of peaks, and then descend either to Le Roux or Abriès. Once again the ascent of Tête du Pelvas involves some scrambling and danger of stonefall, and should not be attempted unless you have a degree of experience. The route is cairned from the col. Since our suggested Tour du Queyras also crosses Col d’Urine on the stage leading from La Monta to Le Roux or Abriès, those who chose the Italian alternative will have caught up with the outline tour described here.
Abriès to Souliers
Assuming Abriès is chosen as the finishing point for stage seven, the next day begins with a decision to be made as to which route should be adopted for the crossing of Col du Malrif, by which the gîte d’étape at the summer-only hamlet of Les Fonds de Cervières is reached at the head of the Cervières glen. There are two ways; the shorter of course is the more direct and goes by way of a good waymarked trail to the deserted hamlet of Malrif and via the charming Lac du Grand Laus. The longer alternative heads north up the Bouchet glen first and will be favoured by walkers who chose Le Roux for their previous overnight accommodation. From Le Roux continue upvalley a little farther, before breaking away on a two and a half hour climb to Col des Thures (2797m) on the frontier ridge. Thereafter there’s some pretty rough country to trek through, at first along the frontier crest to Col de Rasis (2921m), then down to a tarn and over wild, barren hillsides before coming to the Crête aux Eaux Pendantes leading to Col du Malrif (2866m). Yet again views of an impressive nature greet the eye, particularly of the central block of snow and ice mountains of the Écrins, while much of the Tour du Queyras so far trekked will be on display. An even broader view may be obtained from the summit of Pic du Malrif nearby.
Both routes having joined at the col the way now descends into a surprisingly lush glen with trees, meadows and streams softening the landscape after the pseudo-wilderness experienced a little earlier. In this haven of peace sits the little hamlet of Les Fonds de Cervières and its gîte.
Stage nine is a short one, requiring little more than a morning’s walk to reach Souliers across the 2629 metre Col de Péas, and it would be quite feasible to continue as far as Brunissard the same day should you be running short of time. But the occasional short and easy stage slipped into a multi-day circuit such as this, is no bad thing and will have a value all its own. Those with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm will not be short of ideas to fill the day, either on this or tomorrow’s stage.
Souliers to Montdauphin-Guillestre
Between Souliers and Brunissard a diversion to Lac de Souliers and Pic Ouest is recommended, although you’ll need good weather to make a visit worthwhile. Without straying to these stage ten becomes an even shorter one than yesterday’s, and again, for those running short of time, it could be added to the next stage which leads for a second visit to Refuge de Furfande, albeit the approach is from a different direction.
A possible alternative to the GR58 route from Brunissard to Refuge de Furfande would be to follow the GR5 north from Brunissard over the rim of the Queyras district at Col des Ayes, and down from there to Briançon, from whose railway station trains depart for Lyon or Vallence. Remaining true to the spirit of the Tour du Queyras, however, for this penultimate stage we take the trail heading down-valley along the steep right flank (west side) along a forest track. Much of this stage is among trees, but the final climb to Col de Furfande (2500m) is through open country above the Bois du Devez. A dirt road also leads to the col which is marked by a large wooden cross. From it you look directly down into the lovely basin of Furfande, and on the descent it is important to bear left at a junction of trails, the alternative here being GR541, the route used on stage one from Montdauphin-Guillestre.
For the final day’s walking on this tour a number of options are available. The first is to wander the main GR58 to Ceillac, and take the bus from there to Montdauphin-Guillestre for the journey home – but this would mean walking a section already followed on day two. The second option would reverse our initial stage one across Col St-Antoine and Col du Moussière – no bad thing since views would be quite different to those experienced on the way in. But the third alternative is that which the guidebook recommends. It returns to Montdauphin-Guillestre by way of the grassy Col Garnier (2279m), then down to woodland overlooking the Combe de Queyras before coming to the ruins of Les Girards and the hamlet of Gros on the way to the Durance valley; a mostly downhill walk of about six hours with the sun in your face.
| Day 1: | Montdauphin-Guillestre – Col de Moussière – Col St-Antoine – Refuge de Furfande | |
| Day 2: | Refuge de Furfande – Col de Bramousse – Ceillac | |
| Day 3: | Ceillac – Col des Estronques – St-Véran | |
| Day 4: | St-Véran – Col de St-Véran – Pic de Caramantran – Col de Chamoussière – Refuge Agnel | |
| or: | St-Véran – Col de Chamoussière – Refuge Agnel | |
| Day 5: | Refuge Agnel – Col Agnel – Passo della Losetta – Pointe Joanne – Col de Valante – Refuge du Balif-Viso | |
| or: | Refuge Agnel – Col Agnel – Passo della Losetta – Pointe Joanne – Rifugio Vallanta | |
| Day 6: | Refuge du Balif-Viso – Col Sellière – Col Lacroix – La Monta | |
| or: | Refuge du Balif-Viso – Col Sellière – Monte Granero – Rifugio Jervis | |
| or: | Rifugio Vallanta – Passo Gallarino – Rifugio Sella | |
| Day 7: | La Monta – Collette de Gilly – Col d’Urine – Abriès | |
| or: | Rifugio Jervis – Tête du Pelvas – Col d’Urine – Abriès | |
| or: | Rifugio Sella – Col de la Traversette – Refuge du Balif-Viso | |
| Day 8: | Abriès – Col du Malrif – Les Fonds de Cervières | |
| or: | Abriès – Le Roux – Col des Thures – Col de Rasis – Col du Malrif – Les Fonds de Cervières | |
| Day 9: | Les Fonds de Cervières – Col de Péas – Souliers | |
| Day 10: | Souliers – Col du Tronchet – Lac de Souliers – Pic Ouest – Brunissard | |
| Day 11: | Brunissard – Col de Furfande – Refuge de Furfande | |
| Day 12: | Refuge de Furfande – Col Garnier – Montdauphin-Guillestre |
The south face of La Meije dominates the upper Vallon des Etançons
Massif des Écrins
At the very hub of Dauphiné, midway between the Queyras and Vercors, rise the mountains of the Massif des Écrins, variously known as the Massif du Pelvoux or l’Oisans, a relatively compact, yet complex region, much of which is protected by national park status. On its periphery a few hideous ski centres have been built, but elsewhere the peaks, passes and valleys represent a wild and seemingly little-developed refuge of Alpine beauty. Rich in wild flowers this wonderland of savage, shapely mountains and extensive ridge systems contains steep little glens with an undeniable charm all their own. High passes, some of which are accessible to walkers, cross these ridges to link the glens and the valleys they feed, while in those valleys few villages provide more than the most basic of amenities. Those that do have largely managed to avoid compromising their intrinsic character.
The