Notre-Dame des Anges Chapel – Summit of Mont Ventoux

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike this weekend. I’d never climbed Mont Ventoux from this side before… so it was interesting
However, from point 1 to point 4, it’s very difficult to find your way, so on the way there we had to wing it all the way to the Pas de la Frache because we’d completely lost our route!! On the way back we followed the signs, but again from point 4 to 1… it was very tricky. Luckily we had a GPS as in some places there’s no path at all; you really just have to follow your instincts through the woods. That was the only slight downside to the hike; otherwise the scenery was splendid.
You need a bit of stamina as the hike is long (especially when you’re trying to find your way )

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Date of your route : Apr 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Perfect weather and temperature. Beautiful scenery and wildlife. A dip in the fresh snow for the brave.

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Hello Madam,

You are referring to the comment dated Sunday 21 June 2015, and I understand your anger as there is undoubtedly some confusion between two people.

However, if we look at the comment dated Friday 31 March 2017, it is very complimentary about the Mont Ventoux massif.

Personally, this year, in June, I spent three weeks hiking in the Ventoux Massif. I met shepherds and their dogs, and everything went smoothly.

As for the walk that crosses your property, I have contacted the author by email today.

Kind regards

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re...
After re-reading Didier’s post, it seems this is a flock higher up than mine... perhaps passing just above my house between the two places where you cross the road...but it seems to me that in 2015 there was a shepherd for that flock and not a shepherdess... and so the shepherdess is me further down but not with the right flock.... hence the Patou that isn’t mine... and the caravan...
in any case, the problem remains the same... and if it is indeed the flock higher up that we’re talking about, it’s not up to him to question himself, and the ONF rents the pastures and owns the land, and I don’t think he’d agree to a hiking trail in that spot where they charge for hunting, for that matter...and that the herd in question pays to be where it was, with the owners’ permission for the caravan and the park, and that Didier’s comment remains unreasonable and a “load of rubbish”, I still think... let him say exactly where everyone was on the map and we’ll understand better...
But the problem remains the same... our work and living space (permanent or temporary) is not to be questioned, but rather the route of these ‘wild’ hikes on paths or ‘trails’ not authorised for that purpose....And there are many reasons for this that you must respect, and it’s not the other way round that should be done...
There you go...

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Hello!!!
I can’t believe it...
I reckon this ‘Didier’ is talking about me in 2015, or some other bunch further down the route???
If he’s talking about me, that comment is simply outrageous!!!
1: At the point where you turn right coming out of the bend (just to cut the bend in the road!!!), there simply isn’t a path!!!!
2: We own the land and there’s absolutely no reason to cross it, and there are no hiking trails in that area!
3: 300m from the famous park in question is my home, and there’s more to it than just a caravan!!! (At the car park where you park – and be careful how you park, by the way, as I need to be able to get past with my tractor and trailer....
4: In June 2015, the dog hadn’t even arrived yet and was still a puppy!!!! He must have made that version up entirely!!!! Or perhaps—and this is where I have my doubts—he’s talking about another herd much further up, or he’s mixing everything up a bit, just to tell a story...
5: He can’t be very good at reading maps, because if he’d stayed on the road (which is why I’m asking for your route to be re-marked, by the way!!), he wouldn’t have taken a detour apart from the bend in the road, and would then have rejoined the path without cutting across our land, where we put the fences exactly where we want them!!!!
6: According to his own words, either he’s in the park for no reason in front of a Patou that doesn’t exist... or he’s simply green with envy at not finding a path that doesn’t exist and is blaming the shepherdess, when the fault lies with the person who marked the route...
7- So please correct this and leave the route as it was at the start, following the road until the left-hand turn onto the main track above our property, as your abusive comments and unauthorised entry onto the property are neither tolerable nor manageable... and there is simply no path along the edge by the chapel...

