introduce British fellwalkers, indeed all English-speaking hillwalkers, to the region that lies mostly in France to the south of Mt Blanc. The area is little known outside France and yet provides a wealth of walks of varied nature among very attractive scenery. It is a relatively quiet part of the Alps and on some of the walks described it is unusual to meet more than a handful of people, if that. Nothing is described that could be regarded as mountaineering, though it is to be hoped that climbers may find some of the expeditions interesting, as possible alternatives to the higher hills when these suffer bad weather.

The area to be covered corresponds approximately to the eastern part of the department of Savoie. The nearest big town is Albertville, which was the centre for the 1992 Winter Olympic Games. The valley layout is complex, as a glance at the map will show. The main roads, which effectively show the position of the main valleys, outline a hen, known as la Poule de Savoie, with its beak pointing into the broad, flat valley to the west, which is called la Combe de Savoie. The belly of the hen forms the long, curving valley of the Maurienne, and the neck, back and tail feathers the M-shaped Tarentaise valleys. These names are of ancient origin going back at least to Charlemagne (in 800A.D.) and, surprisingly, the principal rivers bear different names from the valleys, the Arc in the Maurienne and the Isère in the Tarentaise. Thus the name Val d’Isère refers to a well known ski village at the head of the Tarentaise valley, not to the valley itself.

The Beaufortain lies to the north of the Tarentaise and shares its watershed. (There is some dispute as to the correct spelling of Beaufortain. The locals are sure that Beaufortain is correct but Beaufortin will also be encountered.) Part of the Tour of Mt Blanc long-distance footpath passes through this district. Italy lies to the east and is connected by roads over the Col du Petit St Bernard (known to the Romans as the Col Alpis Graia) or over the Col du Mt Cenis. In addition, there are seven cols which can easily be crossed on foot into Italy south of Mt Blanc. The popularity of the area for summer holidays has possibly suffered because it is sandwiched between the two high and prestigious mountain massives of Mt Blanc and the Dauphiné Alps and because many visitors have limited themselves to the winter season. Indeed, in winter the Tarentaise is a skiers’ paradise and the economy of the region has been transformed by the so-called “white gold”. This means, of course, that ski uplift equipment is visible in some parts in the summer months. Fortunately, there remain many untouched areas, particularly to the north of the Tarentaise, along the Franco-Italian frontier and within the Vanoise National Park. The inhabitants of the Tarentaise are, in fact, beginning to realise the importance to them of the summer tourist trade and one hears from time to time the phrase “green gold”, indicating that the summer visitor has become a client as valued as those who arrive in the winter.