Briançon and Tour d'Ecrins

 

We have been in Briançon twice while on our cycling trips, and always enjoyed the place. Last year we had a day off and went for a hike, and I realised there is a lot to see and do here. We thought spending a week here would not disappoint so this year we are spending 4 full days and so far it has been great. We are also staying in the same apartment which is central and just perfect (we could only book 5 nights not 7 booo), almost as amazing as his owner, Stephane. I never met anyone so welcoming and fucked up in the head!

Getting here was no easy task...it took us 1 day and 1/2: first, afternoon flight to Geneva, where we slept by the airport (ripped off at min 1, at 10pm everything was closed and we bought 1 sandwich, 1 bagel, 1 yogurt and 1 pack of crisps for €35...the bagel had 500kcal, how???). Then on Sunday we walked to the train station, got on the 2h long packed train to Grenoble. We thought there would be a bus to Briançon (the infamous 76), but not on Sunday, so we got another 2h 30min train to Gap, and 1h 30" train to Briançon, where we arrived at 6pm.

Walking to Geneva from the airport

 Stephane picked us up and took us to the apart and bombarded us of routes and info. He even sent me a message at 9pm: "do you guys want to come mountain biking with me tomorrow? Only 1000m of ascent and really easy - heard that before - it's going to be fun". Me: aghhh, thanks but I think we will take it easy! What a character, some people are just born with pepper in their ass as we say in Italy!

Anyway, we were totally spaced out and ended up sleeping 10h. Good stuff as it poured down all night and stopped when we woke up at 8am.

Sommet des Anges (2459m) - 11km and 645 m up
Monday 21 July

The forecasts were for rain all morning, but at the end it cleared up and by the time we had our breakfast and went shopping for food we thought we should really do something.

The original plan was to rent gravel bikes for the 4 days, but there wasn't a single shop who would have them. It's either road bikes (which I never used before and I'm not learning here) or ebikes. I then bought the Cicero guide "Walking in the Briançonnais" a few days before leaving and it's coming up very handy...

Being 10am, we picked an easy / short route and went to get the 10.30am bus to Montgenevre, which arrived 20min late despite the fact that was starting from here... The driver was the most cheerful and chatty person ever (which explains the delay) but we were a bit tight with time as we wanted to get back on the 3.15pm bus.

Anyway, finally we arrived at destination and started the hike, which was nothing very impressive until we reached the top and had a 360' view of all the area, what a pleasant surprise! The pictures really don't give justice to the place.

By the time we got back to Briançon it was boiling hot and ice cream time, in the best place (thanks for the tip Stephane!)

Col du Chardonnet Sud (2638m), Peak of no name (2713m), Col de l'Aguilette (2534m), then GR 50 to Monitier - 17.4km and 1100m up
Tuesday 22 July

The weather forecast for the week was a bit pessimistic, but we knew today would have been a very good day and Paul picked a great route.

This time we went for bus n.5 to Le Lauzet / le Pont de l'Alpe at 8.15am. Amazingly the bus was on time and 1h later we got off in a very chilly morning. The car park was packed full which was a surprise but promising too.

The sky was crystal clear but there was a chilly wind, thankfully the climb started straight away and was steep. There were many people but we lost most of them at the junction at l'Alpe di Lauzet, they were probably going to a lake. We kept climbing up and admiring the views that got better and better the more we climbed. We could see a few vultures in the sky, the random lazy marmot, and a chamois.

Can it get better than this??

Then we reached the col and it was mind blowing, like the Ecrins, and mountains so poetically shaped as the eye could see, and also Col de Galibier, what a treat!

The col was immense and we stopped for a bite to take it all in. We were not sure if to keep on our route that from that side looked a bit dodgy and not popular, or go down to Nivache via the GR 50, where everyone seemed to come from.

We went up to the peak of no name at 2700m to have a look at the other side and it looked ok, so we went down that way and it was steep but the views made up for it. We also saw a couple of ibexes on some rocky top and a golden eagle, really we had it all.

