Laval car park - Lac des Cerces

Park in the Laval car park.

(S) Cross the Clarée on the Pont du Moutet bridge, then take the path on the left that climbs up to Lac des Béraudes. After more than an hour's climb (1½ hours with heavy rucksacks), you will walk along the Béraudes stream and see the Lac des Béraudes lock.

(1) On the right, on the other side of the Béraudes stream, you will see a flat area (visible tracks) where you can start the off-trail section for a few hundred metres, remaining more or less level, then gradually climbing up the scree (tracks more or less clearly marked) to reach the peatland of the Sagnes Froides north of the Crête de Moutouze.

(2) The climb up the Sagnes Froides valley is obvious in its first section (at least when there is no snow), just stay at the bottom of the valley and look straight ahead to the west towards the beautiful colours of the Rochers de la Moulinière. You will then arrive at the western end of the Crête de Moutouze, which is distinguished by a beautiful pyramidal peak; to its right is the unnamed pass that you need to reach by making your way across a fairly steep scree slope (the steepest encountered since the start). It takes a bit of effort but is not dangerous when there is no snow, as was the case when I crossed it. You will then arrive at this pass located to the east of Lac Sorcier.

(3) Begin the descent along a clear trail heading towards the Col des Béraudes and reach the bottom of the small valley crossed by a stream that feeds Lac des Béraudes.

(4) At the end of a flat section, negotiate the small break in the slope and head off-trail southwards across the scree towards the path leading to Col des Béraudes, leaving the stream that flows eastwards and the lake behind. This off-trail section is steep and there are no tracks. For an easier route, you can cross the scree more to the south-east-east to reach the classic path to Col des Béraudes further downstream and thus cover most of the steep slope on a path rather than in the scree. The final section of the trail is equipped with cables. For your safety, tension the cable beforehand to compensate for the few anchor points that are faulty along the length. Reach the Col des Béraudes.

(5) Turn left to climb the Roche des Béraudes.
Be careful, you will need to use your hands at the start on the Lac des Béraudes side to get around the small peak that marks the beginning of the ridge. The rest of the route to La Roche is less challenging but remains an exposed ridge where you will need to use your hands again.

(6) Return to Col des Béraudes by following the same route as on the way up.

(5) Take the marked path on the right to begin the descent, which quickly becomes difficult (especially for hikers with large rucksacks and short legs) for about ten metres in a narrow, deep gully that is the only way through the rocky outcrop.
Continue downhill without any particular difficulty and, when you reach the T-junction, keep right to reach the lake and then the Col de la Ponsonnière.

(7) Cross over to the other side and follow the^GR®57marked in white and red. Leave the^GR® on the right to reach Lac des Cerces (E) and set up camp there.

There are shuttles in summer to take you to the starting point at the Laval car park once you are in the commune of Névache. The problem is getting to Névache from the stations in Bardonecchia (Italy) or Briançon, as the shuttles subsidised by the department are not always available depending on the year.