Chartreuse - Braemoor.co.uk
Transcription
Chartreuse - Braemoor.co.uk
A Walking Guide to Chartreuse By John Gardner Printed from the website http://braemoor.co.uk/chartreuse/ on 11th August 2016 Introduction "The Grande Chartreuse has exceeded my expectations; it is more wonderfully wild than I can describe, or even you can imagine. It has possessed me to such a degree, that I can at present neither think, speak, nor write upon any other subject." William Beckford. 1778 Although the Massif de la Chartreuse (location map) was a "must-visit" destination for the 18th century Grand Tourists and had its virtues acclaimed by such luminaries as Thomas Gray, William Beckford, William Wordsworth, and J.M.W. Turner, it is now somewhat neglected by the British, despite being one of the finest walking areas in France. It does tend to be better known to cavers as it is also one of the finest caving areas in France with several hundred kilometres of caves explored in its 700 sq. kilometres, with three systems exceeding 50 km in length. It has lost little of its charm in the last 250 years, and in 1995 it was made a Regional Nature Park in recognition of its scenic beauty and its cultural heritage, a status which was renewed in 2008. The purpose of these web pages is to provide a source of information about the area in general, and the walking in particular. Currently, some 32 walks are described, and more will be added as and when time permits. Note that the site has been designed to allow rapid down-loading, and so photographs and maps are made available on separate pages. Photograph galleries are available, and you may browse through the photographs used to illustrate the website (click on the photo to randomly select the next). This site has been developed using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets, and may not display as intended on older browsers. The pages are designed to be printer friendly, and only the main content part of the page will be printed - without the title bar and the menu bar. A PDF file (1.57 Mb) containing the print version of the website but without maps or photographs, is available for download. Do feel free to e-mail me with any questions or comments, and also to share your views on this site, or on Chartreuse itself, in the Guest Book. "Along the mystic streams of Life and Death." William Wordsworth - Descriptive Sketches (1793) Page 1 To Show Location of the Massif de la Chartreuse - Click to see map of Chartreuse region Page 2 The Geography "The desert of the Chartreuse is wholly inaccessible but by one exceedingly narrow defile. This pass, which is only a few feet wide, is indeed truly tremendous. It winds between stupendous granite rocks which overhang above; and appear ready every moment to fall with a dreadful crash, and overwhelm the awe-struck traveller. Indeed, the crags above project so far beyond the perpendicular; that they appear literally suspended without support." The Massif de la Chartreuse is an elongated mountain block some 45 kilometres long by 25 kilometres wide, situated between Chambéry to the north, and Grenoble to the south. The east flank falls abruptly almost 2,000 metres to the Isère valley, whilst to the west, the high ground falls away towards the Rhône valley. It is separated from the Vercors upland area to the south also by the Isère river, which swings round to the west at Grenoble on its way to the Rhône (regional map). The high summits and ridges reach a little over 2,000 metres, whilst the main internal valleys lie at around 1,000 metres (see a Digital Elevation Model of the area). The basic lithology of the region is relatively simple. The lower and outer slopes are formed of limestones from the Jurassic period, yellow and relatively soft. Above these lie Cretaceous Hauterivian marls, consisting of a hundred metres of so of black shale. The highest rocks of the area, Dom Claude Lancelot. 1667 which give the region its appeal to walkers, climbers, and cavers alike, are the massively bedded Cretaceous Berrèmian limestones which are some 350 metres thick but appear much thicker as the result of geological structures within the area. These were laid down as shallow marine carbonate platforms on the northern flanks of the Tethys Ocean when sea levels were some 250 m higher than they are today, at the same time that chalk was being deposited in deeper waters over northern Europe. Rudist bivalves are the commonest fossil to be found in these limestones. The region is part of a textbook example of an orogenic belt outer zone. It was elevated during the Alpine Orogeny, which was the result of the Italian microplate colliding with the European plate, some 45 million years ago. The resultant pressure from the south-east caused massive thrusting and folding which has been a major influence on the structure of the regional topography. The Massif is divided by a long, deep internal valley running from the col de Porte in the south, to the col du Granier to the north. This valley is sub-divided between the two major villages St. Pierre de Chartreuse to the south, and St. Pierre d'Entremont to the north, by the col du Cucheron. The two basins thus formed drain westward from the two valleys through the impressive gorges of the Guiers Mort in the south and the Guiers Vif in the north. Above the internal valley, are a series of anticlinal ridges enclosing synclinal valleys which dip down to the north and west, sometimes ending abruptly in impressive limestone cirques overlooking the central valley. These include the Cirque de St. Même near St. Pierre d'Entremont, and one at the head of the Perquelin valley near St. Pierre de Chartreuse. There are a number of distinct summits which stand out from the ridges. The principal ones are the three peaks of St. Pierre de Chartreuse - Chamechaude, the Grand Som, and Dent de Crolles, which looks particularly impressive from the Isère valley, and there is also Mont Granier which looms over Chambéry in the north. Another set of impressive geological features that facilitate access to the tops are the series of south-west north-east strike-slip faults that segment the massif. Thus, for example, the l'Alpe is separated from its neighbours Mont Granier and l'Aup du Seuil by two such faults, both of which are followed by important transhumance routes. The climate is what one would expect in the pre-Alps. Although precipitation is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, the highest precipitation months are from September to December, with snow dominating from December to March. The driest and warmest summer months are July and August. Apart from the two St. Pierre's, the internal valleys are dotted with small rural communities. The vernacular architecture is distinctive - the houses are square, with the walls constructed of semi-dressed limestone with massive dressed coins, and the roofs hipped, tiled and slope steeply, usually with skylights ventilating the roof space. The roof ridge is often decorated with zinc ornamentation. The barns tend to have a base of stone with wooden upper walls, and steep wooden roofs often shingle clad. The main industries are pastoral farming, with herds of the beautiful native tarine (also known as tarentaise) dairy cows, sheep and goats grazing the high alps, sustainable forestry and tourism. The latter does include skiing but, thankfully, the development has not been overly intrusive, and with the exception of poor Chamechaude, has been kept away from the main walking areas. Page 3 Vineyards of the AOC Savoie wines may be found on the north-east slopes of the massif, particularly around the villages of Abymes and Apremont. A variety of grapes are grown, including the local Jacquère used for white wine, and Mondeuse used for red. Gamay is also extensively grown. Above the pastoral valleys, forested slopes rise up steeply towards steep cliffs. Above these may be found a hidden world of high altitude plateaux and valleys, vegetated with grassland and dwarf forest. Page 4 Chartreuse Regional Map - Click to see Area Maps Page 5 Guide Books and Maps "But the road, West, the road! winding round a prodigious mountain, and surrounded with others, all shagged with hanging woods, obscured with pines, or lost in clouds! Below, a torrent breaking through cliffs, and tumbling through fragments of rocks! Sheets of cascades forcing their silver speed down channelled precipices, and hasting into the roughened river at the bottom!" Horace Walpole. 1739 French mapping compares favourably with the best. The French equivalent of the Ordnance Survey, the Institute Géographic National, have the whole country covered in a number of different scales, including the orange 1:50,000 series, and the blue 1:25,000 series. The latter are also supplied in tourist editions for the major walking areas. The accuracy of the maps is reliable, and the presentation is excellent, with the subtle shadowing on the blue series being particularly useful, although the colours are a little more vivid than those used by the Ordnance Survey. The Chartreuse area is covered by two special 1:25,000 IGN maps, 3333 OT, and 3334 OT, covering the north and south of the Chartreuse Massif respectively. These highlight the major footpaths, and are highly recommended. They are not expensive (£11.95 in July 2016), and may be obtained locally, or from our Amazon shop. A waterproofed version is also available for £14.99. The one serious criticism that has been levelled against these maps in the past, is that they have not been overlaid with a survey grid, making grid references difficult to use. However, since 1999, the TOP 25 walking maps are gradually being re-published with a kilometre square grid superimposed to make them more "GPS friendly". See below for further details. A digital version of the TOP 25 map for the whole of France is also available from Memory-Map for about £160 (July 2016). I find this invaluable for planning walks, and for tracing routes for this website. 1:50,000 geological maps are also available from the BRGM. These are expensive (€35.50 in September 2012), and four (748, 749, 772, and 773) are required to cover the whole of the massif. 748 is probably the most useful. One interesting variation on the theme of maps is a series of "Photoguides de Randonnée" published by the Société de Recherches et d'Etudes Aériennes. These are pamphlets containing aerial photographs of the hills with the main walking routes superimposed on them. They also include brief descriptions of the routes. Whilst being of little value as either maps or guides, they are an excellent means of getting across the salient features of the topography. There are five available in the Chartreuse series costing €7.63 for the set (July 2004), and if encountered, they should be snapped up. In recent years, a number of French walking guides for the area have been published. My favourite without doubt is Randonnées en Chartreuse by Pascal Sombardier, available for under £10. This is a splendid little paperback which covers some twenty of the best, but not too extreme, walks in Chartreuse. Each walk is beautifully illustrated with a clear sketch map and some excellent photos. It is strongly recommended, and if you are going to buy but one local guidebook it should be this one. Bear in mind, however that it covers the same ground as the walks on this website, and he avoids the more exciting bits. Another I am able to endorse is Chartreuse, Randonnées Pédestres Pour Tous", by Antoine Salvi available for about €9.45 (September 2002). This is a clearly laid out book which communicates the nature of the routes pretty well, and is also sensibly priced. Unfortunately, the print edition is now difficult to get hold of, but a web version is available. Also recommended, but not as a guide book for those who are on their first visit, is "Chartreuse Vercors: Les Randonées du Vertige" by Pascal Sombardier (£22.37 in September 2012). This describes some of the more exciting walks as well as some of the local via ferrata, and includes some superb photographs. Another book by the same author, "Chartreuse inédite : Itinéraires Insolites", is also a must for the bookshelf, but has the same provisos. The latest addition to those available is "Chartreuse Secrète et Randonnées Sportive" by Jo Perez, published in 2008. This is a glossy softback rather expensively priced at £13.94 (September 2012). I have strong reservations about some of the routes that he selects, but they are complemented by a variety of interesting little essays about various aspects of the massif which make it worth buying. There is a selection of books available from our Amazon shop. Finally, you should also not forget that access to the Google Earth satellite photography is available both through the web and as a stand-alone utility. Page 6 GPS and the Chartreuse TOP 25 Maps As mentioned above, the TOP 25 series walking maps are being republished with a kilometre square grid superimposed to make them more "GPS friendly". To use a GPS unit in conjunction with the map, first ensure that your map has the words "Compatible GPS" printed on the cover, which shows that it has the superimposed grid. You should then ensure that the grid of the GPS unit is set to UTM, and that the map datum is set to WGS 84. Note that the whole of Chartreuse lies in the UTM 31T zone. Page 7 An Overview of the Walking "In our little journey up to the Grande Chartreuse, I do not remember having gone ten paces without an exclamation that there was no restraining: Not a precipice, not a torrent, not a cliff, but is pregnant with religion and poetry." Chartreuse offers magnificent walking. It is not the exhilarating walking of the Chamonix glaciers, nor the long, lonely multi-day treks offered by the Pyrenean hills, but nevertheless, in its own way, it is as fine as both. It was justifiably described by Stendhal as "l'émeraude des Alpes" - the emerald of the Alps. It has four tops over 2,000 m. The area is best suited for day walks, rather than for back-packing. This is largely because the dominant topography is one of long, but narrow limestone ridges, Thomas Gray. 1739 which does not lend itself to circular tours. Moreover, being limestone, there is little water in the hills, and the valleys are too populated for wild camping. Having said that, there is the circular Tour de Chartreuse which, although taking advantage of the few mountain huts available, does tend to finish each section in a community. Typically, a walk will start in the forest, often to the accompaniment of a stream which will be found later emerging from a spring or cave. The forests are very beautiful, and fairly damp and cool, but with little visibility. Getting through the forest can be a long process, as one climbs 600 metres or so, but the paths are usually well made and easy going. The transition from forest to meadow is foreshadowed by tall pines being replaced by smaller spruce and dwarf birch, but nevertheless, tends to be abrupt. The emergence into the sunshine of the alpine meadows, often with the heat being reflected off the limestone cliffs above, is always welcomed. In the spring and early summer, up to mid-August, it is the flora which overwhelms. Above the 200 metres of so of meadow, are the cliffs protecting the plateaux above. These tend to be dramatic, rising vertically for up to 350 metres, and at first sight, seem to be insurmountable. If there are any exposed or scrambly sections, they are likely to be in this section. Some of the routes through the cliffs are positively exciting. Above the cliffs, are the plateau areas. Although there are positive mountain summits in the area, such as Chamechaude and Dent de Crolles, these are the exception rather than the rule. Generally, one surmounts the cliffs to find high-altitude, long synclinal valleys. But there is no feeling of anticlimax, for these valleys are exquisite. The sides are dominated by large expanses of steep limestone pavement, and the floors are covered with a mixture of dwarf woodland, and meadows. They are a delight to wander through. It is usually possible to descend via an alternative route back to the starting point. Many walks in Chartreuse include a section of sangle. The cliffs in Chartreuse are often separated by steep grass terraces, and the sangle paths follow these terraces, sometimes because they are the only feasible way up, and sometimes just for the hell of it. These paths typically follow a thin line beneath upper cliffs, and have a steep grassy slope falling away towards lower cliffs, and they can be very exposed. Whilst they can be traversed with safety by those who have a reasonable head for heights. it would be very difficult to protect those who are unhappy in such situations. The grades given to routes in this guide do take into account the exposure factor. Over the past few years, the PNRC have been undertaking a program of footpath repair, and signposting. Both are very positive steps, but it does mean that new signposts may appear, and old ones removed since a walk was described. The fixed aids on some of the steeper and more exposed sections of the popular paths are also being replaced and extended. This can make a walk easier than indicated. One word of warning. Forestry is much more mechanised than it used to be, and tracks are now created rather brutally in the lower woods. These sometimes obscure the traditional paths, and the routes described here may require interpretation if the machines have been there since the author. It is unfortunate that the PNRC aren't influencing the forestry activities a little more especially as tourism is probably worth a lot more to the local economy than the forestry. Finally, just for fun, here is a list of my favourite walks in each of the major areas (in some sort of order): 1. l'Aup Seuil - The Roman Inscription via the Pas de Mort 2. Chamechaude - The Summit via the Jardin 3. l'Alpe - via the Fouda Blanc sangle 4. Grande Sure - The Summit via the West Chimney 5. Dent de Crolles - The Summit via the Guiers Mort Page 8 6. Mont Granier - from Bellecombe via the Pas de l'Alpette 7. Charmant Som - from Porte d'Enclos, Valombré 8. Grand Som - from la Correrie I don't expect anybody to agree with me! The Grading and Timings Two gradings are used to classify the walks: the first is used as an indicator of the difficulty, and the second of the "This web site is intended as quality. Both gradings are inevitably subjective, as one guidance for the wise, not for person's exposure may be another person's view, and one blind obedience by fools." person's scramble may be another person's rock climb, but it is hoped that they do have a consistency. It should be noted, however, that the author cannot take responsibility for other people's decision making in the hills. This web site is intended to serve as guidance for the wise, not for blind obedience by fools. The difficulty is graded 1, 2, or 3. Grade 1 indicates general mountain terrain, the type that you will find on any typical British hill. Grade 2 is used where the walk contains sections where some scrambling is required, and / or there is some exposure encountered. Striding Edge and Tryfan would probably merit such a grading. Grade 3 is used where the scrambling may be awkward, or where exposure becomes a significant factor. The Anoch Eagach in Glen Coe, or many of the non-climbing sections on the Cuillin Ridge would qualify as Grade 3. In Chartreuse, however, the more difficult sections tend to be very short. The descriptions do highlight those sections which were considered to merit an elevated grading. The quality is graded from one star (*) to three stars (***). Such a classification is even more subjective than the difficulty, and such is the quality of the walking in the area, it is difficult not to give top marks to everything! However, the walks described are a selection, and one star walks have been excluded. Two types of timings are used in the descriptions. The timings between landmarks are based on steady walking, and are intended to be of help with navigation. The total timings for the walk, and for the ascent and descent are intended to indicate elapsed times, inclusive of meal breaks, and the occasional break to rest the legs, take a photograph, or identify a flower. These are not intended to be super accurate, and have been rounded up or down as the whim dictates. Providing you set off at a reasonably early hour, all walks described can be completed in time to enjoy a late afternoon beer at your favourite café. Page 9 Equipment Required "Essential items of navigation equipment are the IGN 1:25,000 map, a compass, and the ability and willingness to use them both." Assuming you are walking between June and September inclusive, you need to take the same sort of equipment as you would on British hills in summer. When the weather is good, it can be hot, although one can find a chilly breeze on the ridges. Poor weather tends to be established by the early morning, so if you really want to cavort on the high tops in wet and cold conditions, you can make sure that you're properly prepared. Clothing should be light-weight. For the warmer days shorts, t-shirt, and sun hat will suffice, although we also take a spare shirt, and a light-weight wind-proof / shower-proof jacket. For the cooler days, trousers and a couple of layers for the chest are adequate. Light-weight walking shoes with a good sole are well-suited to the terrain. Thunderstorms with heavy and cold rain are not uncommon in the late afternoon, but at the very worst you should be on your way down by then so light-weight waterproofs are adequate. Gaiters are not needed, but we do take gloves and a warm hat (although they rarely see the light of day). Essential items of navigation equipment are the IGN 1:25000 map, a compass, and the ability and willingness to use them both. If one of the party is a little unhappy with scrambling, a short length of 8 mm rope will be useful for providing that extra bit of confidence. A decent head torch is useful for exploring the odd cave, and for getting down after dark if you have under-estimated a walk. We are not devotees of walking poles, or of the incessant click-clack that accompany them, but I suspect that having to manage two on the sangles and scrambles would be positively dangerous. Water is important - there are few places to replenish your bottle in the hills, so you should take at least a litre per person. Some food, a camera, and a decent alpine flower book should fill up the remaining space in your small rucsac. Sheep Dogs Some of the upland flocks, such as on the Grand Som around the Habert Bovinant, have large guard dogs protecting them. These can look formidable, but they don't pose a threat to walkers exhibiting common sense. There are two things to be aware of. Firstly, try not to walk through a tightly grouped flock of sheep. If the sheep are subsequently scattered, any dog that might be around may think that the sheep are being threatened and react accordingly. Secondly, if you are approached by a dog, stand still and talk gently to it (any language will do!). It will probably come up to you and take a sniff - feel free to offer the back of your hand but don't make any sudden movements. After a few seconds it will decide that you are no threat, and go back to its duties. Do not shout, run, make any other sudden movements, or raise your walking poles. Page 10 Not to be Missed and Other Activities Chartreuse has more than walking to offer the visitor. This page lists a few of the things that shouldn't be missed. Links for some of the places may be found on the web links page. Chambéry: Chambéry has a superb medieval centre which is well worth a visit. St.