Puy Gris

Information on how to reach the starting point, as well as details regarding difficulties, alternative routes and safety precautions, is summarised in the ‘Practical Information ’ and ‘During the Hike’ sections.

(S/E) At the car park entrance, take a path that winds its way up the steep slope through the forest to the north-east, following numerous hairpin bends. The trail is marked in yellow and follows the GR® route (red and white). At the Embarolin signpost, continue the ascent along a forest track, still heading north-east. When you reach a clearing, a path branches off the forest track (small cairn) and runs alongside the Premier Chalet de la Petite Valloire.

(1) The path continues in switchbacks through the forest and veers eastwards to reach the Chalet de la Fouetterie (unmanned but very well maintained).

(2) Walk past the chalet to reach a junction where a sign points towards Lac Léat to the north (left) and towards La Grande Valloire to the south (right). Follow the latter direction to join the GR® Tour du Pays d’Allevard and continue along it, still heading south on virtually level ground.

(3) Reach the Premier Chalet de la Grande Valloire (private) and head back down towards the stream, then turn left, heading due east, and follow the path back up alongside the stream. The path veers east-southeast and runs alongside small waterfalls before reaching Lac Blanc.

(4) After admiring the lake, head east again along the cairn-marked path, which disappears into the grass on the right bank of the upper torrent. The terrain quickly turns into scree and the path heads north-east into a valley, leading to Lac Noir.

(5) From Lac Noir, continue north-east, ascending the valley of the Grande Valloire whilst following the numerous cairns. After skirting a ridge to the north, you’ll reach the superb Lac Glacé.

(6) Continue up the valley channel to the north-east through scree and large boulders, trying to follow the cairns (though this isn’t essential). Cross a snowfield blocking the valley channel and carry on in the same direction to the Col de la Valloire.

(7) At the pass, descend a few metres down the opposite flank to the south-east, beneath the rocks of the tower marking the end of the Lac Noir ridge. Put on your crampons before stepping onto the snowfield, then follow the base of the cliff to climb due south towards the Col de la Selle du Puy Gris.

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

Work your way round the obstacles, sometimes along the north face of the ridge, but mainly along its south face. At a tower of brown rocks, head right (south face) to reach the foot of a steep slope which is easily negotiated (3a max). Exit to the right onto a comfortable ledge and reach some large boulders.

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

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

?️ The standard start point for this hike is at elevation 997 on the D525a between Le Curtillard and Le Cley, but you can save 300 metres of elevation gain 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 sat-nav app): as you head up towards Fond de France, leave the main road (D525a) and turn left into the hamlet of Grand Thiervoz, taking a steep tarmac track which becomes a dirt track for 100 metres before turning back into tarmac. When you reach a T-junction, turn left and follow the tarmac road uphill. This turns into a track again and winds through three hairpin bends before heading due south. Continue to the end of the track, at IGN elevation 1,326 m (there is space for around ten vehicles).

? Water is plentiful up to Lac Glacé but scarcer beyond that.

? Dogs are allowed in Belledonne but this hike is not very suitable for them due to several sections of easy scrambling.

?♀️ The difficulty of this hike lies on the borderline between ‘very difficult’ and ‘extremely difficult’. A short climbing section requires you to use your hands on the rock during the ascent to Puy Gris. The climb to La Selle is tricky in summer as the snowfield tends not to refreeze. The apparent ease of progress is deceptive, as a slip is much more likely (and harder to anticipate) on soft snow than on frozen snow.

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

? The hike is particularly well suited to bivouacking at the summit of Puy Gris.

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

? Navigation is straightforward at all times. However, a basic 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…) have no priority on mobile networks, do not connect via other operators’ networks when there is no signal, and in the event of an overload of calls, ongoing communications are cut off to prioritise 112. So forget about them as soon as possible; they are dangerous and no longer serve any purpose (contrary to what some outdated training materials claim). If you cannot speak or hear, use 114 to communicate via text message. 112 works on any mobile phone (and landlines, of course), including on a locked phone and even if the SIM is blocked (however, since 2004, France has been in breach of European recommendations and blocks calls to 112 when there is no SIM in the phone. This blocking has required special investment, as the GSM standard naturally allows calls without a SIM card. Taxpayers will appreciate this particularly clever use of public funds.

⚠️ Please note: if your call is cut off, it is up to you to call the emergency services again: they have no way of contacting or locating you. Remember to note down your GPS coordinates before calling, as the French government has not deigned to equip emergency centres with AML (Advanced Mobile Location) technology, despite this having been made mandatory by the EU since 2018.

? In the mountains, switch your phone to 2G: the range of this technology is 4 to 8 times greater than that of newer technologies, and it uses significantly less power. Remember to switch off your Wi-Fi, which drains the battery quickly and serves no purpose outside homes and offices. ? Bear in mind that your phone’s GPS geolocation works even in flight mode (GPS has nothing to do with mobile phone signals).

?Checklist

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

• ☐optional
• ☐telescopic poles (must be able to stow them in your rucksack or leave them at La Selle)
• ☐ sleeping bag (if camping)
• ☐ water filter
• ☐ head torch (if camping)
• ☐ sleeping mat (if camping)

• ☒not required
• ☒ 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 vantage points in Belledonne. Its commanding position offers a panoramic view of the entire massif, as well as the Grandes Rousses, the northern Oisans, and the peaks of the Northern Alps. All the photos from this trip are available in high resolution online, along with several spherical photos: Lac Blanc, Lac Glacé, the snowfield at the Selle du Puy Gris, the bivouac, the sunset and the magnificent sunrise at the summit.

? Several alternative routes are possible. The most interesting is to ascend to the Selle du Puy Gris via the Combe du Gleyzin and climb to the summit for the bivouac.

Another, shorter alternative involves heading to Lac de la Folle: from Lac Blanc, head west beneath the ridge closing off the lake to the north, along a path that quickly disappears into the hollow of the valley bordering Lac Blanc to the west. Follow the valley floor of this hollow to reach the small ridge bordering Lac de la Folle. Walk around the lake before returning to Lac Blanc via the ascent route.