The Aiguilles Rouges Black Lakes (Les Lacs Noirs des Aiguilles Rouges)

Superb panoramic views of the Mont Blanc massif Top hike!

1. toprando We're opposite and as close as possible to Mont Blanc! (perhaps a little closer to Lac Brévent in fact ...)

Magnificent contrasts!
A must in the Cham' valley !
I take the Brévent gondola up to Lac Cornu and the Lacs Noirs.
The climb is gradual at first, but it's very rocky and climbs all the same (12 - 15%).
I escaped La Grande Faucheuse by passing 5 minutes after a large rockfall just below the start of the hike, which also chilled those who were just before :-o
You have to lift your legs a lot, which is even more tiring given the terrain.
The terrain goes from rocky & scree crossings to ... rocks to cross. I find that very tiring (and even more so with a bum knee)!
It was unbearably hot on the way back, given the temperatures at the end of August/beginning of September, and there was no shade.
I still have a lot of thinking to do, but I'd put this walk in the TOP 3 of the thousands of kilometres I've covered ;-)
It gets harder and harder from the Col Cornu onwards, particularly because of the rocks, and then there's a nice climb up dirt tracks with a high gradient of 20-25%.
Breathtaking scenery at Lac Cornu and Lacs Noirs! Lac Brévent is not to be outdone, with scenery right in front of Mont Blanc. I take the cable car, which is quite impressive and takes us up there in less than 5 minutes!
I don't have time to go all the way down to Lac Brévent as the last descent of the cable car + gondolas is fast approaching :-o
THE hike to do in Cham!
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9.4 km & 670 m D+/D-
⚡️ Highlights of the hike :
- Alt. 2002 m - Planpraz cable car
- Alt. 2417 m - Col du Lac Cornu
- Alt. 2461 m - Col de la Glière
- Alt. 2497 m - Lacs Noirs (Aiguilles Rouges)
- Alt. 2202 m - Lac Brévent

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A much more enjoyable hike than the Lac Blanc, as it is much less busy. The only downside was that even at this time of year, there was too much ice. We had to take very slippery paths up to Lac Cornu and the climb up to Lac Noir was impossible because you really needed winter equipment to get there.

We did get to see some marmots and ibex, though, which was a real treat.

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Quite a wild hike compared to the Lac Blanc... Walk along a paved path and across scree. The aiguilles rouges massif is spectacular, as are the lakes and the view of the Mont Blanc range. We had a picnic on the banks of the little-frequented upper black lake, and didn't make the diversions to the lower lake. We were able to see an ibex up close. One of the most beautiful hikes we've done in the massif.

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Very nice hike! Done on 7/8/23, we saw snow and ibexes!
The only downside is that it's impossible to get to the start by car. Either you have to walk up for 5 km, or you have to take the Planpraz cable car (22€ return).

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Yellow signage is very precise

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