We then reached a junction and we got on the path to Monetier (there was only 1 bus at 5.30pm from where we got off) Paul said "it's easier to see wolves than buses", holy words.

It was early afternoon and it really got hot. No trees, only occasional breeze, I was cooked. We reached the village at 2.30pm and the bus 76 was supposed to be at 3.30pm, so we went to a bar for a cold lemonade. Then to the bus stop (which side?) but the bus didn't come. We then found out that the right stop to go back was on the other side of town, down to Le Bains, so we waited another hour for the n.6... We finally got back at 5.30pm. Quick shower then 20min walk to the bike shop to rent the mountain bikes for the day after. Back home at 7pm I was starving and cooked too much pasta but that's good. Life is good.

Col du Granon (2404m) - 42km, 1300m up
Wednesday 23 July

We only rented the bikes for 1/2 day as it was supposed to rain in the afternoon (it didn't, it rained at 6m). I never used ebikes before and it felt like cheating, like I was more on a motorbike, but oh well, one day we will get there on a gravel bike!

We set off early and it was hot already (no wind today), we followed the cycling path by the river which was really pleasant, then on the road to the start of the climb.

It was 11km average 9% and we did it in 1h, on an empty road and clear sky and I didn't even sweat, that's so much cheating!

The views on the top where priceless.

The plan was to go down the other side on the gravel road and do a loop, but after a km there was a slide, it seemed someone walked through, but it was narrow, steep and scree, and we didn't dare carry the very heavy e bikes there. We turned back and the car park was full, and so many more cars and cyclists coming up, glad we went early!

We returned the bikes at 11.30am and just spent the rest of the day chilling out. This is life!

Fort de la Croix de Bretagne and la Grande Maybe (2417m) - 24km and 1300m up
Thursday 24 July

The weather forecast was again a bit uncertain, and we couldn't be bothered to wait for buses, so we picked a route that started and finished from the flat. It was described as very hard, but really it was mostly long and steep just for a bit, the rest was tracks. Still, very pleased we did it as we got full views of all the mountains, and at the end it didn't even rain.

No alarm clock, breakfast at leisure, packed and left at 8.15am. It was chilly going out of town but as soon as we got on the track to Fort de la Croix de Bretagne the fleece came off as the proper climb started. We soon got on a forest path of the steep kind and gained 800m in like 3km. The Fort was huge, mostly in ruins, and we stopped a good while to check out the views.

Perfectly signed path...I wonder why we missed it!

At 10.30 we kept going, we could see the other fort un the mountain and I thought there would be a straight path through the forest, 30min max, but it turns out we would follow a gravel road, of the rocky kind, that went on forever as it was very long zig zags at at 2% gradient.

It was a bit of a drag and boring but at least the clouds were lifting from the mountains and by the time we reached the top we could see pretty much everywhere. Such a nice way to finish our stay in Briançon!

We then got down the same route up to the Fort de la Croix de Bretagne and got entertained by an eagle who was on a thermal, what a bird. From there it was a loop going the other valley, first on the gravel road then in a nice path in the forest where we stopped for lunch (Paul bocadillo with cheese and me with avocado), right in the middle of the path as we basically haven't met a soul all day. The path then turned into a steep scree descent down to the river, and from there along a gravel road until we reached a village and we were on the GR5 back to town.

We really had a lovely stay in Briançon, and we think we covered pretty much the main areas, but who knows, maybe one day we will be back (with gravel bikes) and explore a bit more. Now it's time to pack as tomorrow we start the tramp / hiker life.

Tour des Ecrains
Briançon to Monetier des Bains - 24km and 1600m up
Friday 25 July

It was sad to say goodbye to our nice apart (especially now that I'm writing and we are in a true shit hole of an hotel...), but life moves on. We had a chilled out start and waited for Nathalie who came at 8.30am to get the keys.

Then we walked through Briançon and started a steep climb up to get on the GR50. By 10am we joined it and from there it was an hour on a bumpy landover track that occasionally would turn into a path in a forest.

