Sommet de Bellecôte

Overview

Sommet De Bellecôte (3417m) and its West Face

Aiguille de Bellecôte is an important mountain of the Vanoise Alps. Bellecôte literally means something like ‘Beautiful Side / Face’, which probably refers to the mountains striking North Wall which dominates the view from the north. The other sides of the mountain are less steep and the south side is covered by a large glacier called Glacier du Cul des Nants.

This south face is also the area where the Normal route leads up. It is a classic and easy high Alpine Tour over the large glacier du cul des Nants towards the summit. The normal Route is graded F. Another, shorter route starts from the west, where the cableways of La Plagne reach up to 3000 meters. This route is shorter but somewhat more difficult and is graded PD. For more technical climbers it is possible to ascent the West or North Face.

From the summit of Sommet de Bellecôte the views are great. You are able to see all major peaks of the Vanosie Massif including Le Grand Bec (3398m), Pointe de Volnet (3247m), Mont Pourri (3779m), La Grande Motte (3656m) and La Grande Casse (3854m).

Normal ROUTE

The route starts at the parking place of Laisonnay d’en Bas 1562 m. Follow the route which goes at your right up to la Cascade du Py At this point the waters coming down from du Glacier du Cul des Nants and Glacier de Midi de Bellecôte come together.

The marked route continues to Mollard at 1875 m and further up to Refuge de Plaisance ( 2171m) The route is still fairly easy and well marked. From refuges de Plaisance there is a fantastic view towards le Grand Bec 3398 m, le Glacier du Troquairou, la Pointe du Vallonnet 3372 m, la Pointe de Volnet 3247 m et le Glacier de Volnet.

Behind the Refuge de Plaisance you have of course the Massif de Bellecôte in sight. It is possible to spent the night in the Refuge de Plaisance, it is guarded during July and august and opened between may and September. There are 46 beds.

Proceed in the direction of Cul des Nants and stay at the left of the Plaicance River. At about 2500meters you will cross the small river and the marked route ends at this point. Going up you will reach the Glacier du Cul des Nants at 2860 meters. Crampons are needed from this point on. Proceed towards the north when you will reach Dome de Bellecôte at 3381m. From here turn left to the actual summit of Sommet de Bellecôte.

Massif : Vanoise
Sector : Tarentaise
Orientation : S
Difficulty : F
Difficulty ski : 3.1
Map : 3532ET
Start : Laisonnay d’en Bas
Altitude : 1562 m
Ascent time: 6 hours

West-Face Route

This route starts at an altitude of 3000m at the ending of the La Plagne ‘glacier de Bellecôte’ cableway. From here the route leads up the west face. You need to head towards the South-West ridge of Bellecôte and cross it to get on the south side of the mountain. From here you need crampons for last part over the glaciated south-face towards the summit.

Orientation : W - SW
Difficulty : PD
Map : 3532ET
Start : Bellecote cableway / La Plagne
Altitude : 3000m
Ascent time: 2 hours

How to get there

For the Normal Route:

Alberville -> Moutiers -> Bozel -> Champagny en Vanoise -> Chapagny les Haut -> Laisonnay d’en Bas 1562 m

For the West-Face Route:

Alberville --> Moutiers > Bozel > (direction) Bourg St Maurice> La Plagne

For ANOTHER map guiding the above Routes follow THIS LINK

Camping/ Hotel

Camping:
Camping Canada

Hotel:
Multiple Hotels in and around Champagny

External Links: Transport

Nearby Airports
• Lyon St Exupéry - Tel. 00 33 (4) 72 22 72 21 (175km)
• Geneva Cointrin - Tel. 00 41 22 717 71 11 (140km)
• Chambery - Tel. 00 33 (4) 79 54 49 54 (100km).

Bus service

Airport - Moutiers :
www.Altibus.com tel. +33 4 79 68 32 96


Access to Champagny from Moutiers:
Daily service Moutiers Train Station - Champagny :
Transavoie - Tel. + 33 4 79 68 32 96 - www.Altibus.com

Bus, minibuses, taxis at Champagny en V.: M. André DUNAND
Tel: 00 33 (4) 79 55 05 28 / mob. 06 11 40 52 53

Rail
SNCF: Hours and reservations: www.sncf.com

Closest station:
Moutiers-Salins (18 km)
• Eurostar
London Moutiers - www.eurostar.com
• Thalys
Amsterdam/Brussels-Moutiers - www.thalys.com

External Links: Tourism

Official site Champagny
Official site Vanoise

WEATHER:

Weather Forecast Champagny Area

Images

View Sommet de Bellecôte Image Gallery - 25 Images