Chivasso – Carro

Cross the mountain pastures along a descending path, from where there is a magnificent view of Lake Agniel and Lake Serru (2,240 m). A path leads to Lago Delle Rocc Grandi and the high-altitude path over the Col du Carro (3,122 m). The pass marks the French-Italian border and the entrance to the Vanoise National Park. A steep descent leads to the Refuge du Carro (2,759 m) for a well-deserved rest.

Please note: Just before Lac du Caro, the glacier tongue has swept away the landmarks (markings, cairns), makingnavigation and progress very difficult(see notice dated 7 September 2026).

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Tour of the Alpes Grées

Details

n°3873975

Creation:
20 Aug 2020

Last update:
08 Sep 2026

Last review:
07 Sep 2026

Activity: Walking
Distance: 6.52 mi
Average duration: 5h 45
Difficulty: Difficult
Back to start: No
Ascent: + 3,130 ft
Descent: - 2,582 ft
Highest point: 10,315 ft
Lowest point: 7,313 ft

Country: Italy
Area: Alps
City: Valsavarenche
Start: N 45.479802° / E 7.142816°
End: N 45.419878° / E 7.122872°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3633ET, 3633ETR
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Description of the walk

(S) From the Chivasso Refuge, take the path descending below the refuge. Cross the road at the hairpin bend and head towards the small lake.

(1) Follow the red and white marked path to the left – it is faint at first – until you reach a plateau, then continue along the left bank of the stream. Further on, follow a virtually level path to the bridge over the stream, which now feeds into Lake Agnel.

(2) Cross the stream and begin a very gentle climb with a magnificent view of Lake Agnel; then descend the ledge, using the cable for support. Continue along the balcony path with a view of Lake Serru until you reach a junction.

(3) Stay on the balcony path, ignoring the path leading down to the left. Pass close to the Serru chalets.

(4) Cross the stream and, about a hundred metres further on, reach a small plateau below the path. Continue off-trail across the plateau to join a path a few hundred metres further down.

(5) Turn left onto this path, cross the road three times, and reach the car park below the dam.

(6) Follow the signs for Col du Carro, marked with red and white markings. Leave the path that goes round Lac de Serru on your right. Pass by a small fort. The path is fairly even through the mountain pastures until you reach Lac Rocce Grandi.

(7) Continue, gradually leaving the mountain pastures behind to enter a high-mountain landscape, and reach the top of the pass with a magnificent view of Lacs Serru and Agnel.

(8) Retrace your steps for about a hundred metres and rejoin the path marked in red and white. Follow the cairns and the markings through high-mountain terrain to reach the^second tricky section. This is a ledge equipped with a handrail.

(9) Leave the ledge and continue up a very steep slope to reach the^third ledge. Cross it using the fixed equipment, then quickly reach the Col Carro, marked by numerous cairns on its plateau.

(10) Head straight ahead to take in the view of the refuge and its lakes. Follow the cairns amongst the boulders and, via a steep descent, reach the lake and then the Refuge du Carro (E), today’s destination.

Waypoints

S : mi 0 - alt. 8,540 ft - Refuge Citta di Chivasso
1 : mi 0.18 - alt. 8,396 ft - Small lake
2 : mi 0.96 - alt. 8,176 ft - Bridge
3 : mi 1.09 - alt. 8,182 ft - Summit of the 1st ledge
4 : mi 1.2 - alt. 7,927 ft - Junction
5 : mi 1.5 - alt. 7,887 ft - Serru Chalets
6 : mi 1.78 - alt. 7,818 ft - Return to the path
7 : mi 1.78 - alt. 7,802 ft - Marked path RB
8 : mi 2.19 - alt. 7,369 ft - Car park below the dam
9 : mi 3.53 - alt. 8,002 ft - Lac Rocce Grand
10 : mi 4.28 - alt. 8,839 ft - Viewpoint at the pass
11 : mi 5.32 - alt. 9,455 ft - Second ledge
12 : mi 5.62 - alt. 10,308 ft - Col du Carro (3149m)
13 : mi 5.75 - alt. 10,200 ft - Passing the third ledge
E : mi 6.52 - alt. 9,062 ft - Refuge du Carro

Notes

Caution: three sections with wire ropes – you must not be afraid of heights.

Reviews and comments

3.5 / 5

Based on 2 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5

Ease of following the route
2 / 5

Route interest
4.5 / 5

Andeor

07 Sep 2026 at 15:32

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent stretch, but WARNING: just before reaching the Col du Carro (after about 5 hours’ walk), the path crosses a glacier tongue (which is often snow-covered, but this wasn’t the case when we passed through in early September). This glacier tongue regularly collapses, sweeping away all the red and white markings and the cairns with it...
The written description is no longer accurate: the second ledge from point no. 9 has clearly been swept away in the rockfall.

We found ourselves completely lost at the foot of the rocky ridge and spent over an hour exploring the surrounding area (unstable scree slopes) to find the rest of the path. The GPX track seemed reliable, but we couldn’t pick up the signal properly (bloody Italian mobile data), so there was no way we could follow it. Our paper map from the IGC (the Italian “equivalent” of the IGN, though far inferior) didn’t help us work out where we were or where to go either (long live those contour lines that just stop for no apparent reason).
From the glacier, it was impossible to see the pass, so we had absolutely no idea what to aim for (there were no visible markers or cairns either). Using a compass to find our bearings, the vertical face in front of us looked more like a climb requiring climbing gear than a hike.

We decided to turn back (having set off from the Savoia refuge, we’d already been walking for nearly 6 hours, and the sun was already starting to dip below the mountain’s peak). Fortunately, ten minutes later, we came across another Italian hiker who was able to pick up the GPX track and showed us how to cross the glacier tongue (no easy feat – you have to walk across a very unstable scree slope, as the boulders are resting on ice that’s melting and cracking...). Once on the other side, we were finally able to find the red and white markings again and begin the ascent of the rock face, which turned out to be a little less steep than it appears when you’re on the other side of the glacier.

The final 100 metres of elevation gain (roughly between points 9 and 10) are more like climbing than hiking, with ropes and pitons fixed into the face. It can be done without equipment, even though the section is rated EEA by the Italians (Escursionista Esperto Attrezzato – Experienced hiker with equipment: highly technical routes equipped with cables, ladders or handrails similar to a via ferrata, requiring suitable kit (helmet, straps and harness)), but ABSOLUTELY NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE SUFFERING FROM HEIGHT PHOBIA.
The pass remains out of sight almost until the very end: you have to approach it with a ‘leap of faith’ and tackle the technical sections one by one until the summit comes into view…

Crampons and ice axes are compulsory if there is still snow on the glacier: remember to ask the warden beforehand (and to ask him specifically about the state of the markings on the glacier: he didn’t tell us anything about this, even though we’d asked him whether the route was passable… If we’d had that information earlier, we wouldn’t have had to second-guess ourselves so much as we made our way towards the pass).

Machine-translated

gérard bruet

16 Aug 2021 at 19:35

Hello
The track I created was recorded directly using GPS.
It’s a shame you’re not happy with it.

Machine-translated

FJ6888

16 Aug 2021 at 19:16

Thank you for your feedback, larti.
Could you explain why the route on the map provided by Visorando is ‘disappointing’?

Kind regards

Machine-translated

larti

16 Aug 2021 at 19:05

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hi. I used this route description just for the Chivasso to Lac Serru section: I was carrying on towards the Col de la Lose. It’s very good. However, the corresponding GPS track was showing up on my Garmin… off the coast of Zanzibar! Annoying