High Altitude Cappuccino

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Villars, bottom of Roc d’Orsey gondola (1,250 m) Highest point: La Chamossaire (2,112 m) Total elevation gain: 836 m Total distance: ~9 km (depending on variant) Total time: 3h30–4h30 (ascent + descent) Technical difficulty: Easy to moderate (well-marked paths, some steep parts, possible confusion if leaving official trails) Download GPS file In Villars there are many beautiful hikes. You can start directly from the village, or save some uphill by taking the little train to Col de Bretaye (1800m). Here I’ll describe in more detail the one with the most elevation gain: 836 m from the very bottom of the Roc d’Orsey gondola (1,250 m) up to the summit of La Chamossaire (2,112 m). You start on the road to the left of the gondola station. Take the first right and follow the road until you cross under the gondola line. From here you have two options: the better-marked path straight ahead towards Bretaye, or a smaller trail alon...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Métabief (1040 m) – large free parking at the ski lifts Highest point: Mont d’Or (1464 m) Total elevation gain: ~625 m (or ~250 m if taking the chairlift to Morond) Total distance: ~9 km (or ~6 km with chairlift) Total time: ~3 hours (or ~2 hours with chairlift) Technical difficulty: Easy, suitable for families (especially with the chairlift option) Download GPS file Mont d’Or, known for the cheese of the same name, is the ski resort closest to my place. Only 35 minutes away, just across the border in the French Jura. In summer it becomes a mountain biking paradise, but as usual I went there for a hike. In this post I describe the hike from Métabief, the French ski resort. It is also possible to get there from Switzerland, leaving the car at the station in Vallorbe. The summit itself is in France, but only 5–10 minutes away from the Swiss border. At Métabief (1040 m) there is a huge free parking lot at the bottom of the lifts. And t...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Top station of La Videmanette lift (Rougemont, 2150 m) Highest point: Le Rubli summit, 2285 m Total elevation gain: ~150 m Total distance: ~1.4 km (round trip) Total time: ~2h (45 min ascent, 30 min descent, plus breaks) Technical difficulty: Easy ferrata: K2 Medium ferrata: K3 (our route) Difficult ferrata: K5– (steep, vertical sections, but no overhangs) Download GPS file At La Videmanette (2150 m), above Rougemont, there are three via ferrata: a very easy one (K2), a medium one (K3), and a hard one (K5–). The K5 is said to include vertical passages but no overhangs, and is considered doable by experienced climbers. Our plan this time was to take the mid-level one anway. From the lift, the summit of Le Rubli is immediately visible on the left. The approach is very short: just five minutes downhill, where you find a large panel marking the start. The difficult route begins downhill and climbs the rock face on your lef...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Jorasses (Ovronnaz, 1,940 m) Highest point: Grand Muveran, 3,051 m Total elevation gain: ~1,200 m Total distance: ~13 km (round trip via Cabane Rambert) Total time: ~ 7 hours (including breaks) Technical difficulty: T4 Alpine hike, marked white–blue–white; exposed sections, use of hands required, helmet/gloves recommended Download GPS file On my second attempt, I made it! Exactly one year ago, I posted about the hike to Cabane Rambert . Back then, I had planned to continue to the summit of Grand Muveran, but I was too tired and stopped at the Cabane. This time, I went all the way up! You’ll find the description of the first part of the hike in my post about Cabane Rambert ( link ) – already a beautiful hike by itself. In this post, I’ll describe only the last section. However, keep in mind that this description starts after already 700 m of elevation gain and 2 hours of hiking from Jorasses. I will not describe the first secton again...