La Grande Jumelle from Novel

Park in the fairly large car park located past the hamlet of La Planche, at the end of the road leading up from Novel (end of authorised access; signpost ‘La Planche à Brousoz, altitude 1,205 m’). Access from Saint-Gingolph (French-Swiss border).

Signposts are in place at major junctions

Red and white + blue markings

(S/E) Set off southwards following the^GR®5, cross a stream and continue through the forest. Cross a pasture until you reach a signpost.

(1) Then turn right onto a gravel track. At the next signpost, ignore the track branching off to the right and take a path to the left. At the next signpost, veer left onto a path that starts in a meadow and continues through the woodland.

Blue markings

(2) At an altitude of 1,330 m, turn left towards the Col de la Croix and Lac de Lovenex (let the^GR®5continue straight on). Cross the bed of a dry stream (in summer), follow its right bank uphill, then veer left (you are now in Switzerland).

(3) At a signpost, continue towards the Col de la Croix, situated near the Grande Miette, a distinctive peak clearly visible high up to the south-east. The slope becomes steeper. Follow the left bank of another stream, then veer away from it to make a wide loop to the right. You’ll emerge at the bottom of a small valley and climb up it to reach the pass.

Markings: Yellow Diamond framed in black

(4) Turn right towards Pas de Lovenex (signposted), following a path that begins to descend slightly (do not take the first path on the right, which climbs up to the foot of the Grande Miette). Walk along the hillside, cross the dry bed of a torrent, then traverse an area of scree. Then follow a few steep hairpin bends along a path through the grass to reach the Pas de Lovenex.

Unmarked

(5) Descend on the other side (south-east) towards the Chalets de Loz (also known as ‘de l’Au de Taney’). Go round the chalets on the right.

(6) Continue eastwards and keep descending along an alpine track. At a fork in the road, keep left on the alpine track and head north-east towards the rocky foothills. You’ll come to a junction where the track turns east-south-east (directional signs with partially faded markings).

(7) Then turn left and head uphill (do not follow the signs for Taney). After a hairpin bend to the left, you’ll reach a chalet at a place called La Combe, at the bottom of a small, ancient glacial cirque. Walk past a chalet and continue for about fifty metres towards a small lake (or pond, depending on the season).

(8) Then turn right onto a faintly marked path. Follow a few switchbacks eastwards and go round a rocky outcrop on the right. Continue climbing east-north-east up a slope of short grass dotted with small limestone boulders. Finally, head north to reach the summit ridge.

(9) Follow the rocky ridge to the right (east) to the summit (be careful, watch out for the north-facing cliffs).

(10) The return journey follows the same route as the ascent, in the opposite direction, to the La Planche car park in Brousoz (S/E).

Hiking kit and footwear are essential.

No water sources have been identified along the route.

For the ascent to the summit, allow between 3 and 4 hours’ walking, excluding stops.

Between (8) and (9), a good sense of the route and direction-finding skills are required. A detailed map is essential (at the very least, the one accompanying this description). La Grande Jumelle is also known as “Grande Séreu”: this place name is rarely used nowadays but can be found in some documents.

- Lake Lovenex.
- Beautiful views of Lake Geneva along the way.
- From the summit, a sweeping panorama of Lake Geneva, the peaks of the Chablais, the Dents du Midi and the Mont Blanc massif.