Pointe de l'Eyssina

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

To reach the Crachet Pass from the Vars Pass, the trail is good until the bottom of the cirque leading to the pass. There are cairns, the slope becomes steeper and steeper, then there are no more trails or cairns, all washed away by avalanches according to the locals. The passage therefore becomes potentially dangerous, overlooking the rocky outcrops

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Date of your route : Aug 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 03.08.25
The most difficult part of the hike is the scree slope before the Col du Crachet, where the route has been damaged by avalanches.
There are about a hundred metres that are quite difficult to navigate (elevation gain + slope). Bring walking sticks to feel really safe. Up there, the view from the Pointe de l'Essyna is breathtaking and well worth the effort!

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Thank you for submitting your review
As you and JF D mentioned in the previous review, the climb to Col Crachet is currently
much more difficult for 2024.
As indicated in the practical information, I recommend using GPS navigation for this hike, via the Visorando app. The description is insufficient due to a lack of signposting.

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Date of your route : Aug 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello, the Crachet Pass is still blocked due to avalanches, making the climb very dangerous. We got into difficulty with a cyclist for nearly two hours and managed to pull ourselves up using a piece of rope and rock holds higher up... The descent is already more feasible but remains technical.
I would advise avoiding this route until the path has been cleared

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Date of your route : Jul 31, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike on 14 July with a beautiful view from the summit. Excellent guidance with the app. It should be noted that in the cirque, below the pass, almost the entire trail has disappeared due to landslides (only the section of the trail just before the pass remains). However, this section is quite steep. It is a bit tricky, especially on the descent. In my opinion, it is not recommended in rainy weather.

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Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A must-see in Vars. One possible starting point is the small chapel below the pass.
For the first right turn after leaving the pastoral path, I invite anyone willing to help to maintain the small cairn, which is a little too discreet. The climb to the Crachet pass is tough, but there is an impressive 360° view when you reach the top.

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Thank you for your feedback, VALNAT14. I just changed the difficulty to difficult, but the real rating would be upper intermediate.
It's a shame that there's no option to indicate this rating on the website.

In response to VIA UZEL, it was never stated that this route was a ridge route like those in Vars.
It is the ascent of a peak located at the end of a ridge, which is not the same thing.

Kind regards

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Date of your route : Sep 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

A big disappointment! A magnificent ridge walk? Yes, but so short that it seems somewhat misleading!
First of all, don't look for the path that goes downhill behind the toilets because there isn't one, or at least not anymore! Instead, there are recycling bins, but that's just a minor detail.
There is no trail as indicated in the description, but it is not difficult to find your way, and whenever you hesitate, choose the path that goes uphill!
When you read "follow the path between the cairns", you should understand "follow the scree..." and that's the problem because it's very steep for quite a long time and, sorry, but there's really nothing to admire during that time.
We didn't meet a single person on either the ascent or the descent, and we can easily understand why: there's little of interest except once you reach the summit (which is very windy).

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Date of your route : Aug 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike today.
I was a little apprehensive after reading the other reviews, but perhaps the trail has been improved since then because once I passed point 1, I didn't even need to open the app as the path was so clear all the way to the pass and then to the peak. There are numerous cairns and the trail is well marked.

I counted 4 hours there and back with a meal break (18 hours, can we really call that a meal 😅) and a chamois break just above the pass below.
But I was alone and the descent was more of a run than a leisurely walk given the setting sun, so I would say that the timing indicated here is quite accurate for good walkers!

The view from the peak is breathtaking, a superb 360° panorama just the way we like it!

Thank you very much for this hike!

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Thank you for your reply and for taking note of the comments made.
Kind regards.
Michel Reynier

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Hello Mr Reynier

I have just returned from a hiking trip in the mountains. I apologise for my late reply.

I agree that it is particularly difficult to find your way on this unmarked trail.

The elements you mention are visible in the video guide, the link to which can be found at the bottom of the page in the section entitled 'During the hike'

In this video commentary, which covers the key points of the guidebook, you can see my wife climbing the trail across the hill, then heading towards the foot of the hill on the left-hand side, before turning right onto the trail below summit 2734
, where a huge scree slope descends.
I have therefore just added the "practical information" on this subject. I also strongly recommend downloading the track (GPX file) from the website to make it easier to navigate using a smartphone or GPS.

As Michel SOL said
"As indicated, there were some orientation issues at the start, but once on the right path to the pass, there were no more problems."

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very vague description of the hike
"At the top of the hill, turn left": which hill?
"Go up the grassy path and then take the path on the right that goes around the hill on the left": this is very vague!
"The first unmarked intersection": in fact, nothing is marked, so we need more precise landmarks because many paths branch off to the right (we continued straight ahead instead of turning right at the right moment because there were no landmarks, such as a stream flowing just below the intersection)
Fortunately, the map and GPS position provided by Viisorando on our mobile phone limited our error.

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Hello,

That's a good point, because climbing peaks and ridges in stormy weather is particularly dangerous.
In my opinion, it is preferable to refrain from such hikes or to undertake them only in good weather.
For example, Pierre Gaspard's teammate who died climbing La Meije, and so many others.

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Date of your route : Jul 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Ridge difficult to traverse in stormy weather

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Date of your route : Jul 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

hello, everyone
Taken on Saturday 11 July, the day after heavy rains that seem to have created scree in the rock field between (1) and (2) and wiped out the winding path. We climbed "by sight". This climb up the scree slope was truly perilous. One hiker dropped his walking stick, which rolled down more than 30 metres. He retrieved it on his way back down, clinging tightly to the slope! Otherwise, it was pure bliss.

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