The map above shows my last hike, or the current one if I’m out on the mountains. It is powered by Viewranger, a SPOT Connect, and the fantastic socialhiking service. If I’ve got a data connection, you can interact with me while I’m on the trail via twitter @andybryant. Previous hikes are below.
A day snowshoeing with a local mountain leader (Luc Mortier - Nature photographer). We set off from a small parking area just above Villard de Lans, and trekked across the fields to reach the Fauge Valley, then took the path up the valley side across Pont d’Amour to a frozen waterfall.
The hike up to Pas de la Cle is a good one covering 750m of gain over just 4km from Montaud. The pass itself is fairly exposed - which is likley the reason for the warning signs at the bottom - indicating that is is forbidden in high-winds, or during the winter.
The path up to the pass runs to the west of a hunting area, although doesn’t cross into it, however I wouldn’t hang around there too much during November - and don’t act like a wild boar!
Once you get to the path it is a little exposed, but not too bad, and the path is easily visible. There is a little loose rock, but nothing unusually so for the region. A good pair of hiking boots and a little alpine common sense, and you’ll be fine!
A nice easy hike to a good viewpoint on the north-eastern corner of the Vercors. There’s a good parking spot at the south-east corner, just above Engins at the Centre Aere in Galizere.
A short but satisfying walk up to Charande. Whilst you can drive to the top of this ridge and park at the top, I felt like I needed something a little more challenging. I found that you can drive up from Autrans, up past Le Truc, and to the end of a farmer’s trail, then park in a small logging area. This lets you start walking at around 1200m, and head up to the ridge at 1600-1700m. The path was well marked on the ground, but not so well marked on the maps. I’ve since added the missing trails to OpenStreetMap.
Pic St Michel is a popular day hike from just above Lans-en-Vercors.
From Grenoble get to the Vercors plateau via Seyssins using the D106. Just as you enter Lans-en-Vercors, turn left onto Route du stade du neiges towards Barnets. After around 4 km there’s a small car-park on the left hand side of the road.
After around 1km of walk, you’ll find the popular Auberge Allieres, from where you can start the climb up to the Col de l’Arc or to the Pic St Michel. I took the path to the Col (anticlockwise) then to the summit. There was some loose gravel on the way down, so next time I might choose to take the route clockwise, returning via the Col.
Ascent was around 700m, and total walking time around 3.5 hours, 9km.
The hike to the top of the Grand Veymont is a great one, perhaps because the Grand Veymont is the highest point in the Vercors. It is approached from the village of Gresse-en-Vercors at 1270m with a good 1,100m altitude hike covering around 10km distance.
The Moucherotte summit is a great place to take photos from, looking down into Grenoble, or across at the Chartreuse massif. The simplest walk is a direct up and back (yellow path) from the car park (at 1240m), however there are a couple of alternative paths down. The red path is a nice alternative zig-zag through the forest (with a few eroded sections - care needed) directly back to the car park, and the blue route takes you over the summit, down Vallon des Forges and along Sentier de la vite? below le Trois Pucelles. I've taken the yellow and red paths, but haven't attempted the blue one yet.
22 Jan 2012