July 23, 2024

One of the most beautiful stages of La Grande Traversée des Alpes!

Cascade du Rouget, 959m

We leave our bivouac area (15mn before the waterfall) at around 8.30am after a quick coffee. We discover the beautiful Rouget waterfall a little further up.

We continue to climb towards Le Lignon, at 1,180m, where we stop for breakfast at a picnic table.

We continue to climb and pass another beautiful waterfall before arriving at the Collet d’Anterne a few hours later. The scenery is heavenly. A great potential bivouac spot near the river.

Refuge d’Anterne (Alfred Wills), 1,812m

We stop for an omelette and vegetable soup at the Refuge d’Anterne, before continuing upwards until we have a view of Lac d’Anterne.

Lac d’Anterne, 2,060m

We stop at the lake to enjoy the view and make a coffee, then set off again on the last climb before the Col d’Anterne. Bivouac possible.

Col d’Anterne, 2,257m

There’s still some snow on the way, but we finally reach the pass, and we don’t expect to see the Mont Blanc massif so close, the view is impressive.

Refuge Moëde Anterne, 1.996m

We start the descent and stop for a beer at the refuge, then continue the descent to Pont d’Arlevé. We hesitate on the way because as we descend towards the river, we realize that we may not find any flat ground on which to pitch our tent. The terrain is very sloping and then, above the gorges, it climbs steeply all the way to Le Brevent. We decide to carry on anyway.

Bivouac at Pont d’Arlevé, 1,597m

We see 2 flat spots already occupied, but we manage to find a tiny piece of flat just before the bridge where we have just enough room to pitch our tent. We take advantage of our access to the river to wash up and get some water to prepare dinner. We still have some avocado, peppers, cooked tofu and noodles.

For your information, you can bivouac just before the Chalets d’Arlevé, 40mn further on (+250m ascent), and the spot looks really nice in fine weather.