Geological hike to the Vieux-Emosson reservoir
Finhaut-Emosson
1/7°
Scenic hike to the 240-million-year-old reptile footprints and two high-altitude dams. Possibility of a spectacular train ride to the starting point of the hike.
Difficulty
DifficultLength
12.29 kmDuration
4:40 h
Description
The geological hiking trail from Vieux-Emosson leads you to the history of the formation of the Alps and to the traces of Triassic reptiles. At the southern end of Vallon du Vieux-Emosson, a rock slab shows ancient footprints of crocodile-like reptiles that inhabited the earth 240 million years ago. The hike starts at the Emosson Dam, accessible by private or post bus. The ride with the railway trio VerticAlp Emosson – closed in 2022 – is, however, much more spectacular. The first railway is the Funiculaire de Châtelard, the steepest two-cabin funicular in the world with a gradient of up to 87 percent. Once there, passengers change to the Train Panoramique. The panoramic train crosses two gorges with beautiful views of the Mont Blanc massif. The last facility is a mini funicular with two cabins that leads up to the dam at 1965 meters above sea level. The Emosson Dam was opened in 1976 and at 180 meters high is the third largest in Valais. With a water capacity of 225 million cubic meters, it has the second largest water reservoir in Switzerland.
On the hike, you can also discover the Vieux-Emosson Dam, operational since 1955, which supplies the Swiss railway network with electricity. As part of a spectacular project, its wall was raised by 20 meters and put into operation in 2019. At its heart is a revolutionary underground power plant and two shafts, both exceeding the height of the Eiffel Tower by 100 meters, providing water circulation between the two reservoirs. A huge underground chamber houses six turbines that can generate electricity on demand or store it by pumping water back into the upper lake. This flexibility makes the Nant de Drance power plant an ideal complement to green energies, which are all weather-dependent.
Highlights of the hike:
- Exciting rides with three different railways – to the starting point of the hike
- Beautiful alpine panorama, two dams with two water reservoirs
- The oldest fossil footprints in Switzerland from reptiles that lived 240 million years ago
Turn-by-turn directions
The hike begins at the Emosson Dam. Ideally, you hike from Vieux-Emosson to the «Site à Empreintes» and return to Emosson through the Veudale Gorge. The trail starts at the dam and then leads up to the mountain hut Cabane Vieux-Emosson (2,187 m above sea level). The path then continues up to the next dam and to Lac du Vieux Emosson at 2,400 m above sea level. You return to the starting point through the wild Veudale Gorge, the most interesting and challenging part of the hike.
Easier variants of the hike are possible. You can take the same path back without going through the gorge and/or follow the narrow road along the shore of Lac D’Emosson to the mountain hut Cabane du Vieux-Emosson.
The fossil footprints are visible as soon as there is no snow, depending on winter precipitation, approximately from mid-July.
Start
Emosson Dam (1965m)
Destination
Emosson Dam (1965m)
Author's recommendation
From mid-July to the end of August, an expert or geologist explains the fossil rocks. The guided tours are very exciting and highly recommended!
Technical information
Altitude
2497m
1932m
Ascent
+845m
Descent
-845m
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Best time of the year
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Tags
Public transport
Train to Martigny, change to the Mont Blanc Express. Either from Finhaut take the post bus to the Emosson Dam or take the Mont Blanc Express to Le Châtelard VS and then the spectacular VerticAlp Emosson to the dam.
Train and post bus timetables can be found at sbb.ch.
Approach
Parking
Source
This activity is brought to you by Valais/Wallis Promotion