-Hugues: The church of Saint-Hugues, a couple of kilometres outside St. Pierre de Chartreuse, has some wonderful modern sacred art created by the local artist Jean-Marie Pirot, also known as Arcabas, between 1953 and 1991. His 'Angel on a Bicycle' is an absolute joy. Musée de la Grande Chartreuse: Although access is not possible to the Grande Chartreuse monastery, there is a museum close by which is well worth a morning's visit. A self-guided tour costing €8.50 (2014), it provides an insight into the history of the order, as well as the life style of the monks. Grenoble: La Bastille is well worth half a day's exploration (but not on July 14th!). The Sardinian Way and Les Grottes des Echelles: The former is a superb piece of 17th Century engineering through a gorge that was once the main route between Chambéry and Lyon. The latter are a couple of show caves, one located near the head of the gorge, and one near the foot. Musée de l'Ours des Cavernes en Chartreuse: This modern and well designed museum in Entremont-le-Vieux (which for some reason the IGN insist on calling Epernay!) was specifically created to exhibit some of the large number of cave bear skeletons discovered in the Grotte de la Balme à Collomb in 1998, and their context. It is well worth a visit - especially if you have previously climbed Mont Granier via the cave. Le Chateau: The small hamlet of le Chateau above St. Pierre d'Entremont boasts the ruins of a fine castle dating from the beginning of the fourteenth century. This once massive structure was put to fire on the orders of Richelieu in 1633. From it are fine views to the east. Le Fort du St. Eynard: This is a beautifully restored 19th Century fort a couple of kilometres south of le Sappey, which is perched on the cliffs a thousand metres above Grenoble. As well as being worth visiting in its own right, the views from the fort and the cliff-top walks are tremendous - well worth a detour on a visit to Grenoble. Unfortunately, the classic way up via the exciting Pas Guiguet was closed by the Commune in 2006 because of the risk of rock fall. Tartes aux noix: A regional delicacy made with walnuts in a bed of caramel, sold in the St. Pierre de Chartreuse boulangerie, and probably in many other places. Scrumptious! If staying in St. Pierre de Chartreuse, it is well worth making it your mission to work your way through the offerings of the boulangerie, as the variety and quality of the produce is superb. The Local Tourist Information Offices: As well as being mines of useful information, with libraries of local books for reference and a daily weather forecast on display, they often have an internet link available, enabling you to print out your chosen walk from this site on the day you go! Via Ferrata: For those who have both the expertise and the equipment, there are five via ferrata in the area. The via ferrata de Roche Veyrand is to be found north-east of St. Pierre d'Entremont; the via ferrata les Prises de la Bastille is to be found within the grounds of the Bastille on the outskirts of Grenoble; the via ferrata de Saint Vincent de Mercuze is to be found above Montalieu adjacent to the Cascade d'Alloix; and the Vire des Lavandières and le Grande Dièdre are to be found close to the funicular near Crolles. Climbing The scope for climbing in the area is obviously huge, but there are also some bolted cliffs in the area where one can practise in relative safety. Canyoning: Again, for those who have both the expertise and the equipment, there are a number of equipped canyons in the area. Page 11 Credentials One of the problems with the web is that the quality of information is variable, and it is necessary to give sites a "credibility check" before placing too much confidence in their contents. This section is intended to provide the reader with some of the background to the development of the site, so that he may make his own judgements. The author first visited Chartreuse in 1968 as a member of a university caving expedition to the Cirque de St. Même area. His second visit was in 1980 when he went caving within the Dent de Crolles massif. Since then, he has visited the area every two or three years for two to three week long holidays, mainly walking but also including the occasional caving trip. He has spent in total well over a year in the area. Visits have been confined to the period between late May and September. This site was first developed in 1998, and has since been continually reviewed and enhanced as a result of further visits to the area, feedback from readers, and the availability of enhanced technology (of which there have been quite a few since 1998!). The last significant update was in August 2016. Updating The author is confident in the accuracy of most of the information contained herein. The walks on the hills don't change much, but the Regional Park Authority is investing in new car parks, and sign-posting, so that level of detail can change from year to year. Forestry is also on a more industrial scale than it used to be, and some of the traditional paths on the lower slopes of the hills have been ruthlessly destroyed by forestry tracks. Readers are often kind enough to let him know of any inaccuracies or ambiguities they find. The availability and prices of maps and literature is checked as often as is practical from web-based sources, and all hyperlinks are checked regularly using an in-house developed PHP transaction. Site References The following sites local to Chartreuse provide a link to this site, without comment: The Club Aqualien de Spéléologie et d'Alpinisme web site. The pistehors.com site for backcountry skiing and snowboarding. The following are some of the sites that currently link or have linked to this site, with a comment. Those without a hyperlink are no longer active: ScanMaps – a Danish provider of maps and books: "en hjemmeside med rigtig mange gode turbeskrivelser og links til andre klatre - og vandresider." Franceonfoot.com – a web site that does what it says on the label: "a thorough and informative [site] dedicated to walking in the Chartreuse region... This is a fine source of information for the walker." A Dutch walking site – "Een Engelse site met veel informatie over dagtochten in de Chartreuse is ook zeer de moeite waard, met schitterende foto's." A Dutch PDF file devoted to sangle walking says: "behoorlijke complete Engelstalige site over wandelen in de Chartreuse." Les Petits Curieux – a site devoted to the Grenoble area: "Randonnées en Chartreuse et en Anglais. Très précis." Villa Marie-Louise – a web site for accomodation near the centre of St. Pierre de Chartreuse: "There is a wealth of information on the internet about walks in the region, including the comprehensive Walking Guide to Chartreuse by John Gardner available at http://www.braemoor.co.uk/chartreuse/." La Grange – a web site for a local gîte owned by Norman Clark: "A superbly informative UK site which describes many walks in the Chartreuse." Keyhole Caving Club (link disappeared) – "an invaluable and well-researched resource." Henck Joly's world wide walking portal: "A very complete and well presented description of this area." The Virtual Tourist – a site that allows users to provide their comments on an area: "Here is a site that has a lot of information." Page 12 La Chartroussine – a web site for a local gîte owned by Philippe Locatelli: "A superbly informative UK site which describes many walks and the geography of the Chartreuse. A must to visit." Slackpacker – an American hiking web site owned by Rick Bolger says somewhat grudgingly: "Site is quite informative." An entry in the rec.climbing.uk forum by Martin Carpenter says: "This anglophone site is excellent for Chartreuse." Andy Bryant is based in Grenoble and has a hiking web site in which he says that this is "an extensive walking guide to the region." Comments from readers may be found in the Guest Book. Technical Notes This site uses XHTML and makes extensive use of Cascading Style Sheets, and hence assumes a reasonably modern browser. The site has been checked for compatibility with MS IE V5.0 and later; Opera V6 and later; Netscape V6 and later; Mozilla 1.3 and later; Google Chrome 1.0 and later; and Safari 3.2 and later - all under MS Windows. The CSS and HTML code is validated using the W3C markup validation service. Links are checked regularly using a tool developed by the author. The Guest Book was developed by the author, and is written in PHP and MySQL, and has had to feature strong antispam measures. The Photograph Album software was also developed by the author using PHP and XML. The site is best viewed with a minimum screen size of 800*600 pixels (although the Photograph Albums require a somewhat wider screen to display to their full advantage). Some use is made of JavaScript, but the site does not rely on it. Session cookies are used to help ensure that a guest book entry is not being submitted by spamming software. The pages are designed to be printer friendly, and only the main content part of the page will be printed - without the title bar and the menu bar. A PDF file (1.57 Mb) containing the print version of the website but without maps or photographs, is available for download. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dave Checkley, Peter Monk, Stuart Hesletine, and Graham Coates for the use of their underground photographs taken in the Grotte Chevalier, the Grotte Annette, the Guiers Vif, the Trou du Glaz, and the Guiers Mort, and also for their company in those caves. I would also like to thank John Sellers and Peter Schuller for the use of their photographs, and a number of correspondents who have been kind enough to comment constructively on the route descriptions. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Mary Carlisle, to whom this web site is dedicated, who has been the perfect companion on our walks, and who loves the area as much as I do. Copyright © John Gardner 1998–2016 John Gardner owns the copyright in the computer files that comprise this publication. Additional copyright in the text, photographs and images may reside with other authors as indicated. The copyright owners assert their Moral Rights under the Design, Copyright and Patents Act 1988. Reproduction of part or all of the contents of any of these web pages is prohibited except to the extent permitted in this notice unless prior agreement has been obtained from the copyright owners. You are welcomed to download these web pages onto a hard disk or print them for your personal use. You are NOT permitted to use any of the pages or parts of pages in any other work or publication in whatever medium stored. No part of these pages may be distributed or copied for any commercial purpose. See here for a copyright fact sheet from the UK Copyright Service. . Page 13 Walks on la Grande Sure (1920 m) It is easy to neglect la Grande Sure. It fails to reach the magical height of 2,000 m; it is somewhat tucked away from the rest of the massif being on the western edge; and it is not easy to get to from the main centres. Moreover, when seen from a distance, it doesn't look particularly interesting, seemingly being a mass of forest-covered lapiaz rising to an indeterminate summit. For those people who do make the effort to get to know it from close quarters, however, it is a delightful place of secret valleys and beautiful forests. La Grande Sure is part of a huge area, stretching from St. Laurent-du-Pont in the north to Grenoble in the south, and from the Col de la Charmette in the east to Voreppe in the west (map). Most of the outer sections are forest covered slopes, but the centre part has a long rocky anticlinal ridge stretching for some 6 kilometres north to south, of which la Grande Sure is the highest point. Yet further east is an equally long exquisite valley bound by the main ridge to the west, and another smaller, but vertical set of cliffs to the east. To the east of that is a kilometre or so of complex forested lapiaz that is a delight to walk through. Of the four walks described, the first makes a directissima ascent of the west cliffs of la Grande Sure, and involves a Grade 2 scramble, and the second is a delightfully relaxing walk that explores the central valley. The other two are two circular walks that explore the southern half of the massif. There are many more walks to be had in the area. Ascent via the West Chimney Col d'Hurtières, via the Pas de l'Aronde Page 14 Rocher de Lorzier A Tour of the Valley La Grande Sure via the West Chimney Starting point: les Trois Fontaines Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1140 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** There are easier ways to ascend la Grande Sure, but this route (map) provides a satisfying circuit and a superb little scramble onto the summit, as well as providing an excellent introduction to the area. The walk starts from les Trois Fontaines (780 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 70999 50227). This is approached from la Placette, a small village between Voreppe and St. Laurent-du-Pont. The road up to the car park is narrow, with the last kilometre being on a reasonably-surfaced forest track. From this road, one can see into the impressive cirque rising up behind les Trois Fontaines. A signposted track leads into the forest from the south end of the car park. This quickly turns into a good path which zig-zags its way up the steep slopes. Our route leaves the main path after half an hour on the left just after a zig-zag crossing of a forest slide. After climbing steadily through the forest for some twenty minutes the path ascends a steep slope almost directly by means of a series of rocky steps. The route is a little ambiguous in places, but as long as you keep out of the trees you should be all right. At the top the angle eases, and a positive path enters the trees and ascends a wooded ridge. There are a couple of bifurcations - but in both cases both branches rejoin. When the path divides in front of a rock wall it is better to keep right, and when the path ahead widens into a bit of a muddy sprawl, it is better to keep left. Forty minutes after reaching the ridge, a fence which marks the boundary of the alpine pastures below the impressive summit cliffs is crossed. The Cabane de Jusson soon comes into view. From the cabin, the summit cross may be seen crowning the western cliffs. Immediately below the cross is a prominent gully - this is our way to the top. The best way to reach this is to climb directly up towards it. You will soon meet a path, but do be careful about being led astray by sheep trods traversing the flanks. If in doubt, just make way your way straight up. The base of the cliffs is reached after some 30 minutes of steep ascent. There are a couple of gullies, but the correct one may be readily identified by the path entering it, and by a red and yellow arrow pointing into it. The path ascends the gully easily at first, but then comes to a 10 m high rock barrier. This is a steep but easy scramble (Difficulty 2) where a rope may engender confidence in the less experienced. Above this the path winds its way up the rest of the gully to join the crest barely 50 m from the small summit cross after a three hour ascent. As always, the views from the summit are superb, but one is also impressed by the size and complexity of the Grande Sure massif, and how isolated it is from its neighbours. From the top, it is possible to make one's way down the south ridge, but it is far more pleasant to follow the main path into the internal valley below. This follows a line to the north at first, and then drops down towards the Col de la Sure (1675 m), which is one of the two major cols that divides the internal valley. This internal valley lying immediately to the east of la Grande Sure summit is awesomely beautiful. It is some 6 kilometres long, partitioned into three sections by a couple of cols, and is bound on one side by the massive flanks of la Grande Sure and the Rocher de Lorzier to the west, and by a line of rocky ramparts to the east. It is mainly a mixture of small woods and summer pasture supporting several herds of cattle Turning right at the col, another junction is reached after 50 m with our way being signposted les Trois Fontaines. This path makes its way down the central valley through dwarf pine and little ravines, until it reaches la Velouse (1500 m) - one of the main access routes into the valley, and where the route down the south ridge rejoins. Turning right through the fence leads to a stony track descending steeply. This relents after some ten minutes, and we shortly reach the Combe des Veaux junction, which is the start of an alternative route to the Cabane de Jusson. Fifteen easy minutes later, having passed a junction to the left, the views start to open up and the path morphs into the Pas de Miséricorde - one of the highlights of the day. This superbly made section of path follows a ledge system along the cliffs, and although there is some mild exposure (Difficuly 2), the path is so well made there is no objective danger, and it is equipped with a cable to reassure the nervous. It's airy, and it's great fun. A few minutes later a belvédère is reached, with a fine view across the cirque to a small thrust fault - it's a good place to sit and enjoy the view. After a further fifteen minutes we pass a junction where our ascent path is rejoined, and the car is reached twenty minutes later, some two hours after leaving the summit. Page 15 La Grande Sure: A Tour of the Internal Valley Starting point: Chalet Col de la Charmette Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 600 m Time: 4½ hrs Quality: ** This is not a long walk, taking not much more than half a day, and it is technically very straight forward. It is, however, an absolute delight, and is best left for a warm day when limbs are weary from previous efforts and the opportunity to have a stress-free stroll through some wonderful terrain will be a welcome relief. The route goes up to the Col de la Petite Vache from the col de la Charmette, traverses the internal valley to the south, and returns via the Col d'Hurtière (map). If you would like to make it a slightly longer day, you could combine it easily with an ascent of la Grande Sure. This will probably add 1½ hours to the day. The walk starts from the Chalet Col de la Charmette where there is a PNRC parking area (1270 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71465 50227). The path starts by climbing up behind the chalet on a modern forestry track, and for the first 20 minutes is steep and stony. There are a couple of junctions, and you should keep right at both. Once past the second junction, the path becomes a lot more pleasant and the gradient eases. At the same time, the terrain becomes more open, and one finds oneself wandering through a wonderland of flowery glades, lapiaz, and small cliffs. Fifty minutes after leaving the chalet, the col de la Petite Vache is reached. In front, the path drops down into the internal valley, whilst opposite the flanks of the la Grande Sure rise up steeply, with the summit off to the left. This is a good place for breakfast. We now head for the Col de la Sure, which is some 25 minutes off to the left. A few metres beyond the col we turn left at a division of the ways. The path then traverses the flanks of the valley, past a further junction with a path going off down towards la Velouse at a big boulder. Behind, the southern cliffs of la Grande Sure can be seen to good effect. Soon after, another path descends down to the refuge below, and our path begins to rise up towards the col d'Hurtière. A fence is crossed some 50 minutes after leaving the col de la Grande Sure and the views suddenly open up towards Charmant Som and Chamechaude to the east, and towards the white cliffs of the Rochers de Chalves to the south. The best way on is to follow the path up to the right alongside the fence. This leads to the col d'Hurtière proper (1740 m), and the path then gently descends into the continuation of the valley to a signposted junction under the Rochers de Chalves. This is is the Prairie de Pararey (1655 m). Our way turns left here descending the valley through the pasture to enter the forest some 15 minutes later. The next hour is an easy but exquisite walk along an undulating path through the forest-covered lapiaz, which returns you directly to the car park and a well earned beer at the bar. Page 16 Grande Sure: Col d'Hurtières, via Pas de l'Aronde Starting point: les Trois Fontaines Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1,000 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: ** Although the summit of la Grande Sure could be reached on this walk, there are better ways of getting to the top and this walk is satisfying in its own right without the necessity of having such a prominent objective. It explores two fine routes into the massif, and is guaranteed to please. It ascends into the massif via la Pas de l'Aronde to reach the col d'Hurtières, and returns via the Pas de Miséricorde (map). The walk starts from les Trois Fontaines (780 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 70996 50227). This is approached from la Placette, a small village between Voreppe and St. Laurent-du-Pont. The road up to the car park is narrow, with the last 850 m being on a reasonably-surfaced forest track. From this road, one can see into the impressive cirque rising up behind les Trois Fontaines. We need to backtrack along the track which we have just driven, and turn left at the first junction towards the small community of les Reynauds which is reached after quarter of an hour. Despite being on the road, this introductory section of the walk is surprisingly pleasant. Normally, walks in Chartreuse start with a vicious climb, but this time muscles are allowed to warm up, and there are fine views across the hay fields to the softer hills of the western part of the massif. Once past les Reynaud the road becomes a track, passes below a hay field, and gently descends round the head of a small valley before ascending steeply to a signpost at Cotta Bois (825 m), where we are directed to go straight ahead. Two minutes later the way divides and our route is up the steeply ascending track to the left. This soon develops into a pleasant forest path which after a further half an hour reaches some cliffs which it meanders up through weaknesses and along narrow ledges. This is the Pas d'Aronde, and is wonderful walking, although a little exposed in places (Difficulty 2). We once found a fossil ammonite embedded in a limestone pebble on this section. Towards the top it ascends steeply up a scree slope towards a gully, which is a little wearing. The end of the steep section of the pas d'Aronde is marked by a signpost pointing to a belvédère, reached some 45 minutes after starting our ascent through the forest. Note that the position of this belvédère seems to be misplaced on the IGN map.The views from here are spectacular with les Reynauds directly below, and the plains disappearing into the distance towards Lyon. In the foreground one can see across the Trois Fontaines cirque to a similar belvédère which we will visit on our descent. From the belvédère the way ascends easily through the forest on a subsidiary ridge, before turning east onto a major ridge. This section is level and a little muddy in places, but passes through some exquisite orchid glades before emerging on to the Prairie de Charminelle - an abandoned pasture. The problem with such places is that they get overgrown - to the extent that identifying the path can become a problem. Fortunately, 2.5 m high marker posts have been emplaced which makes route finding less of a problem, but you will still get ambushed by the occasional nettle and bramble. On the plus side, the flora and insect life are a joy. After a few minutes of fighting the rampant vegetation, we reach a sign-posted junction marked as Charminelle (1505 m), with paths going off on either side of the ridge, and ours going straight on. Our next target is to get through the crest looming above, and although it looks a steep, formidable proposition, the way up the grass slopes is surprisingly easy and not nearly so far as it looks. It is, moreover, one of those floral wonderlands where every step is a delight. Once the cliffs are reached, the path ascends through a chimney where some use of hands is required, to emerge on the crest (1790 m) an hour after leaving the junction below. This is an excellent place for lunch which allows the new vista that has been opened up to be enjoyed to the full. Before us are the pastures of the internal valley of la Grande Sure, and behind them Chamechaude, Charmant Som, and Dent de Crolles can be seen in all their glory. It is now down hill all the way back to the car. Following the fence reaches a junction at the col d'Hurtières, where we turn left. The paths in this area have been well ploughed up by the many herds of docile cattle, and the precise line underfoot is not always clear. However, the general direction is to make your way down to the refuge d'Hurtières in the valley floor, and then follow the valley down to the end of the southern ridge of la Grande Sure. Eventually, you will arrive at la Velouse (1500 m) - one of the main access routes into the valley. Turning left through the fence leads onto a steeply descending stony track which eases after some ten minutes. Fifteen easy minutes later, having passed a junction to the left which leads back to Charminelle, the views start to open up and the path morphs into the Pas de Miséricorde - one of the highlights of the day. This superbly made section of path follows a ledge system through the Page 17 cliffs, and although there is some mild exposure (Difficuly 2), the path is so well made there is no objective danger, and it is equipped with a cable to reassure the nervous. It's airy, and great fun. A few minutes later a belvédère is reached which we had looked across at on the way up. This has a fine view across the cirque to a small thrust fault - it's a good place to sit and enjoy the view. Following the path down, the car park will be reached within another 35 minutes. Page 18 Grande Sure: Les Bannettes from Monastère de Chalais Starting point: Monastère de Chalais Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1,000 m Time: 6½ hrs Quality: ** This walk explores the south-west flanks of the massif - les Bannettes and the Roche de Lorzier (map). It only reaches a maximum height of 1790 m, but as with other routes on the Grande Sure most of the walking is an absolute delight. It also links up nicely with the Pas de l'Aronde walk, allowing one to develop a fuller understanding of the geography of the area. The walk starts from Monastère de Chalais (950 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 70991 50189), a convent which is approached from Voreppe. The road forks as it approaches the convent - the left branch leads to a car park behind the buildings, where there is an information board and lots of sign posts. The walk starts on a forest track heading south which after a few minutes morphs into a gradually descending path. It's always nice for muscles to be able to warm up gently on a walk in Chartreuse, rather than having to slog immediately up an horrendous incline. After half an hour there is a junction, where, in common with the rest of the walk, you take the left hand option. This takes you onto a pleasant traverse beneath some cliffs before reaching the "la Cheminée" - a rake which ascends steeply through the crags at the end of the ridge. There is a large drop and impressive views to the right but it is well protected with sturdy guard wires. Beyond the chimney, the path crosses over the ridge and drops down through a forest rich in holly trees to the first of several junctions where the left hand route is selected each time (all other roads seem to lead to Mont St. Martin!). A forest track is somewhat tediously followed up-hill for half an hour or so, to where is rises steeply through an old meadow now taken over by raspberry canes. From this point the track seems to have been used for transhumance rather than forestry, and the walking becomes more interesting. Half an hour after leaving the meadow, the ridge is reached and the forest gives way to flowery grasslands, juniper, and distant prospects as we emerge onto the upland pastures of les Bannettes to reach a fence, where a path turns off for the summit of the Rocheurs des Chalves. A few metres further on there is a little knoll on the left which is a splendid place for lunch and to recover from the grind of the last hour or so. It takes about three hours to reach this point from the car park. Below, to the west, there is a fine view of the Isère river as it sweeps round the north-east corner of the Vercors, and ahead the north the cliffs of the Rocheur de Lorzier can be seen to fine effect. The path continues easily towards the Chalet des Bannettes, a small unwardened refuge tucked under the cliffs around which cattle can often be found grazing. The next target is the Col d'Hurtiéres, which is one of the two cols which divides the Grande Sure internal valley into three sections. Continuing past the cabin, a valley comes into view on the right with views of Charmant Som peeping through, and once through another fence, there is a junction with the path coming up through from the col de la Charmette. We keep going, rising steadily through the pasture, and eventually reach the col (1740 m), some 30 minutes after leaving the refuge, where we are presented with a fine view of the southern flanks of the Grande Sure. Turning left up the fence, the Cheminée du Lorzier is reached within five minutes. This is a disconcertingly steep descent through the cliffs down a gully. It requires the use of hands, but it is easy enough (Difficulty 2). Once down the gully, the path sweeps down a flowery hillside onto a forested narrow ridge before arriving at the abandoned pastures of Charminelle (1505 m). This is a major cross-roads, and we turn left down the abandoned pasture into the shade of the forest, where a source is passed after five minutes. After a further 20 minutes the sounds of a river can