Gare des Glaciers to Plan Aiguille Loop
8
Overall rating
Very Good
Length
16.6km
Elevation + / -
1500m / 1500m
Trail type
Loop
When to go
Mid Jun - Mid Oct
Hike duration
6.0 - 9.0 Hours
Altitude Range
1038m / 2418m
Technical level
Difficult (4/5)
Natural beauty
Very Nice (4/5)
Run duration
3.5 - 5.0 Hours
Families
15+ Years old
Dogs
Dogs Allowed
Provision Sources
1 Refuge, 2 Restaurants
This loop takes you to the Gare de la Para and Gare des Glaciers abandoned lift stations on the north facing slopes of the Mont Blanc Massif. The back story here is that these stations were created in 1925 for the Winter Olympics in Chamonix. This project was then abandoned in favor of the current Aiguille du Midi cable car. The buildings are still there including the old gondolas. The buildings are not the main attractions here though. The real reason for doing this trail are the amazing views of the Glacier des Bossons and its terminus and the amazing views over Mont Blanc. You will also be treated to great views over the entire Chamonix Valley and across to the Aiguille Rouge and distants lands far beyond. Another big benefit is that this trail is definitely off the beaten path and even in the peak of the tourist season you are unlikely to come across many people. This stands in great contract with the Grand Balcon Nord which is jam packed in the peak summer months. The downside of the trail is that it starts off with a pretty strenuous 1350 meter straight ascend with the open views and main attractions coming at the very end of that climb. The traverse from the Gare des Glaciers to the Plan de l'Aiguille lift station is furthermore pretty technical with large boulders.
The version we present here and in our video presentation assumes that you start at the Grepon Parking near the center of Chamonix. You could make this a little shorter by parking you car near the Cascade de Dard and then doing the same loop but returning to the parking instead of finishing the descend to Chamonix. This version saves you roughly 200 vertical meters. The descend from the Refuge de Plan de l'Aiguille is very nice for the first few kilometers but then gets quite boring as you enter the forest. So another option to cut this short is by using the Plan de l'Aiguille cable car.
Photos of this Trail
We have a large library of pictures from in and around the Chamonix Valley. All pictures are categorized and geo location tagged. These are the pictures we have for this trail. Click on any picture to view it's details and location.
Trail Directions & Safety Considerations
Children
15+ Years old
Dogs
We recommend to keep your dog on a leash
When to Go
Mid Jun - Mid Oct
Risk Considerations & Difficulty Assessment
The trail reaches an altitude of 2408 meters at the Gare des Glaciers. It gets pretty good sun exposure but there is likely to be some snow cover until mid June and it could see snow as early as the middle of October. From many locations in Chamonix you will be able to see the Gare des Glaciers and see the degree of snow cover. Please check all our Chamonix trail condition resources as well to get as much reliable information as you possible can get. The main danger we see here is that you make the full climb to the Gare des Glaciers, reach the moraine of the Pelerin Glacier and are then confronted with snow cover and highly technical and difficult terrain. At that point you will need to be strong and smart enough to decide to turn back instead of continuing on to Plan de l'Aiguille.
The most challenging part of this trail is the part where you need to cross the moraine of the Pelerins Glacier. This part is pretty technical with large boulder fields. There are plenty of yellow markers to indicate the path. Use your hands, bring poles and just take it slow.
The trail is very well marked with your main destinations being the Cascade de Dard, Cero, Gare de la Para, Gare des Glaciers, Plan de l'Aiguille, Refuge Plan de l'Aiguille, Chamonix and the Grepon Parking.
Trail Starting Point
The trail starts at the Grepon Parking near the center of Chamonix. An alternative starting point would be the parking of the Cascade du Dard reachable by taking the highway going up to the Mont Blanc tunnel entrance.
Trail Directions
We start this trail at the Grepon Parking. There will be a trail marker for the Cascade du Dard waterfall. This paved path will have you follow the main road out of Chamonix for a few hundered meters before telling you to take a left onto the trail. Keep following the signs for the Cascade de Dard. At the Buvette de la Cascade du Dard there will be trail marker for Cero. Follow this past the carpark and up a trail that will lead you a tunnel below the highway at the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The trail marker at the suspension bridge will point you in the direction of the Gare de la Para. This path follows the Torrent de la Creusaz upstream. From here there are no junctions and you can just follow the trail and trail markers all the way up to the Gare de la Para and then the Gare des Glaciers. At the Gare de Glaciers you will see a red trail marker for the Plan de l'Aiguille point you in a northern-eastern direction. You will see yellow marker signs mounted on the rocks which you can follow. As you approach the Glacier des Pelerins you will be given a choice to take the red route and cross the terminus of the glacier which has receded so far that there is no more permanent ice. The other choice is to follow the yellow markers which will point you downhill. You should take the yellow marked path which will have you cross the glacier terminus at a lower altitude. The path is still technical with large boulders but nothing too crazy. This path will take you to the Plan de l'Aiguille lift station. From there its a short descend to the Refuge de Plan de l'Aiguille. From there its a single track all the way down the mountain. The only main junction you will hit is the one where you can either take a left to the Cascade de Dard or a right to continue on to the Grepon parking. If you parked at the Cascade then return that way. If you started at the Grepon Parking then follow the signs in that direction.
Points of Interest for this Trail
We have a large database of all of the points of interests in and around Chamonix. These are the points of interest you will find along this trail:
3D Map & GPS
Trail Route Map & GPS
You can download the GPX file and load this route into your own GPS enabled device or application. If you are on Strava, then you can open this route in Strava and save it to your account.
3D Map of this Trail
FATMAP in an incredible website and mobile application that you can use to view the trail in full 3D, do a fly over of the route and get a detailed vertical profile. You can view the FATMAP of this trail below and use the 'View larger map' link to visit the trail on the FATMAP website.
