The Pointe Rochers Charniers is a mountain of the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rai ...

at an elevation of 3,063 metres above sea level, located in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Toponymy

In French ''rochers'' means ''

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

''. The meaning of ''charnier'' is

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

; the name comes from a bloody battle between French and Spanish troops which took place close to the mountain. In

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

too the mountain is referred as ''Punta Rochers Charniers''.

Geography

The mountain is part of the

main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the drainage divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest p ...

where it marks the Dora-

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

. The main ridge continues northwards with a saddle unnamed on the official French maps which divedes the Rochers Charniers from the Punta di Chalanche Ronde (or Pointe des Grands Becs). The main chain goes on towards South with the ''Crête des Charniers'' and the ''Col des Trois Frères Mineurs'' (2.586 m), rises up to the Pic du Lauzin (2,733 m) and goes down to the

Col de Montgenèvre The Col de Montgenèvre (; elevation 1860 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, in France 2 kilometres away from Italy. Description The pass takes its name from the village Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes), which lies in the vicinity ...

. A third ridge branches from the Rochers Charniers connecting it, through ''Col du Chaberton'' (2.674 m), with

Mont Chaberton Mont Chaberton is a peak in the French Alps in the group known as the Massif des Cerces in the département of Hautes-Alpes. Geography The mountain is located close to the main chain of the Alps where it marks the Dora Riparia, Dora-Durance w ...

. According to French alpinistic literature the mountain is part of the

Massif des Cerces The massif des Cerces is a region of the French Alps on the Franco-Italian border. On the French side it lies in the departements of Hautes-Alpes and Savoie. The massif consists of smaller mountain chains including Mont Thabor as well as those of ...

, while in the

SOIUSA Alps by SOIUSA. SOIUSA (an acronym for - English: ''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA'') is a proposal for a new classification system of the Alps from the geographic and toponomastic point of view. It was designe ...

(''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') is part of the mountain group called ''"Gruppo del Chaberton"''/''"Groupe du Chaberton"'' in the Northern

History

The mountain from 1861 to the end of the

II World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

was on the

Franco-Italian border Franco-Italian, also known as Franco-Venetian or Franco-Lombard, was a literary language used in parts of northern Italy, from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. It was employed by writers including Brunetto Latini and Rustichello ...

but, following the

Paris Peace Treaties The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...

signed in February 1947, is now totally in

. The treaty indeed moved the border east of the Rocher Charniers in order to transfer to

the sovereignty of the neighbouring

and its fortress. During the

militarisation Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of mili ...

of the border and the construction of the

Alpine Wall The Alpine Wall (''Vallo Alpino'') was an Italian system of fortifications along the of Italy's northern frontier. Built in the years leading up to World War II at the direction of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the defensive line faced Franc ...

some military installations were realised as a support to the Chaberton fortress. A military

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

named ''Strada militare di Val Morino'' was also built on the eastern slopes of the Rochers Charniers, in order to connect

cesana Cesana Torinese (French ''Césanne'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, on the border with France. Cesana is a popular winter ski resort, being connected ...

with the fortress.

Access to the summit

From

Claviere Claviere is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about west of the centre of Turin, near the border with France. Claviere is a small, but well equipped skiing village. The snow season lasts ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) or Montgenevre (

Frane Frane is a masculine Croatian given name and a variant of Franciscus. Notable people with the name include: *Frane Adam (born 1948), Slovenian sociologist, editor and former dissident political activist *Frane Bitunjac (born 1997), Croatian footba ...

) the mountain is generally accessed through the ''Col des Trois Frères Mineurs''. Is also possible to reach it from Prà Claud, a village in the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Cesana Torinese Cesana Torinese (French ''Césanne'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, on the border with France. Cesana is a popular winter ski resort, being connected ...

. The climb needs some scabbling and is advisable for experienced hikers (''EE'' - ''escursionisti esperti''). The Pointe des Rochers Charniers, when snow is stable, can also be accessed with a quite demanding

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...

route; per l'accesso in sicurezza è necessaria la presenza di neve ben assestata.

Maps

* French official cartography (''

Institut Géographique National An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

'' - IGN); on-line version:
www.geoportail.fr
*

Istituto Geografico Centrale The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in Turin (Piedmont), known for its guide books and hiking maps mainly concerning the Western Alps and their cont ...

- Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 1 ''Valli di Susa Chisone e Germanasca''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochers Charniers, Pointe Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Hautes-Alpes