Refuge des Souffles - Lac Lautier - Crêtes de Colombes

Parking is available at the entrance to the village of Villar-Loubière on the right-hand side of the D985a.

(S/E) From the car park, turn right towards the village, then take the first street on the left signposted Refuge des Souffles –^GR®54.

White-red markings
Pass in front of the mill (which can be visited) then take the street sloping to the left. Pass the two streets on the right then, after a right-hand bend, you will come to a crossroads with a lodge on your left.
Continue straight ahead until you reach a fountain.

(1) Turn left to find the Villar-Loubière signpost. Turn right, the tarmac road gives way to a path and you will arrive at the Chastelas signpost.

(2) Leave the path and take the trail that climbs to the left towards the Refuge des Souffles.
The climb starts gently and then becomes a little steeper, winding between forest and more open spaces. After about 1.5km uphill, the path arrives at a crossroads.

(3) Leave the path on the right, which will be the return route, and continue left towards the Refuge des Souffles.
A few dozen metres below the refuge, a crossroads invites you to turn right towards Lac Lautier. Follow this sign, which will take you to the Refuge des Souffles.

Red + blue-white-red markings (Parc des Écrins)
(4) Take the path that climbs to the left of the refuge towards Lac Lautier. At first, the path is over large boulders, but as it climbs, it becomes more pleasant until it reaches the Col des Clochettes.

Blue-white-red markings
(5) Continue along the trail to descend towards the valley and reach a crossroads.

(6) Leave the path on the right, which will be for the return trip, and turn left to continue climbing. At first, the slope is gentle, but the switchbacks quickly become more intense with a few slightly more technical passages to reach a pass.
Continue on almost flat ground to reach Lac Lautier.

No markings
(7) Continue along the path to the right of the lake, which climbs up to the Col de Colombes with a superb view of the Olan on the left.

(8) Do not descend, but head right into the rocks at the start to reach the Colombes ridges. Continue for a few hundred metres to enjoy the view.

(9) Return to Col de Colombes.

(8) Turn left towards Lac Lautier, take the same path down into the valley and you will come to a crossroads before climbing back up to the Col des Clochettes.

(6) Turn left to descend into the valley towards Villar-Loubière.
Further down, vegetation reappears. Ignore a path on the right that leads to the Refuge des Souffles.
Further down, at a bend, a path branches off to the left towards a small waterfall. Take a detour to cool off and then continue your descent. After a long, pleasant walk through the forest, the path rejoins the one you took on the way up.

Red and white markings
(3) Turn left onto the same route to return to Villar-Loubière and the car park (S/E).

Refuge des Souffles: at an altitude of 1,975 metres, this small refuge is located in the heart of the Hautes-Alpes in the Valgaudemar valley, on the edge of the Écrins massif.

You are hiking in the heart of the Écrins National Park.

The Écrins massif is an exceptional area, open to all, with a rare natural, cultural and landscape heritage. To protect these treasures, the heart of the park is marked by blue, white and red flags, where regulations must be observed. Please familiarise yourself with these regulations when preparing for your hike in order to preserve this collective asset, at https://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr.

Visit the renovated mill at Villar-Loubière:
The mill, which is several centuries old, has been preserved in perfect condition with its unusual horizontal wheel. It was still in commercial operation around fifty years ago. It was used to process wheat, but also walnuts and rapeseed.