Rocher de la Grande Tempête and Pic du Lac Blanc

Laval car park – End of the Névache road.

(S/E) From the car park, take the path that follows the road north-north-west towards the Refuge des Drayères (signpost).

(1) After about 1 km, at IGN elevation 2094 m, a signpost marks the start of the path which climbs to the right towards Lacs Rond and Long and the Col des Muandes. Follow this path, first northwards then eastwards. Shortly after reaching the Riou Sec, the path leads to Lac Long, which you go round on the right-hand side (lake on your right). The path crosses a grassy ridge and then joins Lac Rond and the^GR®57.
Go round Lac Rond on the^GR®, then follow a small stream east-southeast for 400m.

(2) On a flat section, leave the^GR® where it branches off to the left towards the north-east and continue straight ahead across grass dotted with large boulders, still following the stream, over fairly gentle slopes. Stay at the foot of the scree slopes descending from the Crête des Muandes, which forces you to veer slightly left, towards the east. This brings you to a small lake at an altitude of 2,700m, which collects the waters of the Rocher de la Grande Tempête valley. This peak lies in the extension of the route leading to the lake.

(3) From the lake, head left (north-east) to make a circular loop through the scree, then return south-east towards the summit beneath its north-western ridge. This ridge is very passable; it is also possible to follow it all the way to the summit (3,002m).

(4) From the Rocher de la Grande Tempête, retrace your steps for about a hundred metres, then traverse south-west along the slope and climb very gently up to the first small col below the summit, on the western ridge. This small col is not the Col de la Tempête.

(5) Below this pass, very steep slopes descend to the south. If the slope is snow-covered, put on crampons; otherwise, the descent is made by scrambling over very small stones that provide good cushioning. This leads to a flat area where there is a small lake just below the Rocher de la Petite Tempête.

(6) From the lake, head south-east along the slope through large scree, then climb up to the left (east) over grassier slopes leading to a flat area beneath the gully linking the Rocher de la Petite Tempête to the Pic du Lac Blanc. This flat area is dotted with small lakes that remain frozen for a long time.
From these lakes, head south over large scree slopes, then climb up towards the ridge of the Pic du Lac Blanc. At the end of the climb, veer left to reach the Pic from the east.

(7) From the Pic, follow the “normal” route for 300m, descending south-east towards the Crête des Gardioles.

(8) However, leave the path as soon as it leaves the large scree to pass over steep slopes of small stones: the descent is much easier in this gravel and along the slope line (south-south-west) than on the path itself. When the slope levels off, you’ll reach a ridge dividing the upper part of the Gardioles valley in two. To the left (south-west) lies the clearly visible path coming from Lac du Serpent. To the right, a narrow track plunges down the slope towards the north-west and a small lake. Follow this track to the small lake overlooking the Gardioles plateau.

(9) On this plateau dotted with numerous lakes, wander from lake to lake whilst generally heading west (do not descend via the rounded rocks to the south which lead to the main path and Lac du Serpent). A final lake at around 2,600m, the largest on the plateau, marks a break in the slope where the lake’s outlet (the Recare stream) descends.

(10) From the mouth of this lake, head to the right of the stream (west) towards the Crêtes de la Cula, without gaining any height. Follow the contour lines along the slope, always heading west, to reach the shoulder of the ridge.

(11) At the shoulder, head first north-east across the ridge, then turn left to descend westwards towards Lac de la Cula and the clearly visible path leading down from it. Join this path where it crosses the^GR® de Pays. Take this path, which runs level towards the north after two short hairpin bends (stay on the^GR® for 400m).

(12) As soon as the^GR® crosses the Cula stream, leave the^GR® and descend as the terrain dictates along any of the stream’s branches (west-southwest). The ground is occasionally a little soft but presents no difficulty. These streams inevitably lead to a wide footbridge topped by a sign indicating the Laval refuge.

(13) From this footbridge, take the path that runs alongside the Cula torrent and its few waterfalls, passing above the Laval refuge to reach the car park at the starting point (S/E)

Visual landmarks:

Off-trail hiking requires more preparation than usual. It is useful to memorise or take the following photos with you and to identify where they correspond on the map before setting out on this hike:

• the Crête des Muandes is the ridge descending to the west of the Rocher de la Grande Tempête.
• The text on the reference photo taken from the summit of the Rocher helps to pinpoint the next stages.
• The small lake on the Cula hump (not to be confused with Lac de la Cula) is clearly visible from the summit of the Grande Tempête and serves as a directional guide down the steep slope.
• The photo of the Rocher de la Grande Tempête shows the other side of the Crête des Muandes as well as the small pass (covered in snow in the photo) from which you must descend the steep slope.
• The Upper Gardioles Lake is clearly visible from the section of path between (7) and (8)
• The outlet of the Lower Gardioles Lake marks the source of the Recare stream

Difficulty:

The main difficulty lies in the length of the route and finding the way.

Equipment:

An ice axe and crampons are recommended at the start of the season when snowfields still cover the slopes (until at least mid-July).

Water:

There are plenty of water sources along the route; a filter makes it easy to top up your supplies.

Variations:

The route leaves plenty of scope for improvisation; it would be a shame to stick to it too rigidly. In particular, you should allow yourself to deviate from it and wander a little during:

• the climb to the small lake (3) beneath the Rocher de la Grande Tempête,
• the passage between the lake below the Pas de la Tempête and the one below the Pic du Lac Blanc (west side),
• the crossing of the Gardioles plateau (9),
• the descent along the Torrent de la Cula (12).

It is also possible to avoid the paths almost entirely after Lac Rond, by descending directly from the peak (7) to the small lake at the top of the Gardioles, and heading straight for the footbridge (13) without taking the^GR® de Pays when you cross it.