Pas de l'Œille

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The climb takes two hours and requires sure footing (not to be attempted after rain and strongly discouraged during winter), but there are no technical difficulties. The trail is rarely used, except by wolf hunters. This allowed me to see many friendly ibex, a large bird of prey, a stoat, marmots, and more. I then continued on to the Col Vert, taking a pleasant path under the rocky outcrops, and finally a gentle descent (6 hours in total, 12 kilometres)

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Date of your route : Sep 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

I did this hike on Thursday, 19 September 2024 arriving before the Pas de l'Œil. Many ibexes were peacefully grazing on the slopes of the peaks around 1 p.m. when I began my descent. I got closer to the ibexes, but unfortunately I began to notice them becoming agitated and a strange noise coming from the sky. A drone was flying over the peaks, frightening the ibexes and marmots, they panicked and ran back down the slopes, which meant I was able to see a large number of them.
It really made me angry. Where did this person think they were? Couldn't they see that it was frightening the animals?
If I hadn't been so tired, I would have gone to confront this person and tell them how exasperated I was.
Otherwise, the return journey is less interesting, especially when you walk alongside the ski lifts.

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Date of your route : Sep 02, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Magnificent, but the final climb requires a good sense of balance, as does the descent via Les Deux Soeurs.

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Date of your route : Aug 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful walk above the morning mist under bright sunshine, which made the stunning scenery even more magnificent. Confirmation that the final passage to the summit meadows is tricky and that it would not be wise to venture there on a rainy day.
Once you reach the Oeille pass, you must continue to the ridge immediately above to discover a rather mineral and raw universe.
The highlight of the walk: a dozen ibexes peacefully moving along a steep slope, as well as a few marmots.
This is definitely a walk worth doing.
Happy hiking, everyone.

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Date of your route : Jul 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent hike in very high temperatures! Up there, we were greeted by a gentle breeze and stunning views.
We extended the route by descending via Col Vert. A very beautiful path that runs alongside imposing limestone rocks. Thank you for sharing.

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Date of your route : Nov 03, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Visorando has the great merit of existing and refining the work of preparing maps at home.
Nothing can replace the experience of others, especially when it is honest and accurate.
For the "Pas de L'Oeille", the final section can end badly if you lose your balance (I had a 15 kg bag with all my photography equipment), so it would be advisable to take a 20-metre 11 mm (or similar) rope, a harness, straps, etc.
In fact, on the slab (fault mirror), I don't see how you could recover from a mistake... especially if it has snowed or rained.
We initially tested the bottom of the gully and the ascent prohibited by the yellow/green cross and old brown tracks.
It almost ended in disaster... Free adrenaline and a waste of energy and time.
in my opinion, a yellow/green marker is needed to show the fork to the left at the bottom of the slab to find the three pitons in place. Perhaps there was a cable there before?
A big thank you to the 23 ruminants who cooperated (300 photos)
A big "stop it, enough of the CLEBARDS of C........" to the dog-wolf and Malinois types who, with their barking and rushing, caused stress to the herd of friends.
When will there be respect for wildlife in the PNR?
The descent of little sister Sophie (grass) via the Péronnard trail to the north cape, then the Col Vert and then back south towards Prélenfrey is a beautiful but tiring circular loop with the goal of being down before 6:00 p.m. local time (while having LED headlamps and spare batteries, of course)
I highly recommend this circular to true nature lovers and especially wildlife photographers
(beautiful stoats too)
NB: be careful with your drinking water (two litres per adult) for an 11-hour hike in good weather.

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Date of your route : Oct 16, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Departure from Balcon Villard on the Côté 2000 side. At the OEILLE pass, there is a beautiful view, including Mont Aiguille. The return to the station via Roybon and the Fauge valley is very beautiful but very long and poorly signposted at the very end to find the Côté 2000 car park

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Date of your route : Oct 14, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

First of all, I would like to thank the author for suggesting this lovely mountain hike
The end of this hike is indeed very difficult, requiring the use of your hands to reach the summit. We did not descend via the same route, we turned right at the summit towards the Col Vert. Apart from a short descent between rocks of moderate difficulty, the path is very pleasant, which also allows you to make a circular route that is of course longer than the proposed hike, totalling 12 km, but you can descend safely without any problems. Thank you again to the author

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Date of your route : Sep 30, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello everyone, we walked for about an hour and a half until we reached the start of the difficult climb. Once you arrive at the foot of the rock, you need to be careful and take your time, but anyone (in good physical condition) can complete this hike, which ultimately offers one of the most beautiful views of the Vercos. And the icing on the cake is the twenty or so ibex just a few metres away!

We shot a 4K video of our hike, featuring the ibex and more. Don't hesitate to take a look!
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrO-VRoe...

Highlyrecommended

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Thank you for your feedback. Is this why the description has an 'average' rating? Or is there something else?
Let's hope the cables are replaced quickly

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
A very pleasant hike in a superb setting. We came across a group of ibexes that were not at all frightened by our presence. Magnificent. One small downside on the last part of the hike, where it is described as a non-dangerous climb, sometimes using your hands. In fact, it is quite dizzying and lasts a long time. Talking to locals, we learned that cables have been removed and need to be
reinstalled at the end of the trail to make it safer.

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Hello alethpretet@live.fr.
This is your first post and you have only recently registered on Visorando, so I hope you made a typo when you described it as "very disappointing". I would like to point out that until now, it has only been described as "very good".
The difficulties you encountered at the end, because you were afraid of the descent, are not something that should penalise the work of the writer of this hike, but are rather of a personal nature.
However, you did appreciate the interest of the route, which is reassuring for us.

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The end of the hike is a rather tricky section that requires great care. There is a sign indicating this after the Clos hut! This should be mentioned more emphatically.
We decided not to attempt the final section, fearing that the descent would be dangerous! This hike is not suitable for inexperienced walkers.
Lots of ibex!

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Date of your route : Jun 21, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Two hours to climb up, one hour twenty minutes to climb down. Numerous ibexes, one chamois...

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Date of your route : Sep 28, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Excellent hike!

Taken last Sunday from Le Lodge Les Chapelous in Morinaire - 38650 CHATEAU BERNARD. (GPS: latitude: 44.97056944 / longitude: 5.57372222).

So we cut across fields and forest, which took us to the end of the forest on this walk (Col de l'Arzelier) and revealed the enormous rocks above us. It's a steep climb and there are scree slopes, so standard hiking boots may not be enough; you need plastic toe caps on your shoes.

Once we got to the top, it was very windy! We spotted a very interesting downhill mountain biking site for those who ride. The landscape is varied and very beautiful. The weather was on our side, so it was magnificent. There weren't many people. The descent was much faster than usual.

In total, I'd say it took 3 to 3½ hours to climb up and 2 to 2½ hours to descend, but we only did part of the route.

The map was well done, and we found our way around very easily

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