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See the practical information for parking.
(S/E) From the car park, take the wide forest track that climbs steadily southwards. After a wide left-hand bend (east), the slope levels out and you arrive at the Fontaine Claire crossroads.
(1) At the sign, take the path on the right, which is initially covered with wooden sleepers, a bit like a toboggan run. The track climbs south-southwest and arrives at a turning area for forestry tractors. Look for the "point 1321m" sign opposite where you came from.
(2) At the sign, leave the logging tracks and head towards Planfay, continuing down south-southwest on a sunken path that descends straight into the valley and joins the forest track just before the Girieux hut. Pass the hut and you will come to a signpost indicating the Vermorel trail on the left.
(3) Turn left (east) to follow the forest track that climbs up alongside a meadow. At the top of the meadow, the track veers right (south) and a yellow arrow on a wooden post quickly indicates the start of the Vermorel trail on the right. This narrow trail is marked with yellow lines and ends at the foot of a cliff. Turn left to go around it via steep hairpin bends and reach the top of the obstacle.
The trail then heads southwest along the top of the cliff (be careful not to slip on the roots or clay), then winds south to reach the northeast ridge of La Pinéa. From there, follow the ridge trail (blue dots) southwest to reach the summit.
(4) From the summit of La Pinéa, descend via the normal route (yellow lines), which first heads south and then turns north-east. Pass the first signpost marked "Sous la Pinéa" and follow the ridges to a second signpost at a place called "Plénom".
(5) Then follow the direction of Charmant Som, marked in yellow and red, which follows the ridges of Montvernet and Montfromage, generally to the north. This path crosses the Charmant Som road at the Orgeval oratory. Follow this road north to its terminus at the Charmant Som farmhouse inn.
(6) Turn right opposite the inn and follow the wide path eastwards to the base of the southern shoulder of Charmant Som. Once you reach the shoulder, the path turns left, heading due north and climbing steeply to the secondary summit. Pass the secondary summit and a mini-pass to reach the summit.
(7) From the summit of Charmant Som, retrace your steps to the mini-col and take the path descending south-west then west through the meadows bordering the north cliff of the mountain, see location photo. Stay on the path closest to the cliff and ignore any paths branching off to the left. This will take you to a mini valley that descends to the right towards the cliff. Follow the path that passes through it and go through the cattle gate to reach a ridge slightly below an altitude of 1,700 metres. Turn right onto this ridge (east), which then descends in a circular pattern to the north to join the valley of the Casse de Pré Batard. A small cairn — barely visible — below the ridge indicates where to descend.
(8) At the small cairn, take the track on the left (due west) through the scree, which descends steeply on the left bank of the ravine. Once you reach the rocks, the path becomes less steep and crosses a small group of trees before reaching the clearing at the base of Pré Batard.
Then turn left onto the right path, which descends the valley to 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 south towards Fontaine Claire. This track quickly becomes level. Be careful, as the path, which is quite wide at first, tends to disappear into the grass in the wettest areas. There are tracks that allow you to get around these, but you must always return to the main track.
(1) Once you reach Fontaine Claire, take the forest track you took on the way there (west) to descend to the car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Moderate 
Easy 