be heard, and before long the path is running above the Charminelle stream. This is a superb section of path, with some wonderful flowers, outstanding viws of the cliff above, and the stream cascading over some impressive waterslides below. The path crosses over the stream three times in the course of the next 30 minutes, the last of which is adjacent to a splendid waterfall with tufa covered walls. The stream disappears from sight, and the path crosses a subsidiary stream, which drops steeply into a gorge, and follows a narrow protected path, from which there are dramatic views of the Charminelle stream plunging some 100 metres or so into the gorge. Once beyond this, 20 minutes of easy going leads to a junction with a forestry track at the Abri de la Roize, another small unwardened refuge. The car park may be found a further 20 minutes down the track. Page 19 Walks on Charmant Som (1867 m) Charmant Som is well named - it is a hill with a charming summit. It doesn't have a spectacular profile like the Grand Som or Chamechaude, and it doesn't have the dominating cliffs of Dent de Crolles or Mont Granier, but it does have its own charms. Being located on the west side of the col de Porte, it is somewhat overwhelmed by Chamechaude, and doesn't really stand out as a mountain in its own right. To add insult, a road ascends from the col de Porte to within a few hundred metres of the summit. This is, of course, no reason to dismiss it as unworthy, but it is an excellent reason to avoid it at weekends and on bank holidays! Looking at the map, you can readily see that Charmant Som is quite an imposing massif, which covers a large area, and boasts some impressive cliffs below the north of the summit, and three long ridges. It also presents an interesting eastern flank towards la Martinière, with steeply dipping slopes of bare limestone. All in all, a hill worth exploring. Two routes are described which ascend the hill, both of which require a full day, together with one that ascends La Pinéa, a superb vantage point on the southern ridge. Ascent of La Pinéa Ascent from Porte de l'Enclos Page 20 Ascent from La Diat La Pinéa Starting point: Charmant Som road Difficulty: 1 or 2 Ascent: 600 m Time: 5 hrs Quality: ** La Pinéa is the shapely peak on the south ridge of Charmant Som, prominent on the skyline from many directions. It isn't very high (1771 m), and it is very accessible so most of the ascents described elsewhere are short half-day walks. This route, however, takes the opportunity to explore a little more of the Charmant Som massif, and takes a little longer. One half hour section follows a forestry track which can get very muddy, so it is best left for a dry spell. In essence, the route leaves the car on the south ridge of Charmant Som, descends to the Col de la Charmette to the west, contours south through the forest, and then ascends directly to the summit of la Pinéa from below the west cliffs. A return is then made along the ridge back to the car, completing a satisfying circuit (map). Drive up the road from the Col de Porte towards Charmant Som, and soon after it emerges from the forest you will see a car park on the right (1620 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71594 50212). Park here, where you will get a view of the day's objective. The view of Chamechaude is also excellent from here, although Charmant Som looks a bit of a lump from this angle. A few metres up the road a track takes off to the left. Follow this for some 10 minutes round a couple of bends, and then take a path leading into the forest on the right. The next half an hour is on a pleasant path zigzagging down the flanks of the valley. A forest track is then intercepted and followed for ten minutes to the Col de la Charmette (1260 m), reached within an hour of leaving the car park. This is the meeting point for a number of paths, so it is just as well as to get your bearings. There is a signpost marked la Fontaine Claire pointing vaguely in the direction of two tracks on the left. We need the second, which is marked with a yellow paint mark on a tree. This track sees some heavy forestry operations and for the next 40 minutes can get very muddy, which is why the walk is best left for a dry spell. It's a good example of how what was probably once a good forest path has been decimated by modern forestry equipment. With care, however, you can avoid the worst bits, and when you pass to the left of a cabin (unmarked on the map), it is all behind you. A couple of minutes after the cabin another junction is reached - la Fontaine Claire (1250 m). Our way is to the left, a track which is signposted la Pinéa. After a further ten minutes, you will meet a large clearing with a hut straight on, and the main track veering right. To avoid a large loop in the track, head diagonally across the clearing to the right, where a thin path may be found heading downhill in a small damp gully. This soon rejoins the main track which we follow to a small abri (bivouac hut), an hour after leaving la col de la Charmette. This is in an exquisite location - an island in a sea of hayfields nestling beneath the cliffs of la Pinéa - and it is the perfect place for lunch. From the abri, continue along the road for a few metres and take the track off to the left that circumnavigates a hay meadow. The path enters the forest and a few minutes later a waymarked path leads off to the right, soon after signposted to la Pinéa. This crosses the track again, and starts to ascend along the base of a cliff, and then gently zig-zags through the forest before emerging to be confronted by an unexpected view of the western summit cliffs. A few minutes later the crest is reached, in an area of rocky outcrops. The path from the Charmant Som road can be seen a few metres below. From here, the summit is an easy scramble up to the right (Difficulty 2), and is reached after a 75 minute ascent from the abri. This scramble can be avoided by dropping down to the other path and following it round by a less direct but easier (albeit polished) route. The views from the summit in all directions are superb. Mont Blanc is visible hanging over the Roman Inscription, and most of the major tops of Chartreuse are clearly seen. Below is the abri where we had lunch, nestling in its sea of hay meadows. This is a place to linger and enjoy. The journey back to the car is simply a question of following the Tour de Chartreuse back along the ridge for an hour or so to the north, taking time to admire the views. Page 21 Charmant Som from la Diat Starting point: la Diat Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 1077 m Time: 6½ hrs Quality: *** The described route takes a full day, taking almost as long to descend as it does to ascend. It begins down at la Diat, the small village below St. Pierre de Chartreuse (map), which means that it's a long way up. But it's a worthwhile day, and it does have the advantage that it's not too far to stagger to a bar on your return. Some of the first hour is spent climbing steep tracks, but most of the ascent is good walking, following a section of the Tour de Chartreuse. The time allows for both ascent and descent. You can park your car by the Pont Routier de la Dame, which carries the D520b over the Guiers Mort (790 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71983 50245). On the other side of the road, there is a reassuring sign for the Tour de Chartreuse and Charmant Som. Cross the municipal recreation grounds above the swimming pool and tennis courts, to a path which makes its way through woodland and pasture, to reach a road junction at la Martinière after some 20 minutes. Turn right, and carry along the road for 100 metres to a T-Junction. A steep track rises opposite to an attractive group of houses, and then continues into the forest. The track continues to rise steeply, but eases after it is joined by another track coming in from the right at 1050 metres. Turn left here, and you soon reach a pasture with a group of barns. Keep right. In another 15 minutes you pass through a second pasture ( la Pleynan, 1140 m). Turn right, and the track turns into a path. This soon joins another track, where you need to keep left. Fifty metres later, a path turns off to the right. You are now on your way! This path climbs steadily and easily, for some 45 minutes up beautifully constructed zig-zags, to le Collet (1562 m), a col on the north-east ridge. Leave le Collet by the path to the left which after 5 minutes passes within 20 m of the entrance to Puit Kriska, at 780 m the deepest cave in Chartreuse, and within about 10 minutes you reach the cliffs on the eastern flanks of Charmant Som. The cliffs here consist of rock folded almost to the vertical, and the path makes its way across these along ledges and up weaknesses for some 20 minutes or so. The Par les Dalles is not difficult, or exposed, but it is a magnificent path in a superb situation and should be lingered over. The views into the valley and across to Chamechaude are spectacular, and the flora in both spring and summer presents a riot of colour. All good things come to an end, and at 1750 metres you enter the summit pastures with a path joining from the left. This comes from the car park at the end of the road from the col de Porte just fifteen minutes away! Turn right, and follow the well-used path easily up the final slopes to arrive at the summit (1867 m) after a further 20 minutes, some three hours or so from the car park. There are worse spots to have lunch. The views are splendid. Chamechaude dominates to the south-east, and with a pair of binoculars you can pick out the traverse through the cliffs from le Jardin. To the north, you can see the monastery nestling beneath the dramatic western cliffs of the Grand Som. By moving along the ridge to the north for a few metres, you can get an impression of the splendid cliffs lying beneath you. To the west, you can start to appreciate that Charmant Som is a far more significant topographical feature than it gives the impression of being when seen from the Martinière valley. Although you can descend by the way you came up, it is recommended that you return by the Valombré valley. which is on the other side of the ridge from the ascent. Return to le Collet, and turn left onto a path descending the northern side of the ridge. After a couple of minutes, there is a distinct junction, with the way to the left descending into the valley. We, however, take the right path which follows an attractive line across open slopes beneath the impressive cliffs of the Arête de Bérard. From here there are good views of the monastery. Eventually, the path swings away from the cliffs and descends sweeping zig-zags through the forest to the Valombré road. Turn left, and within five minutes you'll find yourself at the junction with the D520b. You can avoid walking back along the busy main road. Follow the path along the true left bank past the prominent cave entrance of the Résurgence de la Porte de l'Enclos with its charming sculpture, and when it rejoins the main road, a track takes off up the hill to the right. This ascends to a few houses above la Diat. before joining a road. Follow this down, and you'll arrive back at the car in just a few minutes. Page 22 Charmant Som from Porte d'Enclos, Valombré Starting point: Porte d'Enclos Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 1170 m Time: 6½ hrs Quality: *** This walk is an excellent round which covers the best of Charmant Som, and it is strongly recommended. It is a long walk, but for the main it follows well constructed traditional paths and is easy going. The route starts from a little way up the Valombré road (map), below la Diat, makes its way up to the Col de la Charmette, swings round to ascend Charmant Som from the west, and returns to the car via Par les Dalles and le Collet. Although Charmant Som is a honey pot, save for the crowds on the summit, much of the route is on small paths and it is likely that you will meet few people en route. To find the parking place follow the D520b down the Gorge du Guiers Mort from la Diat. After 700 metres, immediately after the road crosses the river at the Pont du Grand Logis, a side road crosses the river again. Follow this for about 300 metres to a parking area for a dozen cars (780 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71902 50250), just before a road barrier. We start by following the road up the valley, but this is no hardship as it's a beautiful valley and there is little traffic apart from the occasional monk pottering past in an ancient Fiat. After about 35 minutes, the Habert de la Malamille is passed. A few metres beyond the road turns to the right, and our track keeps straight on up the hill. A little way beyond a junction with a route to the left reached after ten minutes, the track develops into a path which ascends gently through the forest. As it climbs between the cliffs towards the col de la Cochette (1263 m), it develops into one of the finest paths in Chartreuse - a section of zigzags supported by dry stone walled banks. The path on the far side is equally well constructed, as zigzags descend a steep and narrow gully, with cliffs soaring up on both sides. At the base of the cliffs, the path diverges, with one continuing down the hill, and the other traversing the forested flanks to the left which we take. This is the the Chemin de la Cochette, and it starts off as a fairly thin undulating path. After a couple of kilometres it becomes a forest track before meeting a major junction with the Col de la Charmette a few minutes to the right, and the way to Charmant Som to the left. This track soon morphs into a path, and a few minutes later, starts to follow a stream bed in a ravine which follows the line of a geological strike-slip fault, passing some drinking troughs en route. Some twenty minutes after leaving the Chemin de la Couchette, the path leaves the forest to enter a lovely little valley, surrounded on three sides by cliffs, and wanders up the pasture to the left. After a further 20 minutes, you reach the first of two large shakeholes. The cattle have obscured the path at this point, but by rising up the flanks to the right, you'll soon pick it up again. In about 10 minutes you'll reach a narrow ridge with superb views on both sides. The path meanders on and around the ridge for a quarter of an hour through a floral wonderland, before dropping slightly into a pasture. This leads towards a valley (the continuation of the one we ascended), with the main path descending a little before rising up to a terrace between cliffs on the far side. There is, however, a smaller path which branches off to the left towards the head of the valley, which is the one we need. It is marked with green and red way markings. We once saw a member of the endangered population of Chartreuse chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra cartusiana) grazing in this area. Once round the head of the valley, the path rises steeply, and we rather abruptly arrive at the summit (1867 m), some four hours after leaving the car. After the solitary ascent, the crowds on the summit will come as a somewhat rude shock. At weekends, it's a major exercise to negotiate one's way round the vast groups who are having photographs taken to celebrate their successful 200 m ascent from the upper car park. One can find a quiet corner, however, and there are worse spots to have lunch. The views are splendid. Chamechaude dominates to the south-east, and with a pair of binoculars you can pick out the traverse through the cliffs from le Jardin. To the north, you can see the monastery nestling beneath the dramatic western cliffs of the Grand Som. By moving along the ridge to the north for a few metres, you can get an impression of the splendid cliffs lying beneath you. To the west, you can see across the col de la Charmette to la Grande Sure. The descent route initially heads towards le Colet, to the north of the summit. Follow the track down the south ridge towards the car park, and from a small col reached after ten minutes, take the path off to the left. This descends a shallow valley, to soon reach a T-junction (1750 m). This is the ubiquitous Tour de Chartreuse: turning right leads to the summit car park; we turn left. This follows the superb Par les Dalles, which picks its way across the rocky eastern face which is so prominent from la Martinière. Beyond this, the path follows a line under the ridge, passing within 20 m of the entrance to Puit Kriska, at 780 m the deepest cave in Chartreuse, until an obvious junction is reached at a col on the north-east ridge - le Collet (1562 m). Page 23 Turn left down the path descending the north side of the ridge. After a couple of minutes, there is a distinct junction, with the way to the left descending into the valley. We, however, take the right path which follows an attractive line across open slopes beneath the impressive cliffs of the Arête de Bérard. From here there are good views of the monastery, and we have seen monks walking on this path. Eventually, the path swings away from the cliffs and descends sweeping zigzags through the forest to the Valombré road. Turn left, and within two minutes you'll find yourself back at the car. Page 24 Walks on Chamechaude (2082 m) Chamechaude is the highest of the major hills of the area, and it dominates the valley of St. Pierre de Chartreuse. Its height is emphasized by its distinctively shaped peak, and its isolation from its neighbours. It does, however, suffer from being somewhat too accessible, with the col de Porte, the major route between the St. Pierre valley and Grenoble, reaching a height of 1326 m within 2 km of the summit (map). This has led to the creation of ski development with a piste creating an unsightly scar down the western slopes. However, there are far worse areas of ski exploitation, and the piste is avoided by the paths. Chamechaude is a beautiful mountain, with outstanding walking, a dramatic summit ridge, a wealth of flora, and is well worth a visit. There are three routes described - these are really the main routes on the hill. The first two describe half-day walks up to the summit, which can be combined with a rest day or a visit to Grenoble; the third is an outstanding full-day walk that actually covers much of the same ascent and descent, but combines it with a spectacular tour of the mountain. Ascent from Col de Porte Chamechaude via the Pas de l'Arche Page 25 Chamechaude via Le Jardin Chamechaude from col de Porte Starting point: Col de Porte Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 762 m Time: 2 hrs Quality: ** This is a relatively easy walk, but good fun, and worthwhile. The secret is to use the zigzags whenever possible, and avoid the zogs. It is categorised as Difficulty 2, as there is some easy scrambling on the summit ridge, aided by fixed cables, where a short line will be useful for members of the party lacking in confidence. The time is for the ascent only. There is ample parking on the road at the col de Porte (1320 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71699 50189), or alternatively, you can park on the track leading to the piste. The ascent traverses a fair amount of ground, but it is easy and pleasant (map). Follow the track to the piste area. Immediately after passing a low building on the right, take the next track (under 10 minutes from the car) leading into the forest to the left. This ascends gradually to the north, until returning to the south. At the end of the track (1547 m) a footpath ascends to the north before returning, and emerging out of the forest into pasture. This leads to a cabin, the Cabane du Bachasson, and spring (1635 m), reached some 40 minutes after leaving the car. The route now zigzags to and fro across the steep flower-strewn pasture for some 20 minutes, to a huge mushroom-shaped boulder, la Folatière (1743 m). Don't take the obvious route to the right, but take the smaller path rising to the left of the boulder, and ascend towards a large gully which splits the cliff. The route then ascends the impressive gully (easier on the right) for some 10 minutes, before emerging onto the summit slopes. This is ascended easily by zigzags at first, but these eventually run out, and the final 50 metres of ascent is a little steep. There is no mistaking the summit ridge - it plummets on the eastern side by a couple of hundred metres. As usual, the views are superb, with the cliffs of Dent de Crolles and the Grand Som being particularly impressive. You need to be a little careful of fast-flying swifts and low-flying gliders, but it's a good place to spend half an hour over lunch. Descents The way up is not recommended for descent for two reasons. Firstly, it's a little too loose to be pleasant, and secondly, there's a far nicer way down. Follow the ridge a short distance to the south, to an easy cable-assisted descent down a 10 metre chimney. From here, there are two paths apparent in the distance - the first is a scree-strewn path going off some distance beneath you, and the other is a path continuing along the crest. The latter is easier, and far more pleasant. Make for this. Some 20 minutes after leaving the summit, the path passes by the brèche Paul-Arnoud, a cableassisted ascent up a chimney from the north side of the ridge. Soon after, the path starts to descend, and joins the other route. This area of pasture has a particularly fine display of martagon lily in the early summer. The path then returns north reaching the big boulder some 40 minutes after leaving the summit. You now reverse the ascent and arrive back at the car within 90 minutes of leaving the summit, after a very pleasant and very easy walk. Page 26 Chamechaude via the Jardin Starting point: Col de Porte Difficulty: 3 Ascent: 780 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** This is a magnificent walk - definitely in the top five of Chartreuse. It deserves its difficulty grading, as there is a short "easy" rock climb, and a very exposed path, but it isn't any harder than the Anoch Eagach, or the scrambling parts of the Cuillins ridge. This walk basically climbs halfway up from the col de Porte, takes a rising traverse all the way around the mountain, and completes its ascent almost above where it started. Note that this route covers nearly all the ground covered in the other route described up Chamechaude (map). The time assumes ascent and descent. There is ample parking on the road at the col de Porte (1320 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71699 50189), or alternatively, you can park on the track leading to the piste. Follow the track to the piste area, passing a low building on the left, after a few minutes. Take the next track (under 10 minutes from the car) leading into the forest to the left. This ascends gradually to the north, until returning to the south. At the end of the track (1547 m) a footpath ascends to the north before returning, and emerging out of the forest into pasture. This leads to a cabin, the Cabane du Bachasson, and spring (1635 m), reached some 40 minutes after leaving the car. From here take the path below the cabin, that traverses towards the south through the forest. Some ten minutes later a flimsy fence is crossed, and the path divides. Keep to the left, and you soon leave the forest. This path takes you round the end of Chamechaude, but then becomes a little obscure. Keep up as much as possible. Some 45 minutes after leaving the hut, a valley which emanates from a prominent gully (the brèche Paul-Arnoud) splits the flank of the mountain. Follow some zigzags to reach the Chamechaude cliffs looming over you, and cross the top of the valley. The path is now more obvious, and a pleasant walk with superb views follows, taking a route close to the high summit cliffs of the mountain. Soon after this, you cross a rise, and the cliffs of Dent de Crolles come into view, with Mont Blanc looming over its crest to the left. Half an hour later, you may spot a path coming up the slopes from the east. You now need to look for a couple of yellow arrows pointing the way up two short scrambles up the cliffs (Difficulty 3), divided by a short traverse along a ledge. If you start to descend, you have gone too far. The climbs lead onto the Jardin - the lower of the two prominent shelves on the northern edge of Chamechaude. This is a good spot for lunch, which you will inevitably have to share with the alpine choughs. The route now heads down alongside the cliffs for a couple of hundred metres, and then round the corner onto the western flank. The next few hundred metres are along a very exposed path on a thin ledge with cliffs above, and cliffs below. It's easier enough, but it would be difficult to provide support for anyone who was nervous in such situations. The musk orchid may be found here in profusion at the end of July. The traverse finishes down a short rock rake. A few metres further on, you will see a large calcite boulder at the foot of a gully. You are now above where you started your walk. The route ascends the impressive gully (easier on the right) for some 10 minutes, before emerging onto the summit slopes. This is ascended easily by zigzags at first, but these eventually run out, and the final 50 metres of ascent is a little steep. There is no mistaking the summit ridge - it plummets on the eastern side by a couple of hundred metres. As usual, the views are superb, with the cliffs of Dent de Crolles and the Grand Som being particularly impressive. You need to be a little careful of fast-flying swifts and low-flying gliders, but it's a good place to sunbathe and admire the view. Descents The way up is not recommended for descent for two reasons. Firstly, it's a little too loose to be pleasant, and secondly, there's a far nicer way down. Follow the ridge a short distance to the south, to an easy cable-assisted descent down a 10 metre chimney. From here, there are two paths apparent in the distance - the first is a scree-strewn path going off some distance beneath you, and the other is a path continuing along the crest. The latter is easier, and far more pleasant. Make for this. Some 20 minutes after leaving the summit, the path passes by the brèche Paul-Arnoud, a cableassisted ascent up a chimney previously seen from below. Soon after, the path starts to descend, and joins the other route. This area of pasture has a particularly fine display of martagon lily in the early summer. The path then returns north reaching a large mushroom-shaped rock, la Folatière (1743 m), some 40 minutes leaving the summit. Follow the zigzags down to the cabin, and you then reverse the ascent and arrive back at the car within 90 minutes of leaving the Page 27 summit, after an excellent day in the hills. Page 28 Chamechaude via the Pas de l'Arche Starting point: Col de Porte Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 762 m Time: 4 hrs Quality: *** This is a relatively easy walk, but good fun. It takes