Summit of the Estrop

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful two-day hike combining the climb to the refuge and the climb to the summit of Estrop. The sunny, windless weather was a great help, especially at the summit of Estrop, which is very exposed and high up.

day 1: Climb to the refuge. See comment on the "Refuge de l'Estrop" hike

day 2: Summit of the Estrop. Departure at 8 a.m. from the refuge. A 3.5-hour climb that crosses several times through a chaos of enormous rocks. It is very steep. Follow the cairns and yellow markings carefully (there are very few red markings left. The red markings have probably been replaced by yellow ones). This is a very challenging and technical climb, not recommended in bad weather. On arrival, there is a superb 360° panorama on a clear day. You can see countless peaks and mountain ranges: Dévoluy, Ecrins, Viso, Vanoise, etc. It's extraordinary.
Return to the refuge via the same route, in 2½ hours. You need to be very careful. The markings are easier to follow than on the way up.
We arrived at the refuge at around 2.30pm. We stopped for a refreshing snack. Then we descended back to the car park near the Lac des Eaux Chaudes in 3 hours. The descent seemed endless given that we had climbed to the summit of Estrop and back on the same day.
On this day, we walked for 9 hours and descended a little over 1,800 metres.
We had a magical weekend.
Next time, I'll stay at the refuge for two days to enjoy this magnificent site even more.

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Date of your route : Jun 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very pleasant hike to the summit with beautiful scenery, still quite a few snowfields, fairly challenging!

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Date of your route : Aug 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Achieved this summer (9 August 2020) by combining the climb to the refuge (https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-refu...) and then the climb to the summit on the same day, it's a long haul!
My day broke down as follows:
- departure from the Eaux Chaudes car park at 5:20 a.m. (with headlamps)
- arrival at the refuge around 8:30 a.m. (greeted by the whistling of marmots and chamois encountered during the climb; they were very low down and very close to the path)
- A quick coffee and a warm welcome from the people who run the refuge. This place is magical!
- We left at 9 a.m. for the summit, arriving at noon: superb 360° view, a feast for the eyes. The climb to the summit is really steep and the last stretch is really dizzying, so be prepared
- Had lunch at the summit, left around 12.30pm, and descended via the circular suggested in this hike (be warned, it's not all downhill, it adds 150m of elevation ;-))
- Back at the car park at 5.30pm: the descent to the refuge is really steep, and the last few kilometres to the car park seemed really long, but it was worth it!

In the end: 25.6 km covered, 2,100 metres of elevation gain in both directions, but an unforgettable hike!

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Date of your route : Jul 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

On Thursday 23 July, we climbed up and spent the night at the refuge. The refuge staff were very attentive and friendly.
On Friday, 24 July, we left the refuge at 7:00 a.m. for a fairly steep climb. The route is well marked in yellow and dotted with numerous cairns.
The mountain pastures then give way to a rocky landscape. A few chamois and marmots
At the summit, there was a superb 360° view.
We then descended to the Eaux Chaudes car park, a long and arduous 16 km walk with a 1,700 m elevation drop from the summit.

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Date of your route : Jul 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A steep climb without any rock climbing and fairly short.
I set off from the refuge, which is about 1,000 metres above sea level, and completed the climb in 2 hours and 45 minutes.
The view from the summit was exceptional, with views of the Ecrins, Mont Blanc and Italy.
The descent to Lac des Eaux Chaudes was very long, 2,000 metres according to my Garmin watch.
tip: do the climb in the morning and stop at Olivier's refuge at midday for lunch

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Date of your route : Sep 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely route with good signposting. I set off from the refuge at 7am in fine weather and took four hours to make the climb, which wasn't particularly difficult but was technical. Before reaching the summit, there is a large granite slab which you climb but which isn't slippery. I spotted three ibexes and the view from the summit is magnificent.
I made the descent in three hours, then stopped for a snack. Unlike the other hikers, I continued the descent to the Lac des Eaux Chaudes car park, another three hours of walking, which is a lot. I think it would have been better to spend two nights at the refuge.
A very nice day

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Date of your route : Jul 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Be careful on the way back if you have decided to do the route in a circular fashion. The orange marker does not appear anywhere.
To avoid getting lost, look for the small path on the left when you are still in the chaos of the slabs and simply follow it.

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Date of your route : Jul 20, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Please note, there are no clear markings on the ground. Shortly after the refuge, you will find yourself in an exceptional mineral landscape
Only cairns and markings (yellow and red) to guide you. Do not venture out in bad weather (rain and/or fog).
At the summit, the view is magnificent. The rest of the circular remains very technical.
The trail version of the tour can be completed in less than 3 hours.

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Date of your route : Oct 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike from the refuge, leaving at 7:45 a.m. and reaching the summit at 9:45 a.m., then I joined the Baisse de l'Aiguille. From there, I took the "via ferrata" that leads to the summit of the Trois Évêchés, then returned to the Refuge de L'Estrop around 2 p.m. I saw some chamois.
For your information, the markings for the Estrop have been redone since the refuge. They are yellow, and at the top, they are red.

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Date of your route : Sep 04, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent hike, a warm welcome at the refuge, superb weather. The slabs at the summit of Estrop are distinctive!
We got a little lost on the traverse from the top of the Estrop to the top of the Foux d'Allos chairlift, but it's easy to find your way in the splendid rocky landscape.

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What a shame that the Observatoire cable cars no longer operate in summer. It was a relatively short hike from the cable car station and meant we didn't have to take the awful 4x4 trail from La Foux. Haven't done the Estrop since...
Only the route via the Auriac descent, towards the refuge, climb back up to the Observatory and then descent to La Foux

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Date of your route : May 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb hike!
We climbed up to the refuge the day before and received a warm welcome, a delicious meal and lots of useful information about the summit!
The snow is at around 2,500 metres and continues all the way to the summit. We didn't need snowshoes, but gaiters were useful! Rigid mountain boots with crampons are recommended to keep your feet dry.
(However, some people climbed without experience and with very light equipment. I find this borderline unsafe as some of the snow slopes are quite steep! An ice axe in your hand on the descent is reassuring.)
We left the refuge at 6.30am and reached the summit at 9am at a good pace. We attempted the circular but got a little lost in the fog and snow. We took a shortcut at the Bléone crossing before climbing back up. We had a magnificent view of the refuge from above.
Return to the refuge at 12:15 p.m.
Descent to the car park took a good two hours.

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Date of your route : Jul 26, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike to do in the cool of summer (the start is in the shade and there is a clear view at the finish). Compared to the estimated time of 5 hours 20 minutes, I completed the hike in 6 hours with few stops, and I usually take less time than the estimates on this website.

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Date of your route : Sep 14, 2013
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very difficult hike at the end.

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