Tête Chevalière via the Pas de l'Essaure

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, with a nice climb at the start, but after the Col de l'Essaure it's quite hilly. Magnificent scenery from the ridge with a beautiful view of Mont Aiguille and Grand Veymont. For me, this is one of the most beautiful hikes in the Vercors. With a visit to the resistance caves! A very complete hike. The whole group enjoyed it. The return trip is a bit long, but you have to get back somehow! Thanks to the author of this route.

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Date of your route : Aug 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route where you won't get bored, with varied views. Without any major difficulties, access to the springs is easy and welcome! the section just after the Combe de Chevalière has no tracks, so it's an adventure! It's not easy to descend to find the stream that takes us to the Col du Pas de l'Aiguille. It's a shame that the path on this map was drawn in outline mode rather than in real mode. But apart from this detail, it's a very beautiful hike, where you'll find other people from the memorial onwards.

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Date of your route : Apr 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in winter with still quite a bit of snow on the ridges.

Up to Pas de l'Essaure, the trail is very good, well marked and easy to follow.

Once you reach the ridges, you are rewarded with superb sunny weather.
Unfortunately, there was a lot of snow and wind that day.

The Tête de Chevalière stands out on the left with a slight ridge to cross.
The view of Mont Aguille is truly beautiful in all seasons.

The descent is particularly long and, apart from Pas de l'Aiguille, quickly becomes monotonous.
I understand the various comments about the fog and the orientation problems.

To be done again.

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Date of your route : Jul 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on a Sunday in July. I expected it to be busy, but I didn't meet anyone until five hours into the hike, and that was the shepherd's companion. Then I saw a few hikers near the Chamaillou hut and in the Pas de l'Aiguille, but no more than a dozen or so.

The hike is splendid, with a wide variety of landscapes and magnificent views.

The trail is marked until Pas de l'Essaure, then until the "summit" the path is fairly well marked. It's difficult to get lost if you stay alert and know which direction to take. After that, you need to be more careful about the route. After the Tête de Chevalière, once I had descended into the combe (it is easy to see, so you can find it easily), I preferred to follow a well-marked path that took the same direction. This was to avoid having to keep my eyes glued to the GPS all the time. My route was therefore a little higher than the suggested route.

In summary, I do not recommend this hike if you are a "beginner" and unaccompanied. But otherwise, go for it with your eyes closed (or rather wide open)!

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Date of your route : Jul 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An incredible experience! The landscapes are amazing and the campsite on the heights of Vercors offers unique views.
It should be noted that the hike is difficult, which is no joke, but the view is definitely worth the effort
Be careful, however, as part of the hike is off-trail and it is easy to get lost.

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Date of your route : Jun 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

From the Essaure pass, and almost as far as the Chaumailloux hut, there is no clearly marked path and the terrain is difficult to navigate; a compass is useful, especially in foggy conditions.

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Date of your route : Sep 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

I did this hike alone on a beautiful Sunday in mid-September, following the route described in the guidebook, and it took me 7 hours (not counting my lunch break). There are splendid panoramic views all along the route – you won't know where to look first! The Essaure plateau is magnificent, and the views of Mont Aiguille and Grand Veymont from Tête Chevalière are breathtaking. There are lots of horses roaming free at the Chaumailloux hut and a very fresh spring that still flows at a good rate (which is very welcome over 18 km!). It was very busy that Sunday, so there was no need to look for the trail (which is very visible anyway) to climb to Tête Chevalière. The off-trail descent from Tête Chevalière to Chaumailloux is more unpredictable as there are almost no cairns or tracks. Despite having a map and GPS (both necessary), I didn't dare venture too far down into the valley, so I found myself at Pas de la Chèvrerie on the trail coming from Bergerie de Chamousset. So apart from this "latitude" depending on the terrain and each person's feeling between points 4 and 6 (impossible to get lost with GPS and blue skies), the description is perfect and the paths are clearly visible. The descent from Pas de l'Aiguille is steep and sometimes slippery on the rocks, so you have to be careful. I was offered a lift back to Chichilianne from the Fourchaux car park, but the landscape is so beautiful that it was worth walking all the way back (passing by Château Vieux without regret).

