Tour du Rutor — Stage 2: Rifugio Albert Deffeyes → Planaval

EEExperienced hikersummer

Distance

15.5 km

Ascent

+1111 m

Descent

−2163 m

Duration

10.5 h

Fitness level

Map & route

GPX track — verify on the ground before hiking

Description

From the Deffeyes hut follow the Alta Via 2 line over the Passo Alto (2,857 m) and the Col de la Crosatie (2,829 m) in sequence, among scree, snowfields and short equipped sections. The descent passes Lake Fond and ends in Planaval (1,557 m), in Valgrisenche.

The tour’s alpine stage, shared with the Alta Via 2. From the hut you traverse the glacial amphitheatre among roches moutonnées and tarns, then climb to the Passo Alto: a rocky notch at 2,857 metres with views from Mont Blanc to the Rutor glacier. The descent into the Orgères valley is steep and on scree at first; snowfields linger well into July. You follow the stream down to the meadows of Planaval, a tiny hamlet of Arvier beneath the wall of the Becca du Lac. No support points along the way: full autonomy in water and food.

Key points

Passo Alto
2857 m · 2.8 km from start
Col de la Crosatie
2829 m · 8.3 km from start

Earth sciences

Geology & landscape

The Rutor group belongs to the outer Penninic domain: micaschists, fine gneisses and Permo-Carboniferous quartzites of the Ruitor zone, with striking folds visible on the walls above the Deffeyes hut. The three lakes and roches moutonnées of the valley are the work of the Rutor glacier, fast retreating yet still the Aosta Valley’s third largest; at the Col du Mont the Versoyen calcschists crop out with relics of oceanic crust.

History & culture

The catastrophic outbursts of the Rutor glacial lake (1430-1864) repeatedly flooded the Dora as far as Aosta: processions climbed to the glacier to appease them. The lake’s natural drainage ended the era of the “Rutor floods”.

Water sources

Water at the stage's support points (Rifugio Albert Deffeyes, Rifugio Deffeyes, Planaval). On the high ground and at the passes springs are not guaranteed: fill bottles in the valley and at the huts.

Getting there

Aosta Valley side served by VITA buses and connections from Aosta; many valley heads have summer shuttles. Check seasonal timetables at arriva.it / vita-vda.com.

Warnings