By 11.30am we reached the junction where we left the GR 50 and got on a super steep vertical path that would take us up to Col de la Cucumelle at 2505m. We would gain 800m in 4km, that was hard... This area is a popular sky resort in winter and all the mountains are scarred by sky lifts, but still we could get great views as we gained elevation, the sky was cloudy and at least we didn't sweat too much, well, the right amount...

By 1.30pm we were on the Col and could see the other side, and the beautiful mountains we walked on Tuesday on the other side. The sun came out and we were sheltered by the wind so we took advantage to eat our bocadillo. I'm really eating a lot!

Now, which animal can this belong to? Wolf, caribu, ibex??? After some talking we ended up with...marmot!

Up to there we met close to nobody, but now we could see a few souls wondering around, and the valley that we would have walked up had we started from Valluoise as we originally planned to. This would have involved getting an early train and bus, and after our experience with both trains and buses we decided we trusted our legs more, plus, had we taken that path we would have missed the great views on the Ecrins.

Black clouds were gathering on pretty much every side and we knew there would be heavy rain in the afternoon, so we started the descent and shortly got to Col de l'Eychauda, where we joined the GR54 (our route), and from there it was a 7km descent to destination, mostly in forested paths.

Finally joining the GR 54

We reached Monetier at 3.30pm and got surprised by the amount of people there, especially given the weather is changing for the worse. The check-in to our hotel Les Colchique was at 4pm so we went to the overpriced Sherpa shop to get snacks and lunch for tomorrow. Then we walked to the hotel, which is really bad but at least we discovered it has a kitchenette and we can cook (the restaurant situation was a bit dire). The hotel was probably built in the 70s, Paul took a bath as the shower was... interesting? and thank goodness he is flexible...As soon as we arrived the sky opened but it calmed down a bit by the time we were ready for the dinner foraging mission back to the Sherpa shop. Right now it's pissing down and it seems we may not get any views in the next few days, to put it mildly. But it's a day at a time and at least tomorrow we think we should get some dry spells, really hope so as we need to climb up to 2300 m again!

5 start hotel dinner...no kidding, it was better than what was in the restaurants!

See where the water handle is, and no curtain. We think it was to wash dogs.

Monetier to La Greve - 24km and 1135m up
Saturday 26 July

We had a great home made dinner of couscous and thank goodness as the sky opened and it didn't stop all night. When we woke up the clouds were low and we couldn't see anything, but by the time we left at 8.15am they lifted and we even got some sunshine. Breakfast was better than expected (with an egg episode ops, it was not boiled...), pity there was a big group too and it was a bit savage, at least we eventually got all we needed, maybe too much.

The start was flat up to the next village of Le Casset, and the path by the river was really lovely. Then it started climbing up the valley by a river and we started meeting people coming down. I realised we were the salmons again and quite a few had been camping in pissing rain, poor folks!

We know him from the Velvet Queen movie, our favourite

First it was climbing with a nice gradient in the forest, then when we got out there was a steep 2 km climb up a moraine, and when we reached the top of it the views opened in the valley and it was just sublime. Pity for the cold wind, but really that place was mind-blowing. We reached the Col d'Arsine at 2342m at 11am, there was nobody around and we stopped for a bite and to take in the place, and that that the high mountains were all covered in clouds, I wonder how it looks when it's sunny! I've no ideas how many glaciers we saw today, just really spectacular.

We then started the long descent (14km) and started by passing a flock of sheep, and got stopped by a lady who was there to educate people on how to deal with the dogs. It turns out we failed, we should have stopped before entering and let he dog see us.

The start of the descent was low graded and in a vast pasture land filled with cows and marmots, the youngsters being very bold and with the pose "look at me, I'm cute". Well, they were and they definitely entertained the cold descent. By then I was wearing everything and glad I was on the move.

At about 2000m of elevation there was a Refuge, and we were thinking to stop there but then the sky ahead was pitch black and we thought it would be wiser to keep walking while dry. I'm glad we did as from there we met so many people coming up that it would have taken a while to get anything.

