Ru Courtaud, from the Barmasc car park to Metsan

Access

Leaving the motorway at the Verrès exit, enter the roundabout and take the second exit. Proceed in the direction of the town centre and, after 300m, turn left onto the regional road for Val d'Ayas. Follow the regional road for 22.1 kilometres, passing through the villages of Challand-Saint-Victor and Challand-Saint-Anselme, Brusson, Vollon and Extrapieraz until you come to a crossroads for Antagnod in the hamlet of Corbet. Turn left and follow the regional road for Antagnod, passing the villages of Lignod and Antagnod. After about 4 km, turn left and go up Route Barmasc for another 4 km until you reach the large free car park 🅿️ in Barmasc.

[0h45'] - [29.7km]
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These indications are based on direct verification carried out at the time of the survey of the route so the information should be verified before starting the hike. We recommend using a GPS navigator or map app on your smartphone to get up-to-date and detailed directions.

Introduction

The Ru Courtaud is a stream, but it can easily be called a cultural asset. There are documents that date its construction as far back as 1393. Over the years, it has been a fundamental tool for the agricultural development of the Saint-Vincent hill and has only recently become an amens tourist attraction. The itinerary described here allows visitors to discover this 'great work' dating back over 600 years.

Description

0h00' After leaving your car in the large car park in Barmasc, head towards the bar that prevents vehicular traffic. Take the little dirt road that crosses the picnic area at Barmasc and start to climb the only asperity of the itinerary, immersed in the spruce forest, until you reach the pleasant clearing of Pian Tchantchavellà, where the Ru Courtaud flows calmly.
0h10' At a post you meet the ru and turn right, following the signs for path , leave the track and take the easy path that runs alongside the stream. The flat trail begins, immediately entering the beautiful fir and larch forest. The path faithfully follows the meandering course of the stream, accompanied every now and then by a few wooden benches useful for enjoying the peace and quiet of the place.è
0h20'T2] The path leaves the forest and reaches the junction for the return to the Barmasc car park, which should be neglected now, but will be useful on the return journey. Continue now in an open field, passing above the ruins of Chavannes and, a little further on, below the agglomeration where the Corneil farmhouse is located. After enjoying some interesting views of the Testa Grigia and other peaks on the eastern side of the Val d'Ayas, re-enter the forest along a long shady stretch before coming out again into the open field near Granon, where the trail briefly becomes a dirt road (1983m) and the panorama opens out to the not-so-distant Monte Rosa massif.
1h00' Leave the track and return to the path, still skirting the ru. Continue between sparse larch trees before entering a wooded scrub where there is a small masonry house that used to be the ru's guardians' resting place in the past. Continue along the path, which narrows somewhat in this section and then widens again when it comes out into the wide pastures of Metsan. Now out of the forest, continue until you meet the picturesque access path to the farmhouse, consisting of two long parallel railings. Turn right and walk up the pasture until you reach the "La Tschavana" farmhouse (2022m).
1h30' Start your return journey by following the farmhouse access road until you return to the ru near Granon. Now follow the outward route back to Chavannes, where you turn right and descend first along a path, then a track to the Barmasc car park 1h10'.