Intro
Leaving on Saturday at 7am from Gare de Lyon, towards Grenoble. A bus then drops me at the UCPA Serre-Chevalier around 2pm. My friends traveled with the night train and are already there. We spend the rest of the day between the swimming pool, the bar and the terrace. We chat with the staff and other participants.
Day 1
+600m / -1600m / 20km
We meet with our guide at 10am. We go over the route, and it looks like a bit more intense than anticipated: we lighten our bags. Weather forecast is rather good, except for some rainy evenings.
We leave at 11am with the Casse du Bœuf ski lift , which spare us 900m of D+, that’s something anyway. The first views on the peaks are already at hand. Lunch on a pass of which I forgot the name, then we go through the Tranquoulette pass. From there, we get down to the Sarret.. It seems like a very long walk, and the last section on asphalt is taking care of finishing my legs and feet. We arrive at the Chalet Alpin L’Eychauda around 7pm. Shower, dinner, no time for more.
Day 2
+1500m / -1600m / 26km
We get into a taxi at 7am and it takes us a bit under Dormillouse. We go up a long valley to the Freissinières pass. On the first half, the track weaves through thick vegetation.. it scratches and we almost can’t see our feet. Looks like herds have not gone through here yet. The other half is more open and easy. Picnic at the pass then we tumble towards the Estaris lake 200m lower. Afterwards, we reach the Drouvet summit through a path dominating the slopes of the Orcières ski resort.
The descent comes at last.. We go off a wide mountain road onto a narrow trail which cleary took some hits during the past winter. When in the forest, the trail disappear under the grass, and we go off-track for a while, until we reach the Méollion mountain stream. The remaining walk to the Borels is easier but there is no end to it.. Our host for the night and her neighboor have come by car to pick us up around 8pm and to get us to the gite located at the Gondouins, nearly 2km farther. Dinner, shower, no time for more.
Day 3
+1300m / -1400m / 19km
We leave onboard the same cars than the previous night, and we start walking at the end of a road, 6km from the gite, right under the pass of Vallonpierre. Going up is the only think left to do. Lunch at the pass with a breathtaking view of the Sirac. During the descent, we stumble on the Vallonpierre lake and its refuge. The setting is beautiful, we take a few minutes to try the deckchairs, have a drink and eat a piece of blueberry pie.
Yet another endless descent, this time towards the refuge of Clot Xavier-Blanc. Cold “solar” shower, dinner, we have some time left to chat outside before getting to bed.
Day 4
+1500m / -1200m / 16km
We meet with the road passing above the refuge thanks to a 20min walk. A taxi takes us and drops us at Villar-Loubière. Then it’s a peaceful climb until the refuge of the Souffles, and we go on towards the Vaurze pass.
The descent is long, steep and stony. I feel my tendinitis waking up for a while. We arrive at a gite at the Désert en Valjouffrey. For the first time, we have the time and energy to enjoy the evening: shower, dinner, footbath in the mountain stream, drink at the village’s bar. I can even play the guitar found in the gite.
Day 5
+1100m / -1000m / 11km
This is the relaxing day of the trip. We get to the Côte Belle pass with no issue.
The descent is varied, and ends with a slowly declining and wide forest path which comes out on Valsenestre. Flowers everywhere, and the houses are perfectly kept. As we left early in the morning, it’s only mid-aftertoon when we drop our backpacks. The gite of the Béranger is welcoming. We drink and eat on the tables found outside, we dip the feet in the stream, we wander on the 3 streets of the hamlet.
Day 6
+1400m / -1700m / 17km
Leaving Valsenestre is not easy ! We take upwards that forest path from the day before, and we turn off towards the Muzelle path. The climb is steady, although the last part weaving on steep schist is dizzying. We enjoy the view on the Muzelle lake, then we get on its banks to have lunch.
Descending to Vénosc is quite easy, except that some of us fight against sleep. At the bottom, we have a drink in the first encountered bar before taking the Vénosc ski lift to get to the Deux Alpes. A taxi takes us to Besse after a while. Shower, dinner, we take some time to go around the village. Not as charming as Valsenestre but quite nice anyhow ! A storm occurs during the night.
Day 7
+1100m / -1100m / 20km
Leaving at 5:30am towards the Emparis plateau, via Nazié and St Georges passes. The goal is to finish up walking around midday to get the bus that will take us back to the UCPA centre. The early hour gives nice colours to the mountains around. The Meije is visible at last, the plateau is close now. Just before getting there, stress takes me: I have to go back for a few minutes to look for my phone, which has fallen from a pocket. By luck, I quickly find it.
We have a snack just next to the Noir lake, and we descend towards the Chazelet. We enjoy the beautiful scenery all the way: the Meije, the Râteau and the glaciers. We then reach the Terrasses via the road and under a blazing sun. We go down the valley even further across long grass fields. It’s even hotter than on the road… Eventually, we get to the Grave, still checking the clock. We are a few minutes late, but the bus is yet to be seen, everything’s fine.
Outro
Once we get to the UCPA centre, we have lunch and our guide buys us drinks, as tradition requires. Shower, swimming pool, it’s already time to go to Briançon by bus. We eat some pizzas on a platform of the train station, enjoying the last sunrays of the day. The night train leaves on time. Done !