Next stage was a steep zig zag bit, again following the river that by then was quite big. At the bottom we stopped for lunch (cheese and tomato for Paul, eggs and tomato for me, after a week I'm still cheese free, amazing!!!). While eating we saw a family with 2 children crossing the river barefoot and visibly in pain while walking on the rocks. God knows why as there was not even a path on the other side. Some people really look for it....

Anyway, it was 1pm but we still met people going up, but past the car park there was nobody. We kept following the GR route by the river, a bit stony and muddy but still pleasant. We were at 1700m and at least we were not scared of thunderstorms any more.

The last bit was a bit of a drag, and by now our legs were quite tired. The finisher was a steep climb up followed by a steep climb down in muddy paths, totally unnecessary as there is another flatter path by the river but why not?

It started spitting as we entered La Grave. We got in via the old town which was a bit depressing as everything was shut, then we checked in the Hotel Castillon. We are paying €150 a night so we hoped it would be nice, but really they could do with some refurbishment (the door on the balcony is not closing well and let me tell you, it's not hot here). At least we have the view on a massive glacier. After a shower we went to check out town and found everything we need, so now we can relax and just wait for dinner.

We are spending another day here tomorrow, the forecasts seem similar to today so maybe we manage to fit in another walk...

View from the room (the giant is in hide)

La Grave - Walk to Col du Souchet and the Lacs (2443m high) - 23km and 1300m up
Sunday 27 July (good luck Transcontinentals!)

When we opened the curtains we could finally see the mountains in all their splendor, we were in for a good day.

We had a very good breakfast (I didn't dare touch the eggs...) and after packing the lighter rucksack and making a couple of bocadillos (cheese and tomato, there was no way of escaping cheese today), we set off at 8.15am.

The start was steep, like vertical. We walked up to the old town and from there kept going up a slope up to the cute village of Les Terrases, and saw a fox running up, followed by a hare, thought it should have been the other way round... We kept pushing up until we reached a road which we followed to the village of Le Chazelet, with a handy toilet at its entrance.

From there we went down to the car park which was very busy with cars (it's Sunday) but despite meeting quite a few people it didn't feel as busy as yesterday.

We started climbing and all the time we had these giant mountains and glaciers looking at us. It was overcast and windy but while climbing the temperature was ok, and we just felt so lucky that we could see something.

We gained elevation quickly and ended up on a vast pasture land with cows (of the naughty kind). From there the path was kind of flat / down / up for a while, then it started climbing again up to the col, which we reached before 11am. We also got the views of more mountains with glaciers on the other side, it was truly unreal!

It was early and there were many paths in all directions, so we picked one that kept going up and unbelievably the views got even better, and we saw edelweiss in the wild which was a long time since I saw. At noon we stopped as we reached some kind of top. Amazingly the sun came out and soon I was melting in my vest. We laid down to dry our cold bodies, then had lunch and finally, after another 100 pictures we started the descent, the same way we came up from.

I didn't realise we walked so long but it turned out to be another descent hiking day, the 7th in a row! The legs felt better than yesterday, but the weather forecast have consistently been pessimistic for tomorrow, so we decided to take a day off tomorrow (we kind of did tomorrow's walk today) and will get the bus to Bourg d'Oisans, where we will figure out what to do for 3 days.

Dinner in the hotel room was the camping dehydrated food with hot water bought in the shop (pate with cheese and mushrooms and peas) which was much better than the 40 euro dinner in the restaurant the previous night...

Monday 28 July - day off (bus to Bourg d'Oisans) Today we woke up and it was indeed raining. Breakfast lasted 1 hour, then it was planning in the room until check out time, then more wasting time in the hotel lounge. We then walked to the bus stop for the bus 55, thank goodness I bought the tickets online the day before as, when the bus eventually arrived 20 min late, in pissing rain, it was full with people left behind.

This is breakfast on a day off...you don;t want to see what I eat when there is action planned!

