July 20, 2024

Chapelle d’Abondance, 913m

We wake up to a cup of coffee by the river, then set off just before 7:30am in the direction of Refuge de Chesery.

They forecast a storm the next day and into the night, so we decide to book the Refuge de Chesery, so we don’t have to sleep in a tent at 2,000 metres under the storm. Hard to believe at the moment, it’s clear blue skies, and we start the climb through the forest towards Les Crottes.

Les Crottes, 1.524m

We decide to leave the GR5 for a while and reach Les Mattes via the Refuge de Trebentaz, which takes us 40 minutes longer, but we’ve heard that their blueberry tart is delicious, so the motivation is there. After a few minutes on a more or less flat forest track, we join the path leading up to the refuge, which we can already see, perched 400 meters above us. It’s very hot, we’re now in full sunshine, and it’s a good climb, so we’re happy to finally get to the top.

Refuge de Trebentaz 1.866m

Bivouac possible, 6€.

The view is magnificent, it’s 10am, we sit down on the terrace and order a blueberry tart, a hazelnut tart and 2 large bowls of coffee. Just great! Now that we’ve recovered our strength, we head back up the mountainside, taking the winding ascent to the top of the mountain at 1,966m, then back down to Les Mattes, where we pick up the classic GR5 itinerary.

Les Mattes, 1.925m

Ahead of us is the view of the Mont Blanc massif, and we start to descend along small paths before joining a track and starting to climb. It’s very hot and there’s no shade, so we end up back on the flat with a few welcome clouds.

We stop for tomatoes and cheese sandwiches before taking a small path up to the Col de Bassachaux.

Col de Bassachaux, 1,780m

Last climb before reaching the Col de Chesery at 1,995 metres to reach Lac Vert and the Refuge de Chésery a few hundred metres further on.

Refuge de Chésery, 1.984m

Bivouac possible a few minutes away (but not around the lake), ask at the refuge for the location.

Night in a refuge: they forecast storms with violent thunderstorms for the next day and night, so we prefer to sleep in a refuge, and the next day we decide to take a day off, seeing the weather forecast when we wake up.

The refuge is small (18 hikers max) and very cozy, and the team is friendly, I recommend it. Delicious homemade jam for breakfast.