Cabanes d'Orny and Cabanes de Trient

Overview: If you have just one opportunity to hike during your holidays in Valais, day-trip to the Cabanes of Orny and Trient should be your choice. You'd visit two mountain huts among the most famous of Switzerland and enjoy great scenic views over the "Massif du Mont Blanc".

Mountain huts of Orny and Trient are quite easy to reach because of the chair lift that starts in Champex, but around 4 hours walking would be required to reach Cabane de Trient with children.

Champex is a cute small swiss ski resort with a small lake and a nice view on the Grand Combin mountain that is among the giant of the Alps.

From Orny to Trient the lane is close to the Orny glacier: fantastic view on crevasses and blue ice that gives you the feeling to be involved in an extreme adventure.

At the top (Trient) great panorama: Aiguilles dorées, plateau de Trient, Aiguille de Tour, Purtscheller, Chardonnet, Aiguille d'Argentière, Vélan, Grand Combin, Portalet.

Tips: Although there's a small risk of fall during the first 20 minutes of the trail, it's a very nice place to go with children. Take a small rope with you or walk hand in hand with small children for the first part.

Le Plan de l'arche is a nice place to have a break. (approximately 1 hour from the chair lift.)

Mountain huts sell beverages and food, it's a little bit expensive but better than carrying a lot of weight for hours. Anyway you should have at least 1L / people.

You may sleep in huts, a good way to enjoy unforgettable sunset and sunrise and to eat a "fondue" for dinner. Fondue is a local speciality made of melted hot cheese with bread or potatoes, delightful.

Keep in mind you are in a high mountain environment, weather may change very fast, always bring with you mountain clothes and shoes and check the weather forecasts before starting the hike.

The chair lift La Breya: for timetables see the website: www.champex.info. Be careful, timetables are not that clear, you may have to call to check if the chair lift is open.