Circular at Pointe Chombas

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The Aravis valleys are among the classic hiking destinations in Haute-Savoie. Pointe Chombas is a little less well known. Here is a circular route through pastures, forests and rocky areas. Some sections can be dizzying, others involve a bit of climbing but are not difficult. The reward is a little-visited summit offering panoramic views of the Alps, the Jura and, of course, the Mont Blanc range in the foreground.

(!) Please note: some parts of the route are challenging.

Details

n°86610741
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,000 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,008 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,436 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,549 m
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Photos

A few metres below the summit.
Le Charvet
Shortly after the start.

Description of the walk

Coming from Annecy, Thônes and Le Grand Bornand, take the Bouchet Valley road, then at the Bouchet chapel, take the Col des Annes road. Park a few hundred metres below the Col des Annes at the electrical transformer.

(S/E) Take the Route du Col des Annes towards the south-west. After about 50 metres, turn left onto the Chemin pastoral du Plattuy until you reach the Col de Borneronde (round marker on the IGN map).

(1) Take thefirst path on the left, heading east-northeast to Tête des Annes.

(2) Follow the well-marked "Sentier géologique de la Pointe Percée" trail. Informative signs help you interpret the landscape all the way to the Refuge Gramusset, the Pointe Percée refuge. Continue to the Col de l'Oulettaz.

(3) Continue south-east along the path, which is sometimes vertiginous but well secured by a chain in one tricky spot. You can take a short detour to read an information panel and take a break to admire the beautiful panorama.

(4) After this stop, continue along the path until you reach the junction with the path coming from the Troncs car park.

(5) At this junction, follow the path on the left towards the Gramusset Refuge, whose roof will soon be visible and which can be reached quickly.

(6) From the refuge, the direction to Chombas is written in large blue letters on a rock, clearly visible. From there, take great care as the trail crosses a field of sharp limestone pavement, facing south. Follow the cairns and blue markings, which are not always easy to follow. Aim for a small chimney that is quite visible in the cliff.

(7) Climb up the rather grassy chimney. Two knotted ropes can help you get through this short passage.

(8) Follow the blue signs to the left along the path along the ridge leading to the summit.

(9) Turn back along the ridge and leave it where it drops down into the cliff.

(8) Continue left, preferably on the ridge, over terrain that is half gravel and half tufts of grass.

(10) Look carefully for weaknesses in the cliff to climb down as best you can to reach the clearly visible path to the Combe de Chombas. Be careful.

(11) Continue on a good path heading south-west to reach the path coming from Les Confins.

(12) From the "Follieres Haut" sign, follow the path (GRP®) on the right, heading northeast from Les Confins towards Le Planet.

(13) Follow the forest track on the left, which first climbs northwards and then south-westwards.

(14) At the crossroads, continue to the right towards the Col de Borne Ronde, which you passed on the way there.

(1) Follow the same route back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,687 m - Opposite the transformer before the - Col des Annes (1721m)
  2. 1 : km 1.38 - alt. 1,683 m - Crossroads of the circular - Col de Borne Ronde (1681m)
  3. 2 : km 2.46 - alt. 1,861 m - Tête des Annes
  4. 3 : km 3.41 - alt. 1,918 m - Col de l'Oulettaz (1925m)
  5. 4 : km 3.64 - alt. 1,918 m - Information board
  6. 5 : km 4.32 - alt. 2,018 m - Mont Pelé junction
  7. 6 : km 4.84 - alt. 2,162 m - Refuge Gramusset
  8. 7 : km 5.63 - alt. 2,312 m - Foot of the chimney
  9. 8 : km 5.77 - alt. 2,387 m - Fork
  10. 9 : km 5.91 - alt. 2,436 m - Summit of the - Pointe de Chombas
  11. 10 : km 6.66 - alt. 2,104 m - Descent from the cliff
  12. 11 : km 6.72 - alt. 2,072 m - Chombas valley trail
  13. 12 : km 8.1 - alt. 1,617 m - Follieres haut
  14. 13 : km 9.46 - alt. 1,653 m - Le Planet
  15. 14 : km 10.37 - alt. 1,600 m - Crossroads
  16. S/E : km 12.56 - alt. 1,688 m - Opposite the transformer before the - Tête des Annes

Notes

Between (6) and (7), take great care when crossing the sharp limestone pavement.

Between (10) and (11), you must be very vigilant and look carefully, even though there are several possible routes.

Reviews and comments

5 / 5
Based on 1 review
Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
Randobriot
Randobriot

I agree to classify it as difficult rather than very difficult.

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Gilcool 1
Gilcool 1
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The yes/no choice regarding how busy it is leaves little room for nuance. It is a fairly busy route in the sense that it is rare to find no one there (I have done the route five times!). I disagree with the fact that this route is classified as "very difficult". I have taken a group of pensioners on this route three times as part of a club, and although you do need to be careful when crossing the sharp limestone pavement, the hike is accessible to most hikers who are used to walking in the mountains. The short section of about ten metres equipped with a handrail (rope) is far from vertiginous and, on the contrary, very safe. I would classify this route as "difficult" at most. The label "very difficult" should be reserved for routes that are actually very difficult. And there are many of these in the Aravis, including "extremely difficult" routes (Pointe Percée, for example).

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