Lake Champas

The area around Lake Champas, especially in autumn when the larches turn golden, is an environment of remarkable beauty, with the lake in front and Monte Rosa in the background.
The ascent, steep in its first part, crosses the upper part of the valley before descending on the opposite side.

From the Pont-Saint-Martin motorway exit, turn left towards Aosta. At the roundabout, continue on the left, still heading for Aosta.
Proceed past Donnas and reach Bard. After the town, at the roundabout, turn left towards Champorcher.
Pass through the village of Hône and enter the Champorcher Valley.
Continue to Pontboset and go beyond it for about 1 km until the rockfall barrier, where you turn left onto the road that climbs towards Fournier, following it to the end.
From the Verrès tollbooth, turn right towards Turin, pass Arnad, and at the roundabout, turn right towards Champorcher.

From the car park, continue along the mule track that climbs the steep rocky side of the valley to reach the houses of Frete.
Proceed in the same direction until you reach the wider area where the Boset alpine pasture is located. Go to the right of the pasture, then ascend first along a contour path and then more steeply to the valley step to reach the upper slopes.
Arriving below Alpe Manda, cross the valley floor before descending to Lago Champas, the destination of this excursion.
Lago Champas is not very deep and has excellent water clarity; with Monte Rosa as a backdrop, it becomes an ideal spot for a lunch break.
The trail then rises slightly to the right before descending through sparse larches until it meets the path coming from Lago Nero. Continue descending to reach the basin of Lago Secco.
Turn sharply left and, with a long traverse downhill through the larch forest, reach the stream, which is crossed to continue along the pastures to Alpe Boset, where the ascent path is rejoined and followed back to the car.