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Chamonixpanorama

06 - Refuge de Bel Lachat, Aiguillette des Houches via Le Brévent

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© GEOPORTAIL

Logoescalade
A downhill hike from the

This hike enables you to go to the Aiguillette des Houches without the elevation of uphill hiking N° 5, which leaves the Merlet Animal Park. By taking the Brévent cable car this hike is a great descent.

At the ticket office, take a one-way ticket Planpraz + Brévent. Take the Planpraz gondola then the Brévent cable car (2,525 m).

On arrival, enjoy the view of the Mont-Blanc range, its peaks and glaciers. The view also extends to the Fiz massif. Viewpoint indicator.

From the arrival station of the Brévent cable car, turn left towards lake Brévent and the Bel Lachat refuge.

After several sharp bends, one overlooks Lake Brévent. Ignore the path on the right towards the lake and proceed towards the refuge. Leave the path on the left which leads to the refuge and continue towards the Col de Bel Lachat and the Aiguillette des Houches.

The cairne trail then goes along in a gentle climb among the short and wet grass of the Carlaveyron Nature Reserve, a vast wilderness. Within 2 hours one reaches the Aiguillette des Houches (2,285 m) which has a wonderful view facing the Mont-Blanc and the Bossons glacier at its feet. Continue along the crest path, (which is not indicated), towards the Pointe de Lapaz (2,313 m), after making a U-turn on the left at 135°. You can picnic on the trail between the peaks Aiguillette des Houches and Aiguillette du Brévent.

From the Aiguillette du Brévent, you reach the path taken in the morning upstream of the Bel Lachat pass. Retrace your steps to the pass and then continue to the refuge (on the left you leave the trail taken in the morning which goes back to the Brévent).

You reach the Bel Lachat refuge (2,136 m) and a lovely terrace with panoramic views of the Chamonix valley and the Mont-Blanc massif.

From the refuge, go down into the valley by the trail on the far left towards Planpraz. On the right, one leaves the TMB path that leads down to Les Houches, Parc Merlet which winds its way down the valley of Bel Lachat which dominates Chamonix. After an hour, leave the trail on your left towards Planpraz and continue on the right. After numerous bends in the forest, you reach the heights of Chamonix, Les Moussoux and La Mollard before returning to the Planpraz gondola parking lot.

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