Notre-Dame de la Salette

Introduction

Silent hike reaching the Oratory of Notre-Dame de la Salette, built in 1860, located in a panoramic position towards the lower Valtournenche, a short distance from the arrival of the ski lifts in the main town. The itinerary is also often marked by the passage of snowmobiles.

Description

You cross the barrier and immediately find yourself crossing, with due care, a ski slope to find, near a ruin just opposite, the wide track that leads into a larch forest. You will soon reach Plan du Bois dèsot where, near a post, you will find a fork in the road and take the branch off to the right, continuing into the forest until you reach the ski slope again: this time you walk along it for a short distance and take the track to the right of it. After a couple of bends, we cross it again for the second and last time, heading towards a small wooden bridge and shortly afterwards we pass by the Bois Noir mountain pasture and, after a few bends, another stone building. The climb, which is never steep, now leads us towards the end of the forest, where we pass the Illiaz alpine pasture and then skirt the Plan du Bois dàmon pasture. In a short time, still following the obvious track, we pass a couple of hairpin bends with a somewhat steeper incline and, at the end of a flat section, the destination of our hike is located. The panorama sweeps to the left from the very close Roisetta and Becca d'Aran, to the Cheneil basin, to the entire lower valley and, to the right from Pancherot to Finestra di Cignana and then the ridge that from Mont Rous continues to the Grandes Murailles.
Continuing for a few dozen metres more, we reach the ski lifts above Valtournenche.
The descent is made by retracing the ascent route.

The only caution to be observed is when crossing the ski slope, which is rather steep and any skiers could descend at a high speed.