The summit of Le Cuchon

This summit overlooks the Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes ski resort. It is home to the arrival stations of the resort's ski lifts. However, the ascent is described here from Ancelle.
This outing is done on snowshoes, following the summer trail marked in yellow. These markings are visible on trees in winter, but not on rocks.

Details

214889
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Snowshoeing
    Activity: Snowshoeing
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.73 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 7 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 649 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 651 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,990 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,339 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the large car park on the left bank of the Rouanne.

(S/E). Take the wide path opposite, follow the snowshoe signs, cross the Rouanne river via the bridge, taking care to avoid the cross-country ski trail.

(1) Continue to the right, parallel to the track. At the first crossroads, turn left, pass in front of an oratory and reach a new crossroads at the quarry.

(2) Leave the path on your left and continue along the wide track to reach the crossroads of the paths leading to Le Cuchon.

(3) Take this path on the left, which winds its way up to the large cairn marking the junction of Le Cuchon and Col de Combeau.

(4) Leave the Col de Combeau trail on your right and take the track, which is initially level but then climbs after crossing the Combe d'Autane.

(5) Follow a series of tight bends that end in the mountain pasture before the summit. Cross the edge of the woods to reach the summit of Cuchon.

(6) Begin the return journey by retracing your steps.

(5) Leave the outward path on your left and descend straight down the slope (very easy descent) to the Jarjelé sheepfold.

(7) Join the wide track that leads to the sheepfold, continue to Les Mias and rejoin the starting track at the quarry.

(2) Take the track on the right and continue to the crossroads.

(1) Stay on the road to reach Ancelle, turn left and cross the bridge to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,341 m - La Rouanne car park
  2. 1 : km 0.87 - alt. 1,370 m - Road junction
  3. 2 : km 2.37 - alt. 1,469 m - Quarry crossroads
  4. 3 : km 2.89 - alt. 1,508 m - Trail junction: Cuchon - Col de Combeau
  5. 4 : km 3.99 - alt. 1,733 m - Cairn
  6. 5 : km 4.76 - alt. 1,777 m - Jarjelé crossroads
  7. 6 : km 6.58 - alt. 1,990 m - Le Cuchon (2002m)
  8. 7 : km 9.1 - alt. 1,611 m - Jarjelé
  9. S/E : km 12.73 - alt. 1,341 m - La Rouanne car park

Notes

Water points at the sheepfolds.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Thyr
Thyr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb mountain atmosphere at the summit of Cuchon.
Thank you for sharing this.

Machine-translated

vhautot
vhautot

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Hello,
We did this hike starting from the village of Les Faix via the Libouze plateau. We climbed up via the ski slopes. Once at the top of Le Cuchon, we descended via the suggested route. The descent was difficult because the trail is rarely used at this time of year (lots of powder snow). Be careful on the descent, as there is a rockfall on a scree slope. The trail is therefore not safe. We still managed to get through with caution. A very beautiful hike.

Machine-translated

DidRun
DidRun

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Walk completed on 14/02, in beautiful sunshine, with 15 cm of good snow after leaving the cross-country ski trails.
It is best to follow the description and start on the right bank of the stream.
We didn't see point 2, but the start at point 3 towards Le Cuchon is well marked.
Then we followed the tracks in the snow rather than the planned route and ended up going straight ahead instead of taking the track leading to point 4.
A few chamois watched us as we climbed.
There was a superb view at the top of Cuchon, with an orientation table. As the resorts were closed, it was very quiet at the top (normally, the summit is accessible to skiers by chairlift from St Léger les Mélèzes).
Taking advantage of the good snow, we were able to descend off-piste without any problems to the sheepfolds, the cross and then the oratory, where we rejoined the cross-country ski trail.
Thank you for this walk idea.

Machine-translated

Laurence et Massi
Laurence et Massi

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb snowshoe hike!!!

We didn't make it all the way to Cuchon because one of us had wet feet, but we still enjoyed a wonderful 5-hour circular route.

We followed the hiking signs and used GPS points when there were no longer any tracks in the snow.

The scenery is superb and we saw several chamois in the distance (remember to bring your binoculars .

A real treat!

Machine-translated

andorina
andorina

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,

This route is not up to date. The start of the route is a summer route. There is no snowshoe route on the left bank.
The snowshoe route is on the right bank.
The bridge and part of the passage after the bridge is a cross-country ski trail, so snowshoes and pedestrians are not allowed.
It is therefore easier to start directly on the right bank of the Roanne, park at the entrance to the Roanne road and follow the snowshoe route or go to Le Peintre.

There is a beautiful view at the top.

Machine-translated

le dd
le dd
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 09, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

An exceptional snowshoe hike. Very physically demanding, with a steep climb to the summit.
Due to the snow cover, the return route from point 5 was difficult to follow. It was also very physically demanding because no one had been there before us. So with every step, despite our snowshoes, we sank into the powder snow.
From the summit, the orientation table allows you to get your bearings in relation to the different mountain ranges surrounding Le Cuchon. The view is exceptional, especially in bright sunshine.
The app gave us 15 km and 660 m of elevation gain.
My Polar watch gave us 16 km.
Thanks to the author for this route.

Machine-translated

jc05
jc05

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 20, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

travels with great interest
Lovely view from the summit

Machine-translated

jacrou30
jacrou30

Hello,
This route passes through an avalanche zone on the right-hand side. It is better to climb up the St Léger side to reach the Cuchon. For the return journey, follow the directions, but depending on the depth of the snow, consider taking a route away from the narrow passageway, directly below the rocks (the snow accumulation there can be significant and unstable...

See you soon.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.