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Park in the car park at the end of the Route des Confins, which can be reached from La Clusaz.
(S/E) Take the stony pastoral road towards the Paccaly chalets. After a small hill, it descends and then climbs a little, passing the Lanchette chalets.
(1) Leave the path on your right, which will be the return route, and continue straight ahead, passing the Bottière chalet and arriving at the Paccaly chalet, without gaining much altitude.
(2) At the chalet, leave the road and take the path that heads sharply to the right: heading south, it curves widely to the east and then north-east, climbing through the forest and then across rocky mountain pastures to the edge of the upper Paccaly chalet. You have just crossed the foot of the Combe de Paccaly.
(3) Another sharp change of direction: turn right to climb up into the valley, heading south and then generally south-east. The well-marked trail climbs in stages, making several curves to avoid rocky passages and stay on grassy or moraine terrain.
(4) At an altitude of around 2,150 metres, it reaches a pleasant grassy plateau bordering a small cirque where a snowfield remains. This is usually where you reach the sun when climbing in the cool morning. It is also where you can see the Trou de la Mouche, the day's destination, very clearly for the first time.
The trail heads east and then south-east again to skirt around the outcropping rocks on the left and reach the clearly visible ridge via a series of switchbacks on morainic terrain. There are several passages in this section; always take the one furthest to the left to avoid the slightly rocky sections.
(5) From the ridge, at the Passage du Père, you can see the sunny south-east slope and the view of the Mont Blanc and Vanoise massifs. You can also see the rest of the route to the Trou de la Mouche, which is still clearly visible.
Follow the easy, flat path along the ridge, which heads south-west then west to come to the foot of a rockier outcrop. This is easy to climb as the rock forms "steps", but take care as this is the only relatively exposed section of the route. There are several possible routes, but keep to the left where the slopes are less steep.
After this short section, the path follows a comfortable ledge that leads diagonally to the Trou de la Mouche.
(6) The notch offers beautiful views on both sides, and the platform is welcoming, but be careful, as it can get crowded in high season!
The descent begins on a steep path that descends along a ridge separating more mineral areas. There are several tracks at the top: the track on the right offers more regular turns and is slightly less slippery, but all tracks merge further down where the slope gradually becomes less steep and reaches an area of small grassy bumps in the centre of the Combe du Grand Crêt.
(7) The trail then heads generally north-west and descends the combe in wide curves, always avoiding short rocky sections. It joins the pastoral road at the Chalet de la Lanchette.
(1) Follow the road to the left, passing the small bump at the start, to reach the car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Very difficult 
Easy 
Moderate 
