Chardonney - Lago Vercoche - Col Laris

From Chardonney (1450 m), a hamlet of Champorcher, this Expert Hikers (EE) route reaches Lake Vercoche and continues to the Col Laris (2588 m), with over 1100 metres of ascent in about 6.7 kilometres. The climb crosses woods and alpine pastures to the Vercoche basin, a sheet of water set among the high meadows of the Champorcher valley, then gains the pass over scree and ridges. It is a demanding day for its height gain and high terrain: it calls for fitness, a sure foot and a settled day. Champorcher, at the south-eastern end of the Aosta Valley, keeps an intimate, uncrowded setting, dominated above by the buttresses of Mont Glacier.