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District:
Start from the hamlet of La Plagne, which can be reached from the Col du Granier road above Entremont-le-Vieux. Do not drive into the hamlet, but park below, where there are several suitable places, mainly at the start of the Route Forestière du Selet.
(S/E) There are two routes to start the climb:
- either return to the road to climb up to the hamlet, cross it and continue climbing eastwards between meadows and then into the forest (GPS track for the climb);
- or climb the Selet Forest Road (passable by car) to a quarry where the route turns north to join the path climbing up to the hamlet (GPS track for descent).
(1) The path becomes single track and climbs through the forest, winding in a series of hairpin bends, some of which have been recently re-traced. This steep climb leads to the Col de l'Alpette pass.
(2) Leave the Granier trail on your left and descend opposite into the meadow to the Refuge de l'Alpette.
(3) Walk past the refuge and head back up to the south-east for a plateau section until you reach the junction for Le Pinet (sign) in the middle of a clearing.
(4) Turn sharply right: the trail begins to climb through karst terrain to the foot of a rocky ridge, where a trail joins from the right.
(5) Follow this ridge on your left, in the shade of which the path winds its way downhill until it emerges into a grassier area where numerous paths branch off.
(6) The trail then turns northwest, the slope is moderate, and you reach the ridge, then north, the summit.
(7) Enjoy the view of the different faces and descend to a trail junction on the rocky ridge.
(5) There, you have two options:
- descend easily via the path you took on the way up, rejoining the Refuge de l'Alpette via the GR®.
- or follow a wilder route (less frequented and less well marked), as shown on the map. Descend on the left along a good path through the forest, which passes by the Doline at an altitude of 1600m on the edge of the underground "Grand Glacier" (difficult to access). The descent continues behind the Rochers du Biolet in a sparse forest, skirting a few rocky outcrops, until you reach a notch corresponding to the geographical Col de l'Alpette.
(8) After a short climb to the right, meadows lead back to the nearby Chalet de l'Alpette.
(3) Climb back up to the Col de l'Alpette
(2) Descend westwards on the good path that leads back to La Plagne, either via the Selet forest road (GPS track for the descent) or by crossing the hamlet (GPS track for the ascent) (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Very difficult 
