Chavanne Vieille

The Chavanne Vieille lies in a wide gulley cut out by the Glacier du Bourgeat and at an altitude of 1726 meters there is an old hut with a nice view up the gulley to the glacier and down to the valley floor below. The trail marker on this hut says Chavanne Vieille making me uncertain on whether the entire gully or just the hut carries this name. The hut is quite charming and it was open the last time I visited it. This trail does not see a lot of tourists and even in the peak months of July and August you are unlikely to run into a lot of people. If you don't have much time in Chamonix then this would probably not be one of the trails I would recommend you do first, but if you know your way around Chamonix and think you have seen it all, then I challenge you to add Chavanne Vieille to your list! The trail starts at the Le Solerey Brewpub which is nice location to start and end your trail. I did this trail as a loop where I crossed the stream beyond the Chavanne Vieille and then went down via de Montagne de Taconnaz on the other side of the gulley. I believe an avalanche wrecked most of that trail though and I do not know if it has been cleared and rebuilt since. On the IGN map the option to cross the stream and go down via the Montagne de Taconnaz is no longer possible and without first hand knowledge I do not want to recommend doing this loop.