Day 9: Refuge de la Leisse to Pralognan-la-Vanoise
Monday 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 around to the next valley, crossed an old stone bridge  (Pont de Croé-Vie) and commenced a climb to the Col de la Vanoise. On the way we passed a memorial stone erected in memory of 2 soldiers (an engineer and a scientist) who met their deaths in the mountains; and then a wartime ‘blockhouse’ with tunnels opening to gun emplacements. From here the rise was less steep as we crossed a valley – Ruisseau de la Vanoise. The mountain slopes on either side were rocky scree or moraine and the mountain peaks themselves were shrouded with cloud.

Although we had heard that these valleys were inhabited by chamois and bouquetin,  we saw only sheep, cows and marmots. When we reached the Refuge du Col de la Vanoise, we passed up the chance of a snack and headed over to the signpost to see which direction to take.

Here we could choose to go either left or right, both paths taking about 3 hours, both ending at the ski town of Pralognan-la-Vanoise. The path to the left also mentioned a lake, and thinking this must be the one with the stepping stones shown in a photo in the guidebook, we decided to take this path rather than the one recommended by the map.

We were wrong. The right hand path would have taken us to the Lac des Vaches. Instead we walked across a dry lake bed, then made a very steep descent on slippery rock, followed by yet another climb up and over a mountain before finally descending on a path/gravel road to  Pralognan-la-Vanoise.

Feeling we had earned a feed, we stopped at the first cafe we came to. This was a creperie and we enjoyed unusual savoury crepes with salad. Our accommodation was on the other side of the town, another uphill climb, and the rain started just as we turned into our street. It will be a longish walk back to the town centre for dinner but fortunately the rain is forecast to stop at around 5pm.