Deffeyes Shelter - Planaval

A long and difficult stage due to the ascension of 2 passes.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Trek across the Gran Paradiso

Technical sheet

n°2916

Creation:
1 Mar 2012

Last update:
29 Oct 2016

Last review:
17 Apr 2015

Activity: Walking
Distance: 13.32 km
Average duration: 7h 10
Difficulty: Difficult
Return to departure point: No
Vertical gain: + 1,177 m
Vertical drop: - 2,107 m
Highest point: 2,846 m
Lowest point: 1,556 m

Country: Italy
Area: Alps
District: La Thuile (73190)
Start: N 45.675386° / E 6.985938°
End: N 45.67315° / E 7.079843°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3531ET, 3531ETR, 3532ET, 3532ETR
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Description of the walk

Head north-west (S) into the small valley; a well-marked trail rapidly heads due west still waymarked with yellow triangles, and after a steep slope, reaches the foot of Passo Alto. Head up this windy trail to the pass (2850 m) (1).

Head north east, down the scree never loosing sight of the yellow waymarks and cairns. Walk at a decent distance to the right along the lake (Laghi di Lantaney) reaching Promoud Sheepfold (2).

Cross the torrent, take a hairpin right and start the climb to Col de la Crosetta (3).

Then head down towards Planaval, pass by di Fondo Lake (4) and down a trail with multiple bends you'll reach La Clusaz Village road (5).

Head in an overall west direction on that road taking you to Planaval Village (7).

The hotel is at the village entrance.

Waypoints

S : km 0 - alt. 2,486 m - Refuge Deffeyes
1 : km 2.43 - alt. 2,846 m - Passo Alto pass
2 : km 5.46 - alt. 2,052 m - Alpage de Promoud
3 : km 7.45 - alt. 2,816 m - Col de la Crosetta
4 : km 8.75 - alt. 2,440 m - Fondo lake
5 : km 12.32 - alt. 1,640 m - La Clusaz
E : km 13.32 - alt. 1,560 m - Planaval hotel

Practical information

Water source at Promoud Sheepfold.
A comfortable hotel lodge at Planaval

In the nearby area

We noticed when climbing up to Passo Alto that the snow that had fallen during the night was giving us a few problems. A beautiful day however in a mineral yet pleasant mountain range.

Reviews and comments

ponsin

Apr 17, 2015 at 12:05 EDT • Last modified: Apr 17, 2015 at 12:26 EDT

I was supposed to do this summer but this winter I ruptured my cruciate ligament.
So it's postponed until next summer.
J.G.P.

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Ann Lapalice

Jun 19, 2014 at 09:35 EDT

Hello,
We are leaving in 2 weeks for the Grand Paradis crossing. Can we book a guide for the Deffeyes - Planaval crossing? If so, where? Do we need special equipment like crampons? Can we rent them there?
Thank you very much

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Pierrot

Dec 13, 2012 at 10:14 EST

I won't be able to answer you properly for a while, as I don't have my maps with me... It's a shame, because I was there in September at the Deffeyes refuge.

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chon

Dec 12, 2012 at 04:19 EST

Hello
I have just registered
here's my question:
like every year, I'm doing an 8 to 10 day touring trek with my partner
july 2013: les contamine montjoie - bessans
one of the stages would be: refuge deffeyes - planaval
does it really take 12 hours?
Is there another route to Planval instead of Planaval, following the Rutor glacier?
Thank you

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bibi

Mar 16, 2012 at 23:36 EDT

Yes, I know, I'm the one who modified it, so that you can still validate the hike... but the ideal would be to cover the whole world, or at least the countries with hiking areas bordering France... but that's not easy to do, so let's try and see how the site behaves with all the latest modifications...

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Pierrot

Mar 16, 2012 at 08:31 EDT

Bibi and Arnaud, we're going to have to find a solution for the Italian cartography. Because even if the Valle d'Aostans are our cousins, we're no longer in France or in the commune of Séez. We're in Italy, in the commune of La Thuile.

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