Courmayeur · Italy
The quiet col
This is one of the places from which Mont Blanc is best observed, and almost nobody goes there. The Col Chavannes overlooks Val Veny from a grassy slope wholly without spectacle, and that is precisely why one looks the other way: the entire Italian side of the massif, end to end, without having to take it apart. The col was always a working crossing rather than an important route: shepherds moving animals, people cutting through towards the Chavannes valley and on to La Thuile. A high variant of the Tour du Mont Blanc passes over it now, and those who choose it do so for the view. Famous mountains always have a little-frequented place from which they are better seen, and as a rule it is a col with grass on it.
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How long does it take to get up?
Two or three hours from the floor of Val Veny, on a path, with nothing technical about it. It is a steady, open climb with no wood for most of the way, so in strong sun it pays to start early.
What can you pick out from the col?
From left to right: the Aiguilles des Glaciers at the head of the valley, the Miage glacier under its cover of stone, the Peuterey ridge and the summit of Mont Blanc, and at the far end the Grandes Jorasses. Practically the whole Italian side at once.
Why do so few people go?
Because the main line of the Tour du Mont Blanc goes lower and easier, and because the col has neither a hut nor a lift. The people who go up have decided to go up. It is a filter that works well.
Where it is
More stories in Courmayeur
- The Aiguille Blanche
- The Aiguille Noire
- Duke of the Abruzzi Alpine Museum
- The Brenva Spur
- The Guides' House
- Church of Saint Pantaléon
- The Col de la Seigne
- Saussure on the Col du Géant