Puy Gris

Information on how to get to the starting point, as well as details on difficulties, alternatives and precautions to take, can be found in the practical information and during the hike sections.

(S/E) At the car park entrance, take a path that climbs up the steep slope in the forest to the north-east, following numerous hairpin bends. The path is marked in yellow and with GR® (red and white) markings. At the Embarolin sign, continue climbing on a forest path, still heading north-east. When you reach a clearing, a trail leaves the forest path (small cairn) and runs alongside the Premier Chalet de la Petite Valloire.

The path continues winding through the forest and turns east to reach the Chalet de la Fouetterie (unmanned but very well maintained).

(1) Pass the chalet to reach an intersection where a sign indicates the direction of Lac Léat to the north (left) and Grande Valloire to the south (right). Follow the latter direction to join the GR® Tour du Pays d'Allevard and continue on it, still heading south, almost at the same level.

(2) Reach the first chalet of Grande Valloire (private) and descend towards the stream to turn left, heading due east, and climb the path along the stream. This turns east-southeast and runs alongside small waterfalls before arriving at Lac Blanc.

(3) After admiring the lake, head east on the cairned path that disappears into the grass on the right bank of the upstream stream. The terrain quickly turns into scree and the path heads northeast into a gully, leading to Lac Noir.

(4) From Lac Noir, continue northeast up the Grande Valloire valley, following the numerous cairns. After skirting a shoulder to the north, you will arrive at the superb Lac Glacé.

(5) Continue up the gully to the northeast through scree and large boulders, trying to follow the cairns (this is not essential). Pass a snowfield that blocks the gully and continue in the same direction to the Col de la Valloire.

(6) At the pass, descend the opposite slope a few metres to the south-east, below the rocks of the tower that marks the end of the Lac Noir ridge. Put on your crampons before stepping onto the snowfield, then follow the foot of the cliff to climb south towards the Col de la Selle du Puy Gris.

(7) At the pass, stow your crampons and ice axe in your rucksack (or leave them behind). Follow the shoulder of the pass due east for about 20 metres, over slippery schistose rock, and veer right (south) at the first rocky obstacle to go around it from below. Follow the path and cairns to climb back up onto the ridge and follow it eastwards.

Go around the obstacles, sometimes on the north side of the ridge, but mainly on the south side. At a brown rock tower, head right (south side) to reach the foot of a steep slope that is easy to climb (3a max). Exit to the right onto a comfortable ledge and reach large boulders.

Pass these easy boulders to return as close as possible to the well-marked ridge. This will take you to the summit.

(8) From the summit, follow the ascent route in reverse, remembering to take your crampons and ice axe to the Selle du Puy Gris, to return to the starting point (S/E).

?️ The classic starting point for this hike is at elevation 997 on the D525a between Le Curtillard and Le Cley, but you can save yourself a 300 m climb by parking below L'Embarolin (N 45.298361° / E 6.090971° by clicking on this Waze link, you can enter these coordinates directly into your favourite navigation app): as you climb towards Fond de France, leave the main road (D525a) and turn left into the hamlet of Grand Thiervoz and take a steep tarmac road which turns into a 100 m long track and then becomes tarmac again. When you reach a T-junction, turn left and follow the tarmac road uphill. This turns back into a track and makes three hairpin bends before heading south again. Continue to the end of the track, at an IGN elevation of 1326 m (there is space for around ten vehicles).

Water is abundant up to Lac Glacé but scarcer beyond.

? Dogs are allowed in Belledonne, but this hike is not very suitable for them due to several easy climbing passages.

?‍♀️ The difficulty of this hike is between "very difficult" and "extremely difficult". A small climbing step requires you to place your hands on the rock during the ascent to Puy Gris. The climb to La Selle is tricky in summer because the snow tends not to refreeze. The apparent ease of progress is deceptive because a slip is much more likely (and more difficult to anticipate) on soft snow than on icy snow.

It is best to do this hike in good weather. In stormy weather, Puy Gris is frequently struck by lightning.

? The hike is particularly suitable for bivouacking at the summit of Puy Gris.

? Standard hiking equipment should be supplemented with a helmet, crampons and an ice axe. Walking poles are very useful on the descent. See the checklist at the end of this section.

? Orientation is easy at all times. However, a little sense of direction is required on the summit ridge.

? There is only one emergency number in France: 112. Other numbers (15, 17, or direct numbers, etc.) have no priority on mobile networks, do not work on other operators' networks when there is no signal, and in the event of excessive calls, ongoing communications are cut off in favour of 112. So forget about them as soon as possible, they are dangerous and no longer serve any purpose (contrary to what some old training courses claim). If you cannot speak or hear, use 114 to communicate by text message. 112 works on any mobile phone (and landline, of course), including blocked phones and even if the SIM card is blocked (however, since 2004, France has been violating European recommendations and blocking calls to 112 when there is no SIM card in the phone). This blocking has required special investment, as the GSM standard is, of course, to allow calls without a SIM card. Taxpayers will appreciate this particularly intelligent use of public funds.

⚠️ Please note that if your call is cut off, it is up to you to call the emergency services again: they have no way of contacting you or locating you. Remember to note your GPS coordinates before calling, as the French government has not seen fit to equip emergency services with AML (Advanced Mobile Location) technology, even though this has been mandatory in Europe since 2018.

? In the mountains, set your phone to 2G: this technology has 4 to 8 times greater range than newer technologies and consumes significantly less power. Remember to turn off your WiFi, which quickly drains the battery and is useless outside homes and offices. ? Be aware that your phone's GPS geolocation works even in aeroplane mode (GPS has nothing to do with telephony).

Checklist

• ☑︎Essential in addition to standard hiking equipment
• ☑︎ helmet
• ☑︎ crampons (for the Selle snowfield; leave them at the Selle to climb)
• ☑︎ 1.5 L water bottle
• ☑︎ ice axe (for the Selle snowfield)

• ☐optional
• ☐ telescopic poles (must be able to be stored in your rucksack or left at La Selle)
• ☐ sleeping bag (if bivouacking)
• ☐ water filter
• ☐ head torch (if bivouacking)
• ☐ sleeping mat (if bivouacking)

• ☒unnecessary
• ☒ nuts, harness, quickdraws
• ☒ rope

? Alpine wildlife is present, particularly chamois and ibex. At the end of the day, birds of prey often use the updrafts above the valleys surrounding Puy Gris

? Puy Gris is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Belledonne. Its prominent location offers panoramic views of the entire massif, as well as the Grandes Rousses, the north of Oisans, and the peaks of the Northern Alps. All the photos from this trip are available in high resolution online, as well as several spherical photos: Lac Blanc, Lac Glacé, the Selle du Puy Gris snowfield, the bivouac, the sunset and the magnificent sunrise at the summit.

Several variations are possible. The most interesting is to climb to the Selle du Puy Gris via the Combe du Gleyzin and then climb to the summit for the bivouac.

Another shorter variation is to go via Lac de la Folle: from Lac Blanc, head west under the shoulder closing off the lake to the north, on a path that quickly disappears into the hollow of the combe bordering Lac Blanc to the west. Climb up the thalweg of this combe to reach the small ridge bordering Lac de la Folle. Go around the lake before returning to Lac Blanc via the ascent route.