WEEKEND ADVENTURE


Noé went to discover the beautiful massif of Bauges during the weekend of November 11th to 13th, he took advantage of the Friday holiday to go 3 days in bivouac and reach some summits at more than 2000m of altitude. He shares his adventure with us in pictures.

WHO ARE YOU ?

Noé NIVAULT, alternating buyer at AlpinStore
Practice: hiking, biking, running, crossfit

"It's simple, sport is paramount and represents a set of values inseparable from my nature."


WHAT IS THE TOPO ?

The planned itinerary was about 66km with 6000m of positive and negative altitude difference. I had divided the hike in 3 stages with the objective to spend time in the nature and to do 12 of the 14 summits over 2000m of the Bauges massif. It's a massif in which there are protected and regulated areas, so ask before planning a bivouac. It is located between Chambéry, Albertville and Annecy and thus divided between Savoie (73) and Haute-Savoie (74).


But the reality of the terrain made that I didn't go exactly where I was going. In the end, I started on the ascent of 7 summits with a topography of about 60km and 5400m of positive and as much negative altitude difference.


It is necessary to know that there is a route which passes by the 14 summits of more than 2000m of the Bauges:

  • Tré le Molard (2035m)

  • Mont de la Coche (2070m)

  • Point ofArcalod (2210m)

  • Point of Chaurionde (2173m)

  • Pointe de la Sambuy (2198m)

  • Mont d'Armenaz (2158m)

  • Mount Pecloz (2197m)

  • Point of Arces (2076m)

  • Pointe des Arlicots (2060m)

  • The Grand Parra (2012m)

  • Dent d'Arclusaz (2041m)

  • Mount Colombier (2045m)

  • Dent de Cons (2062m)

  • Mount Trelod (2181m)


This route, whose summits are not named here in order, is about 90km long with a little more than 9000m of positive and as much negative altitude difference, is categorized in difficulty T5 and is a one-way route.and is a one-way trail.


I decided to use this route and to make one that better suited my availability and my desires.




A LITTLE ANECDOTE?


I had never been to the Bauges massif and I really discovered a magnificent place, especially in Autumn with all these colors and its very different landscapes, from a scree as the point ofArcalod to undergrowth or from the Arpette ridge to the cave of the miner, it is a very different and complete massif.

One can as well put oneself in difficulty as to make a family hike!

Talking about the point ofArcalod (2210m)that I tried to climb, the route is quite difficult to find, there is a system of colors that you have to follow but I did not made There is a system of colors to follow, but I only did what I wanted to do and when I realized that I couldn't see the colors anymore, I decided to continue climbing the wall. But when I arrived at 2130m of altitude, so close to the summit, I found myself facing a wall where I couldn't see how to evolve and at 45min from the sunset. So I decided to go back down and finish my day.

This will give me a good excuse to go back!



WHAT EQUIPMENT DID YOU USE ?


I took with me the bare minimum (with extra cold cuts and wholemeal bread of course) otherwise the classic hiking bag with warm clothes in merino wool Icebreaker, a 170 that I wore during the day, the other in 200 that I kept dry for the evening and at nighta tent Nordisk Svalbard 1 SL tent, Monnet socks, waterproof bags from Sea to Summit and a knife multi-function knife Leatherman.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS FOR HIKING ?


The brands I use for each hike are without a doubt Icebreaker for the technical clothes in merino wool so that I don't need to bring a lot of spare clothes, the merino wool allows a good management of sweat and heat; my knife Leatherman that I take everywhere; and the waterproof bags Sea to Summit waterproof bags.

Then I discovered this tent of the brand Nordisk and it is very light for a 4 season tent and very quick to set up. I would like to test products like ThermaRest or Nemo for sleeping, which seem to be very efficient brands for this kind of mountain trips.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST IN THIS KIND OF OUTING?


What I like the most is really to be in front of my abilities on the ground, to discover things about the place where I go like the history, the animals that live there and to meet people who share the same passions as me. Because hiking and bivouacking in November allows a natural sorting and creates the same constraint that makes us understand each other without necessarily talking to each other, and then comes the hiking discussion topics that I could enjoy for hours.