Excursions > Regional excursions

Aosta Valley: from Mont Blanc to Matterhorn

30 June - 01 July

This field trip will take the participants to the discovery of the south side of Mont Blanc and Matterhorn by crossing the beautiful Aosta Valley, a small Italian region surrounded by the highest peaks of the Alps. During the trip the participants will have the opportunity to observe and discuss the impacts of climate change on mountain slopes dynamics, glaciers, geohazards and natural resources.

The day 1 will be in the Mont Blanc area and will include a beautiful hike of about 6h in the Val Ferret (Courmayeur) to observe and discuss the different topics. The program includes a lunch with traditional dishes at the Rifugio Bertone and a night in the city of Aosta.

The day 2 will be in Cervinia, at the foot of Matterhorn, where a number of permafrost monitoring sites on rock walls, high-mountain plateau and rock glaciers are active since more than 10 years. The program includes a 6h trekking to visit the monitoring sites and observe the fascinating geology of the area. The monitoring activities and the permafrost characteristics of this area will be presented and discussed with the participants.

This field trip is organized by ARPAVdA, the Regional Agency for the Environmental Protection of the Aosta Valley. The program could slightly change in case of bad weather.

Download the detailed program for further details. 

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Mountain permafrost in the Valais Alps : between Verbier and Zermatt

29 June (afternoon) - 01 July (late evening) / 02 July

The field trip aims at visiting various periglacial geomorphic systems (glacier forefields, rock glaciers, landslides) in the Valais Alps. While enjoying wonderful view of highest peaks of the Swiss Alps, it is intended to present and discuss the permafrost monitoring system spread out in the Swiss Alps, some human infrastructures in mountain permafrost, and hazards related to permafrost sites.

Hot spots will be first the Tortin glacier and its ice-cored lateral moraine as well as the Mont-Fort summit in the Verbier aera (3330 m a.s.l.), later the long walk to fast moving rock glaciers in the valley of Zermatt (Gugla, Dirru, Grabengufer) and finally the crossing of (one of) the world longest pedestrian suspended bridge (490 m) over the gully affected by rock falls from the Grabengufer permafrost area. 

The excursion will take place in alpine environment, most often at altitudes between 2000 and 3000 m a.s.l, and is physically demanding.  A 10-hours walk is planned on day 2, starting with an ascent of 1400 m in height and without any short-cutting opportunity! Adequate equipment (good hiking shoes and all-weather clothes) and a fit physical condition are expressly required.

This field trip is organized by Christophe Lambiel from the Institute of earth surface dynamics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland and Reynald Delaloye from the Department of Geosciences, Geography, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Download the detailed program for further details.

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Alpine permafrost at 45°N: monitoring activities and investigations in the Ecrins massif

29 June (late afternoon) - 01 July

The field trip aims at visiting some of the main monitoring sites of the PermaFRANCE network, the French permafrost observing system, mainly: rock glaciers, seasonal frost and borehole sites. The excursion will take place along the Northern side of the breathtaking Ecrins massif and National Park. The scientific part will focus on long term monitoring, impact of climate change on rock glacier dynamics, ski infrastructures on permafrost and on monitoring techniques.

Day 1 (30 July) will lead to the Laurichard rock glacier, the longest rock glacier monitoring series in the Western Alps (displacement measurements since the 1980's, surface temperatures since 2003), on which various monitoring techniques are tested. On Day 2 we will visit the monitoring sites on the Deux Alpes ski resort, including the 100 m deep borehole Deux-Alpes-3065 (which is equipped for fiber optic DTS measurements) and the Bellecombes rock glacier, on which the arrival station of a chair lift is affected by movements.

The excursion will take place in alpine environment, most often at altitudes between 2000 and 3000 m a.s.l.  A hike of moderate difficulty is planned on Day 1, starting with an ascent of 400 m (from 2050 to 2450 m a.s.l.). On Day 2, we will go by cable car to 3200 m a.s.l, (near Jandry summit) and walk down to 2600 m (optionnal: cable car back down to 2600). Adequate equipment (good hiking shoes and all-weather clothes) and a good physical condition are required.

This field trip is organized by Philippe Schoeneich, from the Institute of Alpine Geography and Urbanism Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France, and Xavier Bodin from EDYTEM, CNRS / Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, France. Modifications of the program may arise because of weather conditions.

Download the detailed program for further details.