Le Piolit

Hike not completed

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Date of your route : Nov 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We parked at the pass. A short downhill stretch to warm up our legs and the paws of our two Border Collies 🐕🐕🚶, then we started the gentle climb. We quickly left the forest with its fiery larch trees 🌲🔥 and continued along winding paths through the grass until we reached a beautiful viewpoint. There were a few more twists and turns before we finished with a slightly steep climb to the ridge. We arrived faster than expected. The view was magnificent 🤩
For the return trip, we preferred to descend to the Col de Chorges, then turn left along the hillside to rejoin the route on the balcony above the Rouanne Haute. A quick dip in the river and we head back up into the forest to go around the mountain and return with a few mushrooms to the starting point via a short stretch of road.

This beautiful loop is 21 km long with 1,300 metres of elevation gain (4½ hours for us). We'll probably add it to Visorando for endurance hikers.

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Date of your route : Nov 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A varied hike, I was surprised by the frozen aerial passage.
The view at the end was superb.
The route is easy to follow.
It's true that there's no point in starting from the MOISSIERE car park.

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Date of your route : Aug 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I had already climbed Piolit in July 2015, but from the Rouanne Haute car park.
This time, I started from Baillenq, at the very beginning of the forest track.
It took me 2 hours and 20 minutes to reach the summit of Piolit without taking any breaks.
I preferred to stay on the trail rather than walk along the ridges.
The last part is quite steep but not very long.
Magnificent views at the summit. I was alone, having only encountered a trail runner coming down as I was going up.
As it was only 9:45 a.m., I decided to continue along the valley leading to Ancelle or the Rouanne Haute car park. I walked along the ridge trail, which avoids a kind of track that zigzags in the distance. Not having a map, I decided that from Ancelle, I would hitchhike back to Baillenq. But to my surprise, I quickly saw signs indicating "Col de Moissière"!
The trail took me along part of the Balcon de Rouanne, which runs mostly through the forest.
The heat was noticeable once I reached the pass, but 15 minutes later, I was back at my car, after a 3-hour walk from the summit of Piolit.
It was a beautiful hike that I really enjoyed, with an elevation gain of 1,100 metres, which took me 5 hours and 45 minutes in total.

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Date of your route : Nov 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike, a classic in the region.
Superb views.
However, starting from the Col de la Moissière car park adds 3 km (1.5 km on the way there and the same on the way back) of tarmac, which is unnecessary in my opinion, especially as at this time of year you can park easily at point 1 (or even higher up).

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Date of your route : Jun 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike.
I started from Ancelle.
According to Decathlon Coach: 26.5 km with an elevation gain of 1,980 m
Thanks for the route.

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Date of your route : Aug 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent route, perfectly described in the brochure. A little less crowded at the end of August than in high season.

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Date of your route : Jul 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Magnificent view in good weather.
We weren't alone at the summit, there were lots of hikers and a swarm of wasps!

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The summit can be reached in a slightly more "sporty" way, but you won't encounter crowds until you reach the top:
- from Chorges, take the road to "la montagne"
- park your car at the "jardin des gardes"
- follow the path (almost a track) to the shepherd's hut, which you will pass (downhill then uphill)
- at the top of the climb, a sign indicates the "col de Chorges": follow this marked route to the pass
- from the pass, follow the ridge to the left (west) to the summit.
- return to the pass

For sure-footed walkers: on the descent from the pass, at the large cairn where you would turn right to return by the same route, you can look to the left for a small cairn marking a steep "passage" (experience of mountain walking essential), which then, off the trail and unmarked, leads to a track that you take to the left and follow until you reach the car.

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Date of your route : Jul 28, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable

Hiking in bad weather! View not clear
Beautiful forest at the start
Worth doing again for the view

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Date of your route : Aug 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this hike starting from the Sapet bridge (point 2arking) and returning via the ridge (marked in yellow), which was a little more difficult but offered beautiful views of Lake Serre Ponçon. Highly recommended.

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Date of your route : Aug 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful view on the way up, and breathtaking panorama at the top!

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Date of your route : Apr 06, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

You can reduce the difficulty a little by parking at the Sapet bridge
(arrive early as it is very popular)

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Good evening and thank you for your interesting feedback. Regarding the rating, we reiterate that it is highly subjective. Here we are at an altitude difference of 1,100 metres, and we consider this to be a difficult hike for average hikers, who make up the majority of visitors to the site. We are aware that some of you will find it moderate and others easy.
We will therefore leave the rating as Difficult.
Have a good evening

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Date of your route : Oct 01, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

For the start of the hike, I parked at point No. 1, because walking on the road is not my thing. Note that you can park even higher up, before the barrier or after the small bridge (No. 2) before the trail. This reduces the elevation gain...
However, I don't agree with the "difficult" rating. The trail is narrow, but not particularly dangerous, and the ridge is wide, so I would rate it as moderately difficult. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so there weren't any spectacular views...

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