Chalet du Poste Optique

The place

Sleeping capacity: 6. -No water. Fill up at the fontaine noire -4 to 6 places, sleeping on straw :) insulating and all... -table, benches -stove and emergency firewood, the forest surrounds it -insulation probably nil: wall of gapped planks, big gaps under the roof. But the roof is watertight and the whole place is very charming. -View through the firs over the Maurienne as far as Modane, east-facing. The optical post 30m away. It's now just a ruin. My own guess is that it was some kind of semaphore relay. From this shoulder, you can see the entire first section of the valley. If anyone has any information... Less than 1h from the Chalet de la Fontaine Noire. Signposted at the forest road, at the fontaine noire. First climb through logging tracks (steep and disorganised), staying on the shoulder; the vegetation is fairly sparse. Towards the end, the path moves slightly away into the forest and comes back to a mini pass; a little after the chalet, you can see it on the map to the left. There's a sign: a trail continues up towards the Pointe de Rognier, still along the ridge — don't take it, the chalet is on the other side, on the promontory. It should be possible to loop around the Pointe de Rognier in summer, along with the other refuges in the area. The Rognier is done without any difficulty from this side; the trail is moderately used but very well marked (blue then red), though it's fairly long. ONF. Official site: http://www.fortsteynard.com/telegraphe.htm