Luca In The Alps

This post is special, because it will bring the count of hikes in my blog above 100! So I think it is good to celebrate this achievement at home. So here is another forgotten hikes post, this time in Vaud, my home canton! Le trou à l'ours, Bex Start point :  Point-de-nant, 1250m Destination : Trous à l'ours, 1630m Highest point : Destination Distance : ~6.5 km loop Elevation  gain : ~400 m Time : ~2h loop Difficulty : Easy to moderate Download GPS file I have unfortunately lost the pictures of this one. Pity, because I remember it as a nice hike (even though I don't remember much). It starts in Pont de Nant after Plan sur Bex. It is the same place from where the via ferrata Le Lavanchy starts. The path is well marked. It starts on a large road starting after the Auberge Communcale. It goeas through the forest for about 1h then it turn back and starts to climb the side of the mountain. Here you'll find the highlight of the hike: the "hole of the bear" (trou à ...

Overview Starting point:  Moléson-sur-Gruyère funicular base station (1100 m) Highest point and destination:  2022 m Ascent time:  ~2.5 hours Difficulty:  Moderate (steep sections) Options:  Hiking trail or via ferrata (K4 or K5) Download GPS fIle Moléson is another of my classics. I do it almost every year—it’s a perfect spring hike: long enough to train, low enough to be snow-free by mid-May, and with the added bonus of the Magic Pass cable car for a quick descent. It’s ideal for a half-day outing. The hike begins just left of the funicular station in Moléson-sur-Gruyère. A gravel road leads up through picturesque pastures dotted with alpages and cows—it looks like being in a Swiss postcard. After about 15 minutes, the road steepens significantly (it is a good training trail I said after all!). Here, you’ll see a trail sign showing two options for reaching the summit. In fact to get to the summit you have to turn around the mountain and reach it from behind ...

Overview Start point : Pont de Nant (~1,240 m) Main goal : Via Ferrata Le Lavanchy (K4, ~70 m vertical gain) End point : Le Richard refuge (~1,380 m) Higest point : Top of via ferrata (~1,580 m) Elevation gain :   ~380 m Total duration : 2–3 hours Difficulty : Medium (due to exposed via ferrata and steep descent) Download GPS file This hike starts at Pont de Nant , a picturesque spot just above Plan-sur-Bex. Even though it’s only about 10 minutes from the Rhone valley, it feels completely immersed in nature. To reach the starting point, drive from Plan-sur-Bex for about five more minutes on a narrow road until you reach a parking area tucked into a beautiful alpine dip beneath the imposing Grand Muveran (3,051 m). The goal of today’s adventure is the Via Ferrata Le Lavanchy . Start by walking along the gravel road at the far end of the parking lot. Stay on this road for about 30 minutes. You’ll notice a trail branching off to the right, but skip it and continue forw...

This post includes a series of 3 hikes around Charmey. I always did them as separate ones but if you feel very very sporty you can also imagine joinging them. Gorges de Jogne Start point :  Parking near the bridge, 710m Destination : Barrage de Montsalvans, 800m Highest point : Destination Distance : ~2.1 km one way Elevation  gain : ~150 m Time : ~1h30 return Difficulty : Easy The start of this hike is in a parking that you can reach turning right just before the bridge at the bottom of the series of bends to go up to Charmey. From th ere a large path brings you to a series of galleries that makes a good start for the hike. It continues flat at first along the bed og the river with a series of bridges.  Finally you start to climb in the forest until you reach the artificial lake with its dam. It takes just 1h30 return and you find picnic tables at the end. Connecting to the next hike is possible but a bit long as it would require to go all around the lake to Charmey. Vou...