Tête de Garnesier and Tour Carrée via the Durbon forest

(S/E) From the car park (see Practical Information), continue along the track, go through the gate after the hairpin bend by the Torrent de l’Aup and carry on northwards until you reach a wooden signpost indicating the direction of Chamousset and the Col de Plate Contier on the right.

(1) From the sign, climb the steep path on the right bank of the Torrent des Chabottes. The path, marked with yellow lines, joins a track suitable for vehicles.

(2) Do not continue along the path opposite, but join the track and turn right, following it until it disappears into the grass. Ignore the path climbing up to the left, and continue south-east across a flat stretch towards the Torrent des Chabottes to fords it. Carry on along the path until you reach a wooden signpost indicating the Tour Carrée to the right and the Col de Platte-Contier straight ahead.

(3) At the signpost, carry on straight ahead south-east then east towards the Col de Platte-Contier (if you have strayed onto one of the old paths, you will not pass this signpost but will reach a cattle gate a little further on at an elevation of 1585: you must then turn left to rejoin the main path). The path returns to the right bank of the Torrent des Chabottes before winding its way up through an increasingly sparse forest, emerging at around 1,700 m below the clearly visible pass. To the left, the Tête de Garnesier towers to the north-west. Climb the final 200 metres to reach the Col de Plate Contier.

(4) On the northern flank of the pass, an old sign points towards the Tête de Garnesier. Follow the path which climbs northwards along the shoulder of the Tête des Ormans before heading north-west across scree, passing a cairn.

(5) This leads to the small pass known as the Pas de l’Agneau. The view of the peaks and the Vallon de l’Abéou from here is fantastic.

(6) From the Pas de l’Agneau, continue along the path heading north-west. Climb over a small ledge, then carry on below the ridge leading to the summit, keeping to the left-hand side (south-west) through the scree, a few metres from the ridge line.

(7) From the summit, admire the eponymous rock face opposite, then retrace your steps back to the Pas de l’Agneau and the cairn you saw on the way up.
(5) At the cairn, turn left (east) to follow the path climbing through the scree to the summit of the Tête des Ormans. Take in the view and spot the ridge of the Tour Carrée to the south; see this photo.

(8) From the summit, continue along this path which follows the ridge along the edge of the impressive cliffs overlooking the Vallon de l’Abéou to the north. The path quickly disappears into the grass, but reappears from time to time, always on the ridge. Follow the ridge in a circular pattern, moving from east to west, as it descends through meadows.

As you go, note the rest of the route; see the photo of the Col du Grand Vallon.

Now head due west down towards the hairpin bend marked on the orientation photo, and you will cross the main path coming down from the Col de Plate Contier.

(9) Do not turn back along this main path, but continue past the hairpin bend to the south-west, towards a cluster of pine trees. Pass beneath the pines to find a track that skirts the base of the unnamed peak at elevation 1978 and head for the highest track ascending to the Col du Grand Vallon. The Archers’ Rocks are clearly visible to the left on the northern flank of the valley. Continue along the flank to the pass

(10) At the Col du Grand Vallon, take the ridge running southwards, staying on the path along its western flank. The path passes beneath a few pine trees and joins the ridge through magnificent meadows dotted with rocks shaped like archers’ helmets. Continue along the ridge to the Tête du Pin, where you must cross the rocks, then on to the grassy promontory where a dead tree overlooks the Col de Lautaret.

(11) At the promontory, turn back and look out for the small, unnamed pass on the ridge of the Tour Carrée. Then retrace your steps to the Col du Grand Vallon.

(10) At the pass, take the path heading west, avoiding the valley floor and instead staying on the hillside to head for the unnamed pass spotted earlier. The path tends to disappear into the grass, so you must stay as level as possible. Below the unnamed pass, a series of gentle switchbacks allow you to climb the slope and reach the small pass.

(12) At the small pass, the start of a path heads westwards beneath the ridge, skirting the hillock at elevation 1864. Return quickly to the ridge, where no path is visible. Continue along this ridge, flanked by high cliffs to the right (north-west) and increasingly steep grassy slopes to the left. Stay right on the ridge line until you reach the point opposite the Tour Carrée. Then descend to the left (south) over stony scree to quickly join a good path.

Join this path and head right (west) to reach a view of the Tour Carrée at the Col du Vallon after 50 metres.

(13) Cross the pass and follow the path which, after a few short hairpin bends, descends gently north-westwards before a sharp bend and a series of gentle hairpin bends north-eastwards through the beautiful Durbon Forest. ⚠️ The IGN map is inaccurate in this area.
Return to the signpost you saw on the way up.

(3) At the signpost, turn left (north-west) to return via the ascent route to the car park (S/E).

Park at the Chabottes car park N 44.637046° / E 5.773725°: from Lus-la-Croix-Haute, head towards La Jarjatte, then turn right at the hamlet of Les Corréardes to follow the forest road through the Rioufroid Gorges to its end. Use the shaded car park on the right-hand side of the road.

There is a relatively plentiful supply of water in the Garnesier valley.

Dogs are allowed in this part of the Vercors, but the walk is hard on their paws.

The difficulty of this walk lies on the borderline between ‘difficult’ and ‘very difficult’. It is possible to do it in the opposite direction (recommended if you want to set off after sunrise). The only difficulty is the off-track section on the ridge of the Chabottes valley between (12) and (13).

In wet weather, the forest slopes of the Garnesier and Chabottes valleys become very slippery.

The hike is short and not really suitable for bivouacking, unless you wish to watch the sunrise or sunset from the summit (7). It is possible to bivouac there (a small stone shelter 30 cm high).

Standard hiking kit is sufficient. For those wishing to watch the sunrise or sunset, a head torch is essential. If there is still snow on the summits, crampons and ice axes are essential.

⏰ Early in the season, snowfields persist for a long time on the western slopes below the passes; in this case, set off early to ensure the snow is firm enough to support you.

Finding your way is easy, but you must trust the description: the descent towards the Tour Carrée along the ridge (between (12) and (13)) can often seem impassable.

⚠️ The route shown on the IGN map below the Col du Vallon is incorrect between the Tour Carrée (13) and the junction with the Garnesier Valley path (3). The GPX track shows where the path actually runs.

Alpine wildlife is abundant, with numerous vultures and chamois in particular.

The views from the summits and passes are magnificent. See this interactive spherical photo.

Several alternative routes are possible.

At point (9), you can descend to the main path to pass via the Col de Lauteret to the south. From the pass, where there is a shelter, head due west up the pine-lined ridge to reach point (11). Before that, you can make a short round trip via the Plane du Pin (to get there, head straight east-southeast).

From the Col du Grand Vallon (10), a very scenic alternative route involves climbing the northern ridge to reach the unnamed summit (IGN elevation 1978m), from where the view is superb. Then, return to the summit ridge and head directly for the small pass (12) without going back via the Col du Grand Vallon.

A little mountaineering vocabulary: the word ‘Aup’ (see the Torrent de l’Aup) means ‘alpe’, i.e. mountain pasture. (sangle = level path on a steep slope, cairn = stone pile, casse = scree, combe = valley, aup = alpe)