Valpelline and Gran San Bernardo: 3 days of trekking between Place Moulin, Bivacco Molline and Bivacco Regondi

Three days in the least-visited corner of the Aosta Valley, in the shadow of the Dent d'Hérens, Mont Vélan and Grand Combin: a turquoise lake, two high-altitude bivouacs and valleys where the silence is broken only by marmots.

The programme

Day 1, Valpelline. We set off with the Guidders from the Place Moulin dam and follow the lake to Rifugio Prarayer, at the head of the valley, with the Tsa de Tsan glacier and the Dent d'Hérens ahead. Easy route, 14 kilometres, then transfer to the hotel in Etroubles.

Day 2, Gran San Bernardo. From the Menouve valley above Etroubles we climb through larches and meadows to Bivacco Molline, 2,580 metres, in an amphitheatre at the foot of the north face of the Vélan. About 900 metres of ascent.

Day 3, Ollomont valley. From the village of By, past the By lake, we climb to Bivacco Regondi, 2,597 metres, with the Grand Combin and its glaciers before our eyes. Back to the cars in the afternoon.

Who it is for

• hikers with some stamina: three consecutive days of medium effort
• anyone wanting to discover corners of the Aosta Valley far from the tourist flows
• lovers of bivouacs and the great glaciers of the Pennine Alps
• minimum age 14, no dogs

Good to know

The fee includes two nights in a hotel with breakfast in a double room and the guiding. Dinners and packed lunches are not included. Transfers between valleys are by the group's cars, arranged in the outing's Telegram group.