Memorial Trail – Ski Scout Section – Costa de Beauregard

On the D900, in the village of Larche, park in the Town Hall car park.

(S/E) Follow the D900 towards Meyronnes, leave the village and look out for the start of a track on the right.

(1) Turn right onto it and head uphill, passing close to an aerial, then continue uphill until you reach a group of blockhouses. This group of blockhouses, the Larche Outpost, is the largest defensive structure on this walk.

(2) Carry on climbing until you reach a flat area; look out for a rock on the right with a door cut into it. Head towards it – this is Le Truc. It has been hollowed out and fitted with a firing slit.

(3) Return to the path, passing close to the ruins of the Colombier farm, which was destroyed by the Germans. Climb up following the track, then, at a hairpin bend, leave the track and follow the path along the hillside to reach a flat area. Here, look out for another blockhouse, Strongpoint 1893, which played a very important role on 20 June 1940 in holding back the Italian attack.

(4) Turn left onto the path leading uphill over a small ridge – this is the^GR®5– and you will very quickly reach another junction of paths.

(5) Leave the^GR® and continue first on level ground, then climb briefly up a ridge before finally traversing the hillside to a new blockhouse, known as Strongpoint 2018.

(6) Continue along the hillside path until you reach a track and the^GRP®, at the L’Ausse Blanche junction.

(7) Turn almost 180° to the right, follow the Rouchouse stream, then reach the Génie Dam, where only a few stakes, tied in pigtails, remain to hold up the old barbed-wire barrier.

(8) Continue downhill to the Prés Bas crossroads. Keep straight ahead on the^GRP®, reaching the footbridge over the Ravin du Combal and the end of a track.

(9) Ignore this footbridge and continue straight on along the wide track that forms part of the^GRP®, marked with yellow and red signposts. At the end of the descent, you’ll reach Larche and the town hall car park (S/E).

There is no drinking water along the route.
Route:^PR® marked in yellow and^GRP® marked in yellow and red.
You may enter the fortifications. Please respect these sites.
Information boards are provided at the sites.
(6) A picnic table is available at Blockhaus 2018.
In the Town Hall car park, there is an information board about the Ski Scouts Section and the events of the 1940 war.
Please do find out more about the Battle of the Alps and the Ubayen soldiers.

(S/E) The village of Larche and its distinctive architecture, particularly the church. As the village was bombed in 1945, it has since been rebuilt.
On the D900 towards Italy, the Larche border pass.