November 12, 2014

Hike to Lac and Pointe de Tardevant & Combe de Paccaly

The Aravis is a mountain range located west of the Mont Blanc in Haute-Savoie. The area near La Clusaz has 5 Combes (Grande Forclaz, Tardevant, Paccaly, Grand-Crêt, Bella Cha) that can be traversed in one go, although the path is long and not always obvious when crossing between them, as I found out… I went there in July, with the intention of hiking 2 of them: The Combe de Tardevant and the Combe de Paccaly. On the way, I also passed the Lac de Tardevant and went up the Pointe de Tardevant.

Here is a map of the path I walked (download KML):

I arrived in La Clusaz by LIHSA bus from Annecy in the morning. From the station, there is a regular shuttle service (only in July and August) to get to Lac des Confins. I had to walk on a small road for a bit before the start of the trail proper, near Chalet de Paccally. I then went up and after a while reached the Lac de Tardevant, where I paused for a few minutes. Going up again, before reaching the ridge at the end of the combe, there was a steep and rocky section. Finally, I was a the ridge with a great view on the Mont Blanc. I then made my way to the summit of Pointe de Tardevant, where I had lunch. I then followed the ridge in the direction of the Combe de Paccaly but I strayed from the correct path at some point. After finding the right path through a rock field, I reached a small pass with the Combe de Paccaly and the Trou de la Mouche (Fly Hole) on the other side. There, I got confused, since instead of something that looked like a path, there was just a very steep rock field. It took me a long time to get down to the trail that goes up the Combe de Paccaly: I had planned to go to the Tête de Paccaly but I was short on time, so instead I went down the Combe and rejoined the trail I had taken on the way up in the morning. I then took the bus back to the village of La Clusaz and strolled around until it was time to get back to Annecy.