There was classical music on, which was very appropriate for the ride down the valley, so steep and dramatic that we both got off the bus thinking what the f...k was that???! The bus station is a bit out of town and it all looked so sad and dead, but then we walked to the centre which was a bit more cheerful. We had lunch in the square, then went to the tourist info office and got all we needed. Next was looking for the bikes rental. The first shop we went was packed full of roadies, and staff there was so unhelpful and indifferent. Second shop was much smaller but the guy was great and we found what we were looking for. We then had a tea in a book shop and the girl there was lovely too.

Check in at the hotel Oberland, then trip to the intermarche which was also a bit traumatic (it's a huge one but most shelves were empty and just soooo busy).

Back to the hotel for more chilling out waiting for dinner. Tonight is going to be a pizza, we can't avoid it.

Bourg d'Oisans - loop walk Villard Raymond, Villard Notre Dame + Croix du Carrelet (2059 m) - 24km and 1500m
Tuesday 29 July

We slept very well and woke up with a blue sky, the day promised well and the legs were fine and recovered. Breakfast was at 7.15am, shared with all the cyclists which were already almost done, we were all eager to get going!

We packed the rucksacks and left one in the hotel. We set off at 8am in a very chilly morning but warmed up quickly as the steep climb, for a change, started straight away. From the village it was difficult to work out where the path was as it was all a cliff, like when we had to cycle up to Asiago. It turned out the path was in the forest and very nice indeed, like well graded zig zags, and as we climbed the views got better and better. We reached the top at 10am and stopped at a bench to look around, 270' view and what a show, this trip we have really been spoilt. Cheery on the cake was an eagle flying just above us.

We went down to check the village which we were told was nice but was a bit of a disappointment...all dead. We climbed back and got on a land rover track, kind of flat but going down, and enjoyed all the mountains which emerged in their splendour from every side. We then reached a panoramic col at 11am and sat down for a snack. It was a bit early so I propose to climb up a mountain just behind us. Paul was not too convinced but then he said "you choose" and guess what I choose...

Up we went in grassy pastures. The deal was that we had 45min and then we would turn back. We got 50m below the top and then went down (the logic being that we were there to waste some time and get better views, which we did, mission accomplished, and Paul will never let me choose ever again).

We retraced our steps down and got on the road down to Villard number 2, which was also a disappointment. It was 1pm and the sun was strong, food time! Luckily there was a bench just as we took the path down, lunch time.

We then kept on the path down, which started as the idyllic wide leaves carpeted forest path and well graded too. After a while there were a couple of delicate passages in vertical scree and filling rocks...I wonder why we haven't met a soul on that path!

Finally at 3pm we got back to the GR path which was flat and nice, and a couple of km later we entered the village. We went to the hotel to pick up the rucksack and back the other way to get the keys to our lovely apartment where we will spend 3 days. I'm so glad we don't need to pack anymore for the next few days, nor go out for dinner (yesterday we had a pizza as the restaurant were all fully booked...).

Shower then trip to the Intermarche which was still traumatic but we got all we needed and more and now we can just chill out.

Alpe d'Huez cycle - 24km and 1100m up
Wednesday 30 July

Alpe d'Huez: what a disappointment! Sometimes I really feel alienated from the world. A bit like with Taylor Swift, I have no idea what's all the fuss about this climb. Out of all the climbs we have cycled in the Alps, this was by far the shitiest one, like I'm so glad we had the e gravel bike as it was not worth a drop of sweat.

We had a lazy start as we went to pick up the bikes at 9am. It was a chilly morning but the sun was out and as usual, as soon as the climb started the fleece came off. There were already a few cyclists going up, and the amount of cars, vans and lorries was insane. I never felt unsafe but it wasn't definitely one of those pleasant and panoramic climbs. More of the one that you keep looking down and pray you will get out alive...

Paul was very impressed by this massive loaf

The climb is steep, and after the village of Huez it goes up a bit more until you reach the mess of Alpe d'Huez, like the massive ski resort which is painful to the eyes. We should have taken the road on the right, but we saw a sign saying bikes on the left (possibly for the triathlon) and went up until there was no more road and thought where is the end?? We were not the only ones as quite a few cyclists did the same.

