Lacs du Bâton and Lac du Bœuf from Freydières

Park in the Pré Raymond car park.

(S/E) Take the steep road climbing south (signposted Lac du Crozet and Refuge de la Pra). After a flat section, pass the intersection with the^GR®®549A(the path to the left leads to the Pré du Molard refuge), then the road quickly turns into a path and the markings change to the red and white of^{the GR®®.} The trail climbs a few switchbacks towards the south-east, then continues along the mountainside in this direction before turning east after a small shoulder. Once below the lake, it follows a penstock before finally veering off to the left and ending at the lake.

(1) From the lake, continue on the^GR®®549, which follows the right bank of the lake (the lake is therefore on your right) and climbs towards the Col de la Pra via the Mercier valley, heading south-east. The route is very well marked.

(2) At the Col de la Pra, a signpost shows the way to the Refuge de la Pra. Follow this path southwards to reach the refuge. Cross the terrace of the refuge to exit on its eastern side and descend towards a footbridge that crosses the Doménon stream, just below the refuge. Immediately after this footbridge, the trail splits near a signpost.

(3) Follow the left branch of the path, which climbs gently south-southeast towards Lac David. Pass above Lac Claret (Lac Longet is also visible below) to reach the rounded rocks surrounding Lac David.

(4) As soon as you can see Lake David, leave the path on the right and walk along the right bank of the lake (the lake is on your right) and climb up the grassy ridges dotted with small rocks towards a valley to the east of the lake (blue ski mountaineering trail on the IGN map). Climb up this valley heading south until you reach a small, unnamed pass.

(5) A cairned path leaves from the left of the pass to climb a shoulder towards the east. When this path reaches a flat area, the Col de la Grande Vaudaine is in sight. Do not go to the topographical pass, which is in the middle of difficult rocks, but cross a small valley, still heading east, to reach a grassy crossing point slightly above the pass.

(6) From the pass, there is no longer any path or trail to follow. Descend on sight, due east, into the Grande Vaudaine valley, down slopes covered with scree, aiming for the foot of the last rocky spur descending from the Tête Noire, the peak north of the pass. Cross the old moraines to stay on the left (north) side of the valley, then follow the foot of the spur, still generally eastwards, along the scree slope and crossing a few fairly steep ravines. This will take you to the stream flowing from Lac du Bois. Cross this stream and follow its left bank upstream to reach a small plateau at the foot of the Combe du Jas du Four, where the Lac du Bois and Bâton streams meet (the latter is not permanent and is not shown on IGN maps).

(7) Leave the main stream of Lac du Bois on your left and take the Combe du Jas du Four on your right (east). Follow its valley and when it splits in two, take the left-hand valley which climbs northwards towards Lac de Bâton.

(8) Leave the lake on your right (north) and follow the gentle slopes of a small valley climbing north-west towards a small pass, just north of the IGN 2717m contour line.

(9) From this pass, you can see a lake below, Lac du Bois. Do not descend towards this lake, but stay level and on the side of the shoulder that borders the pass to the north to go around it (arc starting to the west then north-west). Lac du Bœuf quickly comes into view. Descend to the lake as soon as an easy valley allows.

(10) From the lake, climb north-northwest over rounded rocks (covered with snow at the beginning of the season) towards the highly visible Col du Bâton, which marks the lowest point between the Pic du Grand Domènon and the peaks of the Grand Pic de Belledonne group.

(11) The Col du Bâton overlooks the normal access trail to the Croix de Belledonne, which is well marked and signposted. Reach it by descending north-east via the Grande Pente snowfield, which normally remains snow-covered all year round. This will take you to the bottom of the valley that climbs up to the Col de Freydane.
Then turn west (left) to descend this valley and follow the two Domènon lakes along their right banks (the lakes are therefore on your left). After Lac du Petit Domènon, stay on the path on the right side of the mountain to avoid the waterfalls and descend quickly towards Col de la Pra.

(2). From there, follow the same route as on the way up to reach the car park (S/E).

Difficulty: this hike is rated Very Difficult mainly because of its length and elevation gain, and because half of it (in terms of time) is off-trail. You therefore need a good sense of direction or to use the Visorando app to follow the route.

Bivouac: if you choose to do this hike in two days, there are several windbreak walls at the bottom of the Grande Vaudaine valley that offer plenty of places to bivouac. The sunsets are splendid, facing the Oisans. The sunrises are also magnificent, but they are even more spectacular from upstream of Lac du Bœuf.

Visual landmarks:

• The panoramic photo centred on the north of Lac du Bâton shows the route at the bottom of the valley leading to the unnamed pass on the left (9).
• The photo of Lac du Bois shows the view downstream from the vicinity of this unnamed pass (9). Do not descend towards this lake (unless, of course, you have decided to take the corresponding variant) but stay at the level of the pass to reach Lac du Bœuf.

Equipment: snow cover makes crampons and ice axes essential at the start of the season, see photos. Gaiters are useful in all seasons to protect you on scree and/or in the snow.

Water: the numerous streams and torrents provide a source of water in all seasons.

Wildlife: the lack of visitors to the Grande Vaudaine and Jas du Four valleys guarantees a variety of wildlife, especially if you start your hike before sunrise.

Variations:

• It is possible to descend to Lac du Bois from the unnamed pass (9) overlooking Lac du Bâton. The route to Lac du Bœuf is described in the stage (5) of this other hike.
• From Col du Bâton (11), it is also possible to climb Pic du Grand Domènon, see stages (6) and (7) of this same hike.
• It is of course also possible to climb to the Croix de Belledonne from the Col du Bâton (11) by following the ridge line eastwards.
• If you decide to do this route over two days (see bivouacs above), you can climb the two large peaks surrounding the Col du Bâton.