Grand Morétan

Warning
Information on how to reach the starting point, as well as details regarding difficulties, alternative routes and precautions to take, is summarised in the ‘Practical Information’ and ‘During the Walk’ sections. Any difficult walk requires preparation, and this very difficult walk is no exception

Route

^GR®® 738, signposted in red and white

(S/E) From La Bourgeat Noire, follow the^GR®® which takes the track heading south-south-east. Ignore the track branching off to the right shortly afterwards and carry on past the Plan shelter. The track then turns into a path that follows the Gleyzin streams upstream, still heading south-southeast. Upon reaching the foot of a scree couloir – the Pertuis – the path winds its way up to the east, reaching a level track.

(1) Ignore the path heading north towards the Chalet du Vay and follow the level path running south, marked^GR®®. After crossing the bed of the Gleyzin and making a slight bend to the north, it climbs towards a flat area where the Ruine de l’Oule and a signpost are located

Yellow markings

(2) Follow the direction indicated on the sign for the Refuge de l’Oule (the other sign points to Lac Léat), and take the path that climbs up the left bank of the Gleyzin, first south-east, then winding its way north-east, to reach the refuge.

Sporadic fluorescent orange circles

(3) Pass the refuge and continue south on the path marked with fluorescent orange dots until you come to steeper scarpings. The path then veers left to bypass the obstacle (south-east then south) and the markings disappear. After a steep climb, you’ll reach a flat area amongst the scree, at around 2,150 m.

Cain

(4) From this level section, there is no longer really a defined path. Climb by sight south-eastwards over boulders and scree towards a narrow passage between a moraine on the right and the base of a rocky spur on the left (visible in this reference photo ).

Once you reach the base of this spur, at around 2,300 m, climb up its southern flank to enter the couloir leading to the Cols du Gleyzin due east. After a flat section, head for the right-hand side of the couloir and note a small pass on the left; see this reference photo.

(5) Ignore this pass (it is a crossing point for an alternative route described below) and head up towards the pass to its right; see the same location photo to reach it.

(6) From the pass, the summit you are aiming for is visible at the end of its ridge.
If snow conditions permit, pass through the boulders to the left of the pass (north) to maintain altitude (otherwise descend a few metres) and go round a rock outcrop on the left, then ascend diagonally east-northeast towards the ridge. Reach the ridge by heading for the summit of a rocky spur at 2,646 m (see this reference photo again). From there, the ascent to the summit along the ridge is merely a formality.

(7) From the summit, the descent follows the same route as the ascent, down to the car park (S/E). See the variant below for an alternative route.

🅿️ Park at the Bourgeat Noire car park in Gleyzin, N 45.335348° / E 6.119641°. It is possible to drive a little further along the track leading south towards the Plan de la Combe Grasse, where there is an unmanned shelter.

💧 Water is plentiful as far as the Refuge de l’Oule but becomes scarcer beyond that point.

🦮 Dogs are permitted in this part of Belledonne. It is best to keep your dog on a lead so as not to disturb the wildlife and livestock.

🥾The hike is classified as Very Difficult due to the route being mainly off-trail and the significant elevation gain.

☀️ Best undertaken in good weather to ensure you can find your way easily. In foggy conditions, a GPS or compass is essential between (4) and (5).

⛺️ The hike is short and not suitable for bivouacking. Furthermore, the Gleyzin glacial cirque is rarely in full sun. However, it is possible to stay overnight at the Oule refuge (3).

⛏️ Standard hiking kit is sufficient. Before summer, ice axes and crampons may be necessary to climb to the pass and then to the summit, and will certainly provide reassurance for those less comfortable on steep snow slopes.

⏰ The aspect allows for a relatively late start (after sunrise).

🧭 Navigation is easy in good weather, but a GPS — or, of course, the Visorando app — is recommended.
- ‘Right’ and ‘left’ banks are always understood in the orographic sense, i.e. relative to the direction of water flow.
- A tributary is a stream or watercourse feeding into a lake (the opposite is an outlet).
- Upstream is the direction leading upwards (towards the mountain); downstream is the direction leading downwards (towards the valley).
- The ‘adret’ is the sun-facing slope; the ‘ubac’ is its opposite.

