Randonnée pédestre

Vogealle - Salanfe

Tour du Ruan

Stage 3 of the Tour du Ruan

From the Refuge de la Vogealle to the Auberge de Salanfe (1940 m) coord. 563.850/110.470.

Six to seven hours, depending on the conditions (late snow in the Ottans) are on the programme for this third day.
This stage is the most technical with the Ottans passage equipped with ladders. First of all, let's do a bit of walking before arriving in this "mythical" place.

After leaving the Refuge, take the path that goes up to the Vogealle lake (1999 m). Shortly before the lake (1975 m), on a small plateau where large boulders rub shoulders with the Vogealle torrent, we turn right where a 320 m drop between lapiaz and alpine grass takes us to the Tête à Perua (2295 m) which dominates the Fond de la Combe.
The view is magnificent on the Tenneverge, the Pointe des Rosses, the Mont-Ruan and the Petit Ruan. A long traverse on this magnificent balcony dominated by Mont-Sagerou leads us to the pass of the same name (2395 m). At the pass, the view opens up to the Vallon de Susanfe and, further on, the Val d'Illiez with, in the background, the Chablais, the Pre-Alps and the Jura. In front of us, the Haute-Cime (3257 m), the first summit on the west side of the Dents-du-Midi. A slight climb takes us to the Tête des Ottans (2549 m).

The path passes a little below the Tête on the right hand side to reach the Col des Ottans (2496 m), passing by the stone marker.

The hiker who sets out to reach the summit of the Ruan takes the same route up to here and branches off to the right over the shoulder of the Petit-Ruan (2847 m). For us, the descent goes north, north-east. At the foot of the névé, follow the well-marked path equipped with chains. Early in the season, it is advisable to bring an ice axe and a rope, especially if there is still snow at this point.
A little further down, on the edge of the ridge, a hole attracts our curiosity and incites us to advance towards the void.
And it is here that the famous "passage des Ottans" with its 80 meters of chimney equipped with ladders, stirrups and chains very well secured awaits us.

The first step is hesitant, but once we start, everything becomes easier and we realise that the "they say" often inflate the difficulties of some very famous places. The Ottans glacier licks the foot of this passage with its eternal snow. Once on the snow, stay to the right while descending between the névés and the moraines until the path crosses a small bar of rocks at about 2160 m.
After about 50 metres, you have to be careful but the path is well marked and, at the foot of the bar, follow the moraine due north until you reach a small flat. Turn right onto a small schistose ledge (2020 m). Cross two streams towards the pumping station (1905 m) and take the path 100 metres to the right of the station.

Join the path coming from the Pas d'Encel and climb to the east to reach the Cabane de Susanfe (CAS), at 2102 m altitude. The north face of the Ruan dominates us with its 940 metre difference in altitude.
From the hut, it takes another hour to reach the Susanfe pass by a very pleasant path.
On arrival at the pass, there is a splendid panorama of the Salanfe basin. On our left, to the north, we can see the Dents du Midi and, to the south, the Tour Sallière (3220 m) and its two buttresses, the Eglise (3077 m) and the Dôme (3138 m). Opposite on the left are the Rochers de Gagnerie, the Dent du Salentin, the Petits Perrons and the Luisin. To get to the Haute Cime (3257 m), take the path that climbs on our left towards the north. But for the time being, the Tour du Ruan itinerary goes down towards the Lac de Salanfe. Follow the markings and the route laid out in the schist slabs, while zigzagging in this lunar and very mineral terrain. Further down, a slightly tricky passage is equipped with a handrail for more than 50 metres. It takes a little less than an hour to reach the Lanvouiss flats (1940 m) and from there, about half an hour to reach the Auberge de Salanfe while walking along the lake.

At noon, we can stop at the Cabane de Susanfe where Muriel's good food will quickly make us forget the fatigue accumulated during these three days.