Summit of La Condamine

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent! We start with a view of Vallouise surrounded by flowers, but also by flies! Watch out for horseflies!
We continue our climb through the forest. The old signs confuse the new ones, which are not in the same place (the old sign, indicating the forest, has fallen to the ground! The new sign, further on, directs us past the cabin). Be careful, the pass has several names. Why?!
A paraglider takes off!
The climb is long.
The flowers change with altitude. Beautiful edelweiss appear at the edge of the path, along with small blue gentians.
After the pass and the crossroads (where hikers from the Combes car park join the route), it becomes challenging. The climb was not easy, as I wasn't sure if I was still on the right path. There were few signs to indicate where to go! Then came the desert crossing and the arrival at the summit with a view of Pelvoux and Lake Eychauda when the clouds dispersed.
The descent was tiring in the heat, but also because I'm going through the menopause! Girls, make sure you bring water and a fan!

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Date of your route : Jul 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk with a superb 360-degree view.
A climb through the forest, in the cool air.
Apart from the elevation gain, there are no technical difficulties or sections over a drop.
Well worth a go

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I used the PeakFinder website to locate the peaks; Mont Blanc is clearly visible

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I was wondering if the high, glacier-capped peak we could see in the distance was Mont Blanc, and someone told me it wasn’t... So I started to have my doubts, but since you mention the view of Mont Blanc, I’m sticking with my first impression...!

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Date of your route : Aug 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk; the view from the summit is breathtaking – Mont Blanc seems just a stone’s throw away, even though it’s actually 140 km away...
The sections requiring a bit of scrambling were easy, even for me (I’m afraid of heights); however, the final climb up to the Col de Vallouise made me break a sweat a bit... the path is narrow, slippery and sometimes exposed, which isn’t very reassuring... but you get through it in the end.

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Date of your route : Aug 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We spent nearly 20 minutes trying to find that "very last hairpin bend on the way up to Lac de l’Eychauda", before finally parking near a sign on the road indicating "La Condamine, 4 hours 25 minutes". So the hike didn’t actually start at 1,585 m, but at around 1,450 m.
We climbed through the forest and took 1 hour 15 minutes to reach the large wooden sign indicating “La Condamine, 4 hours or 5 hours”, depending on the route chosen. A long climb through the forest at the start, which becomes a bit exposed towards the end, to reach the Col de Vallouise (marked as Col de La Salava at the summit). The final stretch to the summit is a bit technical at times as you need to use your hands on certain sections, and you mustn’t be prone to vertigo.
It took us 3 hours 40 minutes to reach the summit of La Cime. Breathtaking 360-degree views over dozens of peaks!
We passed the Cabane Chouvet on the descent, which took us 2 hours 30 minutes.
In total, a 7-hour 25-minute hike, covering nearly 20 km and 1,500 metres of elevation gain.
The ‘very difficult’ rating seems a bit exaggerated to me. Admittedly, it’s a bit exposed at times, and you have to watch where you put your feet, but in terms of length and elevation gain, I would have opted for ‘difficult’ instead.

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