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ROUTE 2

Le Prarion

Start/Finish	La Côte 1131m
Distance	5km to the cable car; 9km if the descent is done on foot
Time	5hr 30min–6hr
Terrain	Good path all the way, with just a few sections near the ridge protected by hand-lines for those of a nervous disposition.
High point	Le Prarion 1969m
Altitude gain	850m
Map	IGN Top 25 3531 ET Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
Parking	At La Côte. There is parking at the Amis de la Nature building, or just further up the road on the left.
Note	If you plan to take the lift down, then it might be best to park and start at the Prarion lift car park. In this case walk along the Route des Chavants to the Chemin des S’Nailles on the left. Go up this then onwards up the Chemin de Bovresse to emerge again on the Route des Chavants. From here follow signs right along the road to Charousse.

Le Prarion is a peak that doesn’t come close to attaining even half the height of most of the lofty summits that surround it, but as is so often the case with these small non-glaciated tops, it occupies a privileged position on the edge of the Mont Blanc massif and therefore offers superlative and wide-ranging views, making it one of the best belvederes in the Chamonix valley.

Now, you can get these views without all the sweat and toil of walking uphill by taking the Prarion cable car, but no walker would want to miss out on the wonderful and unlikely route to the Prarion summit (which is not where the lift goes to). Starting in Les Chavants the trail first takes you to the beautiful hamlet of Charousse, then the forested shade of the Col de la Forclaz and finally climbs the rugged summit ridge.

The lift offers the best descent option (especially for those with creaky knees).

Summit sacs

From La Côte take the track through the beech forest to Charousse and take a few minutes to marvel at this perfect alpine hamlet. Continue onwards (signed to Col de la Forclaz) around the hillside under the shaly slopes of Le Prarion. After an easy track, the path on the right heads up steeply in the woods to emerge onto another track and the Col de la Forclaz (1533m) is soon reached.

Now comes the real gem of the ascent – the trail up the broad north ridge of Le Prarion. At first views are tantalisingly brief as the path winds through forest, but once above the treeline the panorama is superb, alternately Mont Blanc, the Chamonix Aiguilles and the Aiguilles Rouges to the left, and the Arve valley and the Aravis range to the right. This excellent trail continues (occasionally protected by hand-line cables) through a carpet of alpenrose, past a small col to reach the long, rounded summit where the high point is marked by a cairn.

The descent path, clearly marked continuing along the ridge heading south, winds its way down through rocks and shrubs to the top of the Prarion cable car. Hop in to save the knees.

There are two options for descent on foot. The easiest option is to continue south-east along the signed trail to the Col de Voza. Before reaching the col, take the well-signed track down – preferably the one going towards Maison Neuve if you want to return to La Côte.

More direct, but less knee-friendly, is to descend under the ski drag-lift, which is between the Prarion cable car and the Prarion hotel/restaurant. Follow these grassy slopes all the way down to the top of the Maison Neuve lift where you’ll join the track described above coming down from the Col de Voza. Turn left along the track. This leads all the way down to Les Houches, but to return to La Côte it’s best to take a path that soon goes off left, signed to Les Baux/Charousse. This descends diagonally and very pleasantly through the woods to an unsigned junction with a mountain bike symbol for the right-hand way. You’ll come out on the road at the Amis de la Nature building car park. To return to the cable car parking, go along the Route des Chavants, then turn left down the Chemin des Bovresse and continue along the Chemin des S’Nailles to meet the Route des Chavants again, which is followed rightwards to the car park.