Le Grand Replomb

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

completed today, departing from Pré Marcel at 7 a.m. No problems with the route description, which is well explained, and the GPS track allows you to check if you have any doubts about the itinerary. it took 4 hours and 40 minutes in total, with a 2 hour 20 minute climb, a 20 minute break at the summit and 2 hours to come back down, stopping just a few minutes at the Collet refuge to refill our water bottles. Having read the previous comments, I can confirm that the two cable passages are not necessary (perhaps in wet weather on wet rocks?) and that the two most "technical" sections are indeed the scree before the orange marker but over a 50-metre drop, and the descent after the small grassy pass separating the large and small overhangs, where there is a 200-metre drop that is not very fast due to the stony and sometimes slippery ground. There is nothing really difficult about this hike for experienced hikers. There is a beautiful view from the summit (the entire Vercors and Chartreuse mountains, as well as Mont Blanc to the north). I really enjoyed the descent after the Collet refuge, a balcony trail with views of the Chartreuse mountains all the way down. I also enjoyed being completely alone until I reached the summit. The first people we met were on the GR, which we joined on the way down. In short, a beautiful walk. Thank you for the guidebook.

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Date of your route : Jul 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on Wednesday, 16 July 2025.

Departure from the car park at point 2 without any problems, climb up through the cool forest. You can already see the summit and the chimney/couloir of the Replomb, which we will aim for later.
At junction 2, turn left, opposite the Jean Collet refuge, and you will arrive at a flat area. Climb up the mountain pasture on the left. There are a few paths, but you don't need to follow the route exactly here. Instead, aim for the grassy summit that will lead to the Col du Rafour, or follow the trail if you want to see the sheepfold.
Be careful, just before the Col du Rafour, do not continue climbing up the grassy ridges, but descend slightly to the right and pass under the rocky spur (if you follow the Visorando route with the app, you can't go wrong; I looked away for 10 minutes and climbed too high).
You will then arrive at the scree, and at this point, regardless of the trail, aim for the chimney between the two peaks. Just before the chimney, you will come across a large rock with an orange line. Turn right the climb is steep and impressive, but in 10 minutes you're on the ridge, which you then follow to the secondary summit, then the large overhang, with a magnificent view, especially of Lake Crop below. Go to the small overhang, it would be a shame not to go, we're not here every day, and it only takes 2 minutes.
Retrace your steps a little from the small Replomb and you'll see a path in the scree. Personally, this is the part I hated. It's steep, with slippery rocks, and it goes on for a while, but you get through it and then you come to a grassy plateau, and you find the GR without difficulty until you reach the magnificent Jean Collet refuge, a little haven of peace but well frequented (after 4 hours of eating stones on your own, it's strange to see people again).
The descent is uneventful, the "wired" section isn't really one, no difficulty in dry weather.
Completed in 7 hours, with two 30-minute breaks, it's really great.
On the way down, between points 1 and the start, remember to take a look at the Replomb chimney/couloir between the two peaks. It seems so far away, knowing that we were there four hours earlier. I was amazed! You can even see the small patch of grass where the large stone with the orange mark is...

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Date of your route : Jul 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A great hike that's physically demanding but wild and uncrowded. No major difficulties for experienced hikers. I cut directly from point 1 to point 3 via a forest path taken at the first fork to the left, 500 metres after the start, where signs point straight ahead to Refuge JCollet. It's steep but saves at least 2 kilometres. On Orionde to the Rafour pass, the path is well marked. At the pass, take a slight right onto the slope to follow a gently descending trail and then continue through the scree, following the blue markers and cairns, but the path is well marked. Once you reach the ridge, there is no more snow. Climb up a well-marked trail to reach the summit. Exceptional 360° panorama. For the descent, head towards the small Replomb and turn right onto the fairly steep scree slope, then descend a combe and rejoin the GR and the JCollet refuge. It is only 5 km to the car park. I do not recommend doing this hike in the opposite direction, as it is too long and ends with the climb up the valley and the steep scree before the summit, which is a series of difficulties that detract from the serenity of a hike. The best time to set off, depending on how hot it is, is between 6 and 6.30 a.m. to reach the summit around 9.30/10 a.m. and then the refuge around 11/11.30 a.m.

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Date of your route : Jun 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Completed on Wednesday, 25 June 2025. To try to make a real loop, I followed the route on a competing website. I reached point 3, then Habert des Jarlons, leaving the trail for Jean Collet at a wooden sign indicating to turn left and follow fairly steep slopes covered with grass, then stones. Points 5 and 6 are a bit of a mystery. There are very few blue dots, and I only saw one cairn! The orange line is clearly visible and there are others further on, even though the trail becomes obvious again. The "short climb" after the flat section is actually a diagonal corridor/chimney, not difficult or dangerous, but very poorly described in the guidebook. This is where I saw chamois happily descending the slabs and splashing themselves with snow as they slid down the snowfields, but these chamois were initially on the "short climb" and were knocking some rocks down... A beautiful climb up the ridge and arrival at the summit, not very interesting in itself but with a beautiful view. The descent down the "steep, stony and rocky couloir" is not particularly difficult, provided you have good shoes and poles, and it was towards the end that I almost fell on my backside. It is very long and there are two distinct sections. I wandered around again to find the GR trail to the Col de la Mine de Fer: "head south" - it couldn't have been more vague. Then it's almost endless. It's been almost 20 years since I last took the Jean Collet trail. Often along a ledge, long, long, long. It took me 2 hours 40 minutes to climb up and 2 hours 20 minutes to climb down! 5 hours 10 minutes with a short break. The other website says 6 hours, you say 7 hours 15 minutes and one internet user suggests an extra hour. An interesting, demanding route, but not unforgettable.

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Date of your route : Aug 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike, although after point 6, it is more comfortable to bypass the scree on the left via a path that is not very visible but does exist on OSM Trails. Similarly, at the summit of Grand Replomb, where there is a small cairn, you can see a large cairn 200 metres further on. It would be a shame not to go there, as it offers a magnificent view of the other side of the mountain with Lake Trop below.

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Date of your route : Oct 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A hike with magnificent scenery, featuring numerous balcony or ridge sections offering beautiful views of Mont Blanc, Etandart, the Grand Pic de Belledone, and the Vercors and Chartreuse massifs.
Although the guidebook is accurate, it is advisable to occasionally check the reliable GPS track to verify your position on this route, which is not always marked.
We found the Jean Collet refuge closed when we visited, even though it is advertised as being open in October on the refuge website.
The duration seems a little optimistic to me and it is prudent to add an hour as the descent is longer than expected (steep scree at the start and a long level path at the end with stones and roots preventing fast walking). Allow 3 hours for the descent.
This route should only be attempted in dry weather and without snow.

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