Lac Rouge via Lac des Béraudes

Hello Charly Fox,
You are probably right.
I initially assessed the level of difficulty as difficult, as you did.
I then decided to increase the difficulty rating based on Buissonrougepap's opinion and Cousma's comment.

When I did this route, the climb up the scree slope to Lac Rouge did not seem exposed to me,
and therefore not dangerous.
As this slope is prone to avalanches, I thought that the scree had been disturbed.
However, according to your opinion, this is not the case.
I will therefore notify the moderators.
Thank you, kind regards,
Jean-Yves

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Date of your route : Nov 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb, fairly short hike (600m elevation gain) with a magnificent finish at Lac Rouge, nestled in its picturesque setting.
However, in my opinion, the "extremely difficult" rating is overrated. Only about 50 metres below Lac Rouge are really steep and slightly exposed.
The "very difficult" rating should be reserved for hikes with truly exposed and risky passages that challenge the hiker, which is not entirely the case here.
A "difficult" rating is more appropriate.

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We have never had any problems with Patou dogs, probably because we had a dog ourselves. This helps us to understand them better.
In any case, according to the information I have obtained from shepherds, you should never enter the herd, but rather go around it or wait for it to move. You should fold up your sticks, avoid making eye contact with the Patou, speak softly and move gently without making any sudden movements.
This is what we manage to do with the Patous. 9 minutes 15 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4-KwLJD...

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Presence of numerous "hikers" with dogs not kept on leashes.
Not all the sheep had come down yet.
Aggressive sheepdogs even on the paths.

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Date of your route : Aug 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, but indeed difficult for the last part, the access to Lac Rouge.
It is very busy up to Lac des Béraudes, but then you leave the beaten track to head towards Lac Rouge. As happened to the author of another review, we took the wrong path after Lac des Béraudes, but after a few minutes we were able to get back on the right path, which we could see below us.
The passage along the side of the scree slope is indeed exposed and may impress hikers who are prone to vertigo, but the view is very beautiful. Some passages are unstable over a few metres.
After this crossing, we encountered no difficulty with the boulders as they are easy to climb over and there are cairns every 10 metres, making it difficult to lose the right route.
The most difficult part is the climb to Lac Rouge, as the last 100 metres of elevation gain are VERY steep and on scree. The path is still visible, but the steep slope makes both the ascent and descent impressive.
Although impressed, we made it through without any problems and were rewarded by the very wild and uncrowded nature of this part of the hike (after Les Béraudes). We saw lots of marmots and birds due to the low number of visitors.
The descent trail, through grasslands and then forest, is very pleasant.

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Date of your route : Jul 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Given the comments about Lac Rouge, we only did a round trip to Lac des Beraudes (4.5 km - 505 m elevation gain). A superb lake. No problems for the knees.

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Following feedback from hikers, although access is indicated at the start of the hike by the Névache tourist office and this hike is featured in books available in bookshops, and finally, although the path that joins Lac Rouge between points 4 and 6 is clearly marked on the IGN map, I have just changed the difficulty rating of this route from difficult to very difficult.
The trail between these points is lost in places among the rocks.
I advise hikers to watch the video linked in the practical information section before setting out on this route.

I have just contacted the Névache Tourist Office. Here is what they had to say.
As the Lac Rouge trail is not very busy, it is not a priority. It is subject to very frequent avalanches on this slope in winter. As a result, it can be difficult to follow in places and even non-existent.
This hike is therefore only suitable for experienced hikers who are used to walking on this type of terrain.
I have therefore added this information to the hike description.

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Date of your route : Jul 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The round trip to Lake Béraudes is very good and the route is well marked with yellow markings on the ground. The view of the lake is superb.
However, the route to Lac Rouge is not straightforward: there are no signs. A first path starts from Lake Béraudes but quite quickly disappears. A little further down, you can make out another path with cairns but, again, it becomes invisible and is not used at all. We gave up on the idea of doing this section: probably, there has been a rockfall that has erased the highest trail.

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

Beautiful walk
Be careful when crossing scree slopes, both uphill and downhill;
it can be tricky for people with bad knees.

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I am sorry, my apologies, I read your comment a little too quickly.
Kind regards.

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I'm not sure you understood my comment correctly:

I strongly recommend crossing from Lac des Béraudes to Lac Rouge with two walking sticks, which, although I didn't use them for significant support, nevertheless allowed me to maintain a precarious balance, walking step by step.

I would not have been able to do it without walking sticks. My friend who did it with me shares my opinion.

Best regards.

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Thank you for your comment. I disagree about walking poles. On the contrary, guides recommend them for tricky sections to help maintain balance. It's better to have four points of balance than two. They're also very useful for crossing streams. You need to adjust the length so that your forearm is horizontal. Shorter when going uphill, but longer when going downhill.
The only time I fold them up and attach them to my rucksack is when crossing rocky escarpments where I need both hands for light rock climbing.

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Date of your route : Jul 22, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

This hike is very pleasant: it offers a climb surrounded by mountain flowers... and lots of butterflies.

The main difficulty is the scree slope between Lac des Béraudes and Lac Rouge: we advise against attempting this without walking sticks due to the risk of slipping. The end of the climb is very dangerous.

The descent from Lac Rouge to the valley is very pleasant (a little difficult at first on the rocks): then, off the marked route and away from the crowds, we encountered a few marmots.

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Hello
thank you for your comments. I have added a warning to the description of this hike.

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Hello, we agree with Mr Buissonrougepap about this hike. We did it the day after him and were afraid to stay in this beautiful but dangerous place.
I reported this hike to the Névache tourist office because it is marked at the bottom with Lac des Béraudes and, as it is not very long, it may tempt some people, which is understandable.
For us, we will go back up to Béraudes but not to Lac Rouge.
When we arrived near La Chandelle, there were no more tracks and the ground was very unstable, so we crawled on our stomachs, helping each other, and took the long way down La Chandelle to avoid any damage.
No problem until Béraudes, which for me is the most beautiful lake in the Névache valley.

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