Alta Via 1 of Aosta

The basecamp locations of the hike are Aosta and Pont-Saint-Martin. Both towns are easy to reach from the airports. Aosta the central city of the Italian province of the same name with many attractions for an enjoyable evening ahead of the hike or after you complete your journey. Aosta is set in a valley about 600 meters above sea level. Its charming historic center features several Roman era buildings, well preserved to this day. Time permitting, we recommend you to discover the impressive Praetorian Gate and the Roman Treater the day you arrive. Pont-Saint-Martin is a more convenient basecamp location to start your hike. It is an ancient village with its origins dating back over 2,000 years when the Romans built a bridge in this place to allow crossing of the river Lys. This is a notable 23-meter high segmental arch bridge that survived to these days. Moreover, it remained in service until the XIX century as the only river Lys crossing point giving access to the Aosta valley.

The first hiking day will be remembered for one of the route's longest ascents. From the Gressoney valley you ascend a ridge running southward from Monte Rosa and cross it at a 2,777 m high mountain saddle. Early in the day you will pass a notable old farmstead of Grossalbezzo, which is worth a brief stop. There are about ten buildings and no permanent residents here. Frozen in time, the place has not changed a bit over the past 200-300 years. The meadows above the farmstead offer a scenic view of the snow-covered slopes of Monte Rosa and all of the Gressoney valley below. As you hike across the saddle, you will see snow patches – after snowy winters, these can survive almost till the end of summer at these altitudes. Following a descent from the ridge, you will stay for the night at a conveniently located mountain hut with a panoramic view of the Val d’Ayas valley.

Today the itinerary will offer majestic panoramas of the Pennine Alps. You will see the whole chain of the main ridge peaks, including the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. For that you need to scale one more ridge, known for its tallest peak called Grand Tournalin. Leaving your stuff at the mountain hut at the foot of Grand Tournalin, in the afternoon you may embark on a loop hike to the summit of Monte Croce, which will reward you with a spectacular panorama of the Pennines. According to the hiking schedule, you should reach the summit at around 5 PM. The sunset still quite far away, the snow-covered peaks will already be veiled in the beautiful soft colors photographers appreciate so much. This optional loop hike will take an extra 2 hours.

The trail takes you to Cignana Lake today for a night's stay at a waterfront hut. To reach the lake, you need to cross a pass below the Grand Tournalin peak, descend into the Valtournenche valley and scale yet another ridge. All the large lakes in this highland area are man-made. Cignana Lake was formed by a dam built back in 1925-1928 at an altitude of 2,158 м. Non-typically for high altitude, the air near the lake is quite humid – especially evenings and mornings. The lake is walled off from the Valtournenche valley by the Monte Pancherot mountain. On its way from the lake to the summit the trail ascends 550 m. You may hike it light, leaving your backpacks at the hut. The effort will pay off: the mountain offers an excellent panorama of the main Pennine Alps ridge with an impressive view of the Matterhorn.

Today your path dives into the high-altitude areas of a broad Pennine offshoot named after the Saint Barthelemy valley, cutting into it. There are few hikers on its wild trails. In the morning and evening you are almost sure to see chamois or perhaps Alpine ibices, too. The Saint Barthelemy highland is famous for its beautiful lakes. The two most recognizable ones – the Tzan and Luseni lakes – make part of the itinerary. One of the shores of the Tzan Lake features a sandy beach made of sand washed up by a mountain stream – an uncommon thing for high-altitude lakes. A scree of loose red rock descends into the Luseni Lake on one side. On the other, the water surface extends up to the horizon: there is an abrupt drop behind the lake.

This is the mid-point of your itinerary – time for a bit of rest after high-intensity treks. Today's leg will be long but easy, taking you down into the Valpelline valley. For about three hours the path winds through the rocky highlands. There are no pronounced elevation changes but plenty of high altitude scenery. For the first time in your hike from the Vessona saddle you will enjoy a good view of the Mont Blanc massif. It is easy to recognize – it will appear as a mass of white mountains directly to the west. The saddle offers a view of the tallest part of the Mont Blanc massif dominated by the 4,810 m high Mont Blanc summit. Once down in the valley you reach your hotel in a small nearby village and rest.

Today you cross another branch of the Pennines and reach Valle di Ollomont – a narrow valley at the foot of Grand Combin. The trek is relatively easy for Level 4, although it offers you an ascent around 1,000 m and the same descent which close to the average for day crossings of Alta Via N.1. Gran Combin is the major landmark of this region. You will see it when you are down in the Ollomont valley in the afternoon. Gran Combin is an isolated massif hosting several snow-capped summits above 4,000 m. You will see its south facing slopes which are very steep and catch relatively little snow. Beyond the crest, the northern part of Grand Combin accommodates glaciers that cover substantial areas even these days. Today you stay overnight in a hotel in Valle di Ollomont.

