Traverse of Mont Joly and Aiguille Croche
A good ridge walk starting from the Bettex telecabin station at Mont d'Arbois and finishing at Le Signal telecabin station above Les-Contamines-Montjoie.
Technical sheet No. 2257716
Calculated time: 6h45[?] 
Distance : 14.06 km
Vertical gain : 955 m
Vertical drop : 903 m
Highest point : 2,518 m
Lowest point : 1,799 m 
Difficulty : Moderate
Back to starting point : No
Walking
Location : Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
(74190|74170) 
Starting point : N 45.85493° / E 6.66948° 
Ending point : N 45.78671° / E 6.69401° 
Today's forecast :
Description
From St-Gervais-Les-Bains, take the telecabin du Bettex up to Mont d'Arbois.
(D) Leave the cable car station and take path south-east to a junction with a good track.
(1) Take the good track past a building on the right and on to another building in front of a ski tow. The track splits here.
(2) Take the left-hand fork on the track, pass under the ski tow and follow the track, taking a right-hand turn onto a path leading to Col du Christ.
(3) At Col du Christ, take the right-hand track to another split in the track.
(4) This time, take the left-hand track up to Pavillon du Mont Joly.
(5) At the building, take the lesser path leading uphill via zig-zags and pass over Mont Geroux. Continue up and along the ridge to the summit of Mont Joly.
(6) From the summit of Mont Joly, take the grassy and in some places rocky ridge in a southwards direction to Tete de la Combaz.
(7) At Tete de la Combaz, follows the ridge in a more southwesterly direction to the Tete du Veleray.
(8) After the Tete du Veleray, the ridge becomes rockier and has a steep drop to the north (right as you walk along it) so take care as you continue the traverse to the Aiguille Croche.
(9) From the top of the Aiguille Croche, descend a ridge in a south-east direction on a path that zig-zags and passes a ski tow.
(10) Then, turn south and zig-zag down the ridge to join a good track.
(11) Turn right at the track and follow it, passing the Chalet du Joly and the Col du Joly.
(12) At the Col du Joly, take the track to Le Signal. From here, take the cable car down to Les-Contamines-Montjoie or walk down if you prefer.
Waypoints :
D : km 0 - alt. 1,825 m - Cable car station - Mont d'Arbois
1 : km 0.24 - alt. 1,804 m
2 : km 0.76 - alt. 1,857 m
3 : km 1.68 - alt. 1,898 m - Col du Christ - Col du Christ
4 : km 2.18 - alt. 1,919 m
5 : km 2.67 - alt. 2,000 m - Pavillon du Mont Joly
6 : km 4.55 - alt. 2,516 m - Mont Joly - Mont Joly
7 : km 5.76 - alt. 2,431 m - Tete de la Combaz
8 : km 7.04 - alt. 2,448 m - Tete du Veleray
9 : km 8.76 - alt. 2,457 m - Aiguille Croche
10 : km 9.05 - alt. 2,398 m
11 : km 9.98 - alt. 2,175 m
12 : km 12.15 - alt. 1,988 m - Col du Joly - Col du Joly
A : km 14.06 - alt. 1,870 m - Cable car station - Le Signal
Useful Information
There are few ski tows where some shelter can be found from rain but only the main telecabins will be open in the summer months.
The ridge can be exposed; when we did the walk it was in and out of cloud all day. Hot when out of the cloud and in the sun but cold when in the cloud. Check the forecast and take appropriate clothing for all eventualities and be prepared to turn around or descend if the weather turns. I would not want to be up here in a thunderstorm.
The latter part of the ridge has steeper drops and you can avoid these by descending from the Tete du Veleray to a track that contours the hillside to point 11.
When we did this walk we were staying in Les Contamines Montjoie. We took our car and parked at the Bettex telecabin station. Once we had finished the walk I cycled (freewheeled) down to Saint Gervais, put the bike on its rack and drove back. Alternatively, there is a good public bus service up and down the valley.
Visorando and this author cannot be held responsible in the case of accidents or problems occuring on this walk.
During the walk or to do/see around
The views of the Mont Blanc Massif are the main attraction of this walk and the walk itself is interesting once you have left the tracks at point 5.
This walk can be combined with others...
Col de la Fenetre
Lacs Jovet out and Return
Refuge de Tre la Tete
For example, it would be possible to leave the Col du Joly and join up with the path leading over the Col de la Fenetre. From there you could descend to the valley and walk up to Lacs Jovet and/or return via the Refuge de Tre la Tete.
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⚠️ Please note that you need to park at (A) and not (D) for this walk ⚠️
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For more walks, use our search engine.
The GPS track and description are the property of the author.
