The via ferrata the “Roc du Vent” is situated overlooking the delightful Lac de Roselend approached from the village of Beaufort or from the Tarentaise via Bourg St Maurice and the Cormet de Roselend.
As the French school holidays are at an end it was much quieter than two weeks ago as we parked at the Plan du Lai.?? A walk in of around 30 minutes took us to the base of the via ferrata where another small group was getting set to move off.? Mark got out his GoPro to film the trip who had been with me last year.? The first section takes a series of slabby grooves with the holds quite polished from the passage of many feet.? I enjoyed climbing the rock rather than using the metal rungs and steps.
At the end of this section of the via ferrata there’s the grassy summit of the Roc du Vent and I was delighted to see several Edelweiss in this area.? A stop for a quick snack and to take some photos of people on the wire bridge on the final section of the via ferrata.? A short descent down a rocky ridge took us to the “canyon” dividing us from the via ferrata’s final section.? A steep tower took us up to a platform were we could look back at Mont Blanc in the afternoon sunshine and also a view to the Refuge de la Croix de Bonhomme on the Tour du Mont Blanc.
A short down climb led to the impressive wire bridge.? Three wires, two for the hands and one for the feet that link two of the “towers”.? Swaying slightly and the impressive drop below took us to the end of the climb and time for lunch relaxing in the sunshien.? As the saying goes, “The shows not over until the fat lady sings” and so it is with the via ferrata Roc du Vent.? A steep descent snakes it’s way down the Lac de Roselend face of the Roc du Vent, occasionnally protected by cables brought us down to the entrance to the “tunnel”.? The tunnel about 100m long took us through the mountain to the descent path.? A great day out.
