Glacier Noir to the Balmes de François Blanc

Thank you for your research and these links, which clearly confirm this incident. I’m not surprised. Having lived in Briançon, I’ve seen other things like this. In particular, the closure for several years of the departmental road passing through La Grave – the road linking Briançon to Grenoble. We were forced to go via Fréjus.
Thank you again.

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Hello Jean-Yves
I found this: https://rando.paysdesecrins.com/trek/995...
And then this regarding the access road: https://www.montagnes-magazine.com/actus...

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Thank you, Le Marcheur 65, for this warning. I completed this walk in good conditions, but of course one is never entirely safe in the Hautes-Alpes from rockfalls, landslides or other hazards caused by bad weather. The author is obviously not responsible for such incidents. Thank you for pointing this out.
The author of the walk.
Kind regards,
Jean-Yves

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Hello User 2678463
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
The route description has been updated with a warning.

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Date of your route : Sep 08, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, I went on this walk following the damage caused by bad weather at the end of August 2026. The road and path leading from Ailefroide to Pré Madame Carle have been destroyed in many places. Vehicles can no longer pass through.
It is possible to reach Pré Madame Carle on foot via the road: an unofficial path marked by cairns runs between the remaining sections of road.
Via the footpath: currently being created by the national park teams, also marked by cairns.
Please note that in both cases, the paths cross the beds of rivers and torrents which were the ‘cause’ of the destruction.

Once you reach Pré de Madame, you will see the vehicles that have been left behind. The mountain hut is currently closed. The Glacier Noir torrent has also destroyed a footbridge; two wooden planks have been laid, but the crossing is very tricky and will not last.

You can then continue part of the walk, which includes a section that has been devastated for a few metres. To get past this: you can either cross the riverbed where the path has been washed away, or a scree slope where the path has been crushed. There are no signposts; you’ll need to assess the terrain yourself.
The path ends about 2 km before the finish as everything has been destroyed.

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Date of your route : Aug 31, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk beneath the well-known peaks of the Ecrins massif.
The path, which is rarely used, feels a bit exposed when walking along the ridge – which is rarely very narrow and can often be easily avoided by taking the grassy side of the moraine.
Not recommended for those prone to vertigo AND those unaccustomed to mountain walks.
From Les Balmes or a little further on, there’s a magnificent view of the Glacier Noir and its peaks.

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Date of your route : Aug 17, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk, the main purpose of which is to admire the north faces – Pelvoux, Sans Nom, Ailefroide, Coolidge and so on. However, the path becomes much more dangerous; nevertheless, there are tracks that bypass the exposed sections.

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Date of your route : Sep 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike – in fact, my husband, who is prone to vertigo, took the path on the right going up – the arrival point offers a magnificent view of Pelvoux, Coolidge, etc. – stony path – apart from the ridge, no particular difficulty

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Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hiking trail that is less frequented than the one leading to the white glacier. The ridge path in the second part should be tackled with caution, but there is another route below that allows you to avoid it. On the day of our hike, we were glad to have brought our fleece jackets with us.

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Date of your route : Aug 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in mid-August in fairly hot weather. With two children aged 6 and 9.
The hike itself is not difficult. It is a technical hike rather than a physical one. You start with the crowd climbing up to the Glacier Blanc refuge before turning left, leaving 90% of the hikers behind. The climb is very steady and you can easily cover the 600m of elevation gain.
The view is magnificent on the last part, immersing you in a high mountain landscape.
It widens at the top, where you can stop for a picnic. There is also a small stream (at least when we were there) where you can fill your water bottle.
The only difficulty (often mentioned here) is the last third of the climb, as you are on a fairly narrow ridge that is relatively steep on the left. This is easy for adults who are used to mountain hiking. Our children managed it, but they are used to the mountains. Despite this, you need to take basic safety precautions.
However, there is an alternative route that we took on the way back: a path on the left (when descending) that avoids the exposed ridge.
In my opinion, this hike is just as remarkable as the one to the Refuge du Glacier Blanc, with the added advantage of being quiet.

A quick aside:
When I say that the hike is "easy", this is subjective. The hike may seem a little more demanding for some.
I say this because you see a lot of "tourists" at the start, in other words people who start the hike in the middle of the afternoon, with a bottle of water in their hand and wearing light shoes. This isn't a criticism, everyone has every right to enjoy the mountains, but many turn back at the first switchbacks when they see how steep the climb is.

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

The car park at Madame Carle's field was free and five chamois appeared there early in the morning.
There were few people on the trail early in the morning, but on the way back, we encountered everyone who was heading up to the refuges!
There were few people on the ridge trail, which was indeed deteriorating. You had to stay focused. It was impossible to pass each other: you had to move over a little into the grass where a parallel trail sometimes formed.
But the view at the end is superb. Definitely worth doing!

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Date of your route : Jul 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The hike is very pleasant and not very busy

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Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Caution, caution... Initially, the footbridge over the Black Glacier torrent was torn away during storms last June. As a result, you have to cross two branches of the torrent on a narrow plank, which may cause some people to give up. You need to have good balance, otherwise...
Higher up, the moraine is crumbling, leaving only a narrow path with a drop on the left as you climb... Again, those prone to vertigo may find it difficult to continue.
Otherwise, once you reach the top... It's beautiful!!!

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Date of your route : Jul 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Following the storms at the end of June 2024, the footbridge over the torrent has been replaced by a temporary footbridge and the start of the trail has been changed.
On the upper third of the ridge on the morraine, the trail is frequently narrowed with an impressive black glacier face. However, it is always possible to bypass these rockfalls by taking the slope on the mountain side.
At the top, the marmots are not at all shy, allowing you to observe them closely.

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Yes, of course, as with many mountain hikes, there are sections where you need to be careful and, above all, take it slowly.
However, the path along the ridge is almost horizontal, and to see what it's like, there's nothing better than watching the video, which you can find herehttps://youtu.be/ZkCX_SzoEXI?si=0tUe2vWc...
as I film all my routes before creating the guides.

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