and the descent to Valsenestre made memorable by an amazing variety of alpine flowers and aromatic herbs reminiscent more of Mediterranean regions than of the Alps. The final valley stroll into the hamlet goes through a forest of larch, pine and fir, fragrant on a hot summer’s afternoon.
After Valsenestre only one pass remains to be crossed on the Tour de l’Oisans. Though high, at 2613 metres Col de la Muzelle is not as high as some of those previously tackled, yet it has a character all its own. Little more than a gash in the ridge spreading west from Roche de la Muzelle, it retains its secrets until the very last. With more than 1300 metres to climb from Valsenestre, it also has the reputation of being the most difficult of all those tackled on GR54; the French guide warns about the dangers of attempting it in wet conditions, and the map uses symbols to indicate a ‘hazardous Alpine route’. Such a reputation may be well-founded under certain conditions, but most walkers on the Oisans circuit who have coped with all the previous passes should take it in their stride – unless snow is lying or a storm brewing, that is. It will take three hours or so to reach from the Valsenestre gîte on an approach that begins with a gently rising track through forest, but which then breaks away to tackle steep grass slopes that lead into a hanging valley flowing at right-angles to that which you’ve just left.
The ascent is straightforward until about 40 minutes below the col when a steep cone of black shale and grit has to be negotiated. There are faint signs of a path (or paths) working up this cone, and it should be possible to simply stomp your way up, emerging into a blast of wind, no doubt, that funnels through the narrow gap of the col itself. Behind to the south a grand vista displays the cols of Côte-Belle and Vaurze, and provides a true indication of the helter-skelter nature of the route thus far. Northward the green tarn of Lac de la Muzelle glimmers below a clutter of screes; far-off Les Grandes Rousses line the horizon, with the mid-distance laced in cableways from Les Deux Alpes.
From the col Refuge de la Muzelle is reached in little over an hour. Set on a slope of grassland overlooking its tarn, the hut has the appearance of a timber- and stone-built chalet, bright with flower boxes on its balcony, and with a simple shepherd’s hut nearby. From it the standard descent to Bourg d’Arud in the Vallée du Vénéon is a delightful two-hour jog down a series of tight zig-zags, passing several cascades, then alongside a stream before forest marks the final descent to l’Alleau on the opposite bank of the Vénéon to Bourg d’Arud.
| Day 1: | Bourg d’Oisans – Col de Sarenne – Clavans-le-Haut – Clavans-le-Bas – Besse-en-Oisans |
| Day 2: | Besse-en-Oisans – Col Bichet – Col du Souchet – Lacs Noir & Lérié – Le Chazelet – La Grave |
| Day 3: | La Grave – Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arêne – Col d’Arsine – Le Casset – Monêtier-les-Bains |
| Day 4: | Monêtier – Col de l’Eychauda – Chambran – Ailefroide |
| Day 5: | Ailefroide – Vallouise |
| Day 6: | Vallouise – Cabane du Jas Lacroix – Col de l’Aup Martin – Pas de la Cavale – Refuge du Pré de la Chaumette |
| Day 7: | Refuge du Pré de la Chaumette – Col de la Vallette – Col de Gouiran – Col de Vallonpierre – Refuge de Vallonpierre – Refuge Xavier Blanc – La Chapelle-en-Valgaudémar |
| Day 8: | La Chapelle – Villar-Loubière – Refuge des Souffles (or La Chapelle – Col de Colombes – Col des Clochettes – Refuge des Souffles) – Col de la Vaurze – Le Désert |
| Day 9: | Le Désert – Col de Côte-Belle – Valsenestre |
| Day 10: | Valsenestre – Col de la Muzelle – Refuge de la Muzelle – Bourg d’Arud (or Refuge de la Muzelle – Col du Vallon – Lac Lauvitel – La Danchére) |
| Day 11: | Bourg d’Arud (or La Danchére) – Les Gauchoirs – Bourg d’Oisans |
| The basic tour is reasonably well waymarked on mostly clear trails. Strong, fit walkers could achieve the circuit in about nine days, but there are many tempting options that would easily fill a fortnight’s holiday. Some crossings are high, remote and demanding, and should be not be attempted in adverse weather conditions. The best time to tackle it is from mid-July to October, but some huts can become very crowded during the French school holiday period. |
But there is an alternative, longer route to the Vénéon that may be worth considering. This involves a climb of 400 metres or so to gain Col du Vallon just west of Refuge de la Muzelle. From the col a rocky landscape is negotiated in order to reach the northern shore of Lac Lauvitel – a magnificent tarn trapped in a deep well gouged out by a long-vanished glacier. From its northern shore the descent to La Danchère can be made by one of two paths, both of which are steep but uncomplicated. La Danchère has hotel accommodation, while Bourg d’Arud has a gîte d’étape and campsite, as well as hotel beds.
In order to complete the Oisans circuit, a final easy valley walk goes along the left bank of the Vénéon all the way to Bourg d’Oisans, partly in forest, sometimes over open pastureland, through one or two small village communities, and only on tarmac towards the very end. A fine circuit indeed.
Vercors
It is one of the most terrible and gruesome paths which I or any member of our party has ever trodden. There is a half-league of ladders to climb up and a league beside, but the summit is the most glorious place you ever saw. To give you a picture of the mountain, the summit has a circumference of nearly a league. It is a quarter of a league in length and a cross-bow shot in breadth, and is covered with beautiful pasture. Here we found a preserve of chamois which are destined to remain for eternity. With them were new-born young, of which we killed one by accident.
So wrote Antoine de Ville in a letter to the President of Grenoble after reaching the great flat crown of Mont Aiguille on 25 June 1492, the same year in which Columbus ‘discovered’ America. It was a remarkable achievement for the time, and even more astonishing that anyone should even dream of attempting to climb it, for Mont Aiguille, considered then to be one of the Seven Wonders of Dauphiné, looks impregnable, the summit bounded on all sides by near-vertical cliffs. No wonder it was known as Mont Inaccessible throughout the Middle Ages. Of course, today such walls provide a challenge to climbers, but 500 years ago there was no such sport as rock climbing, and mountains in general were looked upon with fear and dread. Be that as it may, de Ville, who was ordered by Charles VIII to climb it, was obviously not deterred, and with 10 companions including one of the king’s ladder- men, a professor of theology, two lawyers and a carpenter, not only scaled the mountain ‘by subtle means and engines’, but clearly loved what he found on top. The official report describes the meadow there as being larger than 40 men could mow in a day, and in addition to the chamois herd, they saw red-legged choughs and released some tame rabbits in the high pastures.
Mont Aiguille (2086m) was not climbed again until 1834 when Jean Liotard, a local shepherd, made the ascent solo and bare-footed after he found his nailed shoes made the climbing somewhat perilous. In 1878 the French Alpine Club secured what was thought to be the de Ville route with metal wires and pegs. Though these may have partly tamed the route, it remains impressive – as does the sight of this great table mountain rising from forest, pasture and scree in a series of gleaming limestone walls.
For many, Mont Aiguille has become the symbol of the Vercors. Although it is not the highest of the district (Le Grand Veymont, 2341m, claims that distinction), it is a truly astonishing sight, yet the attractive little mountains of the Pre-Alps are humble by comparison with the rugged peaks of the Écrins, for example, from whom they are separated by the Romanche and the Drac, and of course the great Mont Blanc massif whose snowfields are seen like a distant floating cloud from most of the