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Date of your route : Jul 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did the circuit in the opposite direction: we climbed up via the Pas de l'Aiguille and descended via the Pas de l'Essaure. We had been told that the start of the descent via the Pas de l'Aiguille was a little slippery when the ground was dry. This seemed to be true. However, there were no problems descending via the Essaure
The description of the hike and the IGN map enabled us to complete the route without too much hesitation. In any case, it is difficult to get lost on the plateau: the paths are marked (but not signposted) and you always meet someone who can confirm you are going in the right direction. The key is not to be caught out by the clouds.
The view from the Tête Chevalière over the Grand Veymont and Mont Aiguille is superb. The cliffs at Chichilianne are dizzying.

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Date of your route : Jul 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

Thanks to the author for this route, which took two days with a bivouac.

The climb to the Col de l'Essaure is sometimes steep but very pleasant in hot weather as it is under the trees.

The plateau offers magnificent views!

The bivouac near Tête Chevalière is ideal, with breathtaking views of Mont Aiguille. However, caution is advised (especially if you have children with you) as the cliff is unforgiving!
The descent to the Pas de l'Aiguille is very pleasant.
From Les Prayous, it is not particularly interesting as part of the route is on the road. However, you can avoid this shortly after Donnière by taking a "fitness" path.

Highly recommended hike!

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Date of your route : Apr 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The description was very precise. Unfortunately for us, there was a lot of snow between the Col de l'Essaure and the Pas de l'Aiguille, so we decided to stay on the Essaure plateau, where the view is splendid, with superb views of the Hautes Alpes oak forest.

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Date of your route : Jun 12, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Climb from Chichilianne to the steep Essaure Pass through the woods... luckily, because it was very hot.
Arrival on the high plateaus of the Vercors with an extraordinary view of Mont Aiguille, Grand Veymont and the
surrounding mountains.
A very good season for observing flora: lady's slippers, various orchids, etc.

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Date of your route : Nov 01, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful sunny day for this outing to the highlands. The route may be very well marked, but we're always a little afraid of getting lost in the Combe Chevalière, so from the Tête Chevalière, we descend among the rocks towards the Chamousset sheepfold, where we find the path that leads us to the Chaumailloux refuge and then to the Pas de l'Aiguille. This time, we were lucky enough to find some people parked at the Fourchaux car park who kindly gave us a lift back to our car, which we had left at the church (we can confirm, having done it before, that it's a long walk between Fourchaux and the church)

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Date of your route : Sep 01, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike.
As there were several of us, we parked one car at each end to shorten the route by about 7 km and 200 m of elevation gain.
At the start, you can easily walk up to an altitude of 1,100 m, which is just below the ford and where there is space to park. On the Pas de l'Aiguille side, go to the end of the path, to a place called Les Fourchaux, where there is a monument to the Resistance.
The climb is pleasant, even in hot weather.
However, be careful of the herds on the plateau. Signs indicate that you should turn back when you approach them. This is prudent, as the one we encountered was only supervised by a Patou dog. No shepherd in sight!

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Date of your route : Aug 07, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did the round trip from Chichiliane. We tried the other side last year, but we got lost. Going in the direction indicated, there is less risk of getting lost.
I think that the entire loop on foot must be a bit tedious, and it would be wise, if possible, to have a car waiting at the bottom of the Col de l'Aiguille to return to Chichilianne, which is what a number of hikers were doing on the day we were there.
The walk is superb; the view from the Tête Chevalière, taking in both Mont Aiguille and the Grand Veymont, is unforgettable.

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Date of your route : May 19, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I did this hike on 18 May. However, I shortened it, as the descent via the Pas de l'Aiguille (apart from the memories linked to the Resistance) doesn't add much.

From Tête Chevalière, head south across the sharp limestone pavement, leaving Combe Chevalière on your right, to reach a beautiful trail (near the Chamouse sheepfold) that takes you back via the Col du Creuson to the Pas de l'Essaure.

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