You can choose today whether it is time for a bit of rest after high-intensity treks or you continue hiking as of a Level 4 trip schedule. Even the light route will require some strength – you need to ascend more than 1,000 m on your way to the hut. It will take a little more than 3 hours. The slopes along your ascent offer a good view of the Grand Combin massif and another distinctive summit of the Pennine Alps – Mont Gele. A more challenging alternative is to go off the classic Alta Via N.1 route and walk towards Grand Combin before reaching the hut on a panoramic “balcony” trail. This optional trek takes 6 hours.

After the effortless day before, today's trek will be a long one but without uphill for much of the way. You need to scale another range and thus you start the day with an ascent to a saddle 350 m above the hut where you stayed overnight. Once the saddle is crossed, you walk downhill to the Val di Grand Saint Bernard valley rising towards the famous pass. In the afternoon, you will complete a gradual descent into the valley through Alpine meadows, enjoying excellent views along your way.

The new day begins with a lengthy upslope trek through a gorge towards the Malatra saddle. This 2,925 m high mountain saddle is the highest point of the itinerary. The ridge you are crossing today is the last one in your hike to Mont Blanc. The massif will be well within view as soon as you reach the saddle. If viewed from the hut location, Mont Blanc closes off the western horizon completely, so dusk comes early here. Almost all of today's trek will run at high altitudes with an exception of the first hour when you cross the Val di Grand Saint Bernard valley. The eastern slopes of the ridge are less steep, except for the approach to the saddle; but the western ones feature very steep drop-offs – here the trail cuts into the slope for a gradual descent to the hut. Today your accommodation will be quite a bit more crowded than on previous days: the Mont Blanc side hut is a part of the super popular hiking route around Mont Blanc.

On the last day your trail traverses the flank of the ridge above the Val Ferret valley at an average altitude of 2,000 m. You cross several gorges and mountain streams without losing sight of Mont Blanc, towering just across the valley. Today you can make excellent pictures right from the trail, especially in the morning. You will be passing the peaks of Grand Jorasses and Dente del Gigante, the white peak of Mont Blanc looming out ahead. There will be a few gorges offering a “look inside” of Mont Blanc. The hike ends with a descent to Courmayeur, from where you take a bus back to the basecamp in Aosta or Pont-Saint-Martin.

The trip has come to an end. You have walked on some of the least-travelled trails at the foot of the four-thousanders of the Pennine Alps. If you have time today, there are many historical sites along the Aosta valley, such as the Fort Bard with its Museum of the Alps.

The 6 Day Tour covers the area between Monte Rosa and Matterhorn. There are 4 full hiking days. This route ends in Breuil-Cervinia at the foot of Matterhorn from where you go back to your basecamp hotel by bus (self-guided trip) or with a private transfer (guided trip). On this trip you will walk on some of the least-travelled trails of the Alta Via N.1 with excellent vistas of the most famous four-thousanders of the Pennine Alps. We categorize the 6 Day Tour as a slightly easier hike because this itinerary does not include the longest legs of the Alta Via N.1. We recommend Pont-Saint-Martin as the most convenient basecamp location for the 6 Day Tour.

The 7 Day Tour itinerary reaches the Valpelline valley from where you travel back to the basecamp. This route corresponds to the Days 1 to 6 of the primary Alta Via N.1 itinerary. It takes you from the area od Monte Rosa towards Matterhorn where the trail turns south-west and crosses the high-altitude area of Saint Barthelemy before descending to Valle di Valpelline. There are 5 full hiking days on this itinerary.

The 8 Day Tour route covers the eastern part of the classic Alta Via N.1 and ends in the Valle di Ollomont in the area of Grand Combin. This is an itinerary with 6 full hiking days that are the Days 2 to 7 of the primary itinerary.

The 10 Day Tour route runs from below the Monte Rosa plateau through the entire Pennine Alps range to its western extremity. After following the classic Alta Via N.1 for 8 days, this route ends in the Val di Grand Saint Bernard valley without entering the Mont Blanc area. The 10 Day Tour is a good choice for those hikers who would like to walk the classic Alta Via N.1 but stay away from the crowded trails of Mont Blanc. If you have already walked the Tour du Mont Blanc, we recommend this variant of Alta Via N.1 instead of the 12 Day Tour.