Indeed, many of the Alpine trails are easier to negotiate than the rough, often pathless terrain of the Highlands, where there are few waymarks, and where Arctic-like conditions, even during the summer months, frequently occur.
However, there are also significant differences between walking in the Alps and in the mountains of the British Isles. Firstly, the Alps are at a considerably higher altitude. In Britain we are used to thinking in terms of 3000 to 4000 feet for the major peaks. In the Alps this figure is 3000 to 4000 metres, i.e. over three times higher. The highest point reached on the Queyras Tour is 3208m (10,517ft) on the Pain de Sucre, and even the lowest col is at 2251m (7379ft) above sea level (the Col de Bramousse). However, very few people are affected by altitudes below about 3000m (9840ft) – it is usually only above this height that altitude sickness and associated problems are experienced – so there is generally no cause for concern at spending a holiday at these relatively modest altitudes. Furthermore, although heights of 2950m (9000ft) and above are regularly attained on the Tour, remember that in the Alps even the major valley systems are at a significantly higher altitude than those in Britain. The village of Saint-Véran, for instance, at 2020m (6622ft), is over twice the height of Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England, so the total amount of climbing in any one day is often no more than in the Welsh, English or Scottish mountains.
On the route between the Col de Saint-Véran and the Col de Chamoussière (Stage 4)
The mountains of the Alps rise steeply from the valleys, so climbs are often longer and more sustained than those in Britain. However, in many cases the ascent of a very steep mountainside is rendered relatively easy by a well-made path constructed of numerous zigzags. For example, the ascent to the Col des Thures (Alternative Stage 8) is greatly facilitated by a seemingly endless zigzagging path.
In most of the mountain areas of Britain, the nearest valley can be reached from the highest hills within two or three hours. The scale of the Alpine mountains, however, is such that it is often not possible to travel on foot from one mountain base to another within a day. To overcome this problem an elaborate network of mountain refuges has been developed, offering comfortable, albeit spartan accommodation in the most isolated areas of the mountains. The refuges are very popular – a tradition of travelling in these mountains – and making use of this type of accommodation is well established. There is no equivalent system in Britain, so the British hill walker on a first visit to the Alps will find the mountain refuges a novel, and hopefully enjoyable, experience.
The French Alps, and particularly those to the south of the country, in the Hautes-Alpes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, tend to enjoy warmer and more settled weather than the Swiss or Austrian Alps. This can present problems during the main summer months for the unwary walker who is unused to climbing steep mountainsides under the intense heat of a southern midsummer sun. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are problems that are not often encountered on the British hills, but they are not uncommon in the French Alps. Common sense and an appreciation of the danger are all that are usually necessary.
A word of warning must be given nevertheless. The Alps have claimed many thousands of lives over the years. They are large-scale mountains with plenty of natural hazards, and although the weather tends to be generally good in the Queyras, severe weather conditions can and do occur, often with very little warning – always keep an eye on the weather and take care where placing your feet. Most of the paths on this Queyras Tour present no particular problems under normal conditions, although some of the routes, particularly those on some of the optional excursions (for example, Le Pain de Sucre, Monte Granero, Tête du Pelvas), are very steep, and should only be attempted by those with suitable experience.
Any particular difficulties are discussed in the introductory summary to each stage and in the route description.
Grandes Randonnées
France has a very extensive network of long-distance paths, called Grandes Randonnées (literally ‘big walks’), commonly abbreviated to GR. Each GR route has been designated a number, for example GR7 or GR20. The principal long-distance trails, like the GR4 and GR5, usually carry a low number while shorter circular routes, variations or link routes, have two- or three-digit numbers.
Summit cairn, Pic de Foréant (Alternative to Stage 5 and Stage 6)
Trails in a particular area or in the vicinity of a one-digit GR all carry the same first number. For example, the major GR trail in the French Alps is the GR5 (a significant part of the 4850km/3012 mile European E2 route from Ireland via the UK, Netherlands, Belgium and France to Nice), which enters the Alps at Lake Geneva and continues south to the Mediterranean. The Alpine part of the GR5 is also known as La Grande Traversée des Alpes (and is the subject of a Cicerone guidebook – see Appendix 2).
There are several other GR paths in the French Alps, and these all begin with the digit 5, for example the GR54 (Tour de L’Oisans, which is also covered by a Cicerone guidebook, see Appendix 2). Other GR routes in the Alps include the GR52 (a variation of the GR5, from Saint Dalmas-Valdeblore to Menton through the Mercantour national park) and the GR58 (Tour du Queyras), which forms the basis of the walk described in this guidebook. A circular GR route is generally referred to as a tour.
There are also several three-digit GR trails in the area, which again carry the same initial digit, and often link routes to the longer trails, such as the GR541, which links the GR54 in the Écrins to the GR58 in the Queyras. (This system has analogies with UK road-numbering – M6, A65 and so on.)
Looking back down to Saint-Véran (Stage 4)
There are at least 65,000km (c. 40,000 miles) of GR trail throughout France, and the network is still expanding. In addition to the long-distance trails there are many regional, usually shorter trails, referred to as ‘GRs de Pays’, as well as an abundance of local footpaths, or ‘Sentiers de PR’ (Petites Randonnées). In all, there are well over 160,000km (100,000 miles) of country footpaths in France.
Italy also has its long-distance trails. The major Alpine route is the Grande Traversata delle Alpi, an alternative to the French Grande Traversée. Rather confusingly, these are both abbreviated to GTA. The Italian traverse runs from Carnino in the south, across the Argentera massif, skirting the Monte Viso region to the Gran Paradiso, and on to end at the foot of Monte Rosa at Macugnaga, near the Swiss border.
A second Italian trail of relevance to the Queyras Tour is the circular Tour of Monte Viso (Monviso in Italian). This starts at the Pian del Re, the source of the River Po, and circles the peak of Monte Viso and adjacent mountains. The route, which takes three or four days to complete, goes from the Pian del Re to the Rifugio Quintino Sella (for an optional and very long ascent to Monte Viso), and on over the Passo di San Chiaffredo to enter the Vallone di Vallanta (Valante in French).
The trail climbs in this valley, passing the refuges of Gagliardone and Vallanta, to join the route described in this guidebook. The Tour crosses the Passo di Vallanta (Col Valante) to enter France and descends to the Refuge Viso. Soon after this the Monte Viso trail parts company with the Queyras Tour to cross back into Italy at the Colle delle Traversette and descends back to the Pian del Re.
The Walking Tour of the Queyras, GR58 and GR541
The Tour of the Queyras described in this guidebook (henceforth referred to as the Tour) makes use of two GR trails and their variants and a number of non-GR footpaths. The two GR routes are the GR58 (Tour du Queyras) and the GR541.
The Standard GR58
The standard GR58 Tour du Queyras, opened in 1984, is a circular tour from Ceillac > Saint-Véran > Refuge Agnel > Col Vieux > Lac Foréant > Lac Egourgéou > La Monta > Ristolas > Abriès > Lac du Grand Laus > Col du Malrif > Les Fonts de Cervières > Souliers > Brunissard > Furfande > Les Escoyères > Ceillac. There are two alternative routes from Les Escoyères to Ceillac, both referred