Pointe de la Terrasse

Park in the car park at the summit of the Cormet de Roselend, which can be reached:
- either from Beaufort via Lac de Roselend,
- or from Bourg-St-Maurice via the Vallée des Chapieux.

(S/E) From the road pass, take the unpaved road towards Combe de la Neuva. After passing a small hump, the road remains level until the water intake, its terminus (2009m).

(1) Leave the Combe de la Neuva track and take the path on the left. Cross the stream and immediately start climbing the slope towards the Passeur de Pralognan. The ascent is in stages: initially steep towards the east, it turns southwards along a plateau dotted with several small rock outcrops. It climbs steeply south then south-east straight up the slope via a few tight hairpin bends over a scree cone, ending at the foot of the rocks. The path, which remains relatively well-marked, winds diagonally from left to right up a steep slope and ends at the Passeur with a few bends just below it. This final section among the rocks requires caution as it is somewhat exposed, but presents no real technical difficulty (you can keep your poles in hand).

(2) At Le Passeur, take the almost level path to the left, which climbs gradually to reach the ridge at a wide pass where, in principle, Mont Blanc comes into view.

(3) Change direction and take the ascending path to the right through the schist. The path is initially easy over the schist scree, then becomes a little trickier when you have to navigate the exposed rocks. Gradually, the path veers off to the side, skirting a large schist outcrop, before climbing steeper slopes towards a gully between two rocky sections of the ridge below the summit.
Towards the end of the climb, the scree gully splits into two branches:
- the right-hand branch is slightly steeper and leads to a small rocky section to be climbed on the right towards the summit (this is cleaner but more exposed)
- the left-hand branch, the most frequently used, leads onto the ridge where you must cross over to the other side (Chapieux side), descend a few metres then traverse beneath the rocks before climbing up to the right towards the summit.
This section is exposed to steep slopes and can be slippery: proceed with caution, and remain cautious all the way to the summit, the ascent to which takes place in a north-facing area that is half-rocky, half-scree.
You reach the ridge just to the left of the summit via an easy, level section.

(4) Descend via the same route, taking care and exercising caution until you reach the ridge and then just below the Passeur de Pralognan.

(2) Continue along the outward route to return to the car park (S/E).

You generally climb in the shade and, once you reach the (2), the landscape is gentler, usually in the sun, with sheep in summer: you can see the entire final stretch of the route from there.
There is plenty of water at the bottom of the route, but as there are many cows on the Neuva side and sheep on the southern side, you cannot rely on it being drinkable.
No special equipment required: early in the season, snowfields may make the crossing difficult on either side of the ridge pass below the summit and may require an ice axe or even crampons.

The Passeur de Pralognan also provides access to the magnificent "Cinq Lacs" or "Lacs de la Forclaz" plateau, situated opposite (south-west of) the Pointe de la Terrasse.