Tour des Combins — Stage 3: Bourg-Saint-Pierre → Cabane de Mille
11.4 km
+1126 m
−351 m
6.5 h
Fitness level
Map & route
GPX track — verify on the ground before hiking
Description
From Bourg-Saint-Pierre climb through woods and alps of the Côte slope to the Cabane de Mille (2,473 m), perched on a panoramic crest: the Grand Combin ahead, the Entremont basin below, Mont Blanc on the horizon.
A generous half-day climb, perfect after the long border stages. From Bourg-Saint-Pierre the trail ascends the Côte slope through fir woods, then ever more open pastures grazed by Hérens cattle, the “reines” of traditional Valdostan and Valaisan cow fights. The Cabane de Mille, a lovingly run stone-and-timber hut, sits on a crest at 2,473 metres: the evening panorama is a textbook of the Alps — the Grand Combin in the foreground, the Vélan, and Mont Blanc closing the horizon to the west. Memorable sunsets guaranteed.
Earth sciences
Geology & landscape
The Grand Combin belongs to the Grand St Bernard nappe (middle Penninic): crystalline schists and gneisses of the Siviez-Mischabel zone, overlain to the south by the calcschists-with-ophiolites of the By valley. The great north wall above the Panossière hut shows the alternation of basement and carbonate cover; the Fenêtre de Durand is carved in the softer calcschists, ever the natural way between Bagnes and Valpelline.
History & culture
Bourg-Saint-Pierre, a stop on the Via Francigena, keeps a Roman milestone and the “La Linnaea” garden founded in 1889; its inn hosted Napoleon — whose bill, the story goes, was never paid.
Water sources
Water at the stage's support points (Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Cabane de Mille). On the high ground and at the passes springs are not guaranteed: fill bottles in the valley and at the huts.
Getting there
Cross-border stage: on the foreign sides local public transport applies (PostAuto in Switzerland, line buses in France/Piedmont). Check seasonal timetables; in peak season several access links run by reservation only.
Warnings
- Book overnight stops in peak season
Start & end
Start
Bourg-Saint-Pierre
1641 m
Finish
Cabane de Mille
2475 m
Adjacent stages
ACurated and verified by Andrea
Data source: Tour des Combins — itinerario ufficiale transfrontaliero · Traccia calcolata su rete sentieri OpenStreetMap (ODbL); verificare sul terreno
Last verified:
Val d’Entremont (Vallese)
Related trails
Same valley or similar routes — more hikes to explore.
Valpelline — Valle del Gran San Bernardo
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From the By basin to the Col Champillon, on the Tour des Combins line.
Val de Bagnes (Vallese)
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The Col des Avouillons and the great Corbassière suspension bridge.
Val de Bagnes (Vallese)
Tour des Combins — Stage 6: Cabane FXB Panossière → Cabane de Chanrion
The Col des Otanes, the Mauvoisin dam and the mineral realm of Chanrion.
Val de Bagnes — Valpelline
Tour des Combins — Stage 7: Cabane de Chanrion → Ollomont
The Fenêtre de Durand returns to the Aosta Valley and closes the loop.