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Park in the Poursollet car park, just before the barrier. ⚠️ See the warnings about the difficulty in the practical information.
(S/E) From the car park, follow the red and white markedGR®50route towards the plateau des lacs and Ornon.
(1) After a little less than an hour's walk, at a sharp bend in the path, leave theGR® and take the path on the left (heading north-east). Join the southern branch of the peatland stream. At a fork, turn right and head to the southern end of Lac Fourchu. Continue on this path towards the east.
(2) At a yellow signpost, follow theGR®50to the right and soon turn west. Walk up alongside a small dry lake on your left.
(3) At the first intersection, leave theGR® again and head south on a path marked with cairns and pale green signs, over scree and rocky and grassy steps.
(4) At around 2,400 m, a cairn marks a fork:
- to the right, the green-marked path is the normal route to the Col du Grand Van,
- to the left, a path with few cairns leads through scree above the rounded rocks towards the unnamed pass between Taillefer and Pyramide.
Take the path on the left, first heading south-east then due south for the last few metres, which are a little steeper.
(5) At an unnamed pass (elevation 2619), there is another large cairn. Look to the left (due east) for the very rounded summit of the Pyramide. Head there by sight, following the north ridge (on your left) to enjoy the view of the lakes.
(6) From the summit, descend towards the pass, either via the same route or more directly, and you will find yourself facing the Taillefer (due west) at the large cairn visited earlier.
(5) To the right, towards the north, a few cairns mark a path that climbs towards the shoulder descending from Taillefer in a general east to west direction. Take this path, which quickly heads westwards, climbing up fairly steep scree and rocky steps. Keep to the left side of the ridge/shoulder when going around a few rocky outcrops, and you will reach the summit of Taillefer and the statue of Saint Eloi (patron saint of goldsmiths, farriers and other metalworkers).
(7) Descend via the usual Taillefer route, first to the south-west and then due west on fairly steep scree slopes leading to the Col du Grand Van.
(8) At the pass, take the cairned path heading west towards Petit Taillefer (a lower peak than the imposing Rocher Culasson to the north-northwest) and the Arête de Brouffier. Climb Petit Taillefer.
(9) Continue along the Arête de Brouffier west-southwest and reach a grassy slope from which one of the alternatives described below starts. Below this slope, locate Lac de la Courbe and, to its left, the grassy summit (12) that overlooks it to the west and which we will pass later.
(10) Continue along the Brouffier Ridge, passing by the Croix du Sergent Pinelli. Shortly after a southward turn towards the west, you will reach the Pas de la Mine junction.
(11) Leave the Arête de Brouffier and turn right (north) onto a well-marked path. Immediately after the junction, just after the small rocky passage of Pas de la Mine, do not continue on the path, but turn right and cut across towards the grassy summit. Walking on sight, first over scree then on grassy slopes interspersed with rounded rocks, reach this summit, leaving the lake below on your right.
(12) At the unnamed summit (elevation 2434), turn left due west to follow the Crête de Brouffier (not to be confused with the ridge of the same name) on very gentle grassy slopes, still off the trail. Stay on the edge of the ridge marked by a few cairns to enjoy the view towards Le Poursollet. Continue due west on a slightly steeper slope, following the Ruisseau des Fontenettes valley until you reach the main path at an intersection.
(13) Then take the path on the right that descends north-northwest and crosses through the woods to the Poursollet tarmac road. Once on the road (stele), follow it to the right for 300 m to reach the Combe Oursière car park.
(14) Shortly after the car park, take the red and white markedGR®50 trailon the right, which heads east towards the starting point. Pass by Lac Claret and then Lac Punay. After the latter, theGR® rejoins the tarmac road for about 100 metres before cutting across the bend in the road and reaching Lac du Poursollet. Shortly before this lake, leave theGR® and follow the direction of a yellow signpost to take a path on the left that leads to the car park in less than 100 metres (S/E).
Visorando member
Moderate 
Difficult 
