A Winter Weekend in Pays du St-Bernard
Pays du St-Bernard is a region deep in Valais, close to both the French and Italian borders. We spent four days exploring this region in January, and loved it all. Our base was Champex-Lac, a picturesque village of wooden chalets all surrounding a beautiful alpine lake. Originally, we had planned to stay in Champex the whole weekend, but due to less-than-ideal snow conditions, ended up venturing out to different areas. The lack of snow turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it gave us the opportunity to explore Vichères, Verbier and La Fouly as well. This was our first time to Pays du St. Bernard, and (with Verbier as the outlier), the whole area felt very low-key and local. I think the Valais Alps are the most dramatic of all the Swiss Alp landscape, and they are truly majestic in the winter. I absolutely loved this trip.
Champex-Lac
Champex-Lac, in the mountains above Orsières, is one of those rare Swiss villages that is busier in the summer than in the winter. It’s a major stop on two internationally famous hiking trails - the Haute Route and the Tour du Mont Blanc - meaning it’s filled with hikers and mountaineers in the summer months. In late January, though, it felt far off the touristic track. It was quiet, maybe even a little sleepy - which, in my opinion, was all the better to enjoy it’s quaintness.
We stayed at the charming Hotel Mont Lac, which had nice rooms with balconies overlooking the lake, a great restaurant, and a very kind owner. Activity-wise, there is a lot to do in Champex itself. There’s cross-country (with routes that cross the lake once it’s fully frozen), ice-skating, winter hiking, snowshoeing, sledding, downhill skiing - you can even go on a walk with the St. Bernard dogs. Because yes, if you were wondering, the legendary St. Bernard avalanche rescue dogs originated (and are still bred) in this region, at the Hospice St. Bernard. Cute!
Unfortunately, when we were there the frozen lake wasn’t stable enough for cross-country or skating, and the overall snow conditions were a bit drab and icy. So, we pivoted plans, and decided to use our time to explore the rest of the Pays du St-Bernard.
Vichères-Liddes
First up: snowshoeing. For this, we headed to the Vichères-Liddes region, and I must say, I chose a truly epic tour (pats herself on back). This was an incredible hike from start to finish, but the standout moment was when we reached the top of the Tsamonay plateau, and found ourselves surrounded by 4,000-meter peaks. The Aiguille d’Argentiere on one side, the Grand Combin on the other. The Valais Alps, truly, are unmatched.
The only (slight) downside was that because the trail ends at a small ski resort of Vichères, it gets a little busy with skiers at the end. There are also a few ski piste crossings, which is never my favorite thing to do on snowshoes (insert mental image of me awkwardly trying to sprint across a steep slope without getting run over by a child speeding down the mountain). But for these views, I was willing to forgive that!
Verbier
Second: Winter hiking. For this, we headed to Verbier. Yes, yes, I know, Verbier is a ski resort (and a pretty famous one at that), but at this point in 2024 we hadn’t started our downhill skiing journey. So, winter hiking it was!
We took the gondola from the village up to Les Ruinettes, and hiked to the perfectly situated Cabane Mont Fort. It’s officially a snowshoe trail, but half of the trail is completely groomed and in the end we didn’t need snowshoes at all (we strapped them to our backpacks to carry them, ugh). There are gorgeous views the entire way, and Cabane Mont Fort has a fantastic sun terrace to go with it’s fantastic Swiss-French kitchen. It was a bluebird Saturday, and hut was bumping. We sat in the sun for lunch alongside all the bougie French skiers, and I was truly in awe of the amount of fondue and wine being consumed - how do people make it down the mountain after all that?!
After lunch (and absolutely stuffed), we strolled back down to the gondola using the same path. It’s a panoramic trail the entire way, and the mountain and valley views are really stunning. A fairly low effort trail for an incredibly high reward, and a great option for non-skiers.
P.S. I don’t think Verbier is technically in Pays du St. Bernard, but it’s close!
La Fouly
For our third day, it was time for some cross-country skiing. La Fouly, at the very end of Val Ferret, is another small alpine village that is surrounded by some of Valais’ biggest mountains. Here, we found one of the prettiest cross-country trails to date: a long, meandering trail that wound through forests and along the river. It was the best types of trail - one that becomes an almost mediative experience, where I’m able to lose myself in the beauty and solitude of the surroundings. That is, when I’m not struggling to climb a hill (going uphill on cross-country skis is work, let me tell you).
Each of these villages has so much to offer. We could do this exact itinerary again, and have a completely different experience: cross-country in Verbier, snowshoe in La Fouly, ice-skate in Champex, ski in Vichères. In fact…maybe we’ll do that next year!
