Tour d'Aï

Overview

Tour d'Aï is the highest point above the ski resort of Leysin. Its summit is at the top of a long ridge which runs from SE to NW, with vertical cliffs dropping away along all sides.

There are two standard routes to the summit. The first is an exposed path with some ladders and chains higher up. This begins by entering a gully and then heads onto a small area of pasture. The ridge then becomes narrower (and less than a pace apart at its narrowest) before widening out and reaching the summit. There is also a Via Ferrata route on the western face rated K4 (Difficult).

The summit gives wide views of Lake Geneva and the beginning of the Rhone Valley, as well as over onto the Bernese Oberland.

Getting There

By Train: There are regularly trains that run around Lake Geneva and into the Rhóne Valley. At the town of Aigle you need to change onto a ratchet train, which will bring you up to the village of Leysin. This journey takes approximately 2 hours.

By Car: Head for Aigle and then turn into the valley towards the village of Le Sepey. From here the road leads to Leysin. There are also postal buses from Le Sepey.

From Leysin the walk up to the base of the cliffs is around an hour and a half. Otherwise there is the cablecar up to La Berneuse. There is then a path down to Lac d'Aï where the routes begin.

Camping & Accomodation

Leysin camping (found on the web):

Camping du Soleil

Other accomodation includes the Grand Chalet and the Hiking Sheep.

External Links

Information on the Via Ferrata route is here.

Leysin's website is here.

Nearby Peaks

Other peaks above Leysin include:

Tour de Mayen (2327m)
Truex (2194m)
Tour de Famelon (2138m)

Images

View Tour d'Aï Image Gallery - 10 Images