Presentation
Surrounded by summits 2500/3 000 meters high, the valley of Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne rises to prestigious Col du Télégraphe and its 1566 m.

Between Saint-Martin and the col the via offers varied sights and signposts explaining the mountain, the valley, the flora and the fauna.

The route
Take the footpath signposted "via ferrata", the first equipment is about 45 minutes away. After diagonal ledges, a small grassy dihedral leads to steeper and airier passages until you reach the col de Pylônes.

Then climb up a fantastic 80-meter pillar with an overhang (this is what gets the route its D grade !), followed by a very airy traverse to the path towards the Télégraphe fort.

Follow the path in the larches right below the fort, then trend left, cross an old railway track and find the second via section. The route ascends easy grassy ledges under the fort and reaches Col du Télégraphe in about 15 minutes via a south-oriented footpath.

To descend, two possibilities. Either take a footpath on the left towards Casses Blanches, for a pleasant descent in a larch forest down to Calypso. There the path to the right follows the Arc to les Culées.
Or take CD 902 to the "Mougins" stele, then the Serraz trail and the "Valloire" footpath. In Petites Seignères turn towards "Ratut" and follow the path to Les Culées.

Access
From St-Michel, take D 902 to Valloire. In St-Martin d'Arc, turn right towards Les Culées, and drive on to a dirt road towards the football field and its parking site.

Other activities
Rock climbing...

Technical data

• Period: May to the end of October
• Map: IGN Top 25 3435 ET
• Difficulty: PD to D
• Altitude difference: 882 m, 460 m equipped
• Altitude (top): 1 600 m
• Time: 6 h
• Total length: 3 700 m, 800 m as a via ferrata

Information :
Bureau des guides de Valloire - Tel. 04 79 83 35 03