Tooth of the Cat

The Dent of the Cat is one of the tops of the Mont of the Cat, being stretched in western edge of the Lac of Le Bourget, in the Département of Savoy. It culminates to 1.390 m and owes its name with two reasons:

the peak with the form of a Canine , from where a possible name referring to it, although it is not of course inevitably about a canine of Chat, but of any another animal.
more prosaically, the term of “Cat” has nothing to do with our cat-like friends, but has the very old direction of “passage” as in the “eye of the needle”. The tooth-of-Cat, bored today by the tunnel of the Cat, dominates the collar of the Cat which was a long time an essential passage between the Savoyard Avant-pays and the clean Savoy (area of Chambéry and Aix-the-Baths).

History

The legend wants that one day, a fisherman awaiting in vain a catch in its boat, made the wish slacken the Poisson with water if it sometimes happened to fish one of them, in the hope to be rewarded for its generous gesture. Understood by Providence, it made finally a catch, and too content after so much with hours of waitings, its wish forgot and did not slacken fish, kept it and started again its line. It had then a new catch, but so important that its boat failed to capsize. It came out from water a small kitten from it. It returned at his place, the kitten in its pocket. With the passing of years, this one grows, ends up becoming a beautiful adult cat. One beautiful day, it left the house of the fisherman and climbed in the mountain, where it was installed on a rock piton, current the Dent of the Cat , from where it undertook to terrorize the travellers crossing the collar. They were finally the companions of the King Arthur, Bérius and Mélianus which removed the region from the horrible cat, by transpiercing it several arrows after him to have tightened a trap by cramming it with a Agneau.

The large fire of 1813 was told by Alexandre Dumas, then in holiday with Aix-the-Baths. During three days, the spectacular fire devastated the mountain. It would be due to a campfire lit by imprudent hikers and badly extinct. The denounced culprits and decrees by the royal police officers were condemned to an important fine.

Tourism

The Tooth of the Cat is a beautiful small excursion to be made close to Chambéry. Since the carpark of the relay TDF of the Tooth of the Cat, one reaches the top in less than one hour and half by a peak. Cables facilitate the progression on the last more difficult meters. This top enjoys a formidable panorama, one embraces at a single glance: the Mont Blanc, the Vanoise, the Wallows, Belledonne, the Chartreuse… the sight on the Lake of Le Bourget and the basin chambérien is in addition very impressive in clear weather. The crossing of the collar leads to the Savoyard Avant-Pays and the commune of Yenne.

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