you off the beaten track, so requires some confidence. It is categorised as Difficulty 2, as there is some easy scrambling both on the way up and on the summit ridge, and a short line may be found useful for inexperienced members of the party. It takes the standard route up to the Cabane du Bachasson, but then follows the path around to the south before finding a way through the cliffs onto the south-east ridge. There is ample parking on the road at the col de Porte (1320 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71699 50189), or alternatively, you can park on the track leading to the piste. The ascent traverses a fair amount of ground, but it is easy and pleasant (map). Follow the track to the piste area. Immediately after passing a low building on the right, take the next track (under 10 minutes from the car) leading into the forest on the left. This ascends gradually to the north, until returning to the south. At the end of the track (1547 m) a footpath ascends to the north before returning, and emerging out of the forest into pasture. This leads to a cabin, the Cabane du Bachasson, and a water source (1635 m), some 40 minutes after leaving the car. We now leave the crowds behind. From here take the path below the cabin, that traverses towards the south through the forest. Some ten minutes later a flimsy fence is crossed, and the path divides. Keep to the left, and you soon leave the forest, and start climbing. Soon after, you will see an arch in the cliff ahead. Climb up towards this and then traverse back under the cliff where 30 metres back there is a gully providing a way through the cliff - the Pas de l'Arche. Clamber up this (Difficulty 2), to find a cairned path leading to an easy rake. A further cairned route at the top leads to a path under some cliffs. Follow this to the east until there is a sizeable cairn. This marks the Rampe des Écureuils - a rocky ramp which provides an easy scramble to the top of the cliff. If you miss the cairn, you will find yourself at an impasse overlooking a large drop - just return for 50 metres. Once up the rake you are on safe ground - simply make your way up towards the crest to the half-right, and follow the ridge up towards the summit. On the way up, you will pass a cable-assisted ascent up a gully - the Brèche Paul-Arnoud. Shortly after this, you will meet the main ascent path. Access to the summit is gained by an easy cableassisted ascent (Difficulty 2) up a 10 metre chimney. There is no mistaking the summit ridge - it plummets on the eastern side by a couple of hundred metres. As usual, the views are superb, with the cliffs of Dent de Crolles and the Grand Som being particularly impressive. You need to be a little careful of fast-flying swifts and low-flying gliders, It is a good spot for lunch, which you will inevitably have to share with the alpine choughs. The best way down is to return the way you came up to a couple of hundred metres beyond the Brèche Paul-Arnoud where the path leaves the ridge and starts to drop down the flank to meet the voie normale at the bottom, thus avoiding a lot of scree as well as the crowds. This area of pasture has a particularly fine display of martagon lily in the early summer. The path then returns north reaching a huge boulder, la Folatière, some 40 minutes after leaving the summit. The Cabane de Bachasson is reached in a further 10 minutes. You now reverse the ascent and arrive back at the car within 90 minutes of leaving the summit, after a very pleasant and easy walk. Page 29 Walks on Grand Som (2026 m) Grand Som is a spectacular mountain. It is one of the three peaks that surround St. Pierre de Chartreuse, and although it is marginally the lowest, it is the one which most dominates the neighbouring valleys, with its huge summit cross visible for many kilometres. Interestingly, the summit is hidden from the centre of the village by a subsidiary ridge. The main ridge stretches north-south to the west of the central valley of the Massif, being abruptly terminated at both ends by the gorges of the Guiers Vif and Guiers Mort respectively. To the east, the mountain is bounded by the road connecting the two St. Pierre's, and to the south-west it falls down to the valley of the St. Bruno, wherein nestles the Couvent de la Grande Chartreuse. It is surrounded, particularly to the north and east, by a huge unpopulated terrain of forests and ridges, criss-crossed by a network of paths (map). Cliffs are to be found protecting much of the summit ridge, particularly to the north-east and the west, but it is to the west that the cliffs soar up high above the monastery, culminating in the large iron summit cross which according to Wordsworth, was "by angels planted on the aereal rock". To the east, steep flanks follow the dip of the rock before plummeting over smaller cliffs Possibly the best route to the summit is from the museum at la Correrie, below the monastery. This goes up to the col du Frenay on the south ridge, and allows a superb round to be covered which eventually descends into the head of the St. Bruno valley. Unfortunately, the Regional Nature Park Authorities have "de-emphasised" this path in favour of muddy tracks which traverse the forest flanks, and care is required in locating the start. The other two routes ascend from the other side of the ridge, and also provide a pleasant day's walking, especially that from les Reyes. Ascent from la Correrie Ascent from les Reyes Page 30 Ascent from la Coche Grand Som from la Correrie Starting point: la Correrie Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1270 m Time: 7 hrs Quality: *** This walk ascends Grand Som from the west (map). It ascends the western flanks above the monastery, traverses the summit ridge, and descends from the head of the St. Bruno valley, which is followed back to the car. The time assumes the full round trip. It is the classic route on Grand Som, and if you have time for just one ascent of the mountain, it should be by this route. La Correrie may be found by following the D520b from St. Pierre de Chartreuse towards St. Laurent du Pont for 3 or 4 km, and turning right up the St. Bruno valley towards the monastery. This road loops round back to the museum, where a parking area made available for walkers may be found at the back (850 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 71863 50257). This traditional route up towards the Grand Som has been de-emphasised by the Regional Nature Park, so care should be taken to ensure finding the right way. Take the path at the back of the car park, ignoring the track that ascends immediately to the left. We need to follow this for about 50 minutes along a variety of old paths, new paths, and forestry tracks, following the yellow and red waymarks. After 45 minutes or so, the route, which is following an old section of path at this stage, turns round a gully, and veers between some large boulders. Shortly beyond this, a path may be found on the right, heading up and back, marked with an orange blob. This is the way up to the col du Frenay, and is the all-important junction. Turn up the new path, which ascends easily in a series of sweeping zig-zags, to arrive on the ridge after about an hour. Here, you will need to negotiate some fallen trees (2014). From the ridge, follow the path round to the left, and after a few minutes you'll pass the way down to la Coche on the right. The true col du Frenay (1580 m) is reached in ten minutes, and after a further five minutes or so, the path crosses to the west of the ridge, to continue its ascent beneath limestone cliffs. Marmots abound here; their burrows lie alongside the path, and they can be heard screaming their warnings from their rocky vantage points. Near the top of the scree the path swings round to the right, across a system of ledges, and up some small crags as it rises once again to the ridge. There is some exposure here, and the use of hands is required. The col at the top is known as la Suiffière (1798 m). From here, there are two routes to the summit. If you have a reasonable head for heights, and conditions are dry, you can follow an exhilarating scramble along the ridge (Grade 2), which makes an uncompromising bee-line for the summit. The other route drops down a few metres from the ridge, and then traverses pleasantly across the rocky flanks of the hillside. The flora in this area is outstanding. Twenty minutes after leaving the ridge, you meet a path coming up from the right, which is the route down towards the col du Coucheron. The path then enters a rocky gully, and when it exits, ascends the steep flank to the summit cross, which is reached some 45 minutes after leaving the ridge. It has taken us about 3½ hours to reach this point from the car park. The summit is a good place for lunch. As you would expect, the views are superb, and below, to the south-west, you can see the monastery nestling in the secluded St. Bruno valley. Unfortunately, the summit is now the home of a very naff viewpoint station consisting of two halves of a concrete Chartreuse. This walk is a round trip, so from the summit, continue along the ridge - which is well adorned with rock gardens. After 15 minutes, the path divides. Either path will do, but the lower path follows the Sangle des Moutons - a grassy terrace between the cliffs which passes through some nice rock scenery. There are some iron cables in places, but the protection they offer is not really required. One interesting feature is that for some distance it follows the line of the of the hanging-wall of one of the major Chartreuse thrust faults. The two paths meet up after 20 minutes, and the combined route heads down towards the col du Bovinant (1645 m) reached after a further 15 minutes. Turning left down the valley reaches a water source at the shepherd's cabin - a good place to fill water bottles. The path now makes its way steadily down into the St. Bruno valley. It passes a number of junctions, but the way down is always obvious. The path passes a chapel near the valley floor, becomes a road with hard core chippings, and before long the monastery hoves into view. It has taken a couple of hours to reach this point from the summit. Follow the track behind the monastery which rises through the woods to eventually link up with a forest track which lands you back at the car park some three hours after leaving the summit. Page 31 Grand Som from les Reyes Starting point: les Reyes Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 1100 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** This walk ascends Grand Som from the east, and is really quite special. It ascends the Col du Frêt from above les Reys; descends to the Col du Bovinant; heads south to the summit of Grand Som; drops down to the Col des Aures; and finally wends its way back to the ascent path using some wonderful traditional paths (map). It's special because it covers much of the more beautiful parts of the mountain, and even better, much of it is also off the beaten track. The only section where you're likely to see other people is between the Col du Bovinant and the Col des Aures. At Difficulty 1, it also the easiest of the described routes to the summit. Les Reyes may be found by following the D102B north from the Col du Coucheron for a little under 3 km. Take the road heading up the hill just before les Reyes, take a right junction after about a kilometre and park at the road head (1030 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72223 50302). As usual, the day starts on a forestry track. This leads past a couple of junctions to the right until it reaches a notice board after some 15 minutes. Here the track becomes a path, and rises horribly steeply for five minutes before adopting a somewhat more civilised gradient. A junction to the left is passed after a further five minutes - take note, as this is our return route. After a further 30 minutes, the pleasant path passes the edge of a beautiful pasture, before turning back on itself and starting the ascent of the first of what are reputed to be 120 zig-zags up to the Col du Frêt (we lost count after about a dozen!), which is reached (1740 m) in under two hours from the car. Horse flies permitting, this is a good place for a second breakfast, with wonderful views down to the Col du Bovinant and across to Mont Outheran. The Col du Bovinant is reached within another quarter of an hour, and the main ascent of Grand Som starts by means of the path heading south-east. One can follow this path all the way to the ridge, and hence to the summit. A more interesting, and considerably less populated route, however, is the Sangle des Moutons. To find this, follow the main path up a little gully to a very positive little ridge. Here there is a junction, with the main path going left, and the sangle path going right. There is a little exposure on this path, but nothing great. One interesting feature is that for some distance it follows the line of the of the hanging-wall of one of the major Chartreuse thrust faults. After 30 minutes, the sangle leads you back onto the main path within sight of the summit cross, which is reached some 3½ hours after leaving the car. The summit is a good place for lunch. As you would expect, the views are superb, and below, to the south-west, you can see the monastery nestling in the secluded St. Bruno valley. Unfortunately, the summit is now the home of a very naff viewpoint station consisting of two halves of a concrete Chartreuse. We start the descent by following the path that descends the eastern flanks of the hill. This soon leads to a steep gully, just below which is a junction - reached some 20 minutes after leaving the summit (1820 m).To the right leads to La Suiffière. Turn left, and continue down the flanks. A pleasant descent down some cliffs to the col des Aures follows, which is somewhat unnecessarily cable-assisted in places. The col is a superb spot, with some wonderful views towards the Guiers Vif gorge through the hidden valley to the north. The main path drops down to the right, but we take the thinner path onto the Crête des Aures. This is a superb little path through the forest, with fine views of the cliffs to the west. After 20 minutes, you'll meet a positive T-junction. Take the left path, which swings back to circumnavigate the head of a small valley. It's overgrown in places, and care needs to be taken to pick up the line. Consult your map carefully. About an hour after leaving the col des Aures, a forestry track is picked up that heads north across the flank of the valley. Ten minutes later, soon after a track comes in from the left, our path takes off to the left, and follows the floor of the valley. After skirting the right hand side of a clearing, the track becomes somewhat more brutal, steeper, and muddier. This doesn't last long, however, and before long we rejoin our ascent route, and the car is reached in a further ten minutes. Page 32 Grand Som from la Coche Starting point: la Coche Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1090 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: ** This walk ascends Grand Som from the east (map). It explores the eastern flanks of the mountain, starting from la Coche, a kilometres or so from St. Pierre de Chartreuse, reaching the south ridge at the col du Frenay, and descends towards the col du Cucheron via the col des Aures. The time is for the ascent and descent. La Coche may be found by following the D512 from St. Pierre de Chartreuse towards the col du Cucheron for about 1300 metres. A road descends left towards the river, over a bridge, and through the small hamlet. You can park your car at the top of the village at a forestry turning point (960 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72074 50259). Follow the forestry track uphill into the woods. There's a junction after 20 minutes or so - keep right. The path is accompanied by occasional red and yellow way-markings. After a further 30 minutes, the way divides, with an overgrown track off to the right, and our path off to the left. The path now zig-zags its way up to the col du Frenay. This path is not always in that good a condition, as the gully that leads to the col has been used as a forestry slide, half-destroying the path as it zig-zags its way across it. Some people have been tempted to follow the steep slide, but this is unsatisfactory, and it is worth persevering with the path. This is one place which is in need of some urgent path renovation by the Regional Park authorities. Just before you reach the ridge, you meet a T-junction. The path to the left is the one that seems to have been de-emphasised by the Regional Park, and descends towards the monastery. It is currently difficult to find from below, but it is worth noting as a descent route if exploring the hill from La Correrie The col is reached about an hour and a half after leaving the car. After five minutes or so, the path crosses to the west of the ridge, and continues its ascent beneath limestone cliffs. Marmots abound here: their burrows lie alongside the path, and they can be heard screaming their warnings from their rocky vantage points. The path then swings round to the left, across a system of ledges and up some small crags, as it rises once again to the ridge. There is some exposure here, and the use of hands is required. The ridge is reached some two and half hours after leaving the car. From here, there are two routes to the summit. If you have a reasonable head for heights, and conditions are dry, you can follow an exhilarating scramble along the ridge (Grade 2), which makes an uncompromising beeline for the summit. The other route drops down a few metres from the ridge, and then traverses pleasantly across the rocky flanks of the hillside. The flora in this area is outstanding. Twenty minutes after leaving the ridge, you meet a path coming up from the right. Make a note of it, as this is our descent route. The path then enters a rocky gully, and when it exits, ascends the steep flank to the summit cross, which is reached some 45 minutes after leaving the ridge. The summit is a good place for lunch. As you would expect, the views are superb, and below, to the south-west, you can see the monastery nestling in the secluded St. Bruno valley. Unfortunately, the summit is now the home of a very naff viewpoint station consisting of two halves of a concrete Chartreuse. We start the descent by retracing our steps down the flanks, and back through the gully. Some 20 minutes after leaving the summit, you meet the junction noted previously. Turn left, and continue down the flanks. A pleasant descent down some cliffs to the col des Aures follows, cable-assisted in places. The col is a superb spot, with some wonderful views towards the Guiers Vif gorge through the hidden valley to the north. The path then descends through the forest, and some forty minutes from the col, a junction is reached within a clearing. Left goes towards the col du Coucheron, and right returns us back to la Coche. Beware, between here and la Coche are some misleading Regional Park signposts giving absurd timings! Twenty minutes from the junction, the path turns into a track, and 100 metres later, a yellow way-marked path goes off to the right past a reservoir. Follow this. After a further 20 minutes, you'll find a signpost for la Coche by a stream. You follow the path across the stream a couple of times, before emerging on the road some two hours of so after leaving the summit. The car is two minutes up the road to the right. Page 33 Walks on Dent de Crolles (2062 m) "Mark these rounded slopes With their surface fragrance of thyme and, beneath, A secret system of caves and conduits; hear the springs That spurt out everywhere with a chuckle..." W.H. Auden. 1949 For the purpose of this guide, the Dent de Crolles area is deemed to include the long, narrow, upland area stretching from the col du Coq, at the southern end, to the col de Bellefond (also known as col de Bellefont) in the north - a distance of some five or six kilometres (map). A line of cliffs divide it into two discrete sections, with the plateau of the Dent de Crolles in the south, and the Chaos de Bellefond in the north. The only practical ways through these cliffs is by means of the Cheminée du Paradis, a chimney situated at the eastern end, close to the steep escarpment overlooking the Isère valley, and a rake which rises through them at the western end. The Dent de Crolles has more routes on it than any other part of the Chartreuse. This, no doubt, is partly due to its ease of access, and partly due to the fact that its summit totally dominates the Isère valley below. However, the main reason must simply be that it offers magnificent walking. The easiest approach is from the col du Coq, one of the high road passes between Chartreuse and the Isère valley. This climbs to within 600 metres of height, and 1,500 metres in distance of the summit, and has convenient parking at the top. To the west, Perquelin offers a variety of routes to the plateau, allowing a number of circuits to be constructed. All routes from here involve over a 1,000 metres of ascent. To the east, a route ascends from the Commune de St. Hilaire, which is perched on a narrow plateau perched half way up between the escarpment above, and the Isère below. The Dent de Crolles is not only a magnet for walkers, it is also a place of pilgrimage for cavers. The main cave, the Réseau de la Dent de Crolles has 57 kilometres of passages with 12 entrances, and is 695 metres deep. It is possible to descend from almost the top of the mountain, all the way to the source of the Guiers Mort almost 700 metres below, and it is possible to traverse right through the mountain, from one side to the other. Whilst such expeditions are for experienced cavers only, you should take the opportunity to have a look into the entrances of some of the more accessible caves. It's always worth carrying a couple of lightweight headlamps. You can get a flavour of the undergound world from this photograph album. Ascent via the Trou du Glaz Ascent via the Source du Guiers Mort Ascent via Pas de Rocheplane A Tour of Dent de Crolles A Visit to the Grotte Chevalier Page 34 Dent de Crolles via the Trou du Glaz Starting point: Col du Coq Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 524 m Time: 2 hrs Quality: *** This walk offers the gentlest of introductions to the area (map), the relatively short ascent allowing time to explore the summit plateau en route. The time is for ascent only. Park at the top of the col du Coq (1434 m grid ref. UTM 31T 72238 50205), and follow a path through the woods towards the Dent de Crolles (it divides after a few metres - keep to the right). This take you onto the pastures beneath the impressive summit cliffs. These pastures are a riot of colour in the spring. Follow the track up to the col des Ayes (1538 m), reached some 20 minutes after leaving the car, and turn right following the zigzags up towards the cliffs. At a junction near the top of the pasture, take the path to the left, which traverses above some steep slopes. After a further ten minutes, you reach the Trou du Glaz, one of the entrances to the extensive Dent de Crolles cave system. A cold draught blows out of the interior, and ice will be found covering the floor quite late in the season. With a couple of lights, it is safe to venture through the entrance chambers for some 250 m until the draught emerges from a narrow, greasy ascending rift. Beyond are a sequence of shafts, so you should turn back here, although you can get a flavour of what the cave is like further in by looking at the dedicated photograph album. Continue from the Trou du Glaz, for a few metres until some cables can be seen ascending the cliffs on the right. Climb these easily, and follow the path up a few chimneys and across ledges, rising up the cliffs through a line of weakness. This part of the route is fun, but easy, and you gain height rapidly. After another ten minutes, another junction is encountered. The path to the right is the Sangle de la Barrère. This will also take you to the summit of the Dent de Crolles via an impressive ledge system traversing the southern cliffs. This is a fine route, quite straight forward, but is probably best left for the descent. Continuing straight on leads rapidly to the summit plateau. After being dominated by cliffs since leaving the car, it is good to reach the wide open views. After a few more metres, you will reach a cross-roads. This is an important junction, and it is useful to pause to take one's bearings. To the left, a five minute and highly recommended detour will take you to the Belvédère. This is a high point on the ridge, which as its name implies, is an excellent view point. From it, one can look right down the Perquelin valley, to St. Pierre de Chartreuse and the café where you will probably be refreshing yourselves within a few hours. The spring flora here is quite exceptional, with a thick covering of elder flower orchids being particularly outstanding. Straight on leads through the pavement and dwarf forest along the Tour de Chartreuse towards the col de Bellefond, and right leads towards the summit. The kilometre or so to the summit can either be taken along the path to the left of the shallow valley which is well cairned by the PNRC, or more interestingly, you can wander up the limestone pavement up the synclinal valley itself. On the way up, you may spot the P40 pothole, which is the original top entrance to the caves underneath. It's a 30 metre deep shaft, a little too wide to jump over, with a plaque fastened to the wall. Experienced cavers can descend this shaft, to emerge either at the Trou du Glaz, or the Grotte du Guiers Mort over 600 metres below, according to taste. On a clear day, the views from the summit (2062 m) are spectacular. The Belledonne hills can be seen over the haze-filled Isère valley to the east, and 100 kilometres to the north-east, the white mass of Mont Blanc seems to be hovering in the sky. To the north, west, and south, the Chartreuse massif fills the near and far horizons. Descents Apart from the way up, there are three possible descents back to the col du Coq. The least direct, and one which explores more of the fine plateau area follows the north ridge from the summit. Beyond the Roche du Midi, a small path, not marked on the map, descends and swings to the east. It passes a small spring in an open stretch of grassland - an idyllic place for a camp, and after crossing an area of pavement, finishes at the cross-roads below the Belvédère. Follow the route back towards the Trou du Glaz. A way which is not particular recommended is to go directly back to the col des Ayes, via the Pas de l'Oeille. This follows the fault gully which descends through the cliffs 100 metres north west of the summit. It is quite straight forward, apart from being steep, but it is a little loose in its upper reaches. Its descent does include a couple of steep