The Aravis: Reblochon and the Two Cols
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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The Aravis: Reblochon and the Two Cols
250 + 100 XP
Reblochon comes from the Bornes and Aravis massifs, above all the Thônes valley, and has had a protected designation since a decree of 7 August 1958. Its name comes from the Savoyard re-blocher, to pinch the udder a second time, and the story the producers tell is a fraud: tenants paid their landlord — often an abbey — on the volume of the day's milking, so they milked incompletely while the inspector watched and milked again once he had gone, the second, creamier milk making the better cheese. Historians are not convinced; there is no document or dig behind it, and rival accounts make the cheese a gift to the Carthusians who came to bless the fields, or a privilege the landlords granted. What is documented is a notarial act at Thônes of February 1699 in which the mountain of Maroly, above Le Chinaillon, was leased to the Fournier brothers in part for a quarteron of reblochons. Le Grand-Bornand, at 952 m, is a Savoyard village with its grenette and more working farms than any other commune in Haute-Savoie. Above it the road climbs past the 17th-century Vieux Village at Le Chinaillon to the Col de la Colombière at a little over 1,600 m, and the other way, past La Clusaz, to the Col des Aravis at 1,486 m — the lowest crossing of the whole Aravis chain, taken by the Tour de France 42 times.
Required Activities
1
of 6
From Le Chinaillon, pick out the Maroly pastures on the slope above you — the mountain leased to the Fournier brothers in a Thônes notarial act of February 1699, part of the rent payable in reblochons, which is the oldest written mention of the cheese there is
2
of 6
Buy a reblochon at a farm — there are 65 working ones in Le Grand-Bornand alone, more than in any other commune in Haute-Savoie — and check the casein tag on the rind before you pay: green means fermier, made from the raw milk of one herd and curdled straight after each milking, red means it came from a dairy
3
of 6
Six kilometres up the Colombière road from the village, at 1,300 m, leave the ski station behind and walk the Vieux Village of Le Chinaillon, which dates from the 17th century, with the chapel founded in 1677 standing among its houses
4
of 6
Climb the Colombière from the Chinaillon side and settle the height for yourself: the roadside sign says 1,613 m, the IGN says 1,607, the tourist office says 1,622, and the only survey mark anywhere near is the levelling benchmark on the chapel a few metres above the col, which reads 1,615.884 — find the chapel and the mark
5
of 6
Cross the Col des Aravis on the D909 at 1,486 m, the lowest way through the whole Aravis chain and the reason the road goes here at all, and stop at the top where the Tour de France has come over 42 times — nineteen of them since 1947
6
of 6
Stand under the grenette on the village square and work out what six feet of snow does to a roof: the first hall here was begun on 16 October 1796 for the reblochon market, its frame collapsed under the snow in February 1813, it took sixty years to replace, the grenette that followed in 1870 was built to store grain, and the present one dates from 1954
From Le Chinaillon, pick out the Maroly pastures on the slope above you — the mountain leased to the Fournier brothers in a Thônes notarial act of February 1699, part of the rent payable in reblochons, which is the oldest written mention of the cheese there is
Buy a reblochon at a farm — there are 65 working ones in Le Grand-Bornand alone, more than in any other commune in Haute-Savoie — and check the casein tag on the rind before you pay: green means fermier, made from the raw milk of one herd and curdled straight after each milking, red means it came from a dairy
Six kilometres up the Colombière road from the village, at 1,300 m, leave the ski station behind and walk the Vieux Village of Le Chinaillon, which dates from the 17th century, with the chapel founded in 1677 standing among its houses
Climb the Colombière from the Chinaillon side and settle the height for yourself: the roadside sign says 1,613 m, the IGN says 1,607, the tourist office says 1,622, and the only survey mark anywhere near is the levelling benchmark on the chapel a few metres above the col, which reads 1,615.884 — find the chapel and the mark
Cross the Col des Aravis on the D909 at 1,486 m, the lowest way through the whole Aravis chain and the reason the road goes here at all, and stop at the top where the Tour de France has come over 42 times — nineteen of them since 1947
Stand under the grenette on the village square and work out what six feet of snow does to a roof: the first hall here was begun on 16 October 1796 for the reblochon market, its frame collapsed under the snow in February 1813, it took sixty years to replace, the grenette that followed in 1870 was built to store grain, and the present one dates from 1954
Before you go
The Col de la Colombière is closed in winter because it is not cleared of snow.
The Col de la Colombière is closed in winter. Watch for cyclists on both cols.
The two cols behave completely differently. The Col de la Colombière is shut for about half the year — it is not cleared of snow, and generally closes from early November to mid-May — so it is out of reach through the winter and well into the spring; in 2026 it opened on 6 May and then closed again from 28 September for roadworks on the Le Reposoir side, so check before counting on it. The Col des Aravis is signed open all year and normally reopens within two days of heavy snow. Le Grand-Bornand, the grenette, the Vieux Village at Le Chinaillon and the farm producers are reachable in any season, so the day still works out of season — it is the Colombière leg that has to wait. Watch for cyclists on both climbs.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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