Le Cornafion from La Conversaria via the Col Vert and the Col de l'Arc

By car: From Grenoble, at the roundabout at the entrance to Villard-de-Lans, follow signs for Centre via the D531, Avenue du Général De Gaulle, for 1 km. At the Les Cochettes sign, turn left onto Rue Dr Lefrançois and continue for 200 m. At the roundabout, take the first exit onto Chemin de la Croix Margot, signposted Les Cochettes, which leads to Rue des Adret after 270 m. Turn left and continue for 90 m until you reach a fork. Follow Rue Albert Pietri to the left, do the same on the next three streets, continuing along the same street on the left. After 1.1 km, it continues as Route des Chaberts. At the fork, 400 m further on, turn right onto Chemin de la Conversaria. After 1 km, pass the Chalet de la Conversaria on your left and immediately turn right, going up the hill to the car park.

(S/E) From the Conversaria car park (altitude 1,180 m), take a path (yellow/green markings) on the left and follow the road you took by car for about 150 m.

(1) At the small hiking sign, leave the road and take a track on the left towards Col Vert (yellow/green). Shortly afterwards, ignore the two tracks that descend to the right 100 m apart. Then climb up the track through the woods for 600 m, passing two paths on the right, before returning to open ground at the intersection with the Croix des Plâtres (altitude 1,260 m).

(2) Continue along the track opposite for 250 m, ignoring the path on the right towards Les Cochettes, as well as the following paths on both the right and left. You will arrive at the Les Plâtres intersection (altitude 1,280 m).

(3) Leave another path on the right, towards Les Cochettes. Pass to the right of a small forest house and continue straight ahead through the woods, ignoring the side paths. You will reach a new intersection (altitude 1,380 m) where the track joins the GR®91 (Blanc-Rouge).

(4) Continue straight ahead towards Roybon, ignoring the side paths. After a wide bend to the left and then to the right, you will arrive at the Roybon refuge (altitude 1,450 m).

(5) Continue straight ahead towards Col Vert (east) and after about 100 metres, you will reach an intersection (altitude 1,470 m).

(6) At the intersection sign, leave the GR®91 trail on your left and the Péronnard trail on your right.
Go through the fence and follow the steep path (east) through the forest towards Col Vert (yellow/green). Once out of the woods, climb the rocky switchbacks to the rock face and squeeze between the rocks to reach Col Vert (1,766 metres).

(7) On the eastern slope of the pass, ignore the path (yellow/green) descending diagonally to the right (south). Note a path marked with a cross (yellow/green) to the north. Take this path, which after about 400 m joins the eastern balcony path towards (Alt 1740 m).

(8) Continue along this path towards the north-northeast, which has a few exposed sections and leads to a rocky outcrop blocking the slope (altitude 1,760 m).

(9) Look for a path (north) heading towards a pronounced fault in this ledge. Do not take this path; instead, take the opposite path which climbs southwards. Climb the steep slope (east) in switchbacks to cross the obstacle at the top (altitude 1,850 m). The trail resumes its north-northeast direction and, about 500 m further on, reaches a fork (elevation 1,905 m).

(10) Leave the path on the eastern balcony of the Vercors, which you will follow on the way back. Follow the path to the left of Cornafion, indicated by an old wooden sign. Take the switchbacks of this clearly visible aerial path, marked by red paint and generally heading south-west. It comes up against the rocky side of the ridge.

(11) Access it via a corridor inclined at approximately 35° to 40°, with good handholds.
Memorise the route to the summit so that you can follow it easily on the way back.
Follow the ridge to the south, descend a wide, exposed breach in rocky steps and climb up opposite, zigzagging between large rocks. Reach the summit (elevation 2,049 metres), where there is a bivouac platform surrounded by large stones.

(12) From the summit, retrace your steps. Descend the chimney, preferably with your back to the slope so you can spot footholds. Follow the same route back to the wooden sign (elevation 1905).

(10) Continue along the aerial path of the east balcony towards the north-north-east. Descend via a few switchbacks to cross a ravine. After about 500 m of false flat descent, at an altitude of 1780 m, begin to climb again, cross a rocky barrier through a small natural tunnel, and continue climbing until you reach an altitude of 1850 m. Follow a long, gentle descent of about 1.5 km to reach the Col de l'Arc (elevation 1736 m).

(13) On the left, on the western slope, the marked trail crosses grassy terrain (west) then descends a scree slope (south) and reaches an intersection located in a right-hand bend (altitude 1,680 m).

(14) Leave a path climbing opposite you over a scree slope (south-west).
Turn right and head northwest, then enter the forest where the slope becomes gentler. Eventually, you will cross the^GR®91, the Gobert trail.

(15) At the Fontfroide sign (elevation 1507), cross the GR®91 and continue downhill opposite (north-west) towards Machiret.

(16) At the Machiret sign (altitude 1,440 m), leave the two trails on the right and continue on the one on the left (south-west) towards La Ya.

(17) At the La Ya sign (altitude 1,220 m), ignore the Tour du Vercors trail on the left. Opposite, follow La Conversaria (south-west). Two hundred metres further on, turn right and continue along the path for about a hundred metres.

(18) Leave the path in front of you and turn left onto a track across the field which leads to the car park (S/E).

Route location:
From (S) to (7) Conventional markings
From (7) to (8) Good trail but not marked
From (8) to (10) Good trail, rarely marked with red paint.
From (10) to (12) Path in rocky terrain, a few cairns and faded red and yellow/blue paint marks.
From (10) to (13) Good path, rarely marked.
From (13) to (E) Conventional markings.
From (7) to (8) and from (10) to (12), numerous false trails, especially when crossing steps, can mislead hikers. The trail is generally identifiable by its rocks, which are dirty from being trodden on.

Please note that this exposed route is not suitable for people who are prone to vertigo and have no experience of aerial routes or small climbing steps. Avoid in wet weather due to the risk of slipping and frequent fog, especially on the eastern slope.

IBP physical difficulty index for the route (effort) = 112 (very difficult for an average hiker but moderate difficulty for a trained hiker).

The unmanned Roybon refuge is a former sheepfold. It is comfortable, free and well equipped with windows, shutters, a fireplace, a table and bunk beds without mattresses that can sleep 15 people. Latrines and water are nearby. For more information, contact the Villard de Lans Tourist Office on +33 (0)4 76 95 10 38.

The refuge offers superb views of the Rochers du Ranc des Agnelons and the ridges of the Gerbier.

At the top of Cornafion, in good weather, the magnificent view stretches over a large part of the Alps. On the opposite side, there is a vertiginous view of the Vercors plateau