The High Routes

Donnas → Perloz

The start of the High Route of the Giants, from the valley floor up to Perloz meadows through Walser villages and chestnut groves.

Perloz → Rifugio Coda

From Perloz hill the trail climbs through Lillianes forest and into the Mont Mars Nature Reserve, where Rifugio Coda at 2280 m opens the view to the high valley.

Rifugio Coda → Rifugio Barma

A high-level traverse between Mont Mars and the Barma Lakes: a skyline path linking two historic huts across a landscape of peat bogs, glacial slabs and end-of-summer bilberry.

Rifugio Barma → Niel

From Barma Hut the trail descends to Niel, Gaby's most remote Walser hamlet: a village frozen in time where dark-stone houses preserve centuries of alpine culture.

Niel → Gressoney-Saint-Jean

The longest stage in this sequence: 18 km of solitary ridge walking above the Lys valley with Monte Rosa views, ending in the Walser town of Gressoney-Saint-Jean.

Gressoney-Saint-Jean → Rifugio Vieux Crest

Crossing Col Pinter at 2777 m is the highlight of this stage: a wild pass between two alpine valleys where Monte Rosa dominates the entire eastern horizon.

Rifugio Vieux Crest → Rifugio Grand Tournalin

From the ridges above Champoluc to Rifugio Grand Tournalin with the Matterhorn always in view: high-mountain terrain with sweeping panoramas over the Ayas valley and its pastoral landscape.

Rifugio Grand Tournalin → Valtournenche

The great descent: from Rifugio Grand Tournalin losing over a thousand metres to the valley floor of Valtournenche, passing through the scenic plateau of Cheneil with Matterhorn views.

Valtournenche → Rifugio Jean Barmasse

The shortest stage on the entire AV1: 4.7 km of sustained climbing from Valtournenche to Rifugio Jean Barmasse on the shores of Lago di Cignana, in preparation for the hardest day ahead.

Rifugio Jean Barmasse → Rifugio Oratorio di Cuney

The wild heart of the Alta Via: 17 km across Fenêtre de Tsan, Col Terray and on to Rifugio Oratorio di Cuney, with Matterhorn and Grand Combin dominating a horizon of 2700-metre passes.

Rifugio Oratorio di Cuney → Oyace

From the Sanctuary of Cuney to the Valpelline: a long descent over exposed ridges with short scramble sections, ending at Oyace in the heart of the Aosta Valley's most untouched valley.

Oyace → Ollomont

The wild Valpelline: Oyace and Ollomont sit at nearly the same elevation, but Col Brison at 2520 m demands over 1100 m of climbing with views to Mont Vélan and Grand Combin on the Swiss border.

Ollomont → Rifugio Champillon

From Ollomont to Rifugio Champillon in the Conca di By: 1000 m of climbing through forests and summer farms to one of the AV1's most distinctive huts, complete with mountain sauna and yurt.

Rifugio Champillon → Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses

Over Col Champillon (2709 m) with panoramic views from Mont Blanc to Gran Paradiso, followed by a long descent to Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses in the historic upper Grand Saint-Bernard valley.

Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses → Rifugio Pier Giorgio Frassati

A steady climb through the Merdeux basin to Rifugio Frassati at 2540 m, the last overnight stop before tackling Col Malatrà (2925 m), the highest pass on the entire Alta Via 1.

Rifugio Pier Giorgio Frassati → Rifugio Walter Bonatti

Col Malatrà at 2925 m is the rooftop of Alta Via 1: from the panoramic crest above Mont Blanc the trail descends into Val Ferret to the legendary Rifugio Walter Bonatti.

Rifugio Walter Bonatti → Courmayeur

The final AV1 stage: the Val Ferret balcony trail with Mont Blanc and Grandes Jorasses always in sight, ending at Courmayeur, Italy's alpine capital.