Advanced Aosta Trail

Leaving the streets and stone arches of Aosta, you climb steadily into a different world. Chestnut woods give way to larch forest, ski slopes and finally bare ground beneath Mont Emilius (3,559 m). With every metre of height, the noise of the valley fades and views stretch towards Grivola, distant Mont Blanc and the long line of the Dora Baltea. By the time you crest the high shoulder near Lac Chamolé and glimpse the Arbolle basin, the city feels very far below.

From the edge of town, small lanes and mule tracks lead through old villages and terraced fields before you enter darker conifer forest. The trail winds uphill, sometimes crossing pistes, sometimes hidden in trees, towards the open meadows around Pila. After Saint-Pantaléon, you begin a long ascent, eventually reaching Eremo di San Grato/Ermitage de Saint-Grat: a tiny chapel nestled in a forest clearing. Above the treeline, you can enjoy views of the Matterhorn as the path leads towards the serene Lac Chamolé, , a calm pool in a grassy bowl. A steeper, zigzagging climb will lead you to the panoramic Col de Chamolé (2,649 m). Time for a well-deserved break!

Shortly afterwards, the ground suddenly drops into the wild Comboé basin, with a roped section crossing slabs and rubble, revealing a barren landscape. Eventually, the slope eases and you reach pastures, a wooden bridge and a cluster of stone buildings beside the turquoise Lago d’Arbole. The hut is located on a terrace offering views of the Monte Emilius ridge above and the distant Aosta Valley below. Once you have taken off your boots, you can enjoy the sunset.

From the rocky bowl of Arbolle, this demanding high route links two remote valleys in a single sweep. You climb towards a broken skyline of ridges and tarns, with Mont Emilius and Punta Tersiva towering nearby. After crossing a high, windswept pass near Lago Garin, the landscape changes as a chain of wild lakes leads you into the upper Grauson basin. By evening you arrive at a small stone refuge surrounded by pastures, cliffs and waterfalls.

The path leaves the hut beside Lago d’Arbolle and climbs steadily over rubble and slabs to a wide shoulder beneath Punta Valletta and Punta del Tessonet. A final push brings you to the crest above Lago Garin, where you can look back over the Arbolle basin and ahead to the glaciers of the Graian Alps. From here a rough traverse crosses boulder fields and small cols before the route drops towards the emerald Lussert lakes, using zigzags and occasional easy scrambling sections on steep ground.

Below the lowest lake, the trail softens into grassy ledges and then into broad alpine meadows where streams braid across the valley floor. Marmots whistle from boulders while the cliffs of the surrounding peaks frame the horizon. A final gentle descent leads you past stone barns and summer pastures to the refuge, which sits on a terrace above the Grauson river. Once you arrive, you can rinse your boots in the stream, stretch out in the grass and watch the evening light slide across the cirque.