Refuge de l'Orgére - Refuge Peclet Polset

This first stage starts at the Refuge de l’Orgére.

(S/E) Take the^GR®55opposite the refuge. Right from the start, there is a significant climb through the woods. After this first section, as you emerge from the woods, you’ll reach a junction at an altitude of 2,178m, where there are ruins that were likely once a summer pasture.

(1) Turn right and ignore the path branching off to the left. Continue straight ahead (north), still climbing. Pass at the foot of Tête Noire on the left. You’ll reach a flat area at an elevation of 2,502m and a junction. To the left is a beautiful waterfall and to the right, below, is Lac de la Partie.

(2) Continue to the right (north) towards the Col de Chavière (ignore the^GR®55which branches off to the left). Climb up to the pass, at an altitude of nearly 2,800m, where a magnificent view awaits you. There were numerous snowfields for the month of August.

(3) Descend from the pass over very unstable scree to reach Plan des Cairns, a place where, as the name suggests, there are a multitude of cairns. To the right, the head of the first glacier on this route, the Gebroulaz, and an imposing rock massif, the Aiguille de Polset, which rises to 3,500m.

(4) Continue northwards along the^GR®55to a junction.

(5) Turn left and leave the^GR®55. Walk alongside a small lake on your right. Continue to the Peclet Polset Refuge (E).

The welcome and meals at the Refuge de l’Orgére, from where we set off and spent our first night, are particularly worth mentioning. A welcome of a kind rarely found, where the spirit of the mountains is ever-present. As for the Peclet refuge, the welcome was standard but the evening meal was excellent.
This stage is challenging due to the elevation gain but presents no technical difficulties. By setting off early, you’ll have time to take a detour and climb up to the Gebroulaz Glacier. I highly recommend this detour. It allows you to get up close to this first ice giant.

There is water along the route.

Le Plan des Cairns is a beautiful sight.