Lac du Clou and Col de l'Aiguille

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike passing through Monal and Lac du Clou. The descent via the trail after Col de l'Aiguille is quite steep at the start and not very well marked. At the bottom of the trail, keep to the far left to find the path back to the car park.

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Date of your route : Jul 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The road leading up to the Coleurs car park is accessible with prior authorisation. Is this new?
Superb scenery at Le Clou with views of glaciers and green meadows... As mentioned in some comments, we turned back at the Col de l'Aiguille.
As a bonus, we saw marmots and goats.
At Le Monal, you can buy goat's and cow's cheese, provided you have cash.
Signs are clearly marked up to the hamlet of Le Clou, but after that there isn't much, but if you follow the route with GPS, there's no problem.
Thank you for this route.

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Date of your route : Jul 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike with stunning views of Mont Pourri and the glaciers that feed the Clou.
Please note: for environmental reasons, it is no longer possible to access the Coleurs car park by car. A shuttle bus is available but only operates on weekdays. You can park at the highest point in the resort and then walk to the start of the hike in 30 minutes. Fortunately, the path through the woods is pleasant.
I confirm what has been said previously: the hike should be done as far as the Col de l'Aiguille, after which it is best to turn back. What's more, you will pass through the hamlet of Le Monal again, which is well worth a visit. As an added bonus, you can buy cheese there!
Enjoy your hike!

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Date of your route : Sep 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route from the Col de l'Aiguille is difficult to find until you reach the hamlet, but after that there are no problems.

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Date of your route : Jul 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I agree with the previous comments, namely that the hike is really enjoyable and offers some beautiful stretches: the Monal, forest passages, the Clou valley... The downside remains the descent from the Col de l'Aiguille on the ski slopes, which is frankly painful, but the final stretch back through the forest allows you to end the circular on a high note.

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Date of your route : Jul 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This hike is truly magnificent, all the way to the Col de l'Aiguille. After that, you descend onto the Sainte Foy slopes, which are uninteresting until you reach the forest section. It is best to turn back at the Col de l'Aiguille. Note that there are not many tracks between Lac du Clou and the Col de l'Aiguille. You should therefore follow the GPS route carefully on this section.

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Date of your route : Jul 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The first part of the hike is pleasant and interesting, of moderate difficulty, up to the Col de l'Aiguille.
Shady passages from Monal to the Clou dam.
However, the section from Col de l'Aiguille to the hamlet of Arpetaz almost spoils the experience of the entire climb: the descent on the ski slopes offers little or no interest and is unpleasant, even with walking poles. You can't wait to reach the path between Arpetaz and Monal, which runs in the shade of larch trees to the car park at the start.
Unfortunately, it seems that there is no other choice from the Col de l'Aiguille except to turn back and retrace your steps.
It's a shame because the view from Lac du Clou is superb!

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Date of your route : Jul 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

We confirm some of the previous comments: stages 6 and 7 are very difficult, even with walking sticks: endless descents on very steep red or black ski slopes in a degraded environment (despite the view). We regretted not turning back at the Col de l'Aiguille. (We consider ourselves to be very good walkers).
Another option: park at Plan des Bois, then follow this route: 8; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6 (with the option of climbing to the summit of Rocher de Pierre d'Arbine) then turn back. Allow extra time.
Or (shorter): park as described in the description: follow 1 to 6, then turn back.

Comment and other suggestion: if the Visorando app displayed comments, it would allow users to choose their hikes with full knowledge of the facts.

Thank you for your work.

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Date of your route : Sep 23, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We encountered five shepherds watching over a thousand sheep near the lake. There were a dozen of us hikers, and one of our group was bitten. The shepherd was at the Col de l'Aiguillon.

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I haven't done this hike. But I'm making a note of it for next summer.

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Date of your route : Jul 17, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Like the previous comments, I found the descent to Ste Foy station very difficult, with very steep slopes on ski runs, but unfortunately there was no choice. Fortunately, the end of the route through the woods is very pretty and makes you forget this difficult section. It might be a good idea to do this hike in the opposite direction, as it would be less stressful on the knees. I was lucky enough to see a herd of chamois below just before the ladder. The view of the glaciers is very pleasant.

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Date of your route : Jul 07, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The stunning Clou and Monal valley, stretching all the way to the Col de l'Aiguille. We climbed up and down to the summit of Rocher d'Arbine with a beautiful 360° view. However, the descent via the ski slopes on the other side spoils the fun a little. It's steep, dirty and full of pylons and cables. It's completely uninteresting until you reach the path through the forest, which is fantastic. It's nice and cool under the larch trees.

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Date of your route : Oct 18, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

What a pleasure it is to hike this magnificent route. (I had already done it many years ago.)
The Monal site is still as magnificent as ever, especially on a beautiful autumn day,
as are the valley and Lake Clou.
Just below the Col de l'Aiguille, it is worth following the path to the left to climb
to the Arbine rocks, where the view of the glaciers is breathtaking (even though they have shrunk considerably).
Only the first part of the descent (on the slopes) is less pleasant because it is very steep and stony,
but once again, the open landscape makes up for this inconvenience.

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