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Western Alps Alps

Western Alps Alps

© Lonely Planet 89 western

Western alps

Highlights

Enjoying the dearth of ski lifts in the wildlife-packed Parco Nazionale del (p93) Sampling esoteric Walser culture in the Val d’Ayas, Val di Gressoney and (p107) Walking amid colourful carpets of wildflowers in alpine meadows on the Lakes & Wildlife walk (p98) Feeling the dominating presence of the mighty mountain massifs of the & (p106) Signature food: Polenta with Celebrated native: Jean- Famous for… Fontina cheese Antoine Carrel (climber) tunnel

Western Europe’s highest peaks rise like stark white sentinels above the semi- autonomous Valle d’, the smallest and least populous of ’s regions, which remained a virtual cul de sac until the opening of the Mont Blanc tunnel in 1965. At 4810m, Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) is the tallest giant, but it is matched for Tolkeinesque beauty by the pyramidal Matterhorn (Monte Cervino), grandiose Monte Rosa and wilderness-flecked Gran Paradiso. Comprising one large glacial valley running east–west which is bisected by several smaller valleys, the Valle d’Aosta’s offer some spectacular hiking with access to numerous long-distance walking paths such as the 165km Tour du Mont Blanc and Aosta’s two blue riband high-altitude trails, the Alte Vie 1 & 2. Despite an overabundance of modern and often incongruous ski resorts, Aosta has managed to protect a significant portion of its ancient ecosystem in the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso (PNGP), a 700-sq-km swathe of the that makes up Italy’s oldest and most revered national park and provides a grand paradise for walkers. Bordered by and on two sides, Aosta’s cultural nuances are Valdostan – a historical mix of French-Provençal and northern Italian – and over 50% of the local population still speak an esoteric local language known as Valdôtain. Even more curious is the Swiss-influenced Walser heritage prevalent in a trio of the region’s northern valleys. 90 • western alps • History lonelyplanet.com

WESTERN ALPS n

S W I T Z E R L A N D The Matterhorn (4478m) Breuil- alps

Cervinia (4448m) Monte Rosa Grande Becca (4637m) Grande Blanchen (4165m) Tete de By (3680m) e Capanna Regina Margherita (3588m) n (3379m) Parco Naturale i l Alta Valsesia l e V h a e Cheneil Punta Indren l western p c St Jacques s Becca di Luseney (3260m) e To l n Alagna s (3504m) e Chamois i a Valsesia a n VALLE D’AOSTA V I T A L Y r Champoluc Gressoney u s a la Trinité o y A To t

St Barthélemy ' To l d

Testa Grigia Varallo l

Mont Fallère St Christophe a Gressoney

a (3314m) V St

(3061m) Vincent V St Jean 3 AOSTA V Châtillon SR26 a Villeneuve A5 l

l l e d ' d V a A o s t a i Mont Emilius

(3559m) Monte Nery G e Laghi (3076m) Rhêmes s h r c Lussert e

St Georges n Mont e e

m 2 r Grauson Parco Regionale s

ê

a Verrès s

h v (3240m) del Mont Avic

a o

SR24 s

l Épinel n

i R a Punta Tersiva

V Crétaz (3513m) Dora e Gimillian Pont St y Baltea 1 l d Martin a Dègioz V Grivola Champlong Valnontey Rhêmes Notre (3969m) Eaux Rousses Dame Valnontey Mont Taou Blanc Torre del Gran (3438m) San Pietro Settimo Herbetet Graglia Pont (3778m) (3692m) Vittone Gran Paradiso (4061m) Parco Ronco Ciaforon Nazionale Canavese (3640m) del Gran Paradiso 0 5 10km IVREA Western Alps Maps 0 2.5 5 miles 1 Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso p96 To Vercelli 2 Valle di Cogne & Valnontey p101 3 Matterhorn & Monte Rosa Foothills p108 To CUORGNE Turin

HISTORY Environment Valle d’Aosta’s roots are Roman – the epon- Within the vast chain of the Western Alps, ymous regional capital boasts significant stretching from the far southwest corner of ruins – while annexation by the House of mountainous northern Italy to Lago Mag- in the 11th century led to the build- giore, Valle d’Aosta separates the Graian ing of numerous medieval castles. In the Alps to the south from the 12th- and 13th-centuries German-speaking to the north. The Gran Paradiso massif Walsers from Switzerland migrated into the – the heart of PNGP – is the most sig- Val de Gressoney and a few villages still pre- nificant range in the Graian Alps, with 15 serve the language and architecture. and 10 major summits, topped by With the opening of the Mont Blanc tun- Gran Paradiso (4061m). The park consists nel in 1965, life in the Valle d’Aosta changed essentially of deep lateral valleys and their exponentially with tourists flocking in separating ridges extending south from to ski the in the two popular Valle d’Aosta. These valleys were cut by gla- resort towns of Courmayeur and Cervinia. ciers pushing north towards Valle d’Aosta Transformed from rural backwater to 21st- where they dumped huge masses of mo- century success story, the Aostan economy raine. The Pennine Alps are dominated now revolves around tourism and high by the chain of peaks between the Matter- quality cheese and wine production. horn (Monte Cervino; 4478m) and Monte

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