Bellevue to the Prarion by the Col de Voza

The Prarion is the mountain at the lower end of the Chamonix valley, 1,969m at its top, on the ridge that comes down from the Aiguille du Goûter by Mont Lachat and the Col de Voza and carries on to the Col de la Forclaz, French Wikipedia records. It sits between two valleys, the Chamonix side to the east and the Val Montjoie above Saint-Gervais to the west, and both of the lifts that serve it, the Bellevue cable car and the Prarion gondola, start from Les Houches.

The walk the Chamonix tourist office describes links the two, which is why it needs no climb from the valley. From the top of the Bellevue cable car, at 1,794m, the path drops below the former Hôtel de Bellevue, with the Bionnassay and Goûter peaks in view, and runs beside the tracks of the Tramway du Mont-Blanc above an alpine pasture still used for grazing. It reaches the Col de Voza at 1,653m and turns right up a path to the Hôtel du Prarion and the gondola station at 1,853m. The office notes that the same walk can be started on foot from Les Houches, without either lift.

It gives 3.3km, 210m of ascent and 151m of descent, about two hours one way, graded medium for its slopes, and the regional tourist board lists dogs as accepted. The summit of the Prarion stands above the gondola station, where the walk ends.

It is a walk for a family or a first day in the valley, with the high peaks close and very little climbing, and a dog can come. It is not a walk for anyone who wants a path without a lift at either end, since lifts and the tramway deliver people to both ends; the Chalets de Miage, under the Dômes de Miage on the Saint-Gervais side, are a climb of 751m on foot from La Gruvaz, on a loop with no lift on it.