Ru Courtaud, from the Barmasc car park to Metsan

Access

Leave the [A5] motorway at the Verrès exit, enter the roundabout and take the second exit. Head towards the historic centre and, after 300 metres, turn left onto the regional road towards Val d’Ayas. Follow the regional road for 22.1 kilometres, passing through the villages of Challand-Saint-Victor and Challand-Saint-Anselme, Brusson, Vollon and Extrapieraz until you reach the junction for Antagnod in the hamlet of Corbet. Turn left and follow the regional road towards Antagnod, passing through the villages of Lignod and Antagnod. After about 4 kilometres, turn left and head up Route Barmasc for a further 4 kilometres until you reach the large free car park 🅿️ at Barmasc.

[0h45'] - [29.7 km]
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These directions are based on a first-hand check carried out when the route was mapped; therefore, the information should be verified before setting off on the hike. We recommend using a GPS navigator or a map app on your smartphone to obtain up-to-date and detailed directions.

Introduction

The Ru Courtaud is a stream, but it can easily be described as a cultural asset in its own right. There are documents dating its construction back as far as 1393. Over the years, it has been a key factor in the agricultural development of the Saint-Vincent hillside and, only recently, has it become a popular tourist attraction. The itinerary described here allows you to explore this ‘great engineering feat’ dating back over 600 years.

Description

0h00' After leaving your car in the large car park at Barmasc, head towards the barrier blocking vehicle traffic. Take the narrow dirt track that crosses the Barmasc picnic area and begin climbing the route’s only steep section, surrounded by spruce forest, until you reach the pleasant clearing of Pian Tchantchavellà, where the Ru Courtaud flows peacefully.
0h10' At a signpost, you’ll come to the stream and turn right, following the signs for path ; leave the track and take the easy path that runs alongside the stream. The flat section of the route begins, immediately taking you into the beautiful spruce and larch woodland. The path closely follows the winding course of the stream, occasionally featuring a few wooden benches where you can sit and enjoy the tranquillity of the spot.
0h20'T2] The path emerges from the woodland and reaches the junction for the return route to the Barmasc car park; ignore this for now, but it will come in handy on the way back. Continue now across open country, passing above the ruins of Chavannes and, a little further on, below the hamlet where the Corneil farmhouse is located. After taking in some interesting views of Testa Grigia and other peaks on the eastern side of the Val d’Ayas, you re-enter the woods along a long, shaded stretch before emerging once more into open country near Granon, where the path briefly becomes a dirt track (1,983 m) and the view opens out onto the nearby Monte Rosa massif.
1h00' Leave the track and rejoin the path, continuing to follow the stream. Continue through sparse larch trees before entering a wooded area where there is a small brick cottage which, in the past, served as a rest stop for the stream’s caretakers. Continue along the path, which narrows slightly in this section before widening again as it emerges into the vast pastures of Metsan. Now out of the woods, carry on until you come to the picturesque access path to the farm holiday accommodation, consisting of two long parallel railings. Turn right and head up the pasture until you reach the “La Tschavana” farm holiday accommodation (2022m).
1h30' Begin the return journey by following the farm track leading to the farmhouse until you reach the stream again near Granon. Now retrace your steps along the route taken on the way out until you reach Chavannes, where you turn right, first descending a footpath and then a track to the Barmasc car park 1h10'.