Dent de Lys, Les Paccots

🗺️ Overview

• Starting point: Small parking before Refuge La Saletta (approx. 1,400 m)
• Highest point: Dent de Lys (2,014 m)
• Total elevation gain: 650 m (from the described start) / 900 m from Les Paccots
• Total distance: Approx. 7 km round trip (from 1,400 m start)
• Total time: 3h–3h30 round trip
• Technical difficulty: T3, with short exposed sections and chains near the summit

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You can start the hike to Dent de Lys from several locations, either from Montbovon or Les Paccots. From Les Paccots it is easier to reach from the highway and there are paved roads up to around 1,600 m, allowing you to decide how long you want to make the hike.

To get to the trailhead, continue beyond Les Paccots and then turn right towards Refuge La Saletta. Before reaching the refuge, the path starts at a bend in the road. As parking spaces are limited, I started from a small parking area a short distance before that, at around 1,400 m altitude.

After the first 100 m on the road, a path branches off to the right into the forest, with a sign indicating Col de Lys. Not long after, it emerges from the forest and enters the pastures. Here you follow a grassy shoulder that bends to the left towards Col de Lys. Your goal remains visible on your left almost the entire way.

At some point the path becomes steeper, with switchbacks climbing towards Col de Lys. It takes about one hour to reach the pass. From here you can descend on the other side or turn left and follow the ridge towards Dent de Lys.

At first the path is easy, then it descends slightly at the foot of the main peak, where you encounter the first chains. This last section is actually a bit tricky: it is easy enough that almost anyone can do it, but also exposed enough to be dangerous. I suspect this makes people underestimate it, which may explain why there are several tombstones along the route.

After a short horizontal traverse with chains, the path climbs steeply again. In some places it involves easy scrambling, and chains help with the ascent. You then reach the summit ridge, which is very narrow in a few sections. Finally, you arrive at the summit, marked by its cross at 2,014 m.

From where I started, the hike involved about 650 m of elevation gain and took 1h40 one way. You can make it longer by starting from Les Paccots itself, which adds roughly 250 m of ascent and about one hour. I returned the same way, but if you are using public transport, you can also descend on the opposite side and take the train back.