Cordon

Le Balcon du Mont-Blanc

Cordon is a village in Haute-Savoie, made up of traditional chalets and old farmhouses, perched above the valley and facing the Mont-Blanc range. The Aravis lie behind it. It is this view that earned the village its nickname, the Balcon du Mont-Blanc.

Its history is written into the landscape, too. The baroque church of Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption, built from 1781, has been listed as a historic monument since 2004. Higher up, at the Col du Jaillet, at 1,723 m, a Roman milestone erected in AD 74 marked the border between the Ceutrons and the Allobroges.

Snowshoeing in winter

The tourist office presents snowshoeing as an activity open to anyone who loves nature. If you would rather head out with a professional, Valérie Dubois Delplanque, a mountain leader based in the Arve valley, runs outings around Cordon.

La montagne en hiver is a 3-hour walk away from the pistes, where you can take in nature at your own pace. Raquettes au crépuscule lasts 2 hours, at the end of the day as the light fades. On A la recherche d’une victime d’avalanche, you learn over 3 hours how to use an avalanche transceiver (a beacon used to locate avalanche victims), from age 10.

Observing and getting by

Sur les traces des animaux de montagne is open from age 6: for 3 hours, you look for the tracks and clues left by wildlife. From age 8, Survivre en montagne teaches you how to shelter and make use of what you find around you.

You will find all our snowshoeing outings on the Snowshoeing page. If you are unsure which professional to choose, read mountain guide, mountain leader or instructor. Cordon borders Sallanches, where Valérie holds several of her meeting points.

Your questions about Cordon

Do the outings start from Cordon? Not according to the listings: the meeting point given is in Sallanches or Megève, depending on the outing. Write to Valérie to find out where the one you are interested in takes place.

Do I need to have been snowshoeing before? No, her outings are open to all levels. Snowshoes are provided, as is the avalanche transceiver for the avalanche workshop.

What is the minimum age? From age 6 for La montagne en hiver, Raquettes au crépuscule and Sur les traces des animaux de montagne, from age 8 for Survivre en montagne, and from age 10 for the avalanche workshop.

Photo of Cordon: Pierre75018, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.