Walking in the Haute Savoie: South
Walking in the Haute Savoie: South
Price
£12.00
Walk 7 - Chalets de Criou
Alt. 1664m (Samoëns/Sixt area)Difficulty: Medium/difficult walk with quite a height gain – steeper if you go on to the Aouille
Time: 4hrs 45mins
Height gain: 953m
Maps: Editions Didier & Richard IGN No. 3 Massifs du Chablais Faucigny & Genevois 1:50,000; Cartes IGN 3530 ET Top 25 Samoëns/Haut Giffre 1:25,000
Depart from: Near Vallon d’en Bas – 711m
Signposting: Good new signposting
Considering these little villages are very near the bustling ski and summer resort of Samoëns, they are curiously unspoilt, maybe because they are off the main road. It is obviously an area with a lot of history, as the chalets are old, some as yet untouched by renovation. Vallon d’en Bas is a charming hamlet of weathered Savoyard farms with few modern chalets.
We did this walk in high summer and saw very few people. It is also a good choice on a hot day, as much of it is in shady woodland, and the way up, although long, is not too steep. The views down the Giffre valley and of the nearby Mont Blanc range are superb, even more so in early winter when there are no leaves on the trees. I thought that the French word Aouille (de Criou) might have a specific meaning, but the tourist bureau at Samoëns assures me it does not.
Access (from Geneva)
Take the motorway, direction Chamonix, and exit at No.15 Boëge/St-Jeoire. Then turn left briefly on the D903 and watch for the D9 right, signposted Fillinges, Samoëns and Vallée Verte. Follow this road to the Pont de Fillinges and then turn right on the D907, direction Taninges/Samoëns. (Alternative Go through Annemasse and take the D907, direction Taninges/Samoëns.) Drive through Samoëns (note the village itself is closed to traffic but the way round is clearly marked). Follow all signs to Sixt, turning right at a T-junction and then taking the first turning to the left marked Vallon d’en Bas. Go through the village and park on a grassy verge to the right just beyond a colonie de vacances called L’Hermitage parking area (do not park in their parking area!).
The Route
(1) Walk back down the road into the village of Vallon d’en Bas and take the stony path, signposted L’Alpage du Trot, which goes up to the right of the little chapel (5mins).
(2) The path goes up initially between mossy stone walls. After a few minutes turn sharp right following the sign to Criou. Keep to the main track, which goes up through woods with the Samoëns valley down on the right to reach a T-junction at Coluvraz, alt. 811m – this is where you will continue straight on your return (20mins).
(3) Turn up left, following signs to Chalets de Pertuet/Chalets du Trot/Criou, on a wide, defined jeep track through deciduous and coniferous forest. You pass an attractive wooden trough fountain called Fontaine du Vin Blanc to reach a fork at Les Turchets, alt. 950m.
(4) Bear up right, following signs Chalets du Trot/Criou (to the left is where you come out on your return). Keep on the main path (ignoring all paths branching off), passing small wooden huts to reach further signs at Le Bouttiay, alt. 1130m (1hr).
(5) Continue up left (right goes to Chalets les Basses/Le Mont), passing high rocks and further wooden chalets at Coudray d’en Bas and Coudray d’en Haut. Finally the woods give way to attractive, open Alpine pasture, covered in bright blue forget-me-nots and early purple orchids in springtime, just before you reach a collection of wooden huts signposted Le Trot, alt. 1400m. (Left is signed Chalets de Pertuet, which you will take on your return). At the chalets there is a sign saying Boissons/Buvette (only open in high season). If you have time, take a drink and buy some of the delicious goats’ cheese (the goats are all around you) (1hr 50mins).
(6) Go straight past the chalets on the left, passing another sign and continuing on the path, winding up round the mountain with the odd hut dotted here and there. This is probably an old mule track, as it appears manmade, hewn out of the mountain, with intermittent low stone walls. The slopes are partially covered with a flat, fissured rock formation, this ancient, glacier-type terrain being fairly common in the Samoëns area.
In summer there are lots of butterflies, particularly the tiny blue ones which cluster round dried goat dung. I have also seen swallowtails, mottled whites and the rarer Camberwell beauty.
You reach another huddle of wooden huts by a large rock, with a green plastic square and yellow arrows, and a sign saying Criou, alt. 1664m. (It is interesting to note that all over the region the painted arrows, which are now fading, are being replaced by small plastic squares – how they remain fixed to the rocks is a mystery.)
(7) Walk through the chalets, skirting a big, round, modern water tank, until you come to an attractive old stone trough higher up, which must have been the original source of water for the cattle and goats. The chalets look old and unspoilt, apart of course from the inevitable corrugated-iron roofs, and they are surrounded by high nettles in summer. Above the water trough is a large rock with Criou painted in red. This rock is the highest point of the walk – there is a splendid view of the Giffre valley below, with the rearing peak of the Roc d’Anterne beyond at the end of the impressive Rochers des Fiz ridge; to the left is the Mont Blanc range. Straight ahead on the horizon are the tops of the ski-lifts coming up from the ski resort of Flaine (2hrs 30mins).
From the rock there is a path going steeply upwards to the Aouille de Criou, alt. 2227m, which takes about 1hr 30mins. However, the path peters out and you have to find your own way to the top (not done by the author).
Retrace your steps, passing the Chalet Corbet up on the right, until you come to the second sign at Chalets du Trot (No. 6 on the map) (3hrs 10mins). Go up right, following the sign Chalets de Pertuet, on a narrow path over meadowland where you can see the chalets on the horizon. Just before the chalets there is a sign saying Pertuis alt. 1450m. (Note It says Pertuet on the map, but Pertuis on the signpost.) (3hrs 30mins.)
These small chalets now look rather rundown and neglected, and all have iron roofs, whereas 10 years ago some of them had the original wooden slatted roofs called tavaillon. In summer, when we did the walk, there were a number of rather evil-looking cows with enormous horns chewing the cud amongst the stinging nettles.
(8) Go down left towards Vallon on a rocky, open path, where you get further extended views up the Giffre valley with, from left to right, the Môle, Pointe de Chevran and Pic des Mémises. Keep up right at a small fork and soon the path widens into a jeep track as you reach woodland. There is now a long descent through beech and fir woods with, at times, a steep drop on one side before you eventually reach the signpost at Les Turchets (No. 4). Bear down right to reach the signpost at Coluvraz (4hrs 20mins) where you continue straight on the jeep track (you came from the right on the way up). It takes 10mins to reach the village of Vallon d’en Haut. Here there is a charming fountain with water coming out of duck heads, and a notice saying ‘Fontaine de Chernieux, Oeuvre [designed by] François Mugnier 1820 to 1900’.
It is worth taking a look at the beautiful wild garden of the old farm opposite. In July it was ablaze with purple and pink and the rare yellow Mongolian variety of clematis, plus clusters of highly scented white stocks. The old farmer’s wife was delighted to show us around.
Turn right and walk along the road for about 10mins, flanked by some dilapidated Savoyard farms, till you get to Vallon d’en Bas (4hrs 45mins).
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