Col de la Rousse and Pic de Charance from the Grande Cabane

de fr

A very varied hike. Larch woods, a circular path with views of the Embrunais and Lake Serre-Ponçon; the Cirque de Bragousse and its Demoiselles, not to mention the Col de la Rousse and its mountain pastures and the Pic de Charance with its view of the Cirque de Morgon.
An alternative to the very popular Grand Morgon climb. Here you can see marmots and chamois (if you're observant enough).

Details

n°760693
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.86 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 836 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 836 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,310 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,609 m
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

Sheepfolds seen from the Col de la Rousse
Demoiselle non coiffée
Red rock
The Cirque de Bragousse

Description of the walk

To get to the starting point, continue along the D90 climbing from Crots when it becomes stony for about 3km to the Grande Cabane, at the bridge over the Infernet.

(S/E) Take the path on the left. About 50 metres further on, ignore a path on the left and continue to the right. Go around a hairpin bend and continue straight on until you reach the "Col de la Rousse" sign, about 2 km after the start.

(1) Take the path on the right (south), which winds through tight hairpin bends (raspberry bushes) and then climbs steeply to reach the junction with the Chemin de Ceinture.

(2) Turn right (west) and follow this path to Col de la Rousse.

(3) Take the path on the right, which winds its way up to Pic de Charance.

(4) Follow the same route to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,609 m - Grande Cabane, bridge over the Infernet
  2. 1 : km 1.82 - alt. 1,814 m - Head towards Col de la Rousse on the right.
  3. 2 : km 2.73 - alt. 2,036 m - Chemin de Ceinture on the right
  4. 3 : km 4.84 - alt. 2,145 m - Col de la Rousse
  5. 4 : km 6.44 - alt. 2,308 m - Pic de Charance (Massif du Parpaillon)
  6. S/E : km 12.86 - alt. 1,609 m - Large hut, bridge over the Infernet

Notes

There is a drinking trough after the Cirque de Bragousse. However, the water coming out of the pipe is sometimes very weak.
Be careful, there are herds of cows below and sheep with Patou dogs at the Col de la Rousse. If you have a dog, keep it on a leash.
Bring your binoculars: at the Pic de Charance, when you look towards Les Carattes (the cliffs on the left, south-east side), there are often chamois under the few trees. Watch them from the peak, but do not disturb them.

Worth a visit

Throughout the hike, you will see a variety of landscapes.
On the way, you will pass through the Cirque de Bragousse. It is easy to imagine that the torrent that carves these rocks can become gargantuan and carry up to "400,000 tonnes of rubble and mud per hour during periods of very high water" if we are to believe the interesting document Le système torrentiel de Bragousse-Boscodon (The Bragousse-Boscodon Torrential System). You can see impressive demoiselles (without caps) that less poetic geologists call dolomitic pinnacles.
We pass through scree slopes with striking red rock that must feel lonely.

The Col de la Rousse was a busy crossing point to Ubaye, so much so that during the Wars of Religion, the King's troops stationed themselves there to arrest heretical pastors and Protestants.
At Pic de Charance, there is a beautiful view of the Morgon cirque and its different coloured rocks (including red ones).

If you look carefully, looking west towards the scree slopes with their few trees on the northern side of the pass (below the Tête de la Vieille), you will see chamois coming to take up their summer quarters without being disturbed by the tourists who visit Morgon.

Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 7 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
daubram05
daubram05
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

As enjoyable as ever.
See here
https://youtu.be/77lXfiASkW8?feature=sha...

Machine-translated

LAVALL Louisette
LAVALL Louisette

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike with no other hikers, only one couple encountered.

Machine-translated

dom tuo
dom tuo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent and very varied hike: climb through the forest, scree passages, cirques and magnificent 360° views at the top.
Highly recommended.

Machine-translated

jeanmariedegap
jeanmariedegap

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with few people on a Sunday. We encountered seven people along the way and no one at the summit of Pic de Charance, compared to the summit of Morgon, where there were about twenty people!
In addition, the hike provided excellent information on the Bragousse-Boscodon torrential system and historical data in the hike description.
Beautiful views of
We recommend it!

