Gorge du Manival: 1075m climb to 1760m

A very satisfying hike on the eastern flank of the Chartreuse mountains - although with some enormous drops - so not one for those with rowdy kids or a fear of heights.

It starts from close to the little hamlet of Le Baume next to Saint Pancrasse, and proceeds through a number of quiet tracks to reach a very exposed panoramic viewpoint over the Grésivaudan valley below. This spot is called Chateau Nardent, although I’m not sure why - as I can’t imagine there ever was a Chateau here. I shot a quick bambuser video from Chateau Nardent on my phone (low quality).

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Gorge du Manival (1500m) - 1000m - Planned

Another planned circular trip - starting from the Valley floor at 450m, climbing up through the Gorge du Manival to the top at around 1550m, then round the back of the head of the gorge, and either back down to the car-park, or drop in on La Tour d'Arces with a little diversion.  This hike should offer excellent views of the more famous Dent du Crolles.

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Roche Brune (900m) - 700m

This is a either a short walk from Grand Rats (green), or a longer 700m elevation gain hike from the valley floor below, just north of Voreppe (red).  

I did it on the 5th April, once the worst of the snow had cleared to >1200m.

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L'Ecoutoux (1400m) - 440m

A fairly short and easy walk from Col de Palaquit at 1154m, past Col de Bens at 1110m and then up to Ecoutoux at 1406m with some undulation at the start; then a steep-ish climb at the end.  Total distance there and back around 7km.  There's no official parking at the start, but there are a couple of spots where you can leave a car.

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Pas du Sappey (1140m) - 500m

This is a short hike from Le Gua, between Planfay and Proveysieux in the Chartreuse up to the ridge known as the Rocher d'Église.  You start at Pont du Gua at 640m, where there is roadside parking for perhaps 3 cars, and climb unrelentingly up to the Petite Sappey Cabin at 1140m.  I say unrelentingly because it is a punishing continuous uphill climb with no horizontal sections.  This isn't undulating - it's just up!  It isn't that long - being only around a 5km round trip.

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Bastille & Mont Rachais (900m) - 700m

This is a trip I've done a couple of times, starting from close to my apartment in down-town Grenoble (220m). It is possible to walk up from the city to the Bastille (460m), then pass round the back of the complex and access the monument to the mountain troops on Mont Jalla (614m), and continue onwards back over the top of Mont Rachais (900m if you don't do the summit, or 1000m if you do). You end up at the Col de Venice car-park (780m), where optimally you have a car waiting to take you back down to the city. If not, then it is a long and fairly dull walk back down country lanes. I've shown this main route in pink on the map below.

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Glacier Cul de Lampe (1600m) - 840m

This route marks a geocaching and photography trek I undertook a couple of months back. I was planning to take the full route to the top of the Grande Sure, however the trek to the Cul de Lampe and the meadow at the top took long enough, so we didn't take the extension. I've sketched the route taken in green, and the optional extension (not taken) in blue. The trek starts after a long, uneven track (somewhat rough, best suited to 4x4s) from a car park at around 790m. It climbs steeply up a forested hillside to the Cul de Lampe at around 1500m, and then onwards up to a very picturesque alpine meadow. We continued up to Col de la Charmille, and then returned after a short ridge walk, via the summit at 1627m. If you take the extension to le Grande Sure, the summit will take you up to 1920m making this a substantial 1200m climb.

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Mont Granier (1933m) - 1160m

This route has two possible start car-parks - or you could do it with 2 cars, as I did with a couple of friends from work.  Using 2 cars saves the walk back along the roads to the car (around 5km of road walking). The full circuit is around 19km.  The two parking options are at either 1100m or 1150m, and the summit is around 1910m; making this a climb of around 800m (although you have to drop down quite a lot from Col du Granier to get to the start point) 

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Grand Som (2026m) - 1200m

This is a 16km walk, climbing around 1200m of altitude. It is a challenging walk as there's a full selection of rock scrambling, steep gravel paths, and lots of zig zags. The route starts starting at the southwestern corner (850m) in the carpark for the Musee de la Grand Chartreuse (La Correrie). I suggest doing the route anticlockwise, starting off with the big climb to the summit, and then taking the more gentle path down to visit the refuge at Col du Bouvinat. After that you turn towards Pas du Loup, then down to Col du Ruchere, before heading backwards towards the Grand Chartreuse Monastery at 950m.

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Chamchine / Charmont Som (1867m) - 1400m

This is a route plan for a geocaching hike I did to help get in shape for my TMB holiday this summer. I tried it in early May, but turned back due to the snow. In June, there was no snow left, and I went for it... It starts at 950m, climbs quickly to around 1600m to approach the first optional extra - the climb to La Pinea at 1706m, and another when you get to Bergeries, where you can refresh your water container and sup a cold beer; or take the extra hike to the summit of Charmont Som at 1840m. You may find it very busy at Charmont Som - due to the fact that it is one of the most attractive and easily accessible (you can drive to it!) mountain summits in the area. Total altitude gain/loss if you do Charmont Som but not La Pinea (as I did) is 1400m.

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