Last week was spent on the Tour des Muverans which is close by to us here in Leysin. It’s a four day tour with three nights spent in refuges and huts. The route takes us around the Muverans massif covering a range of scenery from alpine forest, through pastures and alpages up to snow covered passes and peaks. It’s one of the most varied routes in the area and a perfect short multiday tour.
First day we rode the lift from Villars to walk via Solalex and the Refuge Giacomini to Derborence. The valley of Derborence is pretty interesting, or pretty and interesting, the lake was formed by landslides in 1749 and 1714. The rubble formed a 2km barrier and a lake formed behind it. The forest that grew on the rubble is a unique environment and is now protected.
We spent the night at an auberge in the hamlet of Godey which was quite comfortable with good food.
Next day we had a big distance to cover, that’s not the norm but the huts I’d usually use were full and we were heading for a gite above Ovronnaz. This is a really long day and we climbed up from Derborence passing alpages and climbing into a high alpine environment with the vegetation disappearing until we reached a high snow covered pass just before the CAS cabane Rambert.
As the cabane was full we headed on to Gîte de Lui d’Août. I’d not been to this gite before and didn’t know what to expect, we were pretty tired on the last few km crossing above Ovronnaz and it seemed any shelter would be welcome.
It turns out that the Gîte de Lui d’Août is really comfortable, from the moment you step on to their woodchip terrace, which feels like a carpet, it’s just a great place to be. They have hot, modern showers and we spent a very relaxed evening with only one other person in the hut. I’m certainly going to try and use this hut again!
As the previous day was long it followed we’d got a shorter day which was very welcome. We followed a track to the CAS cabane Fenestral where we bought a sandwich before descending to the lake for a relaxed picnic before making the short climb to the cabane Demèrce. On the way up we met a marmotte family with the two young marmottes running on and off the path while the mother looked on from a rock.
We spent a pleasant afternoon at the hut enjoying the amazing views over the mountains and our route of the day and looking at the route for the next day. As the evening passed the clouds vanished and we had a really memorable sunset, there was another group in the hut and we all sat outside enjoying the light and colours until the sun finally set.
For a final day we covered the mountain side below. The path is challenging over huge cliff faces picking an improbable line under the Dent Morcelles. It was exhilarating terrain and we were glad to reach the cabane de la Tourche where we had drinks and lunch before traversing the ridge and descending to Plans sur Bex. The timing was perfect and we had an hour at a local restaurant enjoying some beer and ice cream before taking the SwissPost bus down to Bex and the train back to Leysin.
All in all, a fantastic route and a great few days and I’m looking forward to the next tour!
