Col et Lac des Balmettes and Brèches de la Passoire

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Having set out with the ambition of climbing the Aup du Pont, I hadn't spotted this route. But my current lack of fitness made me hesitate at the Col de Montfossé. Nevertheless, I pressed on into the glacial cirque and finally climbed the steep scree leading to the northern breach of the Passoire. There, I didn't go any further because it became very steep and rocky, and above all, I was worried about the descent, which was becoming increasingly difficult for me.
I finally make a loop very close to the guidebook, with a few variations:
- starting from the Chalet de Frumezan to climb under the peak of the same name before crossing the balcony towards Lac des Balmettes
- at Planard de Combe Rousse, there are tracks everywhere, so I cross quite differently from the guidebook.

It's ultimately less ambitious than the Aup du Pont, but the climb to Les Brèches still requires a good effort and, above all, you get to see a wide variety of landscapes: mountain pastures, passes, glacial cirques, all with magnificent views along the way.
A few marmots, ibex and vultures, and a flock of sheep with their patous, of course, but no problem as they are with their shepherd.
I am posting a few photos to illustrate the route in summer.

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Good evening,

@bouvierjr: I’ve been looking at your other hikes and… there’s plenty to choose from . Thanks for sharing so many of them

@Fabien
I walked past the mountain dogs under the Balmettes at a distance of about 50 metres without any issues. I didn’t mention it because it seemed so basic in that sort of environment that I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.
And honestly, the one I saw was perfectly well-trained. I made my presence known because he hadn’t heard or sensed me coming.
Barking to warn you to keep your distance; you stay on the path if the flock is off to the side, and move out of the way if the flock is on the path. And the shepherdess wasn’t far away; she even told me there was nothing to worry about. (In the past, there was no need to say that; it was actually the norm.)
Generally speaking, if the dog approaches, if you’ve got sticks, hold them in one hand and definitely don’t raise them; speak calmly to the dog: “You’re doing a good job” “Isn’t the weather lovely?” blah blah, that sort of thing—whatever you like. Anyway, he doesn’t understand a word of what we say (apart from his owner’s words), just the tone in which we say it. Don’t run, don’t shout, you can even yawn; he’ll sense it, escort you (usually whilst continuing to bark – a bit of a pain on the ears, haha, yes, sounds like something I’ve experienced, lol), and so on. In short, the basics. I’ve never had any trouble with sheepdogs, Patous, Border Collies, Anatolian Shepherds, etc., and yet I haven’t needed an app to alert me to their presence in 30 years of hiking. So I hope I never come across one of those dogs apparently ‘trained to be violent by their owners’, as some have been saying for the past few years. I dare to hope that’s not true, because if you get attacked even whilst following all the rules of good conduct towards a working dog, it means the dog has indeed been trained for that purpose: to attack at all costs.

Have a good evening and enjoy your hikes

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Indeed, there are sometimes patous (and sheep) in the Alps near Lake Balmettes.

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Hello Croziflette,
You don't mention the presence of sheep accompanied by their friendly guardians, the patous.
Yesterday, I was at the Lacs du Bâcheux, two valleys away, and I wanted to come back down via the Combe du Merlet, but I decided not to because of the potential presence of guard dogs, according to MapPatou, which warns of their presence in the Combe du Merlet and the Combe des Balmettes.
These eastern valleys of Belledonne are wonderful for their wildness, their minerality and their calm, while on the western side, it's the Wild West!
Thank you for your feedback.

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Date of your route : Jul 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

Completed today, with cloud cover at the start that gradually cleared.
The trail is good almost all the way. On the way back, at the Combe Rousse plateau, it's better to follow the trail rather than the GPX track. I usually do that (I mainly look at the map), but this time I thought it would save me a few metres, which was a mistake, haha. We navigated through blueberries on a relatively steep slope at the end of the hike, which hurt my knees at my age ^^ We ended up losing a bit of time; I would have been quicker by going around the hill as the trail indicated. ^^
That said, being used to a compass and map reading, it's very easy to find your way around, and there's no real difficulty posed by this "shortcut" It's just quicker via the path (even if it's not always clearly visible).

