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See the practical information for parking. At the start of the season (until May), the route starts as indicated. From June onwards, you can park at the Col de la Charmette (10); in this case, follow the signposts between point (10) and point (1), then set off again from point (1).
(S/E) From the car park, take the wide forest track which climbs steadily southwards. After a wide bend to the left (east), the gradient eases and you reach the Fontaine Claire crossroads.
(1) At the signpost, take the path on the right, which is initially lined with wooden sleepers, somewhat like a toboggan run. The track climbs south-south-west and leads to a turning area for forestry tractors. Look for the “point 1321m” signpost opposite the direction from which you came.
(2) At the signpost, leave the forestry tracks and head towards Planfay, continuing to descend south-south-west along a sunken track that runs straight down the valley floor and joins the forest track just before the Girieux hut. Pass the hut and you’ll come to a post signposting the Vermorel path to the left.
(3) Turn left (east) to follow the forest track which climbs alongside a meadow. At the top of the meadow, the track veers to the right (south) and a yellow arrow on a wooden post soon indicates the start of the Vermorel path on the right. This narrow path is marked with yellow stripes and ends at the foot of a cliff. Turn left here to go round the cliff via steep switchbacks and reach the top of the cliff.
The path then turns south-west to run along the top of the cliff (be careful not to slip on the roots or the clay), before winding southwards again to reach the north-eastern ridge of La Pinéa. From there, follow the ridge path (blue dots) south-west to reach the summit.
(4) From the summit of La Pinéa, descend via the standard route (yellow lines), which first heads south before turning north-east. Pass the first signpost marked ‘Sous la Pinéa’ and follow the ridges to a second sign at a place called ‘Plénom’.
(5) Then follow the signs for Le Charmant Som, marked in yellow and red, which follows the ridges of Montvernet and Montfromage, generally heading north. This path crosses the Le Charmant Som road at the Orgeval oratory. Follow this road northwards to its end at the Le Charmant Som farmhouse inn.
(6) Turn right opposite the inn to follow the wide path eastwards up towards the base of the southern shoulder of the Charmant Som. Once on the shoulder, the path turns left, heading due north and steeply uphill, to climb directly to the secondary summit. Pass the secondary summit and a small pass to reach the main summit.
(7) From the summit of the Charmant Som, retrace your steps to the small col and take the path there descending south-west and then west through the meadows bordering the mountain’s northern cliff face; see the location photo. Make sure you stay on the path closest to the cliff and ignore any paths branching off to the left. This will take you to a small valley which descends to the right towards the cliff. Follow the path through this valley and go through the cattle gate to reach a ridge trail slightly below 1,700 metres. Turn right onto this ridge trail (east), which then descends in a circular pattern northwards to join the valley floor of the Combe de la Casse de Pré Batard. A small cairn — barely visible — below the ridge trail marks the spot where you should descend.
(8) At the small cairn, turn left (due west) onto the track through the scree, which descends steeply along the left bank of the ravine. Once you reach the base of the rocks, the path becomes less steep and passes through a small clump of trees before reaching the clearing at the foot of Pré Batard.
Then turn left onto the correct path, which descends the valley floor towards the west. This path passes two water sources before joining the Cochette path.
(9) Turn left (south) onto this path and follow it to the Col de la Charmette (do not follow the signs for Saint-Pierre!).
(10) From the Col de la Charmette, take the track that climbs southwards towards Fontaine Claire. This track soon levels out. Be careful: the path, which is quite wide at first, tends to disappear into the grass in the wettest spots. There are tracks allowing you to bypass these, but you must always return to the main track.
(1) Once you reach Fontaine Claire, take the forest track you followed on the way up (west) to head back down to the car park (S/E).
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