Pic d'Escreins walks

There is a long crossing before the Col des Houerts, which takes you into the Ubaye Valley.

A stage of the Queyras Alpine crossing to reach the Haute Ubaye Valley, including a section via Lake Sainte-Anne and the Col Girardin.

The third stage is entirely on theGR®58, heading towards the rising sun.

A good warm-up for thisfirst stage. Thefirst pass is the Col des Estronques, followed by a round trip to the nearby summit of the Tête de la Jacquette, where an exceptional panorama awaits you, taking in the Pics de la Font Sancte, the Aiguille de Chambeyron, the Bric de Rubren, the Peouvou and, to the north, the Grand Glaiza and the Rochebrune.

This is the fourth and final stage of this journey between Queyras (05) and Ubaye (04). Passing through the Col des Estronques brings you back to the starting point in the hamlet of Cros.

This fifteenth stage crosses the Escreins massif (not to be confused with the Écrins massif) and, via the Ubaye valley, enters the Chambeyron valley. From the Refuge de la Cime, the route—off the GR®5—crosses the Torrent du Mélezet valley and climbs up the Pré Girardin valley via the ski runs; then, on the plateau, it skirts the rocky ridge overlooking Lac Miroir, reaches the lake and rejoins the GR®5. The route climbs up the valley between the shoulder of the Pic des Heuvières and the Crête de Coste Belle, passing the small pass of Sainte-Anne and then the lake of the same name before reaching the Col Girardin. It descends towards a basin, where the Torrent des Séchoirs has its source, and follows it. Clinging to the side of a steep slope, it joins the D25 road in the upper Ubaye valley and continues downstream, alternating between the road and paths close to the river. It leaves the D25 for the Fouillouse road, passes the vertiginous Pont du Châtelet, a tunnel and, via a path, reaches the hamlet of Fouillouse.

This walk, starting from the Furfande refuge, will take you past the magnificent barns and chalets of Furfande and lead you along a path running along a ridge above the Queyras valley, where the River Guil winds its way through, then on to Souliers via an ascent from the hamlet of Les Moullins in the Arvieux valley.

The second stage allows you to discover the observation post on the Crête des Grangettes.

This summit can be tackled as a round trip or as a traverse. The route described below is the traverse option: leave a car at the Mélezet ski resort car park.

This pleasant second day begins with a climb to the Col de Moussière before passing by the very pleasant Lac du Lauzet, then taking the long forest track back to the Moussière car park.