Park at the Pré Raymond car park, accessible to all vehicles via Revel and Freydières.
(S/E) Take the steep forest road (passable by vehicle) marked in yellow leading to Lac du Crozet (signposts) and climbing south-east into the forest.
(1) After a short flat section on a ridge in the forest, leave theGR®549a(sign) on your left and continue on the marked path to Lac du Crozet, which continues through the forest and turns into a trail. After a few hairpin bends, the trail heads north-east, remaining level, then leaves the forest and turns south-east again.
Continue on to Lac du Crozet (45 to 60 minutes from the starting point). Follow the eastern shore of the lake; the trail is marked with red and whiteGR®549signs. After crossing a bridge and a few hairpin bends, theGR® reaches Col de la Pra.
(3) Follow theGR® leading south towards the Refuge de la Pra (signposted), but do not continue to the refuge: when the trail reaches the Ruisseau du Domènon, cross it and take an unmarked path heading due south after two hairpin bends and running along the foot of the rocky ridge on your left (east).
When you reach the southern end of these cliffs, turn left towards the east and climb up the slope, then cross or go around the small rocks on the right. This will take you to a small plateau. Then turn left towards the north-east and take the scree-covered valley leading under the Grande Lauzière cliff. Near this cliff, the scree becomes increasingly steep and unstable. Stay on the left (right bank of the gully), or even use the rock to climb more comfortably and exit via a short couloir to reach the summit ridge. Turn right, towards the south-east, and after about 100 metres, you will reach the summit of the Grande Lauzière, covered with slate.
(4) Descend towards the flat pass to the east of the Grande Lauzière. From there, still heading east, you will see Tête Noire, another summit covered in very loose slate and topped with a cairn. Head towards this summit along a clearly visible, almost level path.
(5) From Tête Noire, head due north to reach a very steep scree slope running alongside rocky foothills on your right. Descend this slope until you quickly spot a stream and a lake at the bottom of the valley. Head towards this lake (due east), still on the scree slope.
(6) This will take you to Lac du Bois, which is fed by two streams: the one you have been following, and another stream that flows from Lac du Bœuf, which is your next destination. Follow this second stream along its almost flat section (eastwards) on the left bank to reach the foot of a scree-covered valley. Leave the main stream bed and continue climbing due east. This scree is much more stable and comfortable than the descent to Lac du Bois.
When the slope of the scree flattens out, turn north to reach the foot of the wave-cut rocks. Turn left due west to follow these rocks and step onto the eroded rocks, which are easy to cross. This will take you to Lac du Bœuf or, if you aim a little low, to the stream below its weir; in the latter case, follow the stream upstream to the lake.
Go around Lac du Bœuf via its western shore and find the flat bed of an ancient subglacial river that generally flows north, roughly opposite the spillway. Follow this bed and then head for the clearly visible pass to the north-northeast, Col du Bâton.
(7) This pass is the starting point for the ascent to Pic du Grand Domènon. To reach the peak, stay generally on the ridge that starts from the Col du Bâton heading west-southwest, without ever crossing to the north side of the slopes. This ridge is easy for the first 150 metres. Then, stay slightly below its southern edge to pass under the peak and approach it from its secondary summit slightly further west.
(8) The summit of Pic du Grand Domènon is marked by a cairn. The descent follows the ascent route and rejoins Col du Bâton about 150m lower down.
(7) From the pass, descend the steepest line via the scree or what remains of the Grande Pente snowfield.
(9) Once you have crossed the meagre remains of the snowfield, rejoin the Croix de Belledonne route, which is well marked with cairns and signposts. Make your way through the crowd of hikers to descend along the right bank of the Petit and Grand Domènon lakes.
(10) After the Petit Domènon lake spillway, stay on the right bank of the stream and follow the yellow-marked trail to the Col de la Pra.
(3) At the Col de la Pra, follow the route taken on the way up to descend to Lac du Crozet and then reach the starting point (S/E).
