Le Peuty - Fenetre d'Arpette - Relais d'Arpette
- Distance: 16km
- Duration: (with breaks): 8h 00min
- Elevation gain/loss: 1390m/1040m
Today we are conquering Fenetre d’Arpette (2665m) – one of the most demanding passes of the whole route. I felt a slight tingle in my stomach while packing, wondering what to expect. We were thinking of crossing this pass last year, but local guides strongly discouraged us, insisting that the conditions on the pass were life threatening due to late snow. This year snow was not a problem anymore, let’s go!
We left the campsite before 8:00 and headed towards the Chalet du Glacier – our breakfast stop, which we reached in 1h or so from the camping place. After a hot coffee and a few bread & Nutella slices we were ready to start the climb.
To be fair, the first half of the climb was pretty pleasant – not too steep, plenty of shade and nice views of the valley and Glacier du Trient. Once we left the forest, a steep ascent with continuous zigzags was waiting for us. From then on the views were getting better with each turn.
In front of us the glacier with its deep cracks and blue shades was getting closer, while behind us the mountain range at the back of Trient was unfolding the higher we went. I highly recommend to not rush this section and take time to admire the whole panorama. Hint: some of those views are later obscured.
I think it took us around 5 hours to reach the top and honestly it was pretty tough. It was a bit like this: oh the pass should be there around the corner! Nope, but maybe the next corner. Ok, after this corner we will definitely see the pass. Where’s that bloody pass?? 🙂
The pass hides from the hikers almost the whole ascent. We spotted it only when it was 20 min left to climb! At this stage I was so done with climbing up, I was moving like a snail: 5 steps up, break, another 5 steps up…
Somehow I gathered the last bit of energy to climb over huge boulders to the top and finally made it to the top. All this hard work has paid off with awesome views: while Glacier du Trient was not visible anymore (told you), we could see far into the mountains behind Trient on one side and Arpette valley on the other.
So you’d think the hard part is over, right? Haha (nervous laughter), I wish. While eating victory lunch on the top I glanced at the path down towards Champex. Honestly, it looked almost like a vertical drop.
I’ve read in other blogs about a steep loose gravel path in this section and now could definitely see what fellow hikers meant. I think for the first 30 minutes down I basically crawled in fear of slipping and falling. Even started cheering myself up to chase away the thoughts of all the possible ways I could fall.
Then we had to cross a long section of huge boulders while trying to stay on the path. After a good hour of fighting with the trail we finally entered a more manageable path and I could take it easy both physically and mentally.
What kept the rest of the hike challenging was lack of water sources. We did not know that water was available only close to Arpette village down in the valley, so for ~2 hours we hiked without any water in the scorching sun with no shade to hide in. Constantly listening for any sound of a stream, we did our best to keep the pace.
After what felt like an eternity, we finally heard a stream and took a 10 min break to just drink, drink, drink.
The stream also led us all the way to Relais d’Arpette – our camping spot. That’s where I had another discovery – apparently I forgot all my shower toiletries in Argentiere camping (Stage 1). I discovered it when IN the shower 🙂 I guess soap and shampoo are overrated, who needs them after a long sweaty day when you have water, right?… Some serious re-shopping to be done in Champex.
Day 3 tips
- if you stay in La Peuty, you don’t need to climb up (left turn from the campsite) to come back to the path. There is a path on the right side of the river (when facing the glacier), which you will cross to meet the track back next to Chalet du Glacier.
- Take enough water for the whole day! There will be a stream on your way to the pass (approximately midway), but no water almost all the way to Arpette village. Chalet du Glacier sells water, but it’s crazy expensive.
- Relais d’Arpette is known for its great kitchen and their restaurant gets fully booked quickly, so if you stay there, make sure to book dinner in advance. You’ll get a three-course meal, which is the best thing that can happen after a long day of hiking.