Sept Laux J2

de fr

The second stage of this circular loop in the Belledonne Massif, sometimes on balcony trails, sometimes through wild valleys, allows you to go around the Allevard massif.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Sept Laux

Details

n°141535
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.66 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 734 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,532 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,139 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,336 m
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Photos

An interlude in the woods
Fill up your water bottles.
A touch of Lord of the Rings
Between 5 and 7

Description of the walk

(S) From the Sept Laux refuge, take the yellow and red marked trail (GR® de Pays d'Allevard) towards Lac Noir and Fond de France.

(1) Go around Lac Carré, continue under the dam, pass close to the EDF chalet on your left and reach Lac Noir.

(2) At Col de la Vieille, turn left and descend towards Cul de la Vieille: you will lose 300 metres in altitude in just under 2 kilometres. Please note that this descent can be slippery in wet weather or after rain!

(3) Reach the crossroads near the Chalet du Gleyzin de la Ferrière and turn left towards the Col du Merdaret and Le Pleynet (GRP® Tour des Sept Laux). Walk along the balcony path from where you can see the Le Pleynet resort and reach the Chalet du Pra.

(4) Leave the main track and take the path on the left that climbs up to the mountain pasture, marked in yellow.

(5) A wooden sculpture has been placed under the Oursière chairlift. Continue along the yellow-marked trail and come out under the Aigle chairlift, at the "Sous la Dent de Pipay" signpost (altitude 1,868 m).

(6) Follow the wide track heading south-west. From this track, you can see the arrival station of the Aigle chairlift and the Tétras ski lift. There is only 200m of elevation gain left before you reach the Col des Oudis (altitude 2096m).

(7) Descend the wide track towards the artificial lake below.

(8) Go around it on the left. Climb up opposite, parallel to the Marmottons ski lift, and you will come out onto the arrival esplanade of the Chamois chairlift.

(9) Head towards Lac de la Jasse, signposted opposite the arrival station.

(10) Please note that at Lac de la Jasse, the sign is incorrectly positioned and points towards the Lac ski lift. Do not go up under the ski lift, but stay on the piste until you reach a second signpost 100 metres further on, marked "Sous le Lac de la Jasse" and pointing towards "Le Gros Cailloux".

(11) At the three-way junction, take the track on the left, continue along it and leave the track that climbs to the summit of La Jasse (altitude 1,792 m) on your left to take a path on the left about 300 m further down, which heads south. Follow it to reach Le Gros Cailloux, a climbing site.

(12) Continue along the yellow-marked track through the woods and cross a carriage track junction.

(13) Go up to the right towards the Colonie du Pré de l'Arc holiday centre. Stay on this track and return to the car park where you started (E).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 2,139 m - Refuge des Sept Laux
  2. 1 : km 0.26 - alt. 2,135 m - On the left towards Lac Noir
  3. 2 : km 0.92 - alt. 2,096 m - Col de la Vieille
  4. 3 : km 2.8 - alt. 1,613 m - Chalet du Gleyzin de la Ferrière. Close to - Bréda (rivière)
  5. 4 : km 5.59 - alt. 1,656 m - Chalet du Pra
  6. 5 : km 7.41 - alt. 1,846 m - Oursière chairlift
  7. 6 : km 8.46 - alt. 1,860 m - Below the Dent du Pipay
  8. 7 : km 9.88 - alt. 2,096 m - Col des Oudis (2096m)
  9. 8 : km 10.71 - alt. 1,921 m - Artificial lake
  10. 9 : km 11.51 - alt. 1,973 m - Les Chamois chairlift arrival station
  11. 10 : km 12.15 - alt. 1,863 m - Lac de la Jasse (1864m)
  12. 11 : km 12.28 - alt. 1,866 m - Signpost "Sous le Lac de la Jasse"
  13. 12 : km 13.65 - alt. 1,655 m - Le Gros Cailloux
  14. 13 : km 14.37 - alt. 1,570 m - Colonie du Pré de l'Arc
  15. E : km 16.66 - alt. 1,349 m - Departure car park

Notes

The Gleyzin de la Ferrière and La Pra chalets are privately owned.

