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Head to the Chalet-Hôtel du Giobernay, situated at the very end of the Valgaudemar Valley (access restrictions: see Practical Information).
Park in the upper car park, around the chalet-hotel.
(S/E) From the car park, head towards the clearly visible information boards. Follow the path signposted ‘Refuge du Pigeonnier’. Shortly afterwards, at the Fork in the road, take the left-hand branch.
(1) About 200m further up, continue to the right towards the Refuge du Pigeonnier. A little further on, the path runs alongside the stream for a while before veering left to begin the switchback ascent. When the path levels out slightly, it comes to a junction.
(2) Carry on straight towards the Refuge du Pigeonnier (ignore the path on the left towards Lac Lauzon). Very soon, cross the stream and turn sharply left onto a narrow track (ignore the track on the right, which no longer has a footbridge to cross the other arm of the stream). A little further up, cross the footbridge and descend via a short, steep section which rejoins the path you left earlier.
Pass another footbridge and continue the ascent towards the refuge. Halfway up, a new, less steep section of path has been created (shown slightly offset on the map). Reach a junction at the Refuge du Pigeonnier. Take a short detour to the left towards the refuge and back.
(3) Return to the junction 50 metres from the refuge and follow the path straight on towards the Cabane du Vaccivier. Pass through a rocky scree slope, then descend a short, tricky section to reach a fork in the path.
(4) Continue left along the less well-marked, ascending path. At times the track disappears; you’ll need to plan ahead and look for cairns further on to find your way.
(5) Towards the centre of the cirque, just before crossing a torrent, continue to the right along the path (ignore a trail that climbs steeply to the left, which is not marked on the map). Continue on the other side of the cirque. Cross a scree slope to spot a steep passage that climbs diagonally up the rocky ridge to go round it. This passage looks more daunting than it really is. Simply climb up a small gully between the rocks. You’ll reach a small ledge at the tip of the rocky ridge.
(6) At this point, you must be careful as the well-defined path tempts you to descend straight down the other side of the rocky ridge. Do not follow it, but turn sharply left onto a steep section – where you’ll need to use your hands – to find a cairn a little further up. The path, which is barely visible here, completes the circuit round the rocky outcrop over a few slabs of varying degrees of exposure.
Continue along the slope-side path, cross a scree slope less steep than the previous one and reach a rock painted white (less visible when descending), just before a large boulder near the Aiguille de la Vache.
(7) Continue straight on, pass in front of the large boulder and follow the path which climbs towards the small pass to reach a superb viewpoint. Return to the white-painted rock.
(7) Begin the descent to the left, initially over scree, then via sections of varying steepness, to reach the Cabane du Vaccivier, nestled beneath a large boulder.
(8) Join the path coming from the Refuge du Pigeonnier and head down to the left. Pass a short steep section at the foot of a rocky outcrop and continue the descent via switchbacks to reach a footbridge in the Vallon du Giobernay. Continue the gentler descent, cross a small wood and reach a junction.
(9) Carry on straight ahead above the torrent, go round the Cabane du Giobernay and continue the descent. Cross another footbridge and reach the car park (start/finish).
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Difficult 
