Le Piolit via the ridges from the Col de Moissière and return via the balcony

Park at the Col de Moissière car park.

(S/E) Follow the D213 towards wooden roof tile.

(1) Leave the return path on your right, continue for about 20 metres, then turn right towards the Coste Belle ski lift departure point and follow a grassy path to avoid a section of road. Return to the road and follow it to the right until you reach the hamlet of Moissière.

(2) Take the wide path on the right, which is stony at first, towards the Balcons de la Rouanne, until you reach a high point where the path turns northwards (directional signpost).

(3) Turn right towards L'Arche and L'Aiguille, follow the path up a steep ridge, cross a plateau and reach the pass between the two peaks.

(4) Head to the Arche, located on the right (west), which is easy to reach.

(5) Return to the pass.

(4) Head towards the Aiguille on the other side (northeast). The ascent is off-trail, on poorly defined paths, and becomes more exposed; never stray more than a few metres from the ridge and follow the cairns. Reach the summit via a small couloir of crumbling rock.

(6) The rest of the ridge route is clearer and easier. Pass the summits of Petite Aiguille and Clot du Rocher, then join the marked trail a few dozen metres from the summit of Piolit. Continue straight ahead to reach the summit.

(7) Return to the start of the ridge route and continue along the ridge to the left, heading south-west. Descend to an altitude of around 2,130 metres, ignoring a variant on the right that takes wide bends on the western flank.

(8) Turn right onto the western slope and follow the path, which winds around in large bends. Continue to the second hairpin bend on the left.

(9) Leave the marked trail and continue straight ahead on a more precarious path that crosses the entire slope below the ridges you have just traversed. This trail is no longer maintained, and the ground is poorly marked in places due to grass growth and erosion; fallen trees may also create obstacles. The exposure is significant in places, but only a few metres are really tricky: this section is still equipped with an old cable, most of whose anchor points (pitons) have been torn out, probably due to erosion (so it is best not to rely on it). This will take you to the arrival point of the Coste Belle ski lift.

(10) Descend on sight, or by following 4x4 tracks, to the D213.

(1) Follow the road to the left to return to the car park (S/E).

Variants

(8) The balcony trail on the return journey is no longer maintained. Although it has withstood the climatic events that hit the area during the first half of the 2020s relatively well, its condition cannot be guaranteed in the future. A safer and easier alternative (but tedious without a vehicle shuttle) is to continue along the marked trail to the Route Forestière du Noudon (car park, shuttle possible), which joins the Col de Moissière road on the Bâtie-Neuve side.

Alternatively, from the summit of Piolit (7), descend towards the east, do not head towards the Col de Chorges, but turn north to reach the Col de la Pourrachière directly via the Bonaparré ridge. From this pass, the Balcons de la Rouanne path leads back to Moissière: more interesting and less frequented.

These two alternatives may be recommended for people who have already experienced difficulties climbing the Aiguille or walking along the ridges.