Autumn colours in the Chartreuse – The Grand Som

A great day out on Sunday taking in the Petit Som and the Grand Som in the Chartreuse mountains between Chambery and Grenoble. We met up in St Pierre d’Entremont with views of the Roc Veyrand with its impressive rock face taken in by a via ferrata. The colours are currently superb and we gained height through the woods. Coming out on to the Col de la Ruchere into open pastures with the Petit Som above. A short scramble up a couloir led to the summit and a chance for a quick break. After the Col de Bovinant a path wound its way up through some rock barriers to the crest of the ridge. A good path took us to the summit of the Grand Som (2026m). From the summit a superb panorama gave views of Mont Blanc and Mont Aiguille in the south of the Vercors. Down below the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse and with it the monks who traditionally produce the liqueur of the same name.