rocky sections, but these are quite easy, and not exposed. Page 35 The third descent is by means of the Sangle de la Barrère, which takes a spectacular line along a system of wide grassy ledges along the southern cliffs. Whilst from below, the route looks impossible, it is, in fact, very easy, with but one somewhat exposed section near the beginning. The route starts just below the top of the Pas de l'Oeille gully, and leads off towards the right. Note that it starts somewhat tentatively, well above the prominent pinnacle in the centre of the gully. After a few metres, the path leads round a somewhat exposed nose, but thereafter, it follows a wide ledge system, which descends back to near the top of the path from the Trou du Glaz. In spring, the fine bear's ear primroses are commonly found, clinging to crevices in the cliffs. This route is highly recommended. Page 36 Dent de Crolles via the Guiers Mort Cave Starting point: Perquelin Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1056 m Time: 7 hrs Quality: *** This is probably the finest walk on the Dent de Crolles, and shouldn't be missed. It includes (map) viewing the entrance series of the Guiers Mort cave; a visit to the summit; and an exploration of the prairie on the Dent de Crolles summit pastures. It is, however, a full day's walk, and you should expect to be away from the car for up to seven hours. It also needs to cross the Guiers Mort stream which is impassable in flood conditions. The time given is for ascent only. The Perquelin valley is a narrow valley that runs south-east from St. Pierre de Chartreuse for about three kilometres to the hamlet of Perquelin. Drive to the top of the road, and at its conclusion, continue along the forest track for 100 metres, where you will find a car park (990 m grid ref. UTM 31T 72314 50237. Our first target is to find the entrance to the Guiers Mort cave. From the car park follow the forest track past a clearing, until you cross the Guiers Mort stream, and also get a glimpse of its waterfall above. Immediately on the other side of the bridge, a path ascends pleasantly through the woods, passing the Fontaine Noire - a captured water source which is the resurgence for the Chaos of Bellefond area above. Continue on the path uphill for a few minutes, then take the next junction to the right, which soon leads to a forest track. Turn right, and after 100 metres, turn left just before the Guiers Mort stream, some 10 minutes after leaving the Fontaine Noire. A pleasant path rises through the forest, until it descends to a set of metal "stepping stones" across the stream, with the imposing cave entrance above. You can, however, carry on and reach the cave entrance by an easy cable-assisted traverse. Once up the zigzags (or across the short traverse), cross over to the imposing entrance (1310 m) which you will reach about an hour after leaving the car. This is a lovely spot, and a good place for breakfast. The Grotte du Guiers Mort is the bottom entrance to the world-famous 60 km long Dent de Crolles system of caves, and its entrance chambers may be explored safely providing you have adequate lighting (which includes a spare), and the water levels are reasonably low. If you follow the main passage up some boulders and round to the right, you will arrive at a large chamber with a lower passage going off at floor level. Entering this, you are immediately hit by a veritable gale-force draught. The low passage only lasts three or four metres before entering another high chamber. This is the Climber's Chamber, which is as far as we can go, but speleologists can progress into the heart of the mountain by climbing up to a passage in the roof. Once the cave has been explored, you need to reach a path which ascends following the base of the cliff. You can reach this from the cave mouth either by clambering across an eroding gully, or more easily by returning to the stepping stones and climbing up to it via a number of zig-zags on the (true) left bank. The continuing path is at first steep and a little loose at times, although perfectly safe, and is a better ascent than descent route. After climbing steeply, it levels out, and becomes more pleasant. After 45 minutes, there is an easy scramble of three or four metres up the cliff to gain access to a new traverse level which isn't immediately obvious. A few minutes later the route joins the path from the Trou du Glaz and the col des Ayes just at the point where some cables ascend the cliff. The entrance to the Trou du Glaz can be seen 100 metres further on. Climb the cables easily, and follow the path up a few chimneys and across ledges, rising up the cliffs through a line of weakness. This part of the route is fun, but easy, and you gain height rapidly. After another ten minutes, we meet a junction. Straight on leads to the bottom of the Dent de Crolles prairie - we, however, take the path to the right which is the start of the Sangle de la Barrère. The rock strata rise steadily up to the summit from here, and the path follows a ledge system traversing high up the southern cliffs. It isn't exposed, but the situations are superb. In spring, the fine bear's ear primroses are commonly found, clinging to crevices in the cliffs. The path finishes a few metres below the top of the Pas de l'Oeille path. Finishing up this and turning right leads to the summit, (2062 m) about an hour after starting up the cables. On a clear day, the views from the summit are spectacular. The Belledonne hills can be seen over the haze-filled Isère valley to the east, and 100 kilometres to the north-east, the white mass of Mont Blanc seems to be hovering in the sky. To the north, west, and south, the Chartreuse and Vercors massifs fills the near and far horizons. Descents Page 37 Apart from the way up, there are two possible descents back to the car. The first is to backtrack to beyond the Trou du Glaz, to where a path heads off into the valley below. This eventually reaches a forest track. Turn down this to the Perquelin road, where you need to turn right for the car. This is a fairly fast descent, but not particularly recommended. The other alternative is strongly recommended, however. It takes longer, but allows you to explore more of the massif, and is followed by an excellent descent. Allow a further three hours. This route follows the Tour de Chartreuse along the ridge, and descends back to Perquelin by the sentier du Colonel. Follow the shallow valley down from the summit, as whim dictates. You can either follow one of the paths, or meander through the lapiaz. If you choose the latter, you may spot the P40 pothole, which is the original top entrance to the caves underneath. It's a 30 metre deep shaft, a little too wide to jump over, with a plaque fastened to the wall. Experienced cavers can descend this shaft, to emerge either at the Trou du Glaz, or the Grotte du Guiers Mort over 600 metres below, according to taste. After half an hour or so, you will reach a signed meeting of four ways near the bottom of the valley. Straight on leads up to the Belvédère, which is a high point on the ridge, and as its name implies, is an excellent view point. To the left the Tour de Chartreuse emerges onto the plateau having climbed up from the Trou du Glaz (passing the start of the Sangle de la Barrère en route), and to the right, it heads towards the col du Bellefond. Turn right, and follow the clearly way-marked path through the beautiful prairie, surrounded by dwarf forest, beautiful views, and, in season, a riot of colour from the flowers and butterflies. This is walking at its best. Half an hour after leaving the sign post, you are faced by an impressive cliff face descending from the crest to the right, down to the drop into the Perquelin valley to the left. A path joins from the right around here. The way on finds a pleasant rake through the cliff, and then traverses a steep bit of prairie. After a further 15 minutes you reach le Prayet, a signed junction. Straight on the Tour de Chartreuse continues to the col du Bellefond; we turn left to start our descent back to Perquelin. This is a super descent path, which makes its way easily back down. After an hour's descent, you meet a forest track - cross this to a continuation of the path. After another five minutes, turn right at a T-Junction, and you will find yourself back at the Fontaine Noire. Follow the ensuing track down, turn left at the next junction, and 15 minutes later, you will be back at the car park. The bar is a ten minute drive up the road. Page 38 Dent de Crolles via the Pas de Rocheplan Starting point: Les Eyrauds Difficulty: 3 Ascent: 1150 m Time: 7 hrs Quality: *** Although there are plenty of routes into the massif from the eastern side, there are few that lend themselves to circular walks, and hence they tend to be rather unsatisfactory. This is one of two walks in this guide that does ascend the eastern flanks, but also allows an aesthetically satisfying circuit to be made (map). It is not, however, a walk for the faint hearted, requiring a descent of the Cheminée du Paradis, as well as a relatively challenging walk round the nose of Dent de Crolles on a traditional, but little-used path, both of which merit a Difficulty 3 classification. But despite its difficulties, it is rewarding and worthwhile. The walk starts from the car park (not marked on the IGN map) at the skiing station les Eyrauds (970 m grid ref. UTM 31T 72620 50220), off the D30. Follow the track that runs just above the cemetery for a few minutes to a tarmac road, and turn left up the hill. This soon turns into a steep forest track, which improves after a few minutes. A new hard-core road has appeared on these slopes which is not marked on the map, and we encounter it for the first time at a confusing five-way junction some 25 minutes after leaving the car. Follow the way-marked path which is the third from the left. Over the next 20 minutes, we have to cross this new road two or three more times, until we reach the Source du Sanglier (1282 m), a covered reservoir with the Pas de Rocheplane signposted straight ahead. We are now on our way. The rest of the route up to the crest is superb. It starts off steeply, but soon slackens off. Some 15 minutes after leaving the reservoir the path passes to the left of a big outcrop of yellow limestone - le Truc. Shortly after it emerges from the forest, and starts on an exhilarating section of path which rapidly surmounts the rocky ramparts to reach the Pas de Rocheplane some 2 hours or so from leaving the car. The path is obvious throughout this section, but towards the top it does require a little mild scrambling (Difficulty 2). It is always good to reach the crest, and in this case the views suddenly open up all round, with the full extent of the Dent de Crolles massif in view, and the Perquelin valley and the Grand Som beyond. Immediately on the right is a large pinnacle. From the top, two paths head off towards the south - one along the crest and the other just below. The latter is easier walking, and wanders exquisitely through a wonderful meld of rocks and flowers. The start of the Cheminée du Paradis section is heralded by a line of trees. There are a couple of ways of getting to the chimney, but the easiest way is to follow the waymarkings down a rocky barrier, and then bypass the large drop in front by immediately regaining the height by climbing up to the left. The path then descends an easy gully to the right, to the head of the chimney. The Cheminée is an impressive cleft, about 10 metres high, ten metres deep, and less than a metre wide, which is descended in three steps. There is no significant sense of exposure, but the holds are a very polished, and a little awkward (Difficulty 3). A safety line may be useful for people who lack confidence in such places, and is definitely useful for lowering packs down. At the bottom, take the path that starts by trending down and follow it to the summit of Dent de Crolles (2062 m), reached about hour and half after leaving the Pas de Rocheplane. On a clear day, the views from the summit are spectacular. The Belledonne hills can be seen over the haze-filled Isère valley to the east, and 100 kilometres to the north-east, the white mass of Mont Blanc seems to be hovering in the sky. To the north, west, and south, the Chartreuse massif fills the near and far horizons. Our descent is down the Pas de l'Oeille which follows the fault gully descending through the cliffs some 100 metres north west of the summit, and has a prominent pinnacle near the top. It is quite straight forward, apart from being steep, but it is a little loose in its upper reaches. Its descent does include a couple of steep rocky sections, but these are quite easy, and furnished with cables. ¹ At the bottom of the gully, the path starts to traverse to the north-west under the cliffs. If you look below when on this section, you will see a lower path running parallel, which is the one we need to find next. Follow the path from the Pas de l'Oeille until it reaches an obvious scree gully. Cross this, and then immediately turn back on yourself and cross it again but dropping down a few metres towards a thin path. It was marked with an old wooden sign in July 2004, and it takes about 30 minutes from the summit to reach this point. This is the start of the Pas des Terreaux. It crosses the pasture, and then finds a thin line between the summit cliffs and the steep valley below. The route is obvious but exposed (Difficulty 3), although some of it is Page 39 equipped with cables. The most impressive section is where the path rounds the nose of the cliff, where you will be traversing on shale ledges. You should listen out for stones falling from the cliffs, all along this path. They do give fair warning by whistling at you during their descent. The section before the nose was subject to a massive rockfall in October 2010 which toook out 150 m of path. So be warned! Once off the shale ledges, the path passes beneath the entrances to the Grotte Annette and the Grotte Chevalier. After this the path becomes a little more relaxing, although it does have one or two interesting little traverses across the top of gullies. A fence is crossed a few minutes later, and soon after the path starts to descend through some recently planted trees. The start of civilisation is marked by a Franco-Incan ruin (you'll believe me when you see it!), and the Cabane du Berger, a small unwardened refuge from which there are good views of the summit cliffs. The path has now turned into a track, and it drops rapidly down to a junction reached after 20 minutes. Turn left, and after a few minutes it crosses a piste to become an excellent thin path traversing the hillside, with red and yellow way markings. This continues for half an hour, a little overgrown in places before disappearing under the new road encountered earlier in our walk. Turn right at this, and round the sharp bend to the left, and continue along the road for ten minutes past a junction, until you pick up the original ascent path heading down. The car park is a now just a 20 minutes stroll away, from where you will be able to pick out your ascent route. ¹ I am grateful to Mike Hale for passing on the following information: The traverse beneath the summit cliffs of the Dent de Crolles towards the Grotte Annette that you describe seems to have fallen into disuse in favour of a path 50m lower down the hillside. The lower path is a more logical route on the return and is less exposed than the upper one. It is now more worn and clearer to find but there is no security cable but does not need one and a cairn is developing at the start. The upper path is growing over and it is only the presence of the cable that gives confidence that one is on the correct path. The cable has become quite frayed at the far end belay. To return along the upper path requires keeping high on fading steps to find the correct level. Page 40 A Tour of Dent de Crolles Starting point: Col du Coq Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 900 m Time: 8 hrs Quality: *** This walk provides a fairly tough round of the Dent de Crolles area, but it passes through some wonderful terrain, and is well worth the effort. It starts from the col du Coq, ascends to the summit of Dent de Crolles, and then follows the eastern crest to the col de Bellefond. It then returns to the col du Coq following a lower line (map). It takes its grading from a short, but rather slippery scramble, up the Cheminée du Paradis, but don't let it put you off if you're reasonably agile. Park at the top of the col du Coq (1434 m grid ref. UTM 31T 72238 50205), and follow a path through the woods towards the Dent de Crolles (it divides after a few metres - keep to the right). This take you onto the pastures beneath the impressive summit cliffs. These pastures are a riot of colour in the spring. Follow the track up to the col des Ayes (1538 m), reached some 20 minutes after leaving the car, and turn right following the zigzags up towards the cliffs. At a junction near the top of the pasture, take the path to the left, which traverses above some steep slopes. After a further ten minutes, you reach the Trou du Glaz, one of the entrances to the extensive Dent de Crolles cave system. A cold draught blows out of the interior, and ice will be found covering the floor quite late in the season. With a couple of lights, it is safe to venture through the entrance chambers for some 250 m until the draught emerges from a narrow, greasy ascending rift. Beyond are a sequence of shafts, so you should turn back here. Continue from the Trou du Glaz for a few metres, until some cables can be seen ascending the cliffs on the right. Climb these easily, and follow the path up a few chimneys and across ledges, rising up the cliffs through a line of weakness. This part of the route is fun, but easy, and you gain height rapidly. After another ten minutes, an obvious junction is encountered where the incline has eased. The path to the right is the Sangle de la Barrére, and is our selected way to the summit for the day. This sangle path follows a terrace between the upper cliffs of Dent de Crolles. At first, one is not really aware of the situation, but after 20 minutes, the terrace becomes narrower and steeper, the protective trees disappear, and the path becomes distinctly more airy and exciting. In spring, the bear's ear primrose may be seen growing out of nooks and crannies in the limestone cliffs. Eventually the path divides at a gully - take the upper path which soon leads to the top of the Pas de l'Oeille fault gully, easily recognised from an isolated pinnacle in its centre. The summit (2062 m) is five minutes to the right, reached within a couple of hours of leaving the car. On a clear day, the views are spectacular. The Belledonne hills can be seen over the haze-filled Isère valley to the east, and 100 kilometres to the north-east, the white mass of Mont Blanc seems to be hovering in the sky. To the north, west, and south, the Chartreuse massif fills the near and far horizons. From the summit, head down the shallow valley to where a path takes off to the right just before the first shake holes. This crosses the pasture, and contours north below the crest. After half an hour or so, a path goes off to the left - this leads back towards the Trou du Glaz path. We carry straight on towards the impressive Cheminée du Paradis cliffs. These are soon reached near a low point on the crest, near a prominent pinnacle. The Cheminée is an impressive cleft, about 10 metres high, ten metres deep, and less than a metre wide, and it is climbed in three steps. There is no exposure, but the holds are a very polished, and a little awkward (Difficulty 3). At the top, the path ascends some easy rocks before leveling out. The next section keeps close to the crest, with impressive drops on both sides. Half an hour from the top of the Cheminée, the route down to St. Trouvet is marked by a sign post (1860 m), close to yet another rock pinnacle. From here, the path climbs steadily towards the Piton de Bellefond, and involves some mild scrambling. The summit is gained with a bit of a flourish, about an hour after leaving the Cheminée. This marks the end of the upland part of the walk. We now follow the path as it contours across towards the col de Bellefond. At the col, turn left to find the path that descends the pasture to the cabane de Bellefond in wide-sweeping zigzags. There is a water source near the cabane (1650 m) - the first since we left the car - so it's a useful place to stop and refill water bottles. We now follow the path (we are now back on the GR9) across the water source, through the pastures, and up into the Chaos of Bellefond - a well-named, complex area of shafts, pits, and caves. This is then left for another area of alpine meadow, which soon leads us to le Prayet - the start of a route down into the Perquelin valley. From here, the path contours flowery slopes, with impressive views down towards Perquelin, and then descends a couple grassy rakes which take us to the base of the Cheminée du Paradis cliffs about an hour after leaving the cabane. Page 41 The next section takes a fairly convoluted route through the lapiaz, and up and down minor rocky outcrops, but it is reasonably well marked with the GR red and white paint flashes. A junction is reached after 20 minutes, with the path to the summit of the Dent de Crolles going straight on and our route down towards the Trou du Glaz heading off to the right. The descent down to the Trou du Glaz needs to be taken with care, as the limestone on the short scrambles is very polished, and very slippery - especially in wet weather. From the Trou du Glaz, it is simply a matter of reversing the ascent. It's only an hour between the summit plateau and the col du Coq, and the car is soon reached after a long, but satisfying day. Page 42 Dent de Crolles - A Visit to the Grotte Chevalier Starting point: Col du Coq Difficulty: 3 Ascent: 250 m Time: 4 hrs Quality: *** This expedition is for the young at heart, and the agile, and has as its target the inner depths of the spectacular grotte Chevalier. Chevalier was the leader of the team that made the main explorations of the Dent de Crolles caves during the war. The cave that is named after him was always obviously very much part of the main cave system, but was only recently connect to it. The time is for the ascent and descent, and allows for a full exploration of the cave. This half day expedition starts with an exciting traverse under the summit cliffs of the Dent de Crolles, and has as its climax, a trip deep into the heart of the mountain. The route to the cave is exposed, and should be avoided if you feel uncomfortable in such conditions. The cave is fairly long, but safe provided a few basic precautions are taken. A minimum of three people should descend, one of whom should be experienced in caving, and all of whom should be equipped with some head protection (a balaclava will do), a warm jersey, and most importantly, a head lamp (preferably of the Petzl variety), and at least one spare torch. Unlike most caves, there is no risk of getting muddy or wet. It is also useful to take some fluid, as such dry caves can be very dehydrating. The Chevalier is located immediately under the summit cliffs, in the eastern face (map). Park at the top of the col du Coq (1434 m grid ref. UTM 31T 72238 50205), and follow a path through the woods towards the Dent de Crolles (it divides after a few metres - keep to the right). This take you onto the pastures beneath the impressive summit cliffs, which are are a riot of colour in the spring. Follow the track up to the col des Ayes (1538 m), reached some 20 minutes after leaving the car. ¹ From here follow the zigzags up the pastures, ignoring the turn off to the Trou du Glaz, along the path which leads to the Pas de l'Oeille. After climbing about 150 metres, the path crosses a shallow scree gully. Instead of following the main path across this, descend slightly as you cross, and you will meet a lower path. This path crosses the pasture, and then finds a thin line between the summit cliffs and the steep valley below. The route is obvious, but exposed, although some of it is equipped with cables. The most impressive section is where the path rounds the nose of the cliff, where you will be traversing on shale ledges. You should listen out for stones falling from the cliffs, all along this path. They do give fair warning by whistling at you during their descent. The section before the nose was subject to a massive rockfall in October 2010 which toook out 150 m of path. So be warned! From the nose, follow the path round for a couple of hundred metres. The Chevalier is on a platform 30 metres or so above the traverse, and is accessed by a thin ascending path through the loose scree and vegetation. Local commercial caving groups sometimes leave fixed ropes on the route. The grotte Chevalier is in a very loose frost-shattered area of cliff, where there is no real room to sit down and have lunch. Traversing back under the cliffs at the same level for a hundred metres or so, however, leads to a platform in front of the grotte Annette, named after Annette Bouchacourt, one of Chevalier's team who was killed in a skiing accident. This provided the original connection with the main Dent de Crolles system. However, be warned: the Annette should be avoided for casual exploration, as the entrance passage leads to a scree funnel which is is liable to slumping, and the route beyond is not straight forward, and becomes somewhat technical. The platform, though, is a perfect place for a picnic, with excellent views into the valley below, and the Belledonne hills opposite. If you do wish to explore the caves a little further and have the equipment listed above, you should return to the Chevalier. The entrance descends steeply down loose frost-shattered scree, and care should be taken not to bang your head. At the bottom of the slope is a little clamber over a boulder onto a continuation of the slope which debouches into the main passage proper. This starts with the generous dimensions of about 4 metres wide, by about the same high, but a couple of hundred metres in, the passage becomes overwhelmingly huge - thirty metres wide, by 10 metres high. Traversing this passage is slow, having to negotiate large blocks that have fallen in from the roof, and it drops fairly steadily. It continues thus for three quarters of a kilometre into the heart of the mountain, reaching a depth of 170 metres below the entrance, until it somewhat anticlimactically finishes in a blank wall. By this time you have traversed over a third of the distance to the Guiers Mort at the head of the Perquelin valley, and have some 400 m of rock above your ahead. However, the cave does connect with the rest of the Dent de Crolles system, and if you're lucky you may see some cavers appear from the roof, abseiling Page 43 down a 25 m shaft