🆘 There is only one emergency number in France: 112. Other numbers (15, 17, or direct numbers…) have no priority on mobile networks, do not route via other operators’ networks when there is no signal, and in the event of excessive call volumes, ongoing calls are cut off to prioritise 112. So forget about them as soon as possible; they are dangerous and serve no purpose anymore (contrary to what some outdated training materials claim). If you cannot speak or hear, use 114 to communicate via text message. 112 works on any mobile phone (and landlines, of course), including a locked phone and even if the SIM card is blocked (however, since 2004, France has been in breach of European recommendations and blocks calls to 112 when there is no SIM card in the phone. This blocking measure required special investment, as the GSM standard naturally allows calls without a SIM card. Taxpayers will appreciate this particularly clever use of public funds).

⚠️ Please note: if your call is cut off, it is up to you to ring the emergency services again: they have no way of contacting you or locating you if your mobile network provider does not provide coverage. Remember to note down your GPS coordinates before calling, as the French government has still not deigned to equip mountain rescue centres with AML (Advanced Mobile Location) technology (despite this having been made mandatory by the EU since 2018).

📱In the mountains, switch your phone to 2G: this technology has 4 to 8 times the range of newer technologies and uses significantly less power. Remember to switch off your Wi-Fi, which drains the battery quickly and serves no purpose outside homes and offices. ? Bear in mind that your phone’s GPS location tracking works even in aeroplane mode (GPS has nothing to do with mobile communications).

✅ Checklist
☑︎Essential items in addition to standard hiking kit
☑︎helmet (because of the chamois and ibex below the pass)
☑︎1.5-litre water bottle

☐Optional
☐ telescopic or non-telescopic poles
☐ice axe (for the pass and summit at the start and end of the season, or if it gives you confidence on a steep snow slope)
☐ crampons (ditto: to be used with the ice axe)

☒not required
☒climbing equipment
☒rope (unless you know exactly how to use it without risking pulling your rope partners down with you)

⚠️ As a general rule, treat IGN topographical maps with a critical eye (in my experience, the IGN never corrects reported errors, even after serious accidents caused by these errors). The base maps used for IGN topographical maps date back more than 25 years and have not been updated since (!). The free OpenStreetMap, updated by volunteers, is usually much more up to date; it is best to consult its OpenTopoMap version, which is easier to read.

Alpine wildlife is present, in particular chamois, ibex, marmots and vultures, but the north-facing slope of the Gleyzin glacial cirque does not attract them much. They are therefore more likely to be seen beyond the pass (6).

The entireChartreuse range – Grand Morétan summit. The views from the summit are magnificent. To the north, the view extends to the Pic du Frêne, Mont Blanc and the Grandes Jorasses, which lie ahead of the Valais Alps, where the Grand Combin, the Weisshorn, the Dent Blanche, the Dent d’Hérens and the Matterhorn are clearly visible. To the west, the entire Chartreuse range is visible. To the east lie the Vanoise, the Cerces, the Écrins and the Grandes Rousses. This spherical panorama is interactive and allows you to view the peaks visible from the Grand Morétan. However, the resolution is not high enough to make out the Matterhorn. Higher-resolution photos are available in this public album, which allows you to view the Swiss peaks.

Arrival below the Cols duGleyzin: the small pass on the alternative route and the Col Nord du Gleyzin
The most interesting alternative route involves going via the Col Morétan. To do this, once you reach the glacial plateau at (4), head due east along the level ground towards the pass situated to the left of the ‘rognon’ beneath the Pointe du Gleyzin (the photo on the left shows this ‘rognon’ as seen from higher up on the main route). A few cairns vaguely mark the obvious route. At the Col Morétan, head south-south-west, keeping level, and cross steep but well-gripped rocky slopes; the aim is to climb no more than twenty metres, heading for the south-western spur of the Pointe du Gleyzin. A pass (photo on the right, view from the other side, from the couloir leading up to the Col du Gleyzin) allows you to cross over onto the couloir leading to the Col Nord du Gleyzin.

Personally, I prefer to take this alternative route in the opposite direction, descending from the Col du Gleyzin before climbing back up to the col and then on to the Col Morétan.

From the Col Morétan, it is possible to descend via the Aup du Pont and then rejoin the^GR®® 738 in the Veyton valley, but this adds nearly 10 km to the hike.

? Explanation of some terms:

• ‘aup’ or ‘aulp’ refers to an ‘alpe’, i.e. a place where herds graze in summer.
• A cairn is a pile of stones used as a landmark along a route. You can add cairns if you are sure of the route, and it is useful to replace any stones that have fallen from a cairn.
• A ‘combe’ is a relatively wide valley or the hollow of a fold in the terrain.