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Simply Savoie

Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent

National Park

The Rateau d’Aussois and the Col de la Masse, Vanoise

Last weekend saw me in the Vanoise National Park. The first day I left from the Refuge de l’Orgere and headed up to the Col de la Masse (2900m). On the way up I saw a herd of ibex (bouquetin) and stopped to take some photographs. There’s still large quantities of snow lying from c. 2500m and early in the morning I had to kick steps with the edge of my boots to make a secure ?foothold?.

Once at the Col I was looking down into the Fond d’Aussois with the Dent Parrachee opposite. I spotted a couple of ptarmigan (lagopede) take flight, still with the remnants of their winter plumage. Since it was still only midday I decided that I should take in the nearby summit of the Rateau d’Aussois (3100m). The climb up was rocky especially since I was avoiding the hard patches of neve but I soon gained the summit without any dramas. Looking to the south the mountains of the Ecrins imposed themselves and closer to home the Aiguilles d’Arves three distinct summits were easy to pick out.

The descent was fun from below the col as the sun had thawed the surface layer of snow to make it ideal for a standing glissade. It was just like skiing only with very short skis; pole plants and ?short swings? using the edges of my boots to turn. Approaching the first trees I could smell the aroma of pine and the dwarf rhodendrons reddy-pink flowers provided a wonderful contrast with the bright greens of the larch trees. I went down the path past a 300 year old pine stump to the Refuge Aiguille Doran to chat with the guardienne about upcoming tours of the Vanoise.

Back now to the Refuge de l’Orgere to enjoy a cool beer on the terrace. A wonderful day.

Laisonnay to the Col du Palet, Vanoise

With blue skies forecast it was time to enjoy a day walking in the Vanoise and in particular the walk from Laisonnay near Champagny-le-Haut to the Col du Palet (2625m).? We parked the car near the refuge at Laisonnay before heading off on the track following the valley.? The waterfall of Le Pys was magnificent and the thunder of the water tumbling down accompanied us for a moment.? On our right we were dwarfed by the bulk of the Grand Bec above us to the right and increasing views of the Grande Casse.

Soon we reached the small refuge de la Gliere but avoided temptation to carry on up a mixture of paths and tracks to the alpages.? Here a large herd of cows were soon heard with enormous bells adorning their necks.? A small herd of goats stood sentinel on a rock in a small enclosure.? It was nice to finally leave the tracks used by the farmers and head into wilder country and the path meandered between old moraines before arriving amongst gypsum type rock near the Col de la Croix des Fetes.? A short traverse led us on to the Col du Palet.? Looking down towards Rosuel and Peisey-Nancroix we could see the prominent waterfall near Rosuel and the gateway refuge to the Vanoise.? We sat and enjoyed a picnic watching walkers come up from Tignes and those coming up from Rosuel on the GR5.? It was a stark contrast looking down on the Tignes side of the col as this is outside the protection of the Vanoise National Park and hence the intrusion of the downhill ski industry – bulldozed tracks, ski lifts all looking out of place in this high wild environment.

The walk back down gave us continual views of the north face of the Grande Casse with a large serac barring the way to the Voie des Italiens one of the classic alpine routes on the face.?? Finally, back at Laisonnay, we had a well earned drink at the refuge before returning home.

Vanoise National Park Information Days

I’ve just got back from 2 days with fellow “Accompagnateurs” (International Mountain Leaders) at Lanslevillard in the Haute Maurienne valley on the edge of the Vanoise National Park.? The two days were for accompagnateurs who are either current “Ambassadeurs du Parc” or those in the process of (hopefully) becoming one; as in my case.? There are currently about 25 “Ambassadeurs du Parc” and, if finally approved, I will be the only British “Ambassadeur”.? As the name suggests the accompagnateurs work in partnership with the Vanoise National Park authorities to help promote the park to their clients.? In return there are training / information sessions to help improve knowledge of the all aspects of the Vanoise National Park.

The two days were spent at the Auberge de Jeunesse at Lanslevillard which provided an excellent welcome to us all and we were fed and looked after very well.? Our first day concentrated on the historic “Route du Sel et des Fromages” that links Pralognan-la-Vanoise with Termignon, in the Maurienne valley.? Salt?? Salt was produced at Salin-les-Thermes in the Tarentaise extracted from high-salt content water linked with underground salt deposits.? This was at the time when Savoie was an independent kingdom; the kingdom of Savoie-Sardaigne.? Those of you who have been with me from Pralognan to the Col de la Vanoise will have followed this route.? We were fortunate to have the input from a consultant who has studied the route and it’s history in detail.

