R&R hikes

Day 11: Refuge de Péclet-Polset to ModaneWednesday 19 August 2026, 15km, 360m up, 1790m down Col de Chavière 2796m

Day 10: Pralognan-la-Vanoise to Refuge de Péclet-PolsetTuesday 18 August 2026, 14km, 1080m up, 30m down Last night was spent in an air-bnb room at Sylvie’s place outside of town. In the morning we were served breakfast – muesli with home-made yoghurt, fruit salad, home-made seed bread with butter and 3…

Day 9: Refuge de la Leisse to Pralogan-la-VanoiseMonday 17 August 2026, 18km, 450m up, 1520m down Leaving the Refuge de la Leisse this morning we descended a short way to a valley where the path followed a river flowing under ice bridges, fed by the glacial melt. We followed this…

Day 8: Val d’Isère to Refuge de la LeisseSunday 16 August, 17km, 1230m up, 550m down (variant via the Pas de La Tovière: 2695m) Our plan was to get started at 5.30am in order to be descending from the highest point before the thunderstorms and rain predicted around noon. We were…

Day 7: Bonneval-sur-Arc to Val d’IsèreSaturday 15 August 2026, 14.5km or 18km, 980m up, 980m down We  were up early, trying not to disturb others in the hotel as we had breakfast and made ready to leave. Unfortunately, in this old building, the stairs were very creaky and together we…

Day 6: Refuge du Vallonbrun to Bonneval-sur-ArcFriday 14 August 2026, 16km, 180m up, 640m down Le Villaron Rocher du Château The storm that was predicted to strike at 2pm yesterday finally started with thunder and lightning at around 5. Four of the expected hikers arrived drenched from the rain at…

Day 5: Refuge Plan du Lac to Refuge du VallonbrunThursday 13 August 2026, 18.5km, 720m up, 810m down According to the Cicerone guidebook, today’s route to Refuge du Vallonbrun would take about 6 1/2 hours with about the same amount of ascent as descent over the 18.5 km. We were…

Day 4: Refuge de l’Arpont to Refuge Plan du LacWednesday 12 August 2026, 13.5km, 730m up, 680m down Light rain yesterday evening hardly left any trace in the early morning when we set off. The rocks were already dry but the paths were a little less dusty. The forecast was…

Day 3: Refuge de Plan Sec to Refuge de l’ArpontTuesday 11 August 2026, 16km, 750m up, 760m down It is another warm dry day. Before commencing this adventure, we checked the weather forecast for the coming week and learned that rain +/- thunderstorms were predicted for most days, commencing mid…

Day 2: Refuge de l’Orgere to Refuge de Plan SecMonday 10 August 2026, 13km, 870m up, 490m down Food at the Refuge de l’Orgere was plentiful and good. The dinner included bread and cheese, soup, pork and vegetable stew, and then apple cake drizzled with caramel. In addition, while we…