The ten thousand The peak of Mont Buet in the French Alps, just north of Chamonix, is one of the highest mountains in the area with a marked hiking trail to its top. At 3,099 meters (10,167 feet), it is the highest peak in the Aiguilles Rouges and is a popular ascent usually made from the Vallorcine valley between Col des Montets and the Swiss border. This route does not involve technical problems as it is a hike rather than a climb, but it does involve about 6000 feet or 1800 meters of ascent on a return trip of more than ten miles, so for those walkers who feel energetic, here there is a scheme of the ascent route
A little beyond the Hotel in Le Buet you can see a path that goes up to the forest marked Cascade a Berard, Refugio Pierre a Berard and Mont Buet. Follow this trail that starts out as an immensely enjoyable forest walk past the beautiful Cascade a Berard waterfalls, which are marked to the right a bit off the trail. When the river is crossed by a wooden bridge, the path enters the forest and finally emerges in a high and remote mountainous valley above the tree line.
Two roads go up this valley; one higher on the right-hand side and a lower one following the river. They make a circular nature trail and are at the foot of the slope that leads to the Refugio Pierre a Berard, so you can take either of them. The valley within the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve is a pleasant walk and a respite from the grueling climb ahead. This begins below the shelter or cabin where a sign leads up the steep slopes beyond.
Once you get to the cabin the trail gets steeper and I would like to say it gets easier, but it doesn’t. At least you gain altitude quickly and the views of the Aiguilles Rouges open up behind you as you climb a steep incline. The path is obvious and the path is easy, although a bit difficult. Finding routes is not a problem until the rocky area just below the Col du Salenton. Here the path is marked with cairns to look for as they mark the easy path through an area of shelves and rocky steps avoiding difficulties. In foggy or icy conditions, this area would be a more serious challenge.
Once above the rocks, the path forks and is marked again; to the left by the pass (seen just above) and to the right by Mont Buet. It is now a steady uphill walk following a good path with no further problems to the top. After crossing the initial wide slopes, the ridge is reached and the views become spectacular, especially across Mont Blanc.
The ridge is wide and easy, but there is another steep trail to the end of the Arete du Mortine, where a small communications tower can be seen above. Once reached, the wide, angled ridge allows for an easy walk up to the nearby summit, which is gray clay rock and is marked with a large cairn.
The signs indicate that this climb takes six hours one way, so allow ten hours up and down. I actually took less than five one way, but that was after a season of hot and dry weather, which means there wasn’t much snow to hike. Most of the times I have visited the Chamonix area of the Alps in the summer hiking season, it has snowed on the upper slopes of Mont Buet. Most of the climbers had stayed at the Pierre a Berard Refuge, which divides this long hike into two days instead of one.
There is another hiking route to the top of Mont Buet; that of Lac du Vieux Emmosson (refuge) in northern Switzerland. This one first climbs the peak of Le Cheval Blanc, whose name means the White Horse, before tackling the airy northeast ridge that is outfitted with fixed cables for added safety. That route is still classified as a hike rather than a climb, but it is more technically demanding than the one described here. Whichever route you take, your hard work will pay off with stunning views of the French and Swiss Alps. Enjoy!