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

From the Col de la Vieille, you can see part of the Vercors massif, the Chartreuse massif, the Bauges massif and, between the two, Lake Bourget.
Be careful, this is marmot country!
Under the Oursière chairlift (5), a wooden sculpture has been placed! Follow the yellow marked trail and you will come out under the Aigle chairlift. Look carefully, there is a second sculpture!
Below the Col des Oudis, an opening allows you to reconnect with the Chartreuse Massif, with the Dent de Crolles in the foreground
We are now in the Sept Laux ski area. Please note that outside the winter season, the area is shared with mountain bikers, so be careful and do not stay in the middle of the slopes!

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 6 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
athmos.oner
athmos.oner

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Second part of the trek: wake up at first light to enjoy a coffee with a view of the lake, absolute calm and magnificent pink tones and a perfect mirror reflection on the lake.

The descent to the "cul de la vieille" is hard on the legs, especially as there isn't really time to warm up given the short distance to cover before reaching it. There are quite a few people on this section, but then almost no one.
After that, the vegetation and shade are welcome, the waterfalls are flowing strongly (the snow is melting), there are quite a few slippery snowfields and water crossings, and a few slips, fortunately without falls.
Very pretty views and landscapes, enjoy them while you can, they won't last!
The rest of the route is an almost continuous climb under the blazing sun, which is quickly replaced by fog just as the landscape becomes much less interesting (ski slopes, ski lifts, etc.).
The end is indeed much less pretty than the first day, but towards the end, descending into the dense vegetation is quite pleasant.
The very end between the holiday camp and the car park on a road suitable for vehicles is not the most exciting, but your legs are heavy, so it's not too much of a problem.

There are many places to access the water on this second day and fewer people than on the first.

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clairelise07
clairelise07

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The return trip is less scenic than the outward journey, but it's a great hike overall over two days.
The climb to the bear pit is steep, but I may have taken a wrong turn, according to the map. There was an additional 200 to 300 metres of elevation gain on the second day, and most of the descent was down ski slopes before coming back to a sign for "Lac de la Jasse". I was disappointed by the lake, which I had imagined to be more impressive.

In short, my reward was seeing Mont Blanc in the distance.

It is possible to return via Pleynet, Prapoutel and the GRP, but it is long and less interesting, even if it is easier.

For your information, I walked for four hours without seeing anyone, starting from the bottom of the Oursière

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mathnicoles
mathnicoles

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Second day was very enjoyable. The hike consists of uphill, downhill and flat sections, which is great because it prevents your knees from hurting too much when there's only downhill. At this point, we had to cross a stream without shoes to avoid getting them wet, as there were no dry stones sticking out of the water. The water was very cold but it was fine.
Some people insist on using the ski slopes, but only 3-4 km of the route is on the slopes and much of it is uphill. We didn't find it unpleasant to walk on the slopes (it makes a change), and it wasn't long.
You no longer have to walk back up the ski slope to rejoin the hiking trail at Lac de la Jasse, as it is now a mountain biking and hiking trail. The end of the route from Lac de la Jasse to the finish takes about 1.5 hours as it is a fairly gentle descent, so the pace is much faster (no knee pain).
In total, it took us 7 hours and 45 minutes to cover 18 km, taking our time and stopping fairly regularly.

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sophiiiie
sophiiiie

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A good second day. At the post with the tooth under Pipay, turn left onto a wide track and climb to the end to reach the Col des Oudis, which is not signposted, but a restaurant of the same name is signposted.

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Phasme91
Phasme91

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The second day was also very good. We got lost at the Pra chalet; you have to take the path that goes up before the chalet, not after.

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alaindauverchain
alaindauverchain

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful day for hiking... quite challenging due to the numerous snowfields... the lakes are magnificent.

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