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From the Isère valley, climb up to Villard-de-Lans and continue towards Corrençon, crossing the village to the golf course and its car park.
(S/E) Head south (GR®91) to the Croix de Jacques. Turn right towards Pierre Copante and follow a stony path that runs alongside the paved roller skiing training track. When the track turns left, continue up the path towards Quatre Pierres. At the crossroads at the top of the golf course, at the sign marked "Quatre Pierres", ignore the paths to the right and left and take the path opposite, which continues to climb through sparse forest (purple markings). After ten minutes, it veers to the right to pass a viewpoint on a sharp limestone pavement.
(1) The path descends and heads north-east then east, returning to the golf course. Continue downhill along the golf course until you reach an intersection at an altitude of 1,165 metres.
(2) Follow the unmarked path to the left, which leads to Barre aux Chèvres after a few hundred metres. Go around it on the right, following the safety railings, and continue north on the path until you reach the wide, stony forest road of Trois Fontaines.
(3) Follow it to the left and climb up to the Compalong crossroads.
(4) Descend to the left along a path that enters the forest and, after only thirty to fifty metres, climb to the left off the path towards the limestone cliffs overlooking the area: look for an upper bench which is in fact the Arche-Tronc with its tree. Return by the same route.
(4) Take the wide forest road that climbs north-west. When the track turns right, follow a path on the left that starts level in the forest and then veers right to climb straight up the moderate slope to the Pré Pansu ridge. Descend on the other side to reach a forest road and follow it to the right for another 100 metres downhill to the crossroads marked Les Gelinottes.
(5) Climb the fairly steep path on the left towards Château Julien. It leads to the Malaterre forest road at a bend at Chargeoir de la 46. Take the path opposite (towards cote 1400; do not take the road).
(6) At the La Cote 1400m intersection, continue straight ahead and, after a short climb, you will reach the karstic cave de Malaterre. Retrace your steps to the previous intersection.
(6) Descend the path on the left towards Malaterre. The path soon turns right (south-east) and crosses the Malaterre forest road. Continue straight ahead downhill until you reach the Grande Allée forest road. Follow it to the right for 200 m until you reach a pass-crossing marked Pré Pansu.
(7) Descend east-southeast towards Corrençon and Champalong. After 200 m, turn left onto an unmarked path (just a few blue dots). Descend into the forest to the northeast until you reach a crossroads. Turn left: the Loubière cave and arch are just to the left at the edge of this path.
(8) Continue along this path to the north-west. It climbs slightly then turns north to continue level to the Combe de la Loubière.
(9) You are now in the area of the artists' "temporary shelters", some of which you will pass through.
Climb the path on the left to reach the Charbonnières forest road at Les Caballes. Turn right and descend to the junction with the Galmiche forest road, which you follow to the left for 300 metres on level ground. Here, a path climbs to the right to join Sapin Bellier.
(10) From the fir tree, head south on a level path through the forest. After about 300 metres, at the Charbonnières crossroads, climb the steep slope on the left, which winds its way up to the Généty plateau. Continue on flat ground to the south-east and, before the path descends, turn right towards the Belvédère, less than 100 metres away.
(11) Continue straight ahead at the Belvédère viewpoint to descend diagonally down the hillside. You will soon leave the forest. Continue downhill for a short distance, then take the path on the right through the meadow and turn right onto the marked trail at a place called Les Granges. At the next crossroads, you will be overlooking the sinkhole where the Gouffre de Corrençon opens up, which you can visit via a footpath. Turn left to reach the top of the Glacière. At the sign, turn right to descend towards the railings and continue along them to the bottom of the thalweg where the Glacière opens up on the right.
(12) From there, you can climb back up the path along the railings to descend directly to Corrençon. If you want to avoid this climb, take the path opposite the entrance to the Glacière. It crosses level to the north-west and joins another path. The Glacière crossroads is then 50 m downhill to the left.
(13) Take the forest track to the south, which is level. It leads to the Compalong junction passed on the way up.
(4) Descend to the left towards Corrençon.
(3) Continue straight ahead. Pass Derrière la Côte and then La Perelle and join hole 16 of the golf course. This will take you just above the starting car park (S/E).
Did this route without snowshoes as there was very little snow, but took crampons as the path was very slippery. Lots of people up to Malaterre, after that no one else. No further comments.
Beautiful hike through the woods, but there are sections marked with a yellow and green cross that you have to take if you want to follow the Visorando route. There are also sections without any markings where you need a compass to find your way, as I didn't see anyone else on this route until Malaterre. Made a mistake of 100m at the barns, didn't see the path on the right that leads into a field closed off by a branch across the rest. Nothing else to report. 13.53 km for 490 m of elevation gain.
Visorando member
Difficult 
Easy 
