Haute Cime
The forgotten circuit

In winter, the Vallon de Susanfe above Champéry only plays host to a few visitors, as it is difficult to access from the north. You have to come from Salanfe and make the most of it by picking up the peak of the Dents du Midi on your way through, prior to getting back into the valley the next day via an original circuit.

Text and photos: Stéphane Maire

There is a big crowd this morning at the arrival of the ski lift in the little resort of Marécottes. Like us a number of skiers are heading towards La Golette and the winter gateway to the Dents du Midi massif. Some of them are carrying their skis, others preferring instead to do kick turns on the slope, which is certainly short, but also steep.

Having rounded the neck, a downhill section in perfectly light, powdery snow leads us across the banks of the Salanfe Lake. The Col de Susanfe of the next section is already scoffing at us. Once we reach it, we’ll still have to devour the 800 metres which separate us from the summit of the Haute Cime, the peak of the secondary chain of the Dents du Midi. All the hikers we came across as we set off from Marécottes have headed off towards the Dents du Midi refuge and we find ourselves alone. The heat pervading today isn’t facilitating the task, but we can soon benefit from the vast panorama and we revel at the superb downhill section which will lead us to the Susanfe refuge.

Dreams of short switchbacks…
Initially you have to negotiate the fairly steep slope towards the summit, where it’s better not to fall. Lower down, the gradient eases but not the enjoyment! A rocky barrier forces us to take a small detour to the right, then 600 m of open skiing deposits us at the refuge.

Unoccupied, as we’d supposed, it provides us with all the comfort we need. We have to clear the snow around the entrance to the WC, but that only takes up part of our afternoon. Inside, the stove hums and a copious meal boosts our spirits. It’s a perfect night, free of snorers and rocked by dreams of a series of very short switchback turns…

In the early hours, we close the door of the refuge again and immediately get down to serious matters: accessing the Grande Pente under the col of the Tour Sallière, which requires a short session of porterage. It’s a perfect wake-up call! The wide expanses of the col are already providing us with an opportunity to admire the Mont Blanc massif, which accompanies us for most of the day. Following that there is yet another splendid downhill section across the Emosson basin. We’re making the absolute most of it, but we nevertheless prefer to make it across to Vers l’Homme, in order to shorten the climb a little towards Fontanabran, and the final summit of the circuit.

To the surprise of a few chamois, we put on another layer and get going again. The Fontanabran Lake shortly precedes our arrival at the eponymous summit. The circuit is just about complete but the descent across the Vallon d’Emaney is yet to reveal its delights. The direct route up the north slope doesn’t inspire confidence given the conditions at the time. As a result we fall back onto the north-east basin, which has some great moments in store for us. The high pasture of Emaney seems to be in hibernation and, like the end of our timeless two-day trip it is solitary and peaceful…

Read the rest of the article in the Mountain Report magazine - Where to find ?