By car: from the motorway, take the Brignoud exit. In the town centre, at the junction with the D523, take the D528 opposite, towards Laval. Drive past Laval-en-Belledonne; once you reach Prabert, turn right towards La Betta via the Route du Pré de L’Arc. From the Pont de la Betta car park, continue for 500 m to park at the Muret car park, situated 13 km from Brignoud.
(S/E) Head towards the hairpin bend. At the sign for Le Muret (alt. 1,343 m), head up to the left towards the Cime de la Jasse and the Pas de la Coche (east) along a sunken, damp and stony path marked in yellow. You’ll reach a crossroads (alt. 1,410 m) opposite a concrete cistern.
(1) Leave the track on your right. Turn left, then immediately right onto a dirt track leading to the Habert d’Aiguebelle refuge. At around 1,430 m, take the shortcut across the field to the right to rejoin the track after 150 m. Follow it to the left and reach a fork (alt. 1,730 m)
(2) Ignore the track to the left, towards the Habert d’Aiguebelle, and take theGR®®738andGR®® de Pays path to the right, heading towards the Pas de la Coche and the high-voltage power lines. Cross a small stream and, after a winding climb, reach the Pas de la Coche junction (elevation 1990).
(3) Ignore the two paths leading down to the right: theGR®®738towards the Refuge Jean Collet and the one towards the pretty little Lac de La Coche just below. Stay at the pass, to the left of the lake, on the yellow-marked path. After about a hundred metres, you’ll come to another junction (alt. 2000 m).
(4) Leave theGR®® de Pays to your right, which descends towards the lake and then the village of Rivier d’Allemont. Continue towards a gully leading up to a small pass (alt. 2020 m).
(5) Once over the pass, descend about fifty metres through the blueberry bushes. Climb up a scree slope and, after a narrow section crossing a steep slope beneath the Pic du Pin, reach a junction (alt. 2000 m).
(6) Leave the path on the right, which descends towards theGR®® de Pays. Continue straight ahead, cross two scree gullies and join theGR®®738(alt. 2060 m).
(7) Ignore the left-hand branch (north), heading towards the Col de L’Aigleton. Follow the right-hand branch, which crosses a stream, then turns north and, after 200 m, reaches a junction (alt. 2100 m).
(8) Ignore the first path on the left (north-west) leading to the Col de L’Aigleton and the second one towards the Col de la Belle Étoile (north). Continue along theGR®®738, turning right (south-east) and climbing diagonally up the grassy slope.
(9) At the 2157-metre mark, climb a steeper slope to the north-east through the mountain pastures.
(10) At the marshy plateau (elevation 2322), head gently eastwards towards the scree couloir of the Col de la Vache, skirting the foot of the Crête des Îlettes on the left. Start the ascent of the gully from the left, keeping a close eye on the cairns and the yellow and white/red markings, as the track is rarely visible amongst the boulders. Gradually head to the right and go round a marshy hollow at around 2400 m. The boulders give way to scree and the track becomes visible again. Climb the switchbacks of the final slope to reach the Col de la Vache (elevation 2556).
(11) From the Col de la Vache, the return journey follows the same route in the opposite direction, back to the car park (S/E).
