October 15, 2021

Hike to Belvédère de Merdassier & Pointe de Merdassier

Last summer, starting from La Clusaz, I went on a hike to Belvédère de Merdassier and Pointe de Merdassier, above Col des Aravis.

Here is a map of the path I walked:

In the morning, I went to La Clusaz by LIHSA bus, then transferred to a summer shuttle towards Col des Aravis but got off before, at La Serraz. I walked on the side of the road for a few minutes until I found the trail to Belvédère de Merdassier (aka Belvédère de l’Étale). At first, the path followed a dirt road, passing by a few chalets and the Retenue de l’Étale (lake for artificial snow). At some point, the path forked and left the dirt road for small trails that cut through the switchbacks. I arrived at Belvédère de Merdassier after a while. There was a great view from there on Col des Aravis and Aiguille de Borderan on the other side. Mont Blanc could also be seen. I ate lunch then went on my way to the summit of Pointe de Merdassier. There is no official trail to get there from the Belvédère, but it seemed possible to me based on the topographic and satellite maps. I could not find a report on that path but found this short description and the accompanying photo album that showed an itinerary through there, which gave me peace of mind that it could be done. I first walked to the small plateau below Pointe de Merdassier. After that the final part to the ridge was quite steep but the grass was dry so it was fine in the end. Once on the ridge, I walked the small distance to the summit. There was a great view similar to the Belvédère, but also to the south part of the Aravis range. After a while, I started on the way down to Col de Merdasssier: It was a very straightforward path down the ridge until the Col. There is actually a running challenge called Kilomètre Vertical to climb it (the start is actually a bit below the Col to make it a round 1 kilometer of ascent). My goal was to take another summer shuttle to Thônes from the Col but I missed it by half an hour. So instead, I walked back all the way to the village of La Clusaz where I waited for the bus back to Annecy.

▲ Bus stop at la Serraz.

▲ Pointe de Merdassier above (in the middle).

▲ I walked along the road for a few minutes until I found the trail towards Belvédère de Merdassier.

▲ Fireweed.

▲ Télémix de l’Étale.

▲ Monster-looking stump in the forest.

▲ Pasture.

▲ La Clusaz below.

▲ Combe de Borderan on the other side of Col des Aravis.

▲ I walked on a dirt road for a while.

▲ Towards Plateau de Beauregard.

▲ Retenue de l’Étale.

▲ Pointe de Merdassier above.

▲ At some point, I left the dirt road and followed a trail, as indicated by the signs. The dirt road still goes to the Belvédère but is not as direct.

▲ Aiguille de Borderan.

▲ Mont Lachat de Thônes.

▲ La Clusaz.

▲ Retenue de l’Étale.

▲ Almost at the Belvédère.

▲ Pointe de Merdassier.

▲ Belvédère de Merdassier.

▲ Pointe de Beauregard.

▲ Aiguille de Borderan.

▲ Mont Blanc.

▲ Towards La Clusaz.

▲ Aiguille de Borderan, Col des Aravis and Mont Blanc.

▲ Summit of Pointe de Merdassier.

▲ La Tournette.

▲ Tête du Danay and Chaîne du Bargy behind it.

▲ On the way to the summit of Pointe de Merdassier. There is no trail from the Belvédère but it was relatively straightforward.

▲ Wall to protect against avalanches.

▲ Path.

▲ Looking back at the wall and the chairlift station.

▲ On the small plateau below Pointe de Merdassier. The tank is a gaz container for the Gazex system for avalanche control.

▲ Summit of Pointe de Merdassier.

▲ Gazex tube.

▲ Pointe de Grande Combe and Pointe d’Almet.

▲ Montagne de Sulens. I had climbed it earlier in the summer.

▲ Col de Merdassier.

▲ The gaz container up close.

▲ On the way to the summit, still off trail. My goal was the Catex mast on the right, since I wanted to avoid as much as possible the scree: It seemed to me the small pebbles could be dangerous to walk on. On the other hand, the grass was quite dry and formed irregular steps so that even though it was steep, it was still pretty easy to climb.