2025 Summer Vacation Day 5

We get a decent night’s sleep and are barely disturbed by the 3am crowd in the next room (we are in the late breakfast room) getting up to climb the Grand Combin. After an ok breakfast (we are in Romandie), we set off and head back down, down the  mountain. There are plenty of clouds, so only some views, but we do get a good view of the Mont Blanc area for a short while.

After the first bit of descent we turn onto the path towards the Velan hut, cross the stream, and head up the moraine. The hut itself is under construction and the last bit of hiking path to it is closed, blocking direct access to the ridge, so we follow the use trail that is the T5 route to the NE ridge (from the Tourenportal). We eventually lose the track, but keep going in the same direction towards the right access point for the ridge. Eventually we re-encounter the use trail and hit the ridge. Quick food break and then we follow the ridge up, up towards the Petite Vèlan. This is a mix of walking and scrambling on mostly good rock, with a few light climbing bits where we read things wrong. Good fun and steady progress, staying mostly on the ridge (where the rock is best) until we get to the peak.

G checks out the ridge we plan to descend (the NW ridge); it looks quite steep. We take a snack break, but waiting doesn’t make things easier in G’s head, so we keep that short. Setting off again we find a cairn marking a ramp down and start the descent. This ends up being relatively straightforward: plenty of scrambling, tricky in a few spots, but staying on the ridge works almost all the time and the rock is quite good. There are plenty of “hmm, looks like a sheer drop ahead, ah, no, there’s a good way down it” moments. Lots of concentration and focus, but flowy and fun.

After the steep bit is done, we continue along the ridge, past a small colony of ibexes, to a small rise with a big cairn that we had spotted on the approach. Here we do a real food break and enjoy the weather and what views there are (low clouds are still mostly obscuring the high mountains). 

Continue along the ridge to the saddle we had spotted earlier, descend and cross a big grassy meadow, and then descend to the hiking path that takes us down, down, to Bourg St. Pierre. Check into the hotel, have showers, cool beverages, and a rest, and then a good dinner and off to bed.