Sommet des Anges

From Briançon, take the Col d’Izoard road to Cervières, then turn left onto the Route des Fonts (follow the signs; pass in front of the church). Park at the second car park on the right-hand side of the road after Les Aîttes, near the old La Chau farms.

(S/E) From the car park, walk up the road for a few metres, then turn right onto the lane towards La Chau.
You’ll reach the second farm with a larch-timber roof on your left.

(1) Leave the lane, turn left and walk alongside this picturesque building.
Head west along this new lane, which soon turns into a footpath.
This path then climbs north-west through the juniper thickets. It joins a crossroads marked in the traditional style with larch signposts.

(2) Ignore the path leading off to the left towards Cervières; continue in the direction of the geological trail.
A little further on, via a path with a few steps, climb a small hill and reach a wide, flat area where Lac des Sarailles lies.

(3) Walk along the lake’s left-hand side, then follow the path northwards towards the Cabane des douaniers. The hut is visible from the lake.

(4) At the hut sign marked IGN2305, take the path towards the Col du Gondran and Montgenèvre.
After a short climb along the path, you’ll reach the pass near the small Lac de Sagne Enfonza, which is in a peatland.

(5) At the sign marked IGN2315, turn left towards the Sommet des Anges.
Continue along the track for some time until you cross the military track leading to the forts.

(6) Turn left towards the forts of Gondran. You’ll reach another junction of tracks.

(7) Follow the track south-west for about twenty metres.
Leave it and climb up the embankment on the left towards the green metal telegraph pole, then follow the path up towards the fence of the old fort, which is used for telecommunications and fitted with antennas.

(8) Go past the fence and walk round it on the left.
Return to the track and rejoin the previous junction.

(7) Continue left along the track.
Follow this track past the Old Fort of Les Gondrans, turn right, then climb up, passing beneath the chairlift.
After passing the top station of the Gondrans chairlift, head south-east until you join the path on the left which runs along the ridge towards the east.

(9) Follow this ridge path to a flagpole and, at the end of the ridge, an artillery bell.
Head down the ridge until you come to the path you took on the way up.

(6) Follow the same route as on the way there back to the starting point. (S/E)

Having already written the guide for the Ancien Fort du Gondran or Sommet des Anges via Cervières (a fairly challenging route), I wanted to add this guide for the standard route, which is accessible to all.

This involves walking along a path.
The slopes aren’t too steep and the ascent is very gradual.
It’s also an excellent route for getting fit without straining yourself at the start of the season.

Please note that I’ve spotted a few inaccuracies on the IGN map.
On the ridge, the IGN and IGN Satellite maps show a path that heads straight down towards the path we took on the way there. We couldn’t find any trace of this path on the ground. It has probably ceased to exist. Conversely, the ridge path we took – which is very well marked – does not appear on the IGN map.
You should therefore take my route into account. I recorded the GPS track for this section, which isn’t shown on the map, before connecting it to the rest of the route.

As part of the route coincides with that shown in the guidebook for this peak via Cervières, I’m sharing the video via the link below, which shows the scenery of the Écrins and the names of the peaks.