The following day looked at how agriculture and biodiversity can be of mutual benefit in the context of “Les Prairies Fleuries”; literally flower meadows.? We learned how bio-diversity when it come to the alpine meadows used for either grazing milking cows or for hay-making is beneficial to farmers.? After lunch we had input from a professor in geography and geomorphology relating to the French Alps.? All in all a very informative couple of days.? I hope to be able to share some of this knowledge of course with my clients.

A Visit to the Ecrins National Park

The Ecrins are roughly bounded by the towns of Grenoble, Briancon and Gap in the Hautes-Alpes region. The Ecrins National Park, created in 1973, retain a wild splendour with peaks of over 4000m and remote valleys. Ailfroide is one of the bases to explore the Ecrins with the village of Vallouise a short distance down the valley. Ailfroide is situated in an idyllic location, flat, well almost, pastures surrounded by larch trees cut through with tumbling glacial streams. It’s a paradise for walkers whilst mountaineers and rock climbers can start their climbs within a few hundred metres of the centre. For the walker there’s plenty of choice.

For those wanting a multi-day tour there’s the Tour of the Ecrins, the GR54 one of the most challenging after Corsica’s GR20. We took in some sections of the Tour of the Ecrins and explored the area around Vallouise and Ailfroide.

Arriving from the Maurienne valley in Savoie via the Col de Telegraphe, the Col de Galibier and Briancon we arrived in Ailfroide in the late morning and were keen to stretch our legs. We set off up the direction Claphouse valley in the direction of the Pelvoux and Sele refuges. It was lovely walking through the larch forest alongside a wild mountain stream showing evidence of the high water levels of the spring snow-melt. As we cleared the forest it was great to see some chamois on the other side of the river. Even more surprising as we reached our turning point was to see a chamois a few metres from the path.

The following day we left the village of Vallouise and drove up to the valley de Chambran. Dew covered the grass as we put our boots on. After a pleasant walk up the gently rising valley bottom we started to climb more steeply up a zig-zag path before cresting the lip of the glacial cirque. In front of us the turquoise watered lake of the Lac de l’Eychauda. Large areas of snow (neves) came right down to the lake on the far side. A short walk further took me up to the col des Grangettes from which I could see down to Monetier-les-Bains and further towards the Queyras. The tour of the Ecrins, at least the ?normal? route passes via the Col de l’Eychauda before arriving at Chambran but it would be perfectly feasible to make a variation passing by the Col des Grangettes in order to take in the lake.

The Col de l’Aup Martin (2700m) is considered to be one of the more challenging cols on the GR54. A short drive up the narrow twisting road from Vallouise brought us to Entres-les-Aigues. Two paths left from the parking area, one making for the refuge des Bans, and the other heading for our objective. A wooden footbridge about 70m long took us across a large rocky river bed with just a relatively small stream in the centre. One could imagine the volume of water that must flow here in the spring. Passing through more larch forest we entered a narrow valley, steep rocky slopes dropping away into the river bed. Huge areas of debris covered snow covered the stream in places with gaping, dripping holes where the snow had finally collapsed. Clearly an area with a big avalanche potential in winter.

The valley opened out with views expanding. The smell of sheep announced our arrival by the shepherd’s cabin of Jas-Lacroix with a small annex for walkers. The shepherd’s washing hung outside but there was no sign of the shepherd himself. Crossing a stream the path started to gain height more steadily before arriving on a grassy plateau with an enormous herd of sheep. We saw the shepherd coming down towards us with two border-collies at heel. We stopped to chat with the young shepherd who turned out to be a keen mountaineer and we ended up chatting about Scotland and Ben Nevis.

The path became much rockier and zig-zagged through broken ground before a traverse across a stream filled gully took us on to the first schist covered slope. I went on alone, traversing a steep schist covered slope set at around 35-40 degrees (I measured the angle with my ski poles). I reached a small rocky barrier first crossing below it and then back above. Another two changes of direction and I was on the col. A few hundred metres away was the Pas de la Cavale, another col, that precedes the descent to the refuge Pre-de-la-Chaumette.

Talking to the owner of the gite in Vallouise the following morning we heard that several tour operator groups had people drop out on this stage. She also said that the leaders complained of the groups they were asked to take were too large, up to 14, and the operator downgrading the difficulty of the tour to attract more customers. Interesting.

One of the Ecrins most famous peaks is the Barre des Ecrins (4102 m) and the normal approach is from the wondefully name Pre de Madame-Carle. A large stony path led us to a bridge and then a well-trodden path zig-zagged up the mountain-side. A marmotte appeared on the path and came towards us. I bent down and it came right up and put its paw on my hand ? amazing! Out with the camera to get some more marmotte shots for my growing collection. I imagine that this particular marmotte has been fed by people, which can lead to illnesses for marmottes, so please avoid the temptation.

