Pierre Avoi
Description
In Verbier, take the gondola to Les Ruinettes and then follow the high-level trail to Croix de Coeur. At the pass, continue along the high-level trail and a little later climb up the southern flanks towards Savoleyres. Once you reach the ridge, follow the trail to the left, reach the Col de la Marlene and roll along a narrow path through the steep southern flank of the Pierre Avoi. Finally, there is a short carrying passage to reach the saddle just below the summit of the Pierre Avoi. This is where the downhill fun begins. The trail winds its way through the northern flank, tricky at first, then increasingly smooth and fast. A stretch of forest road is the order of the day, only to turn right again into the next trail. There are still a few meters of ascent to the Col du Lein before the next trail begins a little after Alp Tronc. This leads seemingly endlessly and super smoothly through the sometimes steep forest terrain and only ends on the outskirts of Martigny. The best way to get back to Verbier is by train or, from Le Châble, by cable car.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
23 km
360 m
2090 m
1 day
Verbier
Martigny
1514
not suitable
More information
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User comments (5)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
Really great tour. Technically challenging start and then lots of flow up to Martigny. Some passages on the forest path. Some exposed terrain in places. Highly recommended!
I must have been to the summit four times last year, for me it is an absolutely magical place. I would recommend everyone to make the detour to the summit. To do this, turn right at the Col de la Marlene and carry your bike up the few meters. After that, almost everything is rideable up to the junction to the summit and from there back on the track you have to push/carry the bike for another 10 minutes. The descent from there is very varied and fun after the first rough section. If you have enough time, you can take the Col des Mines with you on the approach or even climb up to Attelas from Les Ruinettes first.
At the end of the season (as it turned out 2 days later ) I was back on the Pierre on 07.09.2033. As I had exhausted myself a bit the previous days, I decided to go biking in Verbier that day. When I had used up enough brake pads, I rode up to "Fontanet" again and from there crossed over to "Les Attelas". From there, you ride via Col de Mines all above the official trail to Croix de Coeur before turning onto the original route. An absolutely worthwhile alternative. As the weather was perfect that day too, the detour to the summit was a must before I got to ride one of my favorite descents.
I ride a Scott Genius Ultimate and am usually in the head group uphill; downhill I'm always the last one by a long way.
I started the descent at 1500m. In my opinion, not exactly something you absolutely have to do. The trail is in pretty bad condition and has slipped in various places. Together with some fallen trees and constantly exposed terrain, not so cool.
I rode the tour on July 9, 2019.
As I had already ridden the train to Les Ruinettes the day before, I decided to use my own muscle power to reach this first intermediate destination. The whole ascent (up to Verbier with traffic) is easy to ride and has a pleasant gradient. Two hours and a Coke later, I reached Les Ruinettes. From there, an easy mountain path leads slightly downhill to Croix de Coeur, where you leave the route of the legendary Grand Raid. The route then climbs up to Savoleyres before descending for the first time to the Col de la Marlene. As described, the path to the saddle below the Pierre avoi is narrow. It is also very little used/traveled and slippery in some places. At the end there is a short carry/push passage.
I would recommend a detour to the summit due to the magnificent view. For this endeavor, I recommend turning right at the Col de la Marlene. This is followed by a 10-minute stretcher section, after which the route becomes mostly rideable again until you reach the foot of the Pierre avoi. There you deposit your bike and then follow a 10-minute running section with various steps and ladders. The view is indescribable. Incidentally, Pierre avoi stands for "Pierre a voir", the stone you have to see. If you ride on the A9 from Martigny towards Simplon, you will pass the "Pier avoi" parking lot, and if you look to the right, you will immediately know what is meant. It's a cool feeling if you've already been up there.
After the descent, there is a short section back onto the track. The descent starts off quite technical and rough, but becomes increasingly flowy. Even if the descent is interrupted by mountain paths from time to time, it still deserves the rating "highly recommended" until you are back in civilization in Martigny.
Conclusion: definitely climb to the summit on foot, great descent. With cable car support, it can also be done as an after-work tour.
I ride a Scott Spark 900RC and am usually in the head group uphill; downhill I'm always the last one by a long way.