8- If there are fences, we have our reasons for putting them up, so please respect our work and go and ‘let off steam’ somewhere else!!
9 – If he’s talking about another flock (because the Patou wasn’t with my animals back in 2015…), that’s odd as it must be much further up, and it seems to me he’s talking about the start of the hike… or he’s making it all up just to have another go at “the shepherdess”…and not to admit his poor map-reading on the way back and his 4km detour to avoid Patou, which didn’t exist (I got him as a puppy in July ’15), when he simply missed the first junction at the picnic area and would just have had to take the last bend (edge of the park) on the tarmac, as you’ll mark out your hike in future...
In any case, it’s clear that the start of your route needs reviewing, and the road is the only option up to the left-hand fork opposite the ‘Forêt domaniale du Ventouret’ sign... because below that, all the way to the chapel, it’s private property and we don’t want any more hikers passing through – that’s that...I’m perfectly entitled to do as I please on my land, my home (and not a ‘campsite’ – what an odious comment, Didier!!) and my workplace, and you must respect that....I don’t believe it’s the other way round, as one might think from reading Didier’s comment, where the ‘hiker’ is king and ‘the shepherdess’ (who, moreover, owns the land), her dogs, her flock, her paddocks, her house, her work… ...a pile of shit that’s a right pain in the middle of a path that’s simply not been there for centuries... and we don’t want people passing through there anyway, as it’s too close to the park...
Coexistence is rather difficult, and the urban-rural contrasts are hard to live with in these parts, where everyone had deserted during the rural exodus, and where it’s far easier to go for a day’s hike than to live there year-round, watching the whole city come to let off steam!!! Who doesn’t understand our way of life and the difficulties of surviving in a world turned upside down!!!!
Outraged....
PS:
I even think that in future, to avoid ‘conflicts’ and difficulties along the way (tarmac, parking, neighbours, etc.)you should start your hike above the private estate, from the sign for ‘Forêt domaniale du Ventouret’ on the road, at a place called La Reynarde, for example, for the car park?? Or at your ‘picnic area’ where you cross the road as well...As for me, I don’t want the hassle of managing the group on top of my job, so we’ll have to adapt... otherwise, there’s tarmac at the start and be careful with the car park at the start, which is also my driveway, and where trailers and tractors (or even a combine harvester depending on the season) need to be able to get through; otherwise, I’ll have to move the vehicles...
Thanks!!

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certainly not yet done in May

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Date of your route : Mar 31, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A slight variation: I set off from the little village of Verdolier, which makes the route a bit longer. Park in front of the church and take the signposted path behind the cemetery, which is behind the church.
The climb is quite steep right from the start, so I recommend taking it easy for the first hour. After that, it gets easier and the paths are well marked, passing through working forests with impressive stacks of timber.
The ridge path is magnificent, with panoramic views; always keep to the right of the snow markers.
Ascent time: 5 hours, including a 30-minute lunch break, at a steady pace.
A gentle descent of 4 hours, taking care on the slope which can cause you to slip on the final section.
Mont Ventoux is an exceptional hike; the next day it was snowing at the summit! Lucky
Alain

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Good evening, Didier,

You really were unlucky on that one!
It’s true that on trails with little or no signposting, there’s a chance the vegetation will take over and it can become a real struggle.
Did you find the description wasn’t quite up to scratch?

I’d still advise you to choose a more ‘traditional’ route up Mont Ventoux to really enjoy this giant of Provence, even if it means you’ll meet more people.

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Date of your route : Jun 21, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I went on this walk this Sunday, choosing to do a round trip.
I wouldn’t recommend this hike for several reasons:
For over an hour at the start, there isn’t necessarily a path; it is therefore difficult to find your way even with the help of a GPS, and progress is not easy when the grass is tall in the undergrowth.
The second reason is perhaps just a stroke of bad luck for me, but there was a flock of sheep on the route and the shepherdess was 300 metres away from the flock. She had three dogs with her, which she kept on a lead; unfortunately, among the flock was a Patou that was extremely aggressive, even though I left the path to avoid passing too close to the sheep. I had to rely on my walking sticks for safety, but I regret that the shepherdess didn’t warn me...
The third reason is that the shepherdess had set up camp (caravan and sheep pen) at a fork in the path, with the pen blocking the view of the correct path. So I took the wrong path, adding an extra 2km to my walk;
Finally, the return journey: I didn’t want to give the Patou any more work to do, so I walked 4 km along the tarmac to get back to the chapel, the starting point...
As for the rest, the Ventoux remains the Ventoux: magical.....

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