PAINANI
PAINANI

PAINANI · RUN / LOCAL

22 · Haute-Savoie, France

Mont Buet

Run from a train halt to a 3,096 m summit above Chamonix: forest, boulder field, shale ridge, snow dome, and back the same way.

Trail runningOut and back
17.7 kmDistance1,780 mElevation gainEpicSite gradeChamonixNearest base

Site grade

EpicFeatured

1,780 m of gain to 3,096 m in under nine kilometres, with a boulder field above the refuge, a cairn-only line below the col, exposure on the Mortine ridge, and hard snow on the summit dome until mid-July.

The experience

Nearly 1,800 metres of gain in under nine kilometres, most of it above the refuge on boulders, cairned scree and an exposed shale ridge, with hard snow on the summit dome until mid-July and thinning air above 2,500 m.

In 1770 Jean-André Deluc measured Mont Blanc's height from this summit with a barometer. The whole massif still stands across the void from the Mortine ridge, close enough to trace the Bosses ridge by eye.

The Hôtel du Buet has stood opposite the halt since 1889, still run by the Chamel family, and is the traditional start and finish of the climb. Ten minutes above the waterfall, the Grotte à Farinet is where Joseph-Samuel Farinet, the Aosta-born counterfeiter who minted coins for the poor, hid from the Swiss police in 1873.

Where the sources disagreeThe published distance is a guidebook figure, not a land-manager one, and GPS tracks run one to two kilometres longer. The route does not cross the Col de Salenton: keep it on your left and follow cairns right toward the ridge, or cloud will put you in Switzerland. Dogs are banned in the reserve even on a lead, and bivouac is restricted by prefectural order.

Trail path

The line
you follow.

StartLe Buet railway halt, VallorcineFinishLe Buet railway halt, VallorcineDirectionAscend the Vallon de Bérard, descend the same line
  1. 01Le Buet halt
  2. 02Cascade de Bérard
  3. 03Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard
  4. 04Col de Salenton junction
  5. 05Abri de Pictet
  6. 06Mont Buet summit

Route sections

01 · The Honest ValleyLe Buet halt to Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard
Forest single-track past the Cascade de Bérard, then one runnable path up the middle of a hanging valley to the refuge at 1,924 m. The only part of the ascent you will run.02 · The Boulder TaxRefuge to the Col de Salenton junction
A wet gully, then a field of granite blocks marked by white stakes, then a combe that holds hard snow into July. Hands on rock; rhythm gone.03 · The Mortine CrestCol de Salenton junction to the summit
The route keeps the col on the left and climbs cairned switchbacks on loose shale to the Mortine ridge, past the Abri de Pictet, onto a bare dome with lingering névés. Exposed on both sides.04 · The Scree SkiSummit to Le Buet halt
The shale that fought you becomes a fast, ankle-hungry descent. Below the refuge the valley single-track is the reward the mountain kept back.

Weather profile

What the sky
is likely to do.

High alpine weather on an exposed summit. Late June to mid-July the dome and the combe below the col hold hard névé and crampons or spikes are useful. Mid-October is feasible without snow in a dry year. Late April has around two metres of snow and is ski or snowshoe terrain.

Season & timing

Managed seasonNo managed season on the trail. The Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard is staffed from 20 June to 30 September 2026.Best windowLate August to mid-September, on the first train out of Chamonix, off the ridge by 11:30 before the afternoon cloud builds on the summit.SurfaceForest single-track, alpine meadow, granite boulder field, cairned scree, loose shale ridge, summit névéDirectionAscend the Vallon de Bérard, descend the same line

Signature moments

What you will
remember afterwards.

01

The Cascade de Bérard footbridges in morning spray

02

The refuge under its house-sized boulder

03

White stakes through the granite boulder field

04

The Mont Blanc massif from the Mortine ridge

05

The bare summit dome and its orientation table

SUMMIT

3,096 M

The highest point above Chamonix you can reach from a railway platform

The Mont-Blanc Express stops at Le Buet, and the station page lists the Refuge de la Pierre à Bérard and Mont Buet at 3,096 m among the walks that start there. No lift, no car, one path.

Access & logistics

AccessTake the Mont-Blanc Express from Chamonix to Le Buet, about 25 minutes. Cross the road at the Hôtel du Buet and follow signs for the Cascade de Bérard. Return the same way.PermitsNone for the trail. The route lies inside the Vallon de Bérard and Aiguilles Rouges national nature reserves: no dogs even on a lead, no picking, no drones, stay on the path, and bivouac only as the prefectural order allows.BookingsNone to run it. The refuge requires reservation to sleep or eat; it is staffed 20 June to 30 September 2026.WaterFill from the Eau de Bérard below the refuge. The hut tap is rationed spring water for guests. Nothing reliable above 1,924 m.FoodCarry six hours of food. The refuge serves meals in season; the Hôtel du Buet at the halt serves on the lawn in summer.Mobile coveragePatchy in the valley, unreliable above the refuge. Do not rely on it for a weather check on the ridge.DurationNo land-manager time. The Randos-MontBlanc guide gives 1 h 45 to the refuge, 2 h 50 refuge to summit, 3 h 30 down.

Key hazards

  • ▲Névé and hard snow on the summit dome until mid-July
  • ▲Exposure on the Mortine ridge
  • ▲Cairn-only navigation below the col in cloud
  • ▲Afternoon storms on an exposed 3,096 m summit
  • ▲Loose shale on the descent
  • ▲No reliable water above the refuge
  • ▲Slick footbridges above the waterfall

SafetyOrientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance. Carry a windproof layer, a headtorch and spikes before mid-July, and tell someone your plan.

Check conditions with La Chamoniarde →Request this run →

We track ground truth. Send a field note after your run: three photos, ground condition, the signature moment, the local anchor.

Official sources

Last verified 2026-09-16 · Record CETC-RUN-022 · Orientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance.

Photograph: Rémih · CC BY-SA 4.0