Machine-translated

PatrickB7
PatrickB7

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, first through the forest and then across some interesting scree slopes with a variety of rock types. Very beautiful scenery. You can see chamois and vultures...

Machine-translated

Odette84240
Odette84240

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful view at the summit. The climb is never very steep, with many sections through the forest.
We were lucky enough to meet a very friendly shepherd who lives on this estate with his own sheepfold and flock. He explained to us that many shepherds are seasonal workers, which sometimes causes problems with the Patou dogs, as they are not their real owners. Our conversation was very constructive and really added something extra to this hike. We were also lucky enough to see his two border collies at work, which was impressive!

Machine-translated

JACMAN
JACMAN

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 06, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very nice hike, I recommend it!

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Walking The Cabane des Olettes

Visorando member
La Cabane des Olettes
↔9.46 km ↗+705 m ↘-702 m ◔4h 45 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
This day-long circular hike, where you are unlikely to encounter too many other hikers, even in summer, takes place largely in open countryside, allowing you to walk alongside some of the peaks south of Lake Serre-Ponçon, including Pouzenc (2,898m).

Walking Grand route of Pic de Morgon

Visorando member
Grand circuit du Pic de Morgon
↔16.73 km ↗+1,119 m ↘-1,117 m ◔8h 00 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
This is a great hike that will leave you in awe of the magnificent landscape at Pic de Morgon. What's more, this route offers great variety.

Walking The Morgon Cirque

Visorando member
Le Cirque de Morgon
↔11.79 km ↗+720 m ↘-725 m ◔5h 25 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
The route crosses the superb Boscodon State Forest, continues through the Cirque de Morgon with its small lake, and ends with a descent in wide hairpin bends through the forest on the edge of the Cirque de Bragousse. Along the way, several viewpoints offer splendid views of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon, the Pic de Morgon and the Cirque de Bragousse.

Walking The Pic de Morgon from the Fontaine de l'Ours

Visorando member
↔16.07 km ↗+1,151 m ↘-1,156 m ◔7h 55 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
A beautiful, challenging circular hike for those who want to discover the Cirque de Morgon and enjoy one of the most beautiful views of Lake Serre-Ponçon and the surrounding peaks. Autumn, with its colours, is the best time to visit.

Walking Pic du Morgon from the Fontaine de l'Ours

Visorando member
Pic du Morgon depuis la Fontaine de l'Ours
↔16.58 km ↗+1,369 m ↘-1,361 m ◔8h 40 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
A long hike with many facets. A lunar landscape through the Cirque de Bragousse, a magnificent meadow through the Cirque du Morgon with its small sacred lake (Lac Saint-Pierre), if you are lucky enough to see it full of water, and its countless marmots, and finally an unforgettable panorama from the Pic du Morgon.

Walking Le Belvédère de Bragousse

Visorando member
↔7.90 km ↗+421 m ↘-423 m ◔3h 30 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
Belle randonnée dans la Forêt Domaniale de Boscodon sur un flanc du Pic de Morgon avec de superbes vues sur le Cirque de Bragousse.

Walking From Boscodon Abbey to the hamlet of Saint-Jean

Visorando member
De l'Abbaye de Boscodon au hameau de Saint-Jean
↔8.11 km ↗+287 m ↘-293 m ◔3h 10 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
A very pleasant hike in the mid-mountains with beautiful views of Lake Serre-Ponçon, Embrun and the Aiguilles de Chabrières. The hamlet of Saint-Jean is well worth a visit with its church, cemetery and old municipal hearses (built and restored by ASPEC).

Walking Circular in the Boscodon State Forest

Visorando member
Boucle dans la Forêt Domaniale de Boscodon
↔11.32 km ↗+429 m ↘-432 m ◔4h 30 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Crots (Hautes-Alpes)
This large forest between Lake Serre-Ponçon and the long ridge that ends at Pic de Morgon offers dozens of trails to explore. Here is one that runs close to the lake and takes you through tiny hamlets nestled in the forest.

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.