A truly wonderful hike. I was alone in the world when I reached the Montfossé pass. Not a sound. Not a soul in the final valley, neither at the top nor on the return loop. But I did come across a couple of magnificent ibexes in the valley on the way down. A magical moment that I always enjoy as much as the first time. I also saw an eagle on the way up. I was surprised, I didn't know there were any in the area. I don't know what species it was, but I recognised it by its magnificent cry. And vultures too, of course, on the way down to the grassy plateau.

Once I reached the breach, I hesitated for a moment about whether to go for the summit (Pointe de l'Aup du Pont), but I decided against it. On my own, the ridge leading up to it looked pretty dodgy. So, given the commitment involved, I decided not to risk it with a knee that was showing signs of weakness. Even though I had my helmet and very good shoes suitable for this terrain.
→ I strongly recommend a helmet, even if you're only going to the breach in the passoire. I saw a few rocks flying down the couloir on the right just before I passed through. They weren't very big, but they could have hurt if you weren't protected. They may have been the first and last of the season, who knows, but when in doubt, I was glad I had mine on ^^

So I didn't make it to the summit, but I don't regret it! I stayed at the top for a good hour, and just before that I spent about 45 minutes at the bottom (at the pass) admiring the majestic, mesmerising final valley. And anyway, the view from the breach is more than enough, it's breathtaking.
Not counting breaks, I must have walked for about 4½ to 5 hours.

Thanks to the author for sharing this, because I have to admit it's one of the most beautiful hikes I've done in a long time, and I do a lot of hiking throughout the year ^^ A superb find, really. And the looped descent, honestly, don't hesitate for a second, even if the locals tell you "meh"! Seriously, the view of the old Clarant glacier and its enormous frontal moraine, the view of the Étendard glacier, etc. Well, it's worth it because you have them almost the whole way.
In short, it's almost untouched wilderness in the Alps, which is becoming rare! (in the sense that you hardly ever see anyone else there)
Let's hope this place stays wild enough and doesn't attract crowds of mindless people who have no respect for the mountains, because that's what makes it so wonderful, with no other human beings in sight (and especially not within earshot... -_-' XD).

Quickly, in terms of orientation, it's really easy. We hardly needed the GPX track. And yet there were clouds (it helps to know how to read a map with a compass, thanks Dad ^^)

Have a good evening and enjoy your hikes!

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Date of your route : Aug 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

As I was short on time, I stopped at the Col du Villonet.
In Combe Rousse, on the descent from the Col du Villonet, I came across a flock of sheep guarded by at least two mountain dogs, which let the hikers pass but escorted them whilst barking. As a result, I missed the turn-off to head back up towards the Planard de Combe Rousse. And on the descent from Le Planard, the path is barely visible; only a few tracks remain, which do not necessarily converge. This is when the hiking trail marker comes in very handy.
Car park for 4–5 cars

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Date of your route : Jul 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We didn’t really follow the suggested route as we had trouble reaching the starting point. The car’s sat-nav (too old? out of date?) couldn’t guide us there without taking a two-hour detour!!!
Some locals showed us the way: the track was in very poor condition and my colleague was worried about damaging her car. We left it in a corner and carried on on foot. That meant a long stretch of tarmac road... All in the fog!
It was 12.30 pm when we arrived at the starting point and... right from the start, the stream was impassable, having swollen considerably due to the rain over the previous few days.
So we decided to simply head to Lac des Balmettes by doing the route in reverse. The sky cleared up as we got there.
The scenery was magnificent; we also spotted a family of chamois.
The sunny descent allowed us to admire the magnificent surrounding mountains as well as an endless variety of flowers and colours: splendid!

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