The Rocca di Chardonnet (2,950 m a.s.l. - in French ''Roche du Chardonnet'') is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

Mont Cenis Mont Cenis (; , ) is a massif in Savoie (France) (with an elevation of at Pointe de Ronce and a pass at an elevation of ), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps. Etymology The term "Mont Cenis" could be derived from '' ...

within the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa, Ital ...

. It is located in the

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population ...

. The mountain lies between the , a lateral valley of the Val di Susa, and the Clarée Valley southwest of

Mont Thabor Mont Thabor is a mountain of Savoie and Hautes-Alpes, France. It lies in the Massif des Cerces Massif des Cerces () is a region of the French Alps on the France–Italy border, Franco-Italian border. On the French side it lies in the Departme ...

. It represents the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

where the

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

of the Po, the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

converge.

Description

The mountain is situated at the convergence of the three aforementioned ridges: the western ridge, which separates the Clarée Valley from the Neuvache valley (a tributary of the Arc), the northeastern ridge, which connects it to Mont Thabor while separating the latter valley from the Valle Stretta, and the southern ridge, which, via the Col des Muandes and the Rochers de l’Aigle, links Rocca di Chardonnet to . Numerous alpine lakes surround the mountain, including Lake Chardonnet to the southeast (Valle Stretta), the Lacs des Glaciers to the north, and the Lacs de la Madeleine toward

Névache Névache (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Geography It is situated in the Vallée de la Clarée. Climate Névache has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dfb''). The average a ...

. Administratively, the area is divided between the commune of Névache (

) and that of

Valmeinier Valmeinier (; ) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Valmeinier, located at the foot of the Mont Thabor, 3207 meters, is a medium size ski resort (about 10,000 beds). The first ski ...

(

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

). The two slopes of Rocca di Chardonnet located south of the main watershed are part of the ''champ de tir de Rochilles Mont Thabor'', a zone used for

military exercises A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of warfare or test tactics and strat ...

by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. During such exercises, access to the area is restricted to unauthorized persons. File:Roche_du_chardonnet_pan_valle_stretta.jpg, Panorama toward the Valle Stretta File:Roche_du_chardonnet_pan_clarée.jpg, Panorama toward the Clarée Valley File:Roche_du_chardonnet_pan_vanoise.jpg, Panorama toward the

Maurienne Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Location The Maurienne val ...

History

The summit marked the border between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

until 1947. The Treaty of Paris, signed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, shifted the border to the start of the Valle Stretta. Until then, it was the westernmost point of Italy, and it still constitutes the westernmost point of the

Italian geographical region The Italian geographic region, Italian physical region or Italian region is a geographical region of Southern Europe delimited to the north by the mountain chains of the Alps. This subregion is composed of a peninsular and continental part and ...

Access to the summit

Summer access

The mountain can be reached via a trail that closely follows the southern ridge from the Col des Muandes, which can be accessed, also by trail, from the (Clarée Valley floor) or from the Valle Stretta. The route is considered to have a hiking difficulty of E. Access via the other two ridges of the mountain (the east-northeast ridge connecting to the Col de Valmeinier and the southwest ridge starting from the Col de Névache) also presents no mountaineering difficulties.

Winter access

The mountain is also accessible with

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment ...

skis or

snowshoes Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

. The ascent from the Valle Stretta side with snowshoes is considered to have a difficulty of ''BR'' (''experienced snowshoers'').

Notes

Bibliography

Cartography

* Cartografia ufficiale francese dell'

Institut géographique national An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

(IGN)
available online
*

Istituto Geografico Centrale The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in Turin (Piedmont), known for its guide books and hiking maps mainly concerning the Western Alps and their cont ...

- Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scale 1:50,000 no. 1 ''Valli di Susa Chison e Germanasca'' and 1:25,000 no. 104 ''Bardonecchia Monte Thabor Sauze d'Oulx'' {{Portal, France, Mountains Alps Mountains of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Mountains of France Mountains of the Alps