Punta Leretta, from Coumarial

Introduction

This itinerary, immersed in the Mont Mars Nature Reserve, offers a pleasant contact with a varied natural environment. The ascent to Punta Leretta provides a privileged vantage point over the lower Aosta Valley.

Description

Leaving the car behind, we take a small snowy road with a car ban. We take a couple of turns until we reach some characteristic dwellings: shortly afterwards we turn right, ignoring the nature trail, which continues straight ahead. You walk along the track that crosses a thick larch forest (Larix decidua); the first part goes slightly uphill until you reach the crossroads for Cour de Ry (1529 m, 0h15'): you ignore the descent on the right and continue along the track until you come out of the forest; from here, in a few minutes, you reach the cottages of Vercosa (1606 m, 0h30').
Having passed Vercosa, the track turns slightly to the left and then climbs to a plateau below the Crotal Alp (1696 m, 0h45'). The little road, with a series of small bends, crosses the mountain pasture and leads to the Gressoney valley side: interesting panoramic views of the Dames de Challand. After a straight stretch, turn right and finally reach the village of Leretta (1805 m, 1h00').
Without descending to the houses below, turn left into a clearing near a small stone house. Shortly afterwards, you enter the larch forest and, moving to the left, reach the base of the Leretta ridge. We are now close to our destination, and we follow a fairly sloping traverse (take care if it is very icy) and finally come out on the summit ridge of the Punta Leretta (1997 m, 1h30'). If you want to continue, you can walk along the entire ridge, with a splendid view of Mont Mars, until you reach a second, slightly higher peak.
The descent follows the same route as the ascent (1h30').

The itinerary does not present any particular objective dangers: it is recommended to do it at the beginning of the season, after the first snowfall. Please note that if there is no groomed track, the walking time increases slightly.