MONT FORT TOUR
from Verbier
DISTANCE
16,8 km
point to point
TIME
6h40
ELEVATION
550m
1250m
Min 1990m
Max 2965m
ESSENTIALS
SEASON
(of the report)
YOU'LL NEED
-
Motivation
-
A head for heights
-
Your camera
Be prepared! When looking at the stats above you could think that it's pretty easy as there is not so much elevation gain nor distance. But the thing is that you're starting from one point and coming back through another. This means that if you start in Verbier (like we did) you will depend on cable car schedules, especially the line going from "Tortin" to "les Gentianes" (click here for more informations). If by some misfortune or choice you miss the last one - which is around 15h45 - this will be at least another 800m of elevation gain and a lot more distance to get back to Verbier. Google maps is saying 8 more hours and something like 30km, I guess there may be a "shorter" way through hiking paths but anyway this will be a huge hike back.
Of course other solutions exist as public transports or parking another car in Nendaz but they all require some organisation and time (Nendaz - Verbier by car is approximately 1 hour).
Let's start now!
LES GENTIANES TO PETIT MONT FORT LAKE
We started early by taking the first cable car from "la Chaux" leading to "les Gentianes" at 8h30 (schedules available here).
Just to be clear, this hike is starting at an altitude of 2900m so please take your time first and enjoy the beautiful views you'll have. The short downhill portion in the beginning will help you warm up (about 20 minutes) but then it's going to get more serious quite fast. The next 40 to 50 minutes you will walk - or should I say climb - a blue marked alpine trail to "Col de la Chaux" alongside the same named glacier. Although there is no technical section nor ropes needed, it can be scary for people not being used to difficult/uneven terrain. I would suggest to pack up your hiking poles and rather use your hands for this part.
Once arrived at the pass you'll have a beautiful and new view on where the trail is going...down! It took us 1 hour to reach the "Petit Mont Fort" lake which is quite long if you consider there is only 1km from the pass but as I said before this is an alpine trail, which means that it is not really well marked as well as mostly composed of disorganized rocks on steep slopes. But I can tell you this was worth all the efforts, as you can see in the pictures. We decided to stop for a short break and eat something before keep on going on, this saved us.... keep on reading to know why.
PETIT MONT FORT LAKE to COL DE LOUVIE
You remember you went down from "Col de la Chaux", well, you have to go up again to another pass called "Col de Louvie"(40 minutes). This is pretty steep but easy as the trail is well marked and on dirt (no more rocks for now). And this is when it all started.
When we arrived at the pass we looked at times marked on trail signs and we realized that we'll have to move faster if we wanted to catch the cable car. It's too bad because again you have breathtaking views and they are different at every pass and also you are back on rocky trails so it is more difficult to increase your speed.
COL DE LOUVIE to GRAND DESERT LAKE
So we were moving faster everytime we were looking at which time it was but at least we had the most beautiful views from the whole hike. It took us 1h15 from the pass to the "Grand Désert" lake, it is all going downhill and apart some places where you do not have any trail marked it is straight forward.
When arrived at the lake we were stunned by its beauty as well as scared to miss the cable car and walk double distance and elevation gain. We promised ourselves we would be back with more time, and spend a day there with friends (still on our list).
GRAND DESERT LAKE to TORTIN (by CLEUSON LAKE)
I can't even explain the last part. I think we were running after more than 4h of hiking...at first it was almost funny but my tipping point arrived at the end of Cleuson lake (about 1h10 from "Grand Désert" lake). This is mainly because I know this part of the hike and so I knew how much I still had to run.
However, do not underestimate how a hike back up with 16km more and 800m elevation gain can motivate you to run even if you don't feel like it anymore. Those 50 minutes were the worst, but we DID catch the cable car and could finally eat our sandwiches. Also, for this one we were a little disappointed by the time indicated on signs as usually it is pretty accurate. I would not recommend this hike for someone which is not ready or that does not have the physical capabilities. Another solution could be to start much earlier but this will also imply some additional elevation gain (+1200m).