Higher we crossed over the stream coming from the glaciers snout and climbed up rock and a bouldery path to reach a shallow ?lake? with gorgeous reflections of Mont Pelvoux. A final steep rocky section took us to the Refuge du Glacier Blanc (2450m) to enjoy a drink on the terrace with the company of the ?Choucas? (Alpine Choughs).

Worth watching – “Face ? la Vanoise”

The film tackles the subject of the Vanoise National Park and the conflict between those wishing to preserve the natural environment and those who would like to expand the ski areas that surround it. The film ?stars? Yoann Joly who I know and whom lives close by in the village of Esserts Blay. The film is only in French however even if you can’t understand the commentary and the exchanges the views of the Vanoise are fantastic.

IFrame

Face a? la Vanoise – Le film from Altitude Films on Vimeo.

The Ecrins National Park

I’ve just spent several days in the Ecrins National Park in the Hautes-Alpes in France.? We drove down from Savoie through the Maurienne valley and then over the Col de Telegraph and then the Col de Galibier before dropping down to the Col du Lauteret.? Here there are stunning views of the imposing Meije’s North Face towering above.

Driving down now towards Briancon before heading to Vallouise and Ailfroide.?? The mountains tower above the campsite at Ailfroide with rock climbing all around.

The first afternoon we took a short walk towards the Refuge du Sele and Refuge Pelvoux.? One of the striking features of the area is the huge amount of larch trees (meleze in French).? As we started to come out of the forest we soon came across chamois which didn’t seem too disturbed by our presence.

The following day we left Vallouise towards the plateau de Chambran.? The “Tour of the Oisans and Ecrins” (or GR54) passes over the Col de l’Eychauda after leaving the Guisane valley and Monetiers-les-Bains.? Parking the car we set off initially on the route of the GR54 but then headed towards the lac de Eychauda and the col des Grangettes.? The path climbs steadily with a series of zig-zags so well chosen that you don’t feel the gain in height.? Soon we came over the lip of the corrie and the turquoise waters of the lac de Eychauda reflected snow and mountains.? A short climb, and for the final few feet a rocky one, we reached the col des Grangettes at 2721m.? A vista of mountains across the Guisane valley showed themselves and a great view down to the valley below.

The Col de l’Aup Martin, 2761m, is considered to be one of the hardest passages of the Tour of the Ecrins and Oisans.? From Vallouise we took the narrow road that follows the river Onde to the end of the route at Entre-les-Aigues.? Two paths leave from here, one to the Refuge des Bans and the other for the Col de l’Aup Martin and the Refuge du Pre de la Chaumette.? Crossing a footbridge over the river that’s width bears testimony to the heavy flood conditions when the snows melt at the end of the winter, we climbed through larch trees into the entrance to the narrow valley.? Large avalanche tips still bridged the stream with debris of rocks and trees demonstrating the size and power of this spring’s avalanches.? The valley started to open out and soon we reached the shepherd’s hut and walker’s shelter at La Cabe de Jas-Lacroix.? A chamois’ skull, complete with horns, and spine adorned the sheep enclosure.

The landscape is wild here and crossing another wooden plank bridge we climbed up amongst boggy ground reminiscent of Scotland.? Arriving on a small plateau we were greeted by a large flock of sheep; almost 800 according to the shepherd with his two Border-Collie dogs.? We chatted for a while about the need for guard dogs, “Patou”, to protect the flocks from the wolves.? He said there weren’t many here as they hadn’t yet really crossed the “barrier” of the Ghisane – Briancon – Durance valley.

Soon we were climbing on rock ground before crossing a stream we were on “schist” and the start of the final ascent to the col.? The “path” in the loose rock was crumbly but happily relatively dry.? The slope, measured with my poles, was c. 40 degrees.? A few changes of direction to get above a small rock outcrop, allowed a final steep diagonal to the col de l’Aup Martin.? From here it was a short distance to the “Pas de la Cavale”, another col and then the descent to the next refuge.

For our last full day in the Ecrins we decided to head for the Refuge du Glacier Blanc.? We left the Pre de Madame Carle and took the zig-zaggy route that headed up the right bank of the stream leading from the glacier’s snout.? On route we met a very friendly marmotte; so friendly that it came up and touched my hand!? It’s the closest encounter I’ve had with a marmotte to date.? Crossing a bridge over the outfall from the glacier sections of hand rail led to a small lake that gave wonderful views to the North Face of the Pelvoux.? A final steep short climb took us to the hut and a drink.? We picnic’ed by the lake before starting our descent.