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Day 4: Taking the tour round the southern side of the Combin massif, all but the first 2½hrs of this stage are spent in Italy, where waymarks are painted yellow with the initials ‘TDC’. The easy 2797m Fenêtre de Durand on the frontier reveals a complex and varied panorama, and from it the way slants down to the vast pastureland cirque of Conca di By. A bisse is followed for some way beyond the cirque, curving south through verdant pastures. From the Néan alpage a trail then begins to climb northwestward to reach the next overnight shelter at 2380m. Cabane Champillon was inaugurated in June 2005, and is gained at the end of a 7–7½hr stage from the Chanrion Hut.

Day 5: An hour’s trek leads to Col de Champillon (2708m), which gives views of Mont Blanc in one direction, the Combin massif in the other. On the way down into the Vallée de Menouve the Grand St Bernard road intrudes into the landscape, yet the trail retains interest all the way, with one or two tiny hamlets and villages to pass through. St-Rhémy offers limited but comfortable hotel accommodation for the night at 1619m (6hrs from Cabane Champillon).