near the end, having traversed through from the Trou du Glaz. Unfortunately, the cave is totally devoid of stalagmitic decoration, but early in the season, impressive ice formations may be found. The journey out is somewhat hot and tiring; it can also be problematical. What you don't tend to notice on the way in are two side passages - one half way in, and one a couple of hundred metres from the entrance, both being on the right as you descend. The problem with both is that it is all too easy to enter them by mistake on the way out, which can lead to some disconcerting moments. The mistake is more likely to made in the first. This is where the passage is at its widest, about 40 metres, and you tend to lose all touch with the right hand wall. You will soon realise your mistake when the passage becomes smaller than you remember. Don't worry simply retrace your steps back to the main passage, and turn left. You can also make the same mistake nearer the entrance, but again just retrace your steps. Towards the entrance, simply climb the boulders and the scree, and you will soon reach welcome daylight having descended into the heart of the mountain. ¹ I am grateful to Mike Hale for passing on the following information: The traverse beneath the summit cliffs of the Dent de Crolles towards the Grotte Annette that y ou describe seems to have fallen into disuse in favour of a path 50m lower down the hillside. The lower path is a more logical route on the return and is less exposed than the upper one. It is now more worn and clearer to find but there is no security cable but does not need one and a cairn is developing at the start. The upper path is growing over and it is only the presence of the cable that gives confidence that one is on the correct path. The cable has become quite frayed at the far end belay. To return along the upper path requires keeping high on fading steps to find the correct level. Page 44 Walks on l'Aup du Seuil The Aup du Seuil (spelt Aulp du Seuil on the map) is a synclinal basin upland area which runs down from the col de Bellefond (1900 m - also known as col de Bellefont) in the south, to the Cirque de St. Même (1300 m) in the north, and is separated from l'Alpe by the vallon de Pratcel (map). The lower northern end is forest-covered lapiaz, and the southern end is pasture, and it is all a highly protected nature reserve. It is spectacularly beautiful, but the real jewel in the crown is the Cirque de St. Même. This is where the truncated synclinal basin plunges 600 metres into an idyllic amphitheatre of streams and flat meadows, The water from the largest resurgence in Chartreuse emerges from a spring in the middle of the cliff face, and immediately plunges over the first of four waterfalls on its way down to the meadows 300 metres below. Above the resurgence is the largest and most impressive cave entrance in the area - the Grotte du Guiers Vif. This is the resurgence for the 16 km-long, 414 m-deep Réseau de Mallisard cave system, which has two entrances on the plateau above. The Cirque de St. Même is, understandably, a veritable honey pot, and the PNRC have taken steps to control access into the area. Traffic is now prevented from entering the meadows of the Cirque, and a large car park has been built at the end of the access road. A charge of €3.50 (2016) is imposed at peak times. All these are very positive steps, but it is recommended that you avoid the area at weekends and bank holidays. The first four walks described below enter the basin from the west. The fifth ascends from the east, and explores some of the eastern ridge, and the sixth ascends the third highest top in Chartreuse on the western ridge. None will disappoint, and between them, they allow the exploration of the full length of this beautiful upland basin, and some of the bounding crêtes. Roman Inscription from St. Philibert Roman Inscription via Pas de la Mort Habert de la Dame via Pas de la Mort Habert de la Dame and the Forneau Crête Pas de Ragris and Passage de l'Aulp du Seuil Page 45 Lance Sud de Malissard from Perquelin l'Aup du Seuil - Roman Inscription from St. Philibert Starting point: St. Philibert Difficulty: 3 Ascent: 1050 m Time: 7 hrs Quality: *** This is another spectacular walk which follows the sangle path to the Roman Inscription, and allows us to explore the southern half of the l'Aup Seuil. It deserve its grading, for it includes a little bit of scrambling, and some very exposed walking, but if you're reasonably fit, agile, and have a reasonable head for heights, it's a walk to be savoured. However - be warned: do avoid this route in wet weather, or whenever there is likely to be ice or snow around. The time given is for the full walk. The route starts from a forestry road above St Philibert (map), climbs up to the Roman Inscription - a pass mid-way along the western crest of the Aup Seuil, traverses the southern half of the upland basin, ascends to the top of the col de Bellefond, and returns down the valley back to the car. St. Philbert is an attractive village spread across the D512, midway between the two St. Pierre's. Take the forestry road heading east opposite the cemetery, and drive up this for 2½ km until a small parking space may be found on the left just before the signs that indicate that the rest of the road is barred to ordinary traffic (1135 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72410 50274). Take the road past the barrier, and after ten minutes it descends to the level of the stream. Cross the bouldery stream bed to the track opposite. This soon divides - keep left. After a few minutes this develops into a path which climbs gently along the flank of the valley. It crosses a couple of forestry tracks in the first 20 minutes or so, where you'll have to look around for the continuations. Some ninety minutes after leaving the car the forest thins out, and the path reaches the alpine meadows. This is where the fun starts, and the next couple of hours should be savoured. The path sweeps up a couple of zig-zags to reach the base of some cliffs, which it follows to the north before dropping steeply down to a ledge - this is somewhat exposed, but there are some helpful iron railings. The path then descends steadily to enter the Cheminée de Fontanieu, reached some 30 minutes after entering the alp. This is a narrow gully, some three or four metres wide, which rises for some 200 metres through the cliffs. Just above the entry point, a cave in the north wall passes impressively right through the arrête into nothingness - a place to avoid! Below, the gully drops down a cliff. The path crosses to the left hand side of the gully, ascends a handrail section, and then ascends steeply on a loose path, sometimes accompanied by cables. The exit is made onto a short, subsidiary ridge, which is crossed to arrive on a terrace, high up on the cliffs of the west wall of the Crête des Lances de Malissard. The path heads south, with some disconcertingly impressive views, as it follows the base of cliffs, and sometimes meanders onto the other side of the crest. The St. Bruno lily is common on this terrace. After some 45 minutes of spectacular walking, the base of a rock chimney is reached, with much metal work in place. This needs to be ascended - it is Difficulty 3, and a 20 metre rope is useful for those who lack confidence in such situations. It leads to a narrow col on the crest (1900 m), and hence down to the Roman Inscription. It has taken some 3½ hours (with breaks), to reach this point, and the bulk of the work is now over. Just below the crest is the Roman Inscription itself, engraved into the rock, and picked out with red paint. It is reputed to date from the first or second century, and is thought to mark the boundary of the lands of the Aveien people. It is not difficult to reach the inscription by the way we are going to descend, but if the inscription is genuine, having a territory marker here implies that this was a major route over the crest 2,000 years ago. Follow the path down the scree to the base of the cliffs, and then round to the right into an attractive prairie, through which it meanders to reach the GR9 in the valley below (1610 m) - the Vallon de Marcieu. We now follow the path to the south, through a large area of pasture with several ruined bergeries nestling under the cliff wall to the left, and then through a beautiful area of impressive limestone boulders (petrified trolls?), before entering a large enclosed basin of pasture beneath the col de Bellefond. The ascent up to the col (1902 m) is well contoured, and is reached some two hours after leaving the Roman Inscription. Looking back from the col, you can see the four discrete sections of the Aup Seuil. Immediately below is the sheltered, enclosed pasture nestling under the steep walls of the col; beyond is an area of prarie with limestone towers and pinnacles; beyond that is the large area of high altitude pasture; and finally, the forest-covered lapiaz leading to the edge of the Cirque de St. Même. At the col, turn left to find the path that descends the pasture to the cabane de Bellefond in wide-sweeping zig-zags. There is a water source alongside the cabane (1650 m) - the first since Page 46 we left the car - so it's a useful place to stop and refill water bottles. From the cabane, follow the path sign-posted col de la Saulce. This sweeps round the head of the Perquelin valley, before descending to reach the col (1481 m) after about 20 minutes. From here we turn right towards St. Philibert. The original path gently zig-zagged its way into the valley, but it has been largely destroyed by a newer forestry track. This, however, is not too steep and within 30 minutes the tarmac road and the car is reached after a wondeful walk. Page 47 l'Aup du Seuil - Roman Inscription via Pas de la Mort Starting point: Cirque de St. Même Difficulty: 3 Ascent: 1110 m Time: 8 hrs Quality: *** This is a spectacular walk - the best in the area without doubt, and one that should not be missed. It deserve its grading, for it includes a little bit of scrambling and some very exposed walking, but if you're reasonably fit, agile, and have a reasonable head for heights, it's a walk that will live on in the memory. However - be warned: do avoid this route in wet weather, or whenever there is likely to be ice around. The time assumes ascent and descent. The route (map) starts of at the base of Cirque de St. Même; climbs past the Guiers Vif resurgence; continues into the synclinal valley above via the Pas de la Mort; traverses the Aup du Seuil; visits the Roman Inscription on the western crest, and descends by the Combe de Fontanieu. Unfortunately, you will need to take both the IGN 3334OT and 3333OT maps with you. The Cirque de St. Même is located some four kilometres to the south-east of St. Pierre d'Entremont, at the end of the D43E. The Regional Park authorities have provided a large car park a couple of hundred yards before the meadows in front of the cirque, and vehicles can no longer drive into this little piece of paradise. This area is understandably a honey pot attraction for day visitors, and is best avoided at weekends, when the PNRC charge €3.00 (July 2010) for car parking to help stem the tide. From the car park (860 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72625 50316), we follow the continuation of the tarmac road through the forest, to soon enter an area of flat meadows and forests, with the river running along a wide shingle bed. There is a chalet hotel here, and a small bar offering refreshments. Ahead are the cliffs of the cirque, with the river resurging from a couple of springs half way up, before immediately plunging over a double waterfall. You will be soon faced by a information notice board, where you can get your bearings. You have a choice of two routes. You can either plough somewhat resolutely up the main track, or you can follow a path which follows the stream, and visits the waterfalls. This takes somewhat longer, but is a lot more scenic. Both routes eventually rejoin. The timings in this account assume an ascent of the main track. After some 45 minutes of steady climbing, you will pass a rock shelter followed by some steps cut in the rock, and some five minutes after that, there is a diversion of the ways. Right leads to the impressive resurgence cave, the Guiers Vif, but a visit to this is probably better left for another day when there is more time. For the next half an hour, the path meanders its way up the cliff, from ledge to ledge. Some of this is a little exposed, but quite easy. Minor scrambles are assisted with iron work, and railings have been fixed along the more unnerving places. Eventually, you come to the Pas de la Mort itself - an ascent up a chimney assisted with chains, ladders, and iron rungs fastened into the rock. This follows the tree-lined rake which may be seen in the top left of the photograph. The whole section of path from the cave to the Pas de la Mort is good fun, and should be lingered over. Once up the chimney (1280 m), the path continues to rise through the forest well above the synclinal valley, before starting to contour to the south. Some half an hour or so after leaving the Pas de la Mort, you meet the Tour de Chartreuse path coming in from the left (1490 m). Keep straight on. This whole area is a highly protected Nature Reserve, and is very beautiful. Thirty minutes after meeting the Tour de Chartreuse, the path enters open pastures, and you will soon see the col de Bellefond in the distance. The path climbs steadily through the pastures, with a cliff fairly close on your right. When these cliff give out, an old sign post is reached some 15 minutes after leaving the forest (1610 m). We now need to make our way up the ridge on the right, and follow what is at first a fairly thin path, but one which soon gains in confidence. This pleasant path makes its way steadily uphill through the forest, before meeting an open area, when it makes a steep beeline for the crest (1900 m), which is reached some fifty minutes after leaving the pasture below. Just below the crest is the Roman Inscription itself, engraved into the rock, and picked out with red paint. It is reputed to date from the first or second century, and is thought to mark the boundary of the lands of the Aveien people. It is not difficult to reach the inscription by the way we are going to descend, but having a territory marker here implies that this was a major route over the crest 2,000 years ago. One is filled with admiration for those people who lived in these hills at that time. The way on from the Roman Inscription is down the prominent cleft to the west. This 12 metre high chimney is steep, a little greasy, somewhat exposed, and requires care. A rope may be required for those who are lacking in confidence. The chimney starts as a confined, fairly muddy Page 48 slope, but then becomes vertical. There are ample footholds, and you can lower yourself using some in-situ iron railings (photo). Below the chimney, the path turns north, and for the next kilometre or so, spectacularly follows a steep grass terrace with high cliffs above, and enormous cliffs below. When seen from a distance, it is difficult to appreciate that a path could follow this line. It's a little airy, but easy enough, and very enjoyable. After a bit, it crosses the ridge a couple of times, before descending some loose scree on the west side of the crest some 30 minutes after leaving the chimney. The main descent starts some 10 minutes later, when the path traverses the top of a subsidiary ridge. It then turns left, into a steep and loose descent down a narrow gully for some 200 metres - the Cheminée de Fontanieu. This requires great care. The end is heralded by a short steeper handrail section. Just below this, a cave in the north wall passes impressively right through the arrête into nothingness - a place to avoid! Below, the gully drops down a cliff, so the path crosses to the left hand side to complete its descent. The path then ascends (the last thing that one needs at this stage of the walk!) beneath the cliffs to the south, with iron railings offering moral support in some of the more exposed places, soon to reach an easy grass terrace. After a few hundred metres, it turns back on itself and descends into the forest. Here you must take care not to lose the way. The main path contours through the forest to the south - we, however, must locate a steep path descending straight down to the col de Fontanieu, located obscurely a few metres after leaving the alp. This leads to an open pasture at the col (1480 m), and we turn right to follow a strike-slip fault valley back down to the meadows of the Cirque de St. Même. With luck, the bar will be open, and you can enjoy a well-deserved beer. Page 49 l'Aup du Seuil - Habert de la Dame via Pas de la Mort Starting point: Cirque de St. Même Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 700 m Time: 8 hrs Quality: *** This walk explores the northern end of the Aup du Seuil - between the Pas de la Mort and the vallon de Pratcel. It's a fairly easy day, with relatively little ascent, and it can be readily combined with an exploration of the Guiers Vif cave, which the time given assumes. The route (map) starts of at the base of Cirque de St. Même; climbs to the Guiers Vif resurgence and cave via the waterfalls; continues up to the synclinal valley above by the Pas de la Mort to the Aup du Seuil, turns north to the vallon de Practel via the Habert de la Dame, which is descended back to the car. The Cirque de St. Même is located some four kilometres to the south-east of St. Pierre d'Entremont, at the end of the D43E. The Regional Park authorities have provided a large car park a couple of hundred yards before the meadows in front of the cirque, and vehicles can no longer drive into this little piece of paradise. This area is understandably a honey pot attraction for day visitors, and is best avoided at weekends, when the PNRC charge €3.00 (July 2010) for car parking to help stem the tide. From the car park (860 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72625 50316), follow the continuation of the tarmac road through the forest. You will soon enter an area of flat meadows and forests, with the river running along a wide shingle bed. There is a chalet hotel here, and a small bar offering refreshments. Ahead are the cliffs of the cirque, with the river resurging from a couple of springs half way up, before immediately plunging over a double waterfall. Just beyond the buvette is an information notice board, where you can get your bearings. You have a choice of two routes. You can either plough somewhat resolutely up the main track on the north bank, or you can follow a path which ascends the south bank, visiting the waterfalls en route. This takes somewhat longer, but is a lot more scenic. The two routes eventually rejoin. Today we'll choose the latter. Return to the start of the meadow, and cross the stream by the footbridge. The path heads to the back of the meadow and enters the trees. After a few minutes it reaches a junction - keep left. The path climbs steadily before reaching another junction signposted the Cascade d'Isolée. A worthwhile ten minute deviation here leads to the first of the three waterfalls. Continuing along the main path for a further ten minutes, you will drop down to a small bridge below a second fine waterfall - la Grande Cascade. The path then crosses to the north bank and ascends steeply to meet the main route. Turning left, after a couple of minutes a further junction on the right drops down to the la Cascade de la Source, which is particularly impressive in wet weather. As its name implies, it is situated directly below the springs of the Guiers Vif resurgence. The Guiers Vif resurgence is the largest in Chartreuse, and the cave entrance above it is, without doubt, the most spectacular in the massif. The entrance area is made up of three sections. First, there is the resurgence platform where up to four springs emerge, from which there are fine views down the valley. Above that a large natural tunnel leads to the Vestibule, which is a 70 metres open section between the tunnel and the cave, and may be part of the original cave which has since collapsed. From the scree slope by the waterfall, you can make your way up to the resurgence platform by climbing up in the corner of the rock wall with the help of some iron work (Difficulty 2), and following a rising traverse. This is a fine place to enjoy breakfast. When water levels are reasonable, you can make your way through the impressive tunnel with the help of some chains, into The Vestibule. Once through the tunnel, make your way up the wide ledge on the right onto an arrête. Sometimes, however, there are deep pools barring progress through the tunnel. Once it was possible to cross the stream, and reach the same point by climbing up the bank, but a collapse now makes it necessary to retreat back to the main path, and follow that round to the right along the pas Ruat to the same place. From this vantage point above the tunnel, you get a fine view of the entrance to the cave. You can make your way easily down into The Vestibule, and towards the 30 metre wide, 10 metre high entrance. This cave is impressive, and provided that you have adequate lighting, and there is no flowing water apparent, well worth a 30 minute visit. As in all caves, you do need to take care. Here, the entrance ledges are a little slippery, and there are some pools of water that need traversing around. The passages are also large, so you need to keep your bearings. However, you will find a map attached, which has been adapted from one made by Lancaster University Speleological Society in 1969. Once in the railway tunnel-type entrance passage, you will see that the passage divides into two, Page 50 with an impressive 6 metre high pillar in the passage straight on. Keep to the ledge on the right to avoid the pool, and traverse round into the passage on the left. After fifty metres of easy going, the passage turns sharp right, with a smaller continuation straight on. It's worth having a look straight on - there is a small crawl with a veritable gale blowing out. This eventually leads into a river passage and an alternative entrance from the plateau high above. The main passage continues for a hundred metres to a junction in a large chamber. If you peer to the right, you will see daylight along the other passage from the entrance. Make a note. You can then follow a series of very large chambers for a further 100 metres before the passage starts to drop down a boulder slope into the main sump, after which the passage continues underwater. Make your way back carefully, to the junction of the two entrance passages, and take the left one this time. The entrance Pillar is within 30 metres. There are other passages, totalling well over a kilometre in length, but these are not for casual exploration and should be avoided. Having visited the cave, we now need to make our way up the to the synclinal valley at the top of the cirque. Make your way back up out of The Vestibule, and follow a path up the rocky arrête over the tunnel. This is the Pas Ruat, and it leads us back to the main path. Keep straight on at the junction. For the next half an hour, the path meanders its way up the cliff, from ledge to ledge. Some of this is a little exposed, but quite easy. Minor scrambles are assisted with iron work, and railings have been fixed along the more unnerving places. Eventually, you come to the Pas de la Mort itself - an ascent up a chimney assisted with chains, ladders, and iron rungs fastened into the rock. This follows the tree-lined rake which may be seen in the top left of the photograph. The whole section of path from the cave to the Pas de la Mort is good fun, and should be lingered over. Once up the chimney (1280 m), the path continues to rise through the forest well above the synclinal valley, before starting to contour to the south. Some half an hour or so after leaving the Pas de la Mort, you meet the Tour de Chartreuse path coming in from the left (1490 m). Turn left. This whole area is a highly protected Nature Reserve, and is very beautiful. Within 10 minutes or so, the path begins to open out to reach a pasture. A source is soon passed, as is the Habert de la Dame (1554 m). A few metres after that there is a junction just before the prairie is entered, with the Tour de Chartreuse heading down to the left. If you are short of time it is a useful and pleasant shortcut, rejoining the main route just before the reservoir mentioned below. We, however, keep straight on. For the next half hour the path wanders through the prairie, contouring above the Roche Blanche across which are some fine views. The path then drops into the vallon de Pratcel which follows the line of a prominent geological strike-slip fault crossing the massif. It is a lovely valley flat-floored with cliffs rising on either side, and covered with forest intermingled with exquisite clearings and meadows. Turn left down the valley, and follow the path down. After 25 minutes, we cross a small stream with a reservoir. There is water available here. Some five minutes or so later, there is a path, the top of which has been renovated (2014), descending the slopes to the left. Descend this - it's a little thin, and slippery when wet, but it drops rapidly over 250 metres through the forest. Near the bottom, a messy forestry track has been superimposed on top of the traditional path, but following your nose will take you directly back to the car park within half an hour of leaving the reservoir above. Given a nice day, it's probably worthwhile sauntering back up the road to the bar, where you can enjoy a well-deserved beer whilst trying to identify the route up to the Pas de la Mort from below. Page 51 Habert de la Dame and Le Forneau Starting point: les Varvats Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 800 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** This fine walk has several things going for it: it includes a fine section of ridge; much of it is well off the beaten track; and it allows an exploration of the area south of the col du Alpe. It's also a relatively gentle day. Although it is graded as Difficulty 2, this is only because of a short rocky descent with a slightly awkward move, and it really shouldn't put anyone off who is reasonably agile. The starting point is les Varvats (1042 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72587 50328) - a small group of houses elevated 250 metres above St. Même which has the advantage of a small parking area (if you get there earlier enough!). From here, the route follows the Tour de Chartreuse as far as the Habert de la Dame; ascends the pasture known as l'Alpette up to the eastern crête; and follows this north to just before the col de l'Alpe where it swings south-west to descend the Vallon de Pratcel back to the car (map). From the