Mont Buet
3,096 m
France
Also known as Monte BuetAlso known as
Monte Buet
- Elevation
- 3,096 m
- Prominence
- 602 m
- Difficulty
- 3/10
- Mountain hike
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: R2 (bivouak.net)
A long, non-technical hike of about 1,770 m from the hamlet of Le Buet (1,330 m) up the Bérard valley to the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard (1,924 m), then over boulders and slabs below the Aiguille de Salenton to the broad Mortine ridge and the summit. About 6 hours up; most people split it with a night at the hut.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 9.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,755 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 3,096 m
- Time Up
- 7h 04m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 4h 43m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the hamlet and train halt of Le Buet, just below Vallorcine on the Chamonix side of the Col des Montets, a good path climbs the right bank of the Eau de Bérard past the Bérard waterfall to the Pont de la Vordette, then follows the valley floor, crossing the stream, to the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard (1,924 m). Allow about 2 hours and 600 m of ascent; the hut comes into view early but there is still a good hour of walking and a last step to reach it. Above the hut the path signposted 'le Buet' climbs steep slopes and a chaos of boulders north-east, without going all the way to the Col de Salenton, then traverses below the Aiguille de Salenton (often over snowfields early in the season) to the broad flat known as the Table au Chantre. A gently inclined combe and then a steeper, sustained slope lead to the Mortine ridge, which is followed easily past the gendarmerie radio relay (about 3,048 m) to the summit and its orientation table. On the slabs, follow the cairns and red paint marks carefully, especially in mist. Descend the same way. The north ridge towards Lac d'Émosson is a much more exposed alternative with cables. The day is long: start very early, as the sun reaches the upper slopes quickly, and keep well back from the summit cornices, which persist into summer.
Start
Le Buet1,342 m
- Mont-Blanc Express (SNCF Saint-Gervais–Chamonix–Vallorcine–Martigny) to the Le Buet halt; the path starts there.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Buet → Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard | 5.3 | 583 | 5 | 2h 37m |
| 2 | Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard → Mont Buet | 4.3 | 1,171 | 0 | 4h 26m |
Waypoints
- Station: Le Buet1,342 m
Hamlet and Mont-Blanc Express halt; car park nearby
- Hut: Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard1,926 m
- Summit: Mont Buet3,096 m
Key Passages
- Steep boulder slopes above the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard
- Traverse below the Aiguille de Salenton (snowfields early season)
- Sustained slope to the Mortine ridge
- Summit cornices
Equipment
0/6 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
At 3,096 m the highest summit of the Giffre massif and of Haute-Savoie outside the Mont Blanc range: a long but non-technical hike from Vallorcine to a broad, cornice-topped dome facing Mont Blanc across the Chamonix valley.
Mont Buet rises on the frontier between the limestone Haut-Giffre and the crystalline Aiguilles Rouges, above Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval to the west and Vallorcine to the east. Its summit is a broad snow-capped dome, called la Mortine on the Vallorcine side, with a gendarmerie radio relay just below the top and an orientation table on the summit. The view across to the Mont Blanc massif, only about 15 km away, is the main reason most people come.
The normal route from the hamlet of Le Buet up the Bérard valley is a walk, not a climb: no glacier, no rope, no scrambling in summer conditions. What makes it serious is length and altitude: about 1,770 m of ascent and 11 hours or so round trip from the valley, a boulder field and slabs marked only by cairns and paint, and lingering snowfields below the Aiguille de Salenton and near the top early in the season. Most parties spend a night at the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard, two hours up the valley.
The Sixt side offers longer, wilder approaches via the Col des Chaux, the Frêtes du Grenier or the Refuge de Grenairon, and the north ridge from Lac d'Émosson is a more exposed, partly cabled alternative. In winter and spring the Buet is a classic ski tour.
Climbing Notes
Fitness is the main requirement: be comfortable with 1,200 m days at altitude above 2,000 m, and with route-finding over boulders and slabs. No technical skills are needed in dry summer conditions. Early in the season (late June to mid-July), snowfields below the Aiguille de Salenton and on the upper slopes can be hard in the morning; carry crampons and an ice axe and know how to use them, or wait until later in summer.
Typical itinerary: walk up to the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard in the afternoon (about 2 hours from Le Buet), summit early the next morning (about 4 hours from the hut) and descend to the valley the same day. Fit walkers do it in a single long day from Le Buet. Start early to avoid the heat on the south-east-facing upper slopes and afternoon thunderstorms.
Keep well back from the summit edge: cornices overhang the north and west faces and can persist into summer. In mist the broad upper slopes are confusing; carry a map or GPS track. There is no phone signal at the hut.
History
The first recorded ascent, on 20 September 1770, was by the Genevan brothers Jean-André and Guillaume-Antoine Deluc with Bernard Pomet, from Sixt, after a failed attempt in 1765; they measured the boiling point of water on the summit and used a barometer to estimate its altitude, and the climb is often cited as one of the first high-mountain ascents in the Alps (Camptocamp gives 25 September). In 1775 Marc-Théodore Bourrit found the route from Vallorcine through the Bérard valley and established that the Vallorcine peak 'la Mortine' and the Sixt peak 'Buet' were the same mountain; Horace-Bénédict de Saussure followed his route in 1776. In 1786 Jane and Mary Parminter reached the summit, and after Bourrit wrote about their ascent in a guide for women the Buet became known as the 'Mont Blanc des Dames'. The first winter ascent, on snowshoes, is recorded in February 1853.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Good
- April: Good
- May: Possible
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Ski touring or snowshoeing only; avalanche terrain, for experienced parties; hut closed
- Feb
- Ski touring; avalanche risk
- Mar
- Spring ski-touring season; hut closed with no winter room
- Apr
- Spring ski touring
- May
- Late ski tours; heavy snow on the summer path
- Jun
- Hut opens around 20 June; extensive snowfields above the hut
- Jul
- Main hiking season; snowfields under the Aiguille de Salenton early in the month
- Aug
- Usually snow-free path; afternoon thunderstorms
- Sep
- Quieter; hut closes by 30 September or earlier
- Oct
- Hut closed; early snow possible on the upper slopes
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Early-season ski touring if snow allows
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Booking is mandatory at the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard: phone +33 6 86 62 66 27 or email refugeberard@gmail.com. Staffed only in summer (20 June – 30 September in 2026), no winter room.
- Rules
- Vallon de Bérard National Nature Reserve (classified 1992, right bank of the Eau de Bérard from about 1,700 m): dogs banned even on a lead, no bivouacking, no picking plants or collecting fossils, no overflight below 1,000 m
- Vallorcine's tourist guide says dogs on a lead may go as far as the Pierre à Bérard hut but no further; they are never allowed inside the hut
- From 1 June to 30 September bivouacking is banned in the Aiguilles Rouges, Carlaveyron and Vallon de Bérard reserves except in four booked zones (none of them in the Bérard valley); a limited number of pitches around the Pierre à Bérard hut must be arranged with the hut
- Getting There
Vallorcine; Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Geneva (GVA)
- Train: Mont-Blanc Express (Saint-Gervais–Chamonix–Vallorcine–Martigny) to the Le Buet halt, where the path starts
- Car: from Chamonix over the Col des Montets to the hamlet of Le Buet, just before Vallorcine; parking near the hamlet
- Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval (Salvagny) is the starting point for the western routes
Hazards
- Weather
- Cornices
- Avalanche
Huts & Shelters
1- 1,924 m
Refuge de la Pierre à BérardHutStaffedBooking required
39 beds · Staffed 20 June – 30 September (2026; closing date may be earlier); no winter room