We stopped for a bar, and the thought of going to the Col du Saronne with potentially more of this shit if not worse (narrow and exposed) made us sick, so instead we got down the same way which was also scary given the hundreds of cyclists and cars and lorries coming up, but we made it back before noon, returned the bikes, sat on a bench in the sun to warm up, and went home for lunch.

Cyclists behind equally puzzled...where is the top??

We eventually found the finish line when we went down

I think they mean "money welcome"

We had a very leisurely afternoon, sat on a bench to read our books, then walked in town for an ice-cream, down to the bus station where we couldn't work out how to buy the bus ticket for Friday, more bench time in the sun, and now back home getting ready for hopefully our last hike tomorrow: the finisher!

Refuge de la Muzelle, 20km and 1328m up
Thursday 31 July

After 2 weeks of hiking in beautiful mountains it's definitely time to go back home, as today we just looked at glaciers thinking, oh, another glacier!

The final hiking day was blessed with sunshine. It was an early start as we had to catch the 7.25am free shuttle to the cable car of Venosc where the path started. The thermometer when I woke up at 6am said 11 degrees...I even put on the gloves!

Town was quiet and the bus amazingly showed up on time. It was just a 20 min ride along a valley surrounded by steep cliffs...for a change. The path was indeed steep. First we passed a weird place that was like a huge campsite and summer resort, then we got on the GR path and it went up first in the forest, then the sun reached us but it was probably better in the shade as the sweat was coming down in buckets. There was a merciful less steep bit and the final 500m of ascent was another vertical, until we emerged in a pasture kind of place, walked a bit more and finally saw the lake, the refuge and the amazing background of towering mountains.

We went to the refuge thinking we would get a piece of cake (tart au mirtilles?) but they only had drinks, the girl couldn't be bothered and it was all a bit wtf. We were planning to go to the pass, but it was scree and sketchy, there were so many people and frankly we couldn't be bothered, so we laid down a while before starting the steep descent, the same way we came up.

The amount of people going up was insane, I'm so glad we turned back!

We made it back for the 2pm bus, back to the flat we rewarded ourselves with gazpacho and then spent the afternoon chilling out, this really feels like holiday!

Grenoble
Friday 1 August

We said goodbye to our nice apartment and headed to the bus stop. We have been following the Transcontinental race, and the night before watched the King of chaos video in YouTube about Justinas, one of the riders, and guess what, he passed by us and we realised it when the tracker placed him in the main square like 500m away! Oh well, hope he will have a good ride even without our cheering.

The bus journey to Grenoble was more enjoyable than any others we had. We got there at noon and checked in the Ibes hotel, with the room window looking up the hill with the Bastille.

We went to get our bowl of goodies from the shop, had lunch, then wondered around the old town. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant where food took ages to arrive but at least was good. Then walk by the river for a very nice pink sunset on the mountains.

Walk up to Fort la Bastille and Mont Jalla - 7km and 430m
Saturday 2 August

We planned to walk up to the Fort la Bastille and Mont Jalla after breakfast and when we woke up it was raining... Breakfast was actually much better than we thought, and by the time we finished the sky kind of cleared up so at 8am off we went.

The path up to the fort was basically all steps but really nice and entertaining. From there it was another path up to a war memorial, with very pretty views of town.

We got down, had a shower, packed, went to the store to get all our food for the day (we didn't want to spend anything in Switzerland). Then to the train station for the noon train, which was more pleasant than the one we got to get there.

We got off in Geneva at 2pm, and went straight to a park, killing a few hours then walked to the airport where the holiday is officially over. This was a bit of a different kind of formula holiday for us, and it worked out quite well. We haven't destroyed ourselves, it was really enjoyable and we are both filled with energies. Scotland, here we come!


Tot stats
Walked

175 km
10,338m Elevation

Cycled
Km 66km
Elevation 2400m