car park follow the track trending south-east for half an hour to where it crosses a small stream, with a reservoir on the left. The track morphs into a steep bouldery path on the other side of the stream, and after a further ten minutes there is a junction with the left branch being signposted the Vallon de Pratcel. That is our return route, but we take the path to the right. This ascends easily and steadily through the forest above the Roche Blanche, with fine views down the Guiers Vif valley. After a further 40 minutes the path rises more steeply, crosses a fence, passes a couple of potholes to the left, and enters a pasture at a junction (1540 m). Turn right at the junction towards the cabin - the Habert de la Dame, which is reached an hour and half after leaving the car - a good place for second breakfast. The next target is the ridge rising up behind the cabin. Follow the path, and turn left up the ridge, which is the home of some very contented cows. The ridge is easy going, with fine views across the l'Aulp de Seuil. It is adorned with a line of boundary stones finely decorated with the croix de Savoie and the fleur de lys. These date from the 1820s, and marked the frontier between the kingdoms of Savoy and France, which were only finally united in 1860. The crête (1800 m) is reached some 40 minutes after leaving the cabin. We turn left. For the first section, there is no path and you will need to follow your nose and the occasional red blob, but there are no real problems. The route follows a superb line along the crête, with dwarf pines and fine views across to the Belledonne. After a bit there is a dip in the ridge with a gully going down to the left. Do not be tempted to follow the gully, but make your way round a small outcrop, and then descend back to the ridge below by means of a short Grade 2 scramble. Some half an hour after reaching the crête, a path is met coming up the cliffs from the left - this is the Passage du Forneau. From here, the route is better waymarked, and more obvious underfoot. The path continues easily, although some care is sometimes required with the navigation, and rises up to a splendid little summit (point 1830 m on the map) with a grassy top and a trig point. Judging from the charred state of the trees, this area seems to be very vulnerable to lightening strikes. The next section of path is very beautiful, traversing a broad ridge with dwarf pines, and hidden glades. The path then makes its way across a fence, and descends towards the head of the Vallon de Pratcel, where it meets the path coming up from les Varvats, close to a fine limestone obelisque. It is now a simple matter of following the path down the valley back to the car, which is reached after some 80 minutes. Page 52 Pas de Ragris and the Passage de l'Aulp du Seuil Starting point: Col de Marcieu Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 870 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: ** The eastern side of of the Chartreuse Massif is protected by a band of cliffs stretching from Dent de Crolles in the south, to Mont Granier in the north. In some areas these cliffs are vertical, and in others they are a complex of largely inaccessible cirques and sangles, hiding a wonderland of hidden gems such as la Tour Percée. This walk provides an opportunity to get up close and personal with the area, and also explore some of the eastern ridge of the Aup du Seuil. It ascends a fairly obscure route up the Pas de Ragris, and descends the beautifully engineered route of the Passage de l'Aup du Seuil which is used to move animals into the pastures of the Vallon de Marcieu on the far side of the ridge. Most of the ascent route is on the map, but the last section isn't, although it is clear underfoot. It is suggested that you leave this walk for a day of good visibility, so that you can enjoy the rock scenery to the full. Note that it involves a mild trespass... The route starts from the ski station at the Col de Marcieu (1055 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72862 50265) where there is ample parking. Make your way up the road labelled the Chemin de l'Aup du Seuil, opposite the car park. At the first bend, the tarmac gives out and it becomes a well-graded forest track. Fifty metres past the next bend, a sign-posted path goes off to the right. Follow this through a couple of pistes to where it divides. Take the upper path on the left which is a little muddy at first. A sign-posted junction soon follows, and we turn left. Some 30 minutes after leaving the car, following a steeply ascending stony section, a forest track crosses the path. Straight on leads up to the Passage de l'Aup du Seuil, but we turn right on our way to Pas de Ragris. After 50 metres another track is met - keep right down the hill. Shortly after, you will encounter a set of uncompromising metal barriers marked "Zone interdite". Slip through these, and continue across the next junction of tracks. You are now on a gently ascending track, which doubles back on itself and eventually reaches an abrupt end at a boulder near the 1483 m point on the IGN map. It has taken under 1½ hours to reach this point from the car. From here, our path is not on the map, but it is clear underfoot, and starts behind the boulder. It climbs steeply through the woods, to meet a path coming up from the right after ten minutes. Keep left, and follow it to under the cliffs where another path is met. Turn left again, and continue across a platform where climbing bolts adorn the cliff walls above. The path then starts to ascend into the cirque through avalanche damaged pines. Half way up is an easy rocky barrier, and soon after the path traverses round to the left into a gully. The way at the top is blocked, but a cable-assisted traverse round a ledge enters another gully where easy scrambling leads onto the summit ridge, after some 2½ hours of ascent. The 1926 m high point is reached after twenty minutes of easy walking along a fine path which follows the ridge. It is crowned by a mountain rescue radio relay station, and has fine views across the Vallon de Marcieu to the opposite ridge, and down the valley to Mont Outherand. On a clear day the Alps beckon to the east. Returning back along the ridge, five minutes past the gully we ascended, there is a cross marking the top of the Passage de l'Aup du Seuil, which is our way down. After a short descent, it traverses into the next cirque, which it descends in sweeping zig-zags below impressive cliffs. Some serious engineering has been put into this path, not least in the barriers placed to keep animals safe from the drops. Once down the main part of the cirque, the path turns into a steeply descending track and enters a small alp, some 40 minutes after leaving the ridge, where there is a choice of routes. The most direct way back to the car park is to turn left here, but we prefer to turn right, which is a gentler graded route and provides better opportunity for flower spotting. After ten minutes or so, this path joins the Tour de Petites Roches, way-marked red and yellow. It crosses two junctions, and in both cases we continue straight on, always descending. Twenty minutes after leaving l'Alpette, it joins a forest track. Turn left here, and the car park is a pleasant 35 minutes amble away, reached about 1½ hours after leaving the ridge. Page 53 Lance Sud de Malissard from Perquelin Starting point: Perquelin Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1075 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** The Lance Sud de Malissard is not a hill in its own right, being simply the highest part of the western ramparts protecting the Aulp du Seuil. Nevertheless, at 2045 m, it is the third highest point in the Chartreuse Massif, and the final approach is arguable on one of the finest, albeit short, lengths of ridge in the area. This walk, which starts from Perquelin (map), is a delight, and worth doing even if you decide to miss out the final section leading to the summit, which involves a bit of a scramble and some mild exposure. Some of the sections through the forest, although very pleasant, can be a trifle muddy so the walk is best left for a dry spell. It ascends from Perquelin via the Col de la Saulce, and returns via the Chaos de Bellefont and the Sentier du Colonel. The Perquelin valley is a narrow valley that runs south-east from St. Pierre de Chartreuse for about three kilometres to the hamlet of Perquelin. Drive to the top of the road, and at its conclusion, continue along the forest track for 100 metres, where you will find a car park (grid ref. UTM 31T 72314 50237). From the car park follow the forest track past a clearing, until you cross the Guiers Mort stream. A few metres on you will pass the path coming down from the Grotte du Guiers Mort, on which we will be returning. We continue ploughing up the track, ignoring the first two tracks that goes off towards the right. About half an hour after leaving the car, a proper path takes off to the right with yellow way-markings, and a yellow cross advises that the main track is not the way. Turn right, and immediately cross a small stream. This path is pleasant going (when dry) and passes a couple of seats carved out of tree stumps. Soon after the path briefly flirts with a forestry track, and then rejoins it a few minuts later. Follow the track uphill for ten minutes, until it turns sharply right, with our path going straight on traversing across the slopes of a small valley to the Col de la Saulce (1480 m), arrived at some 1½ hours after leaving the car. From here, the path traverses under the Lances de Malissard with fine views of Dent de Crolles and the cliffs overlooking the Perquelin valley. It reaches the Cabane de Bellefont (1639 m) after some 25 minutes. This newly-built unguarded refuge is located at the base of the Col de Bellefont pastures. In most years we have found the pastures being grazed, and the whole area has reeked of sheep urine, but in 2016 the sheep were absent and the whole pasture was a sea of flora. With its nearby water source and after some two hours of walking, this is a convenient place for a second breakfast. The 300 m ascent up to the col follows gentle zigzags, and takes half an hour or so. At the top there are some fine views looking down into the Vallon de Marcieu, with the Dome de Bellefont on the right of the col, and our destination on the left. The route up is clear underfoot. It first scrambles up to a little path with a small pillar, and then ascends a steep rocky gully that requires the use of hands (Difficulty 2). The path then traverses the ridge to reach some 40 m of steep scree for the final ascent. At the top of this, a fine path along the crest with magnificent views on all sides reaches the highest point all too soon about half an hour after leaving the col. Allow 3 to 3½ hours for the ascent from Perquelin. For the descent, return back to the Cabane de Bellefont, and follow the GR9 towards Dent de Crolles. It soon enters the Chaos de Bellefont, a well-named, complex area of shafts, pits, and caves. This is folllowed by an area of alpine meadow, le Prayet, which is the start of our route down into the Perquelin valley. When you find a sign-posted path towards the Pas de Rocheplan, look for a path going right towards the cirque - the Sentier du Colonel. This is a superb descent path, which makes its way easily back down. After an hour's descent, you meet a forest track turn left, and after 100 metres turn right onto a path. This descends rapidly, passing the Fontaine Noire - a captured water source which is the resurgence for the Chaos of Bellefond area, and before long you will find yourself emerging from the path we noted on the way up. Page 54 Walks on l'Alpe L'Alpe is the long synclinal valley, and surrounding ridges, that stretches between the Roche de Fitta overlooking the Cirque St. Même to the south, and the col de l'Alpette to the north, which marks the southern end of the Granier massif - a distance of some four or five kilometres. It is separated from its neighbours by two prominent geological strike-slip faults both of which provide easy access to the area. The Tour de Chartreuse and GR9 follows the line of the valley (map). It is a beautiful area of predominantly alpine pastures and lapiaz. It is not overly dramatic, but it contains some wonderful walking, and the eastern ridge does have the high point of le Pinet (also known as Le Truc) which overlooks La Plagne, and which is a worthy destination. There are three main ways up into the valley. To the south, the GR9 ascends via the Pas de l'Echelle. To the east of there, another route reaches the valley more gently via the col de l'Alpe; and to the north the GR9 enters the area via the col de l'Alpette. Here we recommend a couple of more esoteric routes to the ridge from the the southern end, both returning by the Pas de l'Echelle, and one from the northern end. Like the Dent de Crolles, l'Alpe not only offers magnificent walking - it is also a place of pilgrimage for cavers with the Réseau de l'Alpe alone having over 60 km of explored passages, 35 entrances, and a depth of over 600 metres. Whilst most expeditions are for experienced cavers only, you should take the opportunity to take a look in the entrances of some of the more accessible caves. It's always worth taking a couple of lightweight headlamps with you. l'Alpe via the Sangle de Fouda Blanc Le Pinet via Trou de la Saignerie Page 55 Le Pinet from la Plagne l'Alpe via the Sangle de Fouda Blanc Starting point: les Varvats Difficulty: 3 Ascent: 825 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** This walk is an absolute cracker. This is sangle walking for its own sake, and it follows a spectacular line for some 2 km, high amidst les Rocheurs de Fouda Blanc which form the south-east corner of l'Alpe (map). Whilst the route has no scrambling to speak of, it is the most exposed described in this guide, and it is strongly recommended that you refrain from sampling its delights until you have gained experience with less extreme sangle paths - such as that traversed en route to the Roman Inscription - and that you are confident in your ability to cope with exposed situations. Some steep exposed vegetation needs to be crossed, so it is a place to avoid in wet weather. It isn't a long day, so you can take your time, and make the most of the awe-inspiring scenery. The starting point is les Varvats (1042 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72587 50328) - a small group of houses elevated 250 metres above St. Même, with the advantage of a small parking area (if you get there earlier enough). There are splendid views across the cirque towards the Guiers Vif resurgence waterfalls. Follow the main track out of the car park to the south-east. This is a well contoured forest track, and easy going. After about 30 minutes, the path rises to pass a reservoir and crosses a stream (a source of drinking water). Twenty minutes later there is a junction. The TOP 3333 OT map is a little misleading at this point, as it appears that the main path (GR9) continues to contour to the right under the Roche Blanche - the obvious route, however, rises up into the Vallon de Pratcel. This is reached an hour or so after leaving the car. The Vallon de Pratcel follows the line of a prominent geological strike-slip fault, with the gorge formed by the erosion of a graben formed by subsidiary faulting. It's a lovely valley - flat floored with cliffs rising on either side, and covered with forest intermingled with exquisite clearings and meadows. In a further 10 minutes the path diverges with the smaller path continuing along the valley towards the col de l'Alpe, and our path rising to the left towards the Pas de l'Echelle. We follow this for about 15 minutes almost to the top, until level with the base of a cliff to the left, easily identified by its prominent overhang. The sangle path follows the base of this cliff, and is vaguely way-marked with ancient orange markings. This path is little used, and the line isn't always immediately obvious as the first part traverses some fairly wide grass terraces. At one point it ascends a grassy slope which would be dangerous in wet weather. Initially, the going is merely pleasant, but once round the southern nose, the exposure starts for real. After 15 minutes or so, the path contours round a wide gully, and past a large rock shelter, which gives some relief. Here, or on a small col a few metres further on, is the last opportunity to sit down in comfort before the summit ridge, so it's a good time to take a meal break. The view from here over the Guiers Vif waterfalls, across the Aup du Seuil to the col de Bellefond is spectacular. For the next 30 minutes, the path is narrow, the exposure sustained (Difficulty 3), and it provides a memorable experience. It follows the higher terrace in the photograph (above the one with the obvious path). Finally, we contour into a gully, with a path rising to join us from the left. This is the same path which is climbed by the other walk described from les Varvat (the cave with the ladder leading into the roof is just a few metres below). Turn right, and ascend the gully to a crack. This is an awkward, but not exposed, scramble which is a lot easier if rucksacks are taken off first, and passed on up. The scramble takes you onto a beautiful terrace path, which you follow for a few minutes, the rocks above you being the final obstacle to the crest. From here you get a fine view of the sangle which you have recently traversed. The path eventually plunges through the cliff by means of a rock corridor. This is followed around a couple of right angles to arrive on the summit crest, attained some three hours after leaving the car. Descents Reversing the ascent is not recommended. To return to the car, it is preferable to descend via the Vallon de Pratcel, reached from the Pas de l'Echelle which is well way-marked. This path may be found by taking a line to the south-east towards the Chalet de l'Alpe, a bergerie. You will soon pick up a path which is going in the right direction. The GR9, with its red and white way-markings will be encountered on the far side of the valley floor. Turn right, and follow it across an area of limestone pavement to the Pas de l'Echelle. This soon descends past the start of the sangle path where we were a couple of hours earlier, and drops into the Vallon de Pratcel. It is now a simple matter of retracing your steps to les Varvats, reached within a couple of hours Page 56 of leaving the crest. Page 57 le Pinet via the Trou de la Saignerie Starting point: les Varvats Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 825 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: ** This walk is somewhat spoilt by its approach. It starts with a steep ascent through the forest, blunders through an indeterminate bit, and then ascends a scree-filled gully (map). Once past these lower obstacles, however, it is a delight, with a couple of interesting scrambles which give it its difficuly grade, an obligatory ascent of a fixed ladder in a cave, and a wonderful walk along the crest. The starting point is les Varvats (1042 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72587 50328) - a small group of houses elevated 250 metres above St. Même, with the advantage of a small parking area (if you get there earlier enough). There are splendid views across the cirque towards the Guiers Vif resurgence waterfalls. From the car park follow the track trending south east for about 300 metres. When it reaches a positive summit, a thin track heads off uphill to the right. This starts off horribly steep, but the angle soon eases. After about half an hour, the path intersects a contouring forestry track. Ignore it and carry on, taking the right hand option after a few minutes. This should then be followed to a positive ridge. By this time, you will have picked up the occasional blue blobs and red arrows. The path loses its identity on the ridge, but find your way up it until a clearing, rampant with man-eating Giant Yellow Gentians, is reached. From here, there is a fine view of the l'Aulp du Seuil basin above the Guiers Vif cirque. The next part of the route is a bit of a mystery, as we have never found the right bit of path, but the following works after a fashion. Go to the top of the clearing into the woods, and ascend this until you are 20 metres higher than the clearing. When you can, traverse to the left (north) until you leave the wood for some scree. Keep your eyes open for a path coming up from below, but don't panic if you don't find it. Keep on traversing to the north until there is a distinct gully above you, with a rocky amphitheatre seemingly half way up. This is the gully you need to ascend. There is no path up to the amphitheatre - make your way up the steep scree-covered slope as best you can for about quarter of an hour. The rock wall may be climbed well over to the right, where way-marked. This is a slightly awkward scramble of some three or four metres (Difficulty 2), which is not recommended for descent. A rope may be useful for those lacking confidence on rock. From here, a distinct path wanders easily up the shallow gully, taking in one or two rocky steps on the way, to the entrance of a small cave called la Trou de la Saignerie. Enter the cave, and climb the iron ladder, installed in 1939, which leads through a small hole in the roof. From here, a short shelf takes you back to a narrow, but short, traverse above the cave entrance (slight exposure). Continue ascending up the gully to a crack. This is an awkward, but not exposed, scramble which is a lot easier if rucksacks are taken off first, and passed on up. The scramble takes you onto a beautiful terrace path, which you follow for a few minutes, the rocks above being the final obstacle to the crest. The path eventually plunges into the cliff by means of a rock corridor. This is followed around a couple of right angles to reach the summit crest, some 2½ hours from leaving the car. Once at the edge, follow one of the two paths that go north to le Pinet - the one nearest the crest is the most fun. It's a glorious flower-strewn path, with fantastic views on both sides. The summit with its cross is reached after about 40 minutes. As one would expect, the views from the summit (1867 m) are outstanding in all directions including a view of one of the 2016 landslips on Mont Granier, and a disconcerting view of la Plagne below the sheer 400 m cliffs. It's a wonderful place for lunch, and tends to be less frequented than the main tops of Chartreuse. To return, start back along the ridge until after a few minutes the main path, way-marked with yellow flashes, leads off to the left. Follow this until it turns to the left down a shallow valley. Here we turn right, following sheep tracks along the plateau which is used for grazing. Contour along the plateau, ignoring the water source down on the left. In less than 20 minutes from starting on this path, a larger path will be met, and the two combined start to descend past a large doline. A few minutes later, the path descends into a deep valley with a major path coming in from the right. The two merge, climb out of the valley, and descend a rake under a small rocky outcrop, into the main valley near the ruins of an old habert after a further 20 minutes. From here, you can make your way across to the Chalet de l'Alpe, a bergerie, and pick up the GR9 which is followed to the right. This crosses some beautiful areas of pavement and rock gardens, before dropping down the Pas d'Echelles into the Vallon de Pratcel. Turn right at the bottom, following the valley down to the GR9, and hence back to les Varvats reached some 2½ Page 58 hours from leaving the summit. Page 59 Le Pinet from la Plagne via Col l'Alpette Starting point: la Plagne Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 790 m Time: 5½ hrs Quality: *** This splendid but fairly gentle walk takes us up to the summit of le Pinet, the highest part of the western ridge of the Alpe which is a stunning viewpoint that overlooks our starting point. After the inital ascent to the col d'Alpette, the route follows a line of cliffs on a superb path through the forest, and the recommended descent takes a thin path back down into the pastures of l'Alpe which allows us to explore a little more of the area. You don't need to carry a lot of water for this trip, as there is a tap outside the refuge where you can fill up your bottles on the way up, and on the way down. The walk starts from la Plagne, and you should leave your car at the parking area on the right just before the village (1080 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72716 50364). The route starts (map) by ascending the obvious weakness in the cliffs to the left of the centre of the cirque. The grass on the horizon in the photograph is the col for which we are heading, and is the start of the Alpette pastures. It marks the line of a prominent geological strike-slip fault that cuts through the massif. Find your way into the centre of the hamlet, either by following the road, or preferably by following the footpath that cuts out the bend in the road. A sign post indicates the routes to the Grotte-Colon to the north, but our route ascends to the east towards the cirque wall. It is well route-marked, being part of the GR9. The stony track ascends steeply between two pastures. At the top of the pastures, as the path enters the forest, an alternative, and newer, track leads off half-right. They both join up again a few hundred metres, but the latter is to be preferred as being less stony and easier on the feet. The track ascends through the forest, in a somewhat uncompromising way, but after half an hour you will pass close to the base of the cliff, and half an hour after that you will reach the col de l'Alpette (1547 m) at a fence, with a synclinal valley before you. This is indeed a beautiful spot, with high mountain pastures in front, the other side of the valley rising steeply to the crest with tree-covered lapiaz, and high cliffs protecting the Mont Granier plateau on the left. We follow the GR9 half-right down a shallow valley towards the Cabane de l'Alpette and the Habert de l'Alpette nestling in their sheltered depression, which are reached after five minutes. Here you can fill up your water bottles, and stop for a second breakfast, inevitably shared with the bergerie hens. From here, we follow the GR9 south past the bergerie, and ascend into the forests. After ten minutes of pleasant walking through the exquisite dwarf pines and clearings, there is a large cairn, with a sign post pointing off to the right for le Pinet. Take this path, which after ten minutes starts to climb. Before long it starts to follow a line beneath cliffs which contain a number of cave entrances, some of which link into the underlying 60 km long cave system. This is a delightful path, with the valley deepening on the