Pointe du Château

From Cluses, head up via Marnaz to Le Reposoir, turn left onto the Romme road and park in a right-hand bend at the start of Chemin de Méry, marked by a sign.

You can also drive directly to the small resort of Romme from Cluses, via Nancy-sur-Cluses: continue for a few kilometres over the Col de Romme and begin the descent towards Le Reposoir until you reach the bend where the Chemin de Méry starts.

(S/E) Take the Chemin de Méry southwards. It begins to descend slightly towards Plan de Brion before starting a steep, winding climb through the forest.

(1) At the top of the switchbacks, this access path crosses to the right, passing through an avalanche couloir. It continues to climb via a few switchbacks and long traverses along the slope, until it emerges from the forest into the mountain pasture. Continue southwards on level ground to reach the Chalets de Méry.

(2) From the chalets, climb up to the cross and continue along the path, if visible, heading north-east up towards a grassy ridge descending from the Pointe du Château.

(3) Leave the path which turns towards the Col de la Gueule à Vent and climb the ridge south-eastwards then eastwards (watch out for cornices) to the clearly visible summit of the Pointe du Château.

(4) You can descend via the ridge you climbed or, better still, follow the south-eastern ridge towards the Col du Château.

(5) Turn right to descend the snow-covered slopes towards the west (several routes available), towards the Chalets de Méry.

(2) Descend through the forest via the path you took on the way up. (S/E)

The climb through the forest is steady but easy, as the Chemin de Méry is wide enough to accommodate vehicles accessing the mountain pasture.

There are two points where potential avalanche couloirs cross the route in winter: avoid this ascent if the snow is unstable, but once the couloirs have been cleared, the route becomes safe again.

Several peaks along the ridge are accessible by ski touring or snowshoes: the Pointe du Château is the easiest, but there is also the Tête de la Sallaz, the Tête des Muets (also easy), the Tête du Château (slightly steeper) and the Pointe des Arbennes (more alpine, on the ridge of the Pointe d’Areu, marked on IGN maps).

These summits can also be reached from the Romme resort, by ascending above the Grand Tour ski lift towards the Chalets de Vormy and the Tête de la Sallaz. A circular route is therefore possible, for example, by ascending via the Chalets de Méry and returning via the Chalets de Vormy, but you will then need to walk along the road (approx. 2 km) from the finish point (Romme resort) back to the starting point (Chemin de Méry junction).

The view stretches across the Aravis range, the Bargy, the Tournette, the Chablais and the border range, from the Hauts Forts to Mont Blanc (including the Dents Blanches, Dents du Midi, Mont Buet and Fiz). For a more unobstructed view of Mont Blanc, you must climb up to the Pointe des Arbennes.

Later in the season, snowshoes will only be needed from the Méry mountain pasture onwards, where you can enjoy the emerging flora: snowdrops in the forest and crocuses on the snow-free grassy patches.