High Altitude Cappuccino

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Lac de Bret (700 m) Highest point: Tour de Gourze (939 m) Total elevation gain: ~310 m Total distance: ~7 km Total time: 2.5 h (adult) / 5 h with small child (including picnic & play) Technical difficulty: Easy – suitable for families and children Download GPS file The Tour de Gourze stands at the very beginning of the Alps, in the gentle Prealpine hills just above the Lavaux area. It was a sunny November day when I decided to go with Gaia. You can reach the tower from several sides. The route I describe here starts from Lac de Bret , above Puidoux (700 m). You can park your car by the lakeshore next to the restaurant. At the corner of the lake, a small asphalt road climbs upward — there are hiking signs, though no destinations indicated yet. After a short ascent, the path briefly descends, where you’ll find the first signposts pointing left to Puidoux and right to Tour de Gourze . The climb resumes on the asphalt road, p...

  🗺️ Overview Starting point: Café de Luan (1220 m) Highest point: Chaux de Tompey (2015 m) or Chaux Mont (2200 m, optional) Total elevation gain: ~650 m (up to 1000 m if extended to Chaux Mont) Total distance: ~8 km (loop via La Berneuse ~11 km) Total time: 3 h 30 Technical difficulty: Moderate – steep in sections, a few unclear trail points Download GPS file Above Aigle lies an unknown corner of the Chablais. Unlike its neighbouring tourist hubs, Leysin and Villars,  Corbeyrier  feels rural and quiet—as if you’re the only wanderer around. The hike starts at Café de Luan (1220 m), just five minutes above Cobyrier. The café has its own parking, reserved for clients, but you’ll usually find a few spots on the grassy roadside nearby. On busy sunny days, you may need to leave the car in Cobyrier and either walk up (about 45 minutes) or take the small bus that runs once per hour. Shortly after the café, signs on the right indicate the path uphill toward Col de T...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Leysin – La Berneuse, 2045m (reachable by gondola) Highest point: Les Truex ridge (2194 m) Total elevation gain:  +430 m (from La Berneuse) / 1150m Total distance: ~10.8 km Total time: ~4h Technical difficulty: T3 (moderate mountain trail with a short chain section) Download GPS file After Tour de Mayen in 2020 and Tour d’Aï in 2023, I completed the trio of the Leysin towers with the Tour de Famelon (2137 m)! As I hadn’t hiked for a few weeks — my daughter Marina was just born and I was a bit out of shape — I decided to take it easy and start by taking the gondola up to La Berneuse , saving myself some uphill effort. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and a sea of clouds was covering the valley below. The hike begins downhill toward Lac d’Aï and its charming little alpine hamlet. At a bifurcation, you can take the smaller path straight ahead — it’s more direct. After circling the lake and climbing to the chairlift area, th...