right, and the cliffs become higher on the left. After about an hour, the valley shallows, and a short ascent leads onto a plateau area, with the path to the summit going off to the right. The summit cross is reached some two and half hours from the car. As one would expect, the views from the summit are outstanding all round including a view of one of the 2016 landslips on Mont Granier, and a disconcerting view of la Plagne below the sheer 400 m cliffs. It's a wonderful place for lunch, and tends to be less frequented than the main tops of Chartreuse. You can return the way we came up, but a more interesting descent is to make your way down towards the remains of the haberts de Barraux, on the GR9. However, you do need confidence in your ability to pick your way along a path which is very thin in places. Make your way back to where the ascent path emerged from the valley, and take a thin path that parallels the top of the cliffs. After ten minutes or so it starts to swing to the south running parallel to the main valley. The occasional cairn will be picked up, and a couple of junctions passed - keep left each time. After a quarter an hour the path starts to drop more steeply towards the floor of the valley which is reached after five minutes. Turn towards the left and make your way across the valley as best you can to reach the GR9 in the area of the remains of a few habitations - les haberts de Barraux. Turning left takes you back to the col l'Alpette. An easy descent will then get you back to the car some 2½ hours or so after leaving the summit. Page 60 Walks on Mont Granier (1933 m) Mont Granier is positioned fairly and squarely at the northern end of the Chartreuse Massif, and is justifiably renown for its massive northern face which can be seen to spectacular effect from the road at the col du Granier, as well as from the town of Chambéry. It is also, however, a magnificent mountain in its own right which reserves its main attractions for those with the energy to explore it on foot. To the north (map), the mountain is totally protected by a huge rampart, which is the result of a catastrophic collapse in 1248 when a sizable chunk of the mountain fell away resulting in a devastating avalanche which killed over a thousand people. The southern edge of the mountain is delimited by the pastures of l'Alpette, from which it is separated by further cliffs which mark the line of a prominent geological strike-slip fault that cuts through the massif. The Pas des Barres is a route which allows access from l'Alpette through a weakness in the north-eastern end of this cliff. The western side, overlooking the Vallée d’Entremonts, is also girdled by massive cliffs, but with two weaknesses which allow access to the crest. The starting point for three of the walks is la Plagne. This beautiful little hamlet nestles in a sea of open pastures in the impressive cirque bounded by the southern summit of mont Granier to the north and the summit of Le Pinet to the south. Parking may be found on the right at the start of the prominent zigzag leading to the hamlet, as well as just up from the forestry track leading from the apex of the zigzag. The fourth walk, starting from Bellecombe, makes use of the two main passes into the massif from the east. Ascent via Col l'Alpette Ascent via la Grotte Colomb Ascent via the West Chimney Ascent from Bellecombe Page 61 Mont Granier via Col l'Alpette and Pas des Barres Starting point: la Plagne Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 850 m Time: 3 hrs Quality: *** This is a magnificent walk with lots of everything: forest - lapiaz, high pastures, a pleasant crest, a summit, and a little bit of scrambling. It shouldn't be missed. The time is given for the ascent only. The walk starts from la Plagne, and you should leave your car at the parking area on the right just before the village (1070 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72704 50364). The route starts (map) by ascending the obvious weakness in the cliffs to the left of the centre of the cirque. The grass on the horizon in the photograph is the col for which we are heading, and is the start of the Alpette pastures. It marks the line of a prominent geological strike-slip fault that cuts through the massif. Find your way into the centre of the hamlet, either by following the road, or preferably by following the footpath that cuts out the bend in the road. A sign post indicates the routes to the Grotte-Colon to the north, but our route ascends to the east towards the cirque wall. It is well route-marked, being part of the GR9. The stony track ascends steeply between two pastures. At the top of the pastures, as the path enters the forest, an alternative, and newer, track leads off half-right. They both join up again a few hundred metres, but the latter is to preferred as being less stony, and easier on the feet. The track ascends through the forest, in a somewhat uncompromising way, but after half an hour you will pass close to the base of the cliff, and half an hour after that you will reach the col de l'Alpette (1547 m) at a fence, with a synclinal valley before you. This is indeed a beautiful spot, with high mountain pastures in front, the other side of the valley rising steeply to the crest with tree-covered lapiaz, and high cliffs protecting the continuation of our crest to both the left and the right. The grassy path ahead leads towards the bergerie and refuge located three hundred metres away, but the sign post at the col indicates clearly that we should take the more obvious, left hand path. This takes a line just above the valley, and under the barrier of cliffs protecting the way on to Mont Granier. However, if you prefer, follow the valley itself in a parallel direction, passing a useful spring after a couple of hundred metres. Don't worry about following a path we are making for the general direction of the two giant boulders on the horizon. About level with the pair of giant boulders the path starts to ascend towards the cliff. This splendid path traverses above the valley, occasionally surmounting a rocky step, until it ascends a line of weakness through the cliff. This is very steep at first, but some useful iron hand rails and footsteps help you to overcome the harder sections (Grade 2). The path continues up, and then traverses round to enter the upper Granier basin. From here, the summit is still a couple of kilometres away, across a wilderness of forest, cliffs, and lapiaz. The route is well marked, and traverses around the basin below the crest. The views over to the Belledonne range are outstanding. Take note of the col between the south and north summits, for this is where the route from the Grotte Balme à Colon arrives at the ridge. Eventually, the path takes you up onto the crest. This is a splendid section with outstanding views in all directions. The summit, surmounted by a small cairn, is reached in under three hours. Although the views are stupendous, it is well worth continuing for a further 300 metres to the Cross of Granier. This is situated dramatically on the edge of a buttress right at the corner of the northern cliffs. Behind, you can see all the way down the Vallée d'Entremont to Chamechaude; ahead may be seen the town of Chambéry spread out, and the Lac du Bourget; and to the east the Alps disappear into the distance. On a clear day, the Mont Blanc range looks close enough to touch. Descents Although you can descend via the Grotte Balme à Colon, this is not particularly recommended, being better as an ascent route. However, you will not be disappointed if you retrace your steps, especially if you take a little time to explore l'Alpette en route. Allow a couple of hours. Page 62 Mont Granier via la Grotte de la Balme à Collomb Starting point: la Plagne Difficulty: 1 Ascent: 850 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** If you have the time for just one walk on Mont Granier, you are recommended to make your ascent by this route, and your descent down the Pas des Barres (map) for a walk you will never forget. The walk starts from la Plagne, and you should leave your car at the parking area on the right just before the village (1070 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72704 50364). The first target of the route is the Grotte de la Balme à Collomb. This is difficult to pick out from la Plagne, but it is located at the base of the cliff above the wooded ridge on the skyline to the north of the village. Note that the cave is incorrectly labeled Grotte Balme à Colon on the IGN map. Find your way into the centre of the hamlet, either by following the road, or by following the footpath that cuts out the bend in the road. A sign post indicates the route to Col l'Alpette to the east, but we follow the path to the north. This follows a stony track between pastures, which swings right at Les Granges du Priz (a collection of barns), and left again round the top of the pastures. The path then ascends steeply through pleasant beech forest, until it levels out after 45 minutes when it reaches the crest of a ridge. The IGN map marks the path as continuing on into a gully and working its way back onto the ridge, and this is how it was until a few years ago. Now, however, a good path makes its way straight up the ridge. Once above the trees, the entrance of the cave can be seen ahead, and it is reached (1720 m) after about an hour and a quarter. The way on is to enter the cave. Although the entrance is not large, it rapidly opens out into a most impressive entrance chamber, 10 metres wide by 4 metres high, with an exit off to the right. Our way on is through that exit, but it is well worth while first exploring the cave a little further. With adequate lighting, it is safe enough to explore the entrance passages. The way descends gently for 100 metres or so (many ice formations at the beginning of the season) through a diminishing size passage, before abruptly terminating in a narrow rift. Through the rift, a very low passage continues with a slight draft emerging. On the return, look under the right wall a couple of metres from the rift. A low phreatic passage may be seen blocked by a locked metal door. New passages were found behind here in 1988 which resulted in the discovery of the bones from over a thousand cave bears dating from a period of 45,000 years ago to 24,000 years ago. Most have been left in situ, but some are exhibited in the Musée de l'Ours des Cavernes in Entremont-le-Vieux. Returning to the entrance chamber, you should exit out of the side entrance, and follow the path which crosses above the main entrance. The path then follows a grassy traverse for a few minutes before ascending a gully through the cliffs. Near the top, another traverse follows for a few hundred metres where it arrives on the crest at the col between the South and North summits of Mont Granier. Eventually, the path takes you up onto the crest. This is a splendid section with outstanding views in all directions. The uninspiring summit, surmounted by a small cairn, is reached in well under three hours. Although the views are stupendous, it is well worth continuing for a further 300 metres to the Cross of Granier. This is situated dramatically on the edge of a buttress right at the corner of the northern cliffs. Behind, you can see all the way down the Vallée d'Entremont to Chamechaude; ahead may be seen the town of Chambéry spread out, and the Lac du Bourget; and to the east the Alps disappear into the distance. On a clear day, the Mont Blanc range looks close enough to eat. Descents Although you may descend the same way, it is strongly recommended that you return by the col de l'Alpette for a really satisfying walk. This returns initially along the ridge, and then drops onto the eastern side. The path off to the Grotte de la Balme à Colomb goes off to the right after half an hour, but our path swings round a wide basin of forest-covered lapiaz. It eventually leads round a shoulder to a terrace overlooking the Alpette pastures. A steep descent down a chimney is made easier by fixed iron steps and railings (Difficulty 2), and the pastures are reached close to a pair of giant boulders. Turning right leads past a useful source feeding a cattle trough, to the col de l'Alpette. An easy descent then leads back into la Plagne, and the car is reached some 2½ hours or so after leaving the summit. Page 63 Mont Granier via the West Chimney Starting point: la Plagne Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 850 m Time: 6 hrs Quality: *** This excellent walk makes its way through the west cliffs of Mont Granier, and although from both the road and from the map, it looks steep and tedious (map), in reality it's a wonderful walk that deposits you close the summit of the hill. Other guides recommend that the walk is started from Tencovaz, located near the Granier ski station. There would appear to be some sense in this if you intend to return by the same route, but doing so goes against the grain, and it is not recommended as a descent route. Moreover, Tencovaz is a tiny hamlet, and has no parking available which doesn't encroach upon someone's personal space. This walk starts from la Plagne, and you should leave your car at the parking area on the right just before the village (1070 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72704 50364). From la Plagne, walk back down the road for a few minutes, and turn off to the right along the road signposted Tencovaz and vers le Mont. This is the GR9a, and leads up a hill to a mast, where it becomes a track and turns back on itself. Some 45 minutes after leaving the car, you enter vers le Mont - a small collection of barns. The next section of the route is somewhat off the orthodox track, and requires a little care, although it is traceable on the IGN map. At the last barn, the track divides. The GR9a continues to Tencovaz on the track below the barn. We take the track above the barn, which rises up through the hayfields towards the forest. At the top of the meadows, a track can be found just in the trees to the right, behind a broken-down dry stone wall. This soon divides - take the one that contours round to the left. This soon turns into a path, and descends round the back of a valley over some minor streams. It then ascends through some open ground, re-enters the forest, and turns into a track again. This also soon divides - take the path to the right which leads after a couple of minutes onto a piste, some quarter of an hour after leaving the meadow. We are now back on the orthodox route from Tencovaz. Ascend the piste, using the zig-zags where possible. It isn't the most pleasant of ground, but the wealth of insects and butterflies is adequate compensation for any discomfort . At the top, turn left past the ski lift to a cabin (1220 m), reached after about 25 minutes. The path continues behind the cabin, and rises steeply through the woods for another 25 minutes, before emerging on a steep alp. There is a narrow line of scree rising towards a gully in the cliffs above, and a path of sorts runs up alongside it. We ascend this to reach the gully after yet another 25 minutes. This has an impenetrable wall at the back, but the route now starts to become more interesting. Enter the gully, and towards the back scramble up to a sangle which swings south, ascending a couple of rock bands (Difficulty 2) en route. Finally, the path enters a chimney which is climbed to a ledge. A short wall then needs to be climbed (also Difficulty 2), which leads to a very attractive sangle path that heads back to the north. This rapidly rises to the ridge (reached some 30 minutes after entering the gully) where we are immediately overwhelmed by the view into the Isère valley, and across to Mont Blanc. Here we turn right to traverse 650 m of splendid crest with outstanding views in all directions, towards the rather uninspiring summit which is reached in well under three hours from the car. It is capped by a small cairn. Although the views are stupendous, it is well worth continuing for a further 300 metres to the Cross of Granier. This is situated dramatically on the edge of a buttress right at the corner of the northern cliffs. Behind, you can see all the way down the Vallée d'Entremont to Chamechaude; ahead may be seen the town of Chambéry spread out, and the Lac du Bourget; and to the east the Alps disappear into the distance. On a clear day, the Mont Blanc range looks close enough to touch. Descents Although you may descend the same way, it is strongly recommended that you return by the col de l'Alpette for a really satisfying walk. This returns initially along the ridge, and then drops onto the eastern side. The path off to the Grotte de la Balme à Colomb goes off to the right after half an hour, but our path swings round a wide basin of forest-covered lapiaz. It eventually leads round a shoulder to a terrace overlooking the Alpette pastures. A steep descent down a chimney is made easier by fixed iron steps and railings (Difficulty 2), and the pastures are reached close to a pair of giant boulders. Turning right leads past a useful source feeding a cattle trough, to the col de l'Alpette. An easy descent then leads back into la Plagne, and the car is reached some 2½ hours or so after leaving the summit. Page 64 Mont Granier from Bellecombe Starting point: Bellecombe Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 1250 m Time: 7 hrs Quality: *** Although there are plenty of routes into the massif from the eastern side, there are few that lend themselves to circular walks, and hence they tend to be rather unsatisfactory. This, however, is an exception, being a superb walk that allows an aesthetically pleasing circuit to be made. There are no real difficulties, although the descent makes use of a somewhat de-emphasised (in 2004) path which can lead to a loss of confidence in one or two places. The route (map) ascends to the Porte de l'Alpette, surmounts the southern cliffs girdling Mont Granier through the Pas des Barres, and after visiting the summit, descends via the Pas de la Porte. This walk starts from Bellecombe - a pretty village which is worth having a wander round. Entering the village from the north, follow the road through until you see a modern auberge on the right on the corner of a junction. There is room to park off the road here (690 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 73189 50382). The road leading off from the auberge is the Chemin de l'Alpette, which is a good clue as to the way on. This tarmac road leads past a few houses, before becoming a stony track leading steeply up past a reservoir on the right. Shortly after a junction is reached - la Colonne (780 m) with the left being sign-posted Porte de 'Alpette and the right Pas de la Porte. We will be returning along the latter, but for the ascent we need to keep left. Once past la Colonne, the track levels out and continues easily for the next half an hour, passing a number of junctions en route. We simply continue along the main path. Before long, a stream can be heard somewhere below, and some 40 minutes after leaving the car, an EDF hut is reached. The path goes off to the right just beyond this, but keeping straight on leads after a few metres to a pleasent waterfall cascading into an attractive pool created by a small dam. Back at the hut we turn up towards the Porte de l'Alpette. We are now on a path which climbs steadily for half an hour to a junction of paths (Rochereau, 1210 m). The way is straight on, but there is a worthy detour to the left that visits the Source du Cernon. This follows a well-made path for ten minutes back to the stream bed with water emerging from beneath the boulders, and cliffs towering overhead. This is the resurgence for the 62 km long cave system known as the Reseau de l'Alpe, that underlies much of the area from the Habert de St. Vincent in the south to the Alpette valley in the north. There is a cave associated with the resurgence which extends almost two kilometres into the mountain, the end of which is within just a couple of hundred metres of the main cave system, but this is the exclusive domain of the cave diver. Returning to the junction, we turn left up the signposted path, and pass a further junction after a few minutes with our path signposted to the left. Soon the forest starts to open out, and good views are seen of a thrust tip fold in the cliff wall opposite. Once over a couple of rock barriers, the path contours round the head of the valley, through a fence, and emerges at the Porte de l'Alpette some two hours after leaving the car. This is a perfect spot for lunch. Ahead, the valley descends past the huge split boulder towards the Col de l'Alpette. To the half-left, the ground rises up towards l'Alpe and the Sommet du Pinet, and to the right, the southern cliffs of Mont Granier dominate. We now need to find our way up the barrier of cliffs protecting the way on to Mont Granier. From the Porte de l'Alpette, find the path that traverses just below them. This leads to the Pas de Barres, a splendid path that follows an obscure route up the rocks. This is very steep in places, but some useful iron hand rails and footsteps help you to overcome the harder sections (Grade 2). The path continues up through some fields of St. Bruno Lily in a wonderland of rocky outcrops and dwarf pine, and then traverses round to enter the upper Granier basin. From here, the summit is still over a mile away, across a wilderness of forest, cliffs, and lapiaz. The route is well marked, and traverses around the basin below the crest. The views over to the Belledonne range are outstanding. Eventually, the path takes you up onto the crest. This is a splendid section with outstanding views in all directions. The summit, capped by a small cairn, is reached in under three hours. Although the views are stupendous, it is well worth continuing for a further 300 metres to the Cross of Granier. This is situated dramatically on the edge of a buttress right at the corner of the northern cliffs. Behind, you can see all the way down the Vallée d'Entremont to Chamechaude; ahead may be seen the town of Chambéry spread out, and the Lac du Bourget; and to the east the Alps disappear into the distance. On a clear day, the Mont Blanc range looks close enough to touch. The descent starts by following the path that contines above the cliff, initially to the east. This Page 65 soon drops in to a lovely area of lapiaz and dwarf pine, with fine views. After 20 minutes or so the path drops into the forest, passes a junction to the right, and soon starts to descend more steeply. About an hour after leaving the summit, the path crosses a forestry track several times in ten minutes, before reaching a junction with a well-made track, signposted to the right to Bellecombe. Ten minutes later this track divides, and our way starts steeply up to the right. Almost immediately, however, a path leads off to the left again, marked by a fingerpost. This developes into one of the excellent contouring paths that are to be found on the eastern flank of the massif, although as with many, it is not well used and is in urgent of a prune. In a couple of place the path traverses above some steep drops, protected by cables. A further junction is soon reached at la Barmette (1250 m), with Bellecombe signposted to the left. The next 30 minutes is a bit of a forest adventure, following a very overgrown path where the way on is not always obvious. The simple rules are to take care at what appear to be junctions, and follow the yellow waymarkings. This section is over when a source is reached. From here a track is followed back to Bellecombe where the car will be reached some 2½ hours after leaving the summit. Page 66 Mont Outhéran from le Désert Starting point: Gite d'Etape, le Désert Difficulty: 2 Ascent: 600 m Time: 4 hrs Quality: ** Mont Outhéran is the north-western block of the Chartreuse Massif. Its summit (1673 m) lies a good 300 m below those of the main areas, but it has a fine ridge crowning an impressive set of cliffs. Being somewhat isolated, it offers good views of its more illustrious neighbours, and imposes itself upon the plains to the west and north. The walk described is relatively short (map), but during a leisurely four hours it manages to display to advantage all the features that characterise the best of Chartreuse walking. It is a classic in miniature especially suitable for when the clouds are on the high tops or when you can only manage a short day. It may also be combined conveniently with a visit to the Musée de l'Ours des Cavernes en Chartreuse in Entremont-le-Vieux. The area is also home to one of the massif's few pairs of golden eagles, so you may be rewarded with a glimpse of these magnificent birds. We start from the large car park below the Gite d'Etape above le Désert (1180 m, grid ref. UTM 31T 72383 50387), approached from Entremont-le-Vieux (called Epernay on the IGN map). This lies in a pleasant rural area which in winter is a centre for nordic skiing. From the car follow the road south for a kilometre (we find it better to tackle the tarmac at the start of the day) to a group of buildings signed les Bruyère, where there is another car park on the left. Leave the road here and follow a path which passes to the right of the auberge into the woods. After 15 minutes, the path crosses a narrow pasture before plunging back into the woods again. The path rises more steeply through these to the Col du Grappillon (1509 m) which is a lovely spot. A forestry track has obliterated much of the traditional path, but some sections may still be followed, providing some light relief. The hard work is now done, and this is where the walk really takes off! Turn right at the col to follow a way-marked path snaking up the ridge through the trees to reach the base of the cliffs after quarter of an hour. The path then follows a terrace to the right for a couple of minutes before ascending easily up some short rocky steps (Difficuly 2) to the ridge, reached within 90 minutes of leaving the car. The arrival point is a pleasant spot from which to admire the view towards the Grand Som, but the summit cross may be found some 300 m along the ridge, and this is a convenient place from which to admire the view and have lunch. The views to the north and east are particularly impressive. A yellow way-marked path now picks its way along the ridge, through a delightful combination of rocky outcrops, small trees, and clearings. It really is an exquisite place. After an hour, the path passes to the right of a hut, and begins to descend - in one area picking its way between a number of open shafts. Fifteen minutes from the hut the path descends more rapidly through the eastern rocky ramparts, with the bottom half being a little messy, before arriving back in the valley. Turning right at a junction with a track returns us to the car within twenty minutes. Page 67
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