Tête du Vallon Pierra

de fr

For those wishing to continue beyond the Col du Charnier, without going as far as the Grand Ferrand. A beautiful finish along a south-facing ridge! No particular difficulties apart from the length and total elevation gain.

Details

n°2954065
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.41 mi
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 8 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 3,957 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 3,957 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 8,232 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 4,567 ft
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Description of the walk

Car park in front of the Lachaup lodge.

(S/E) Take the yellow-marked path heading north. Follow this path to reach the junction withthe GR®93(marked in white and red).

(1) Turn left onto this path through the woods until you reach a wider track. Cross this track and take the path opposite, which quickly turns left and heads west-south-west. Join the wide track you crossed earlier.

(2) Continue along the path opposite to cut across a bend, then keep left and, after a few hairpin bends, reach the site of the Chourum Clot huts.

(3) Continue along theGR®, passing the Chourum sinkhole cave. rejoin theGR® as it climbs north-west. Then, after a short descent, reach the Torrent des Adroits, which is often dry.

(4) Enter the south-west-facing Vallon du Charnier. Follow its meandering path and successive plateaus to reach the Col de Charnier.

(5) You may wish to take a break here. Turn right onto the yellow-marked path towards the Grand Ferrand. It heads north-west, makes a wide circular loop to the left to go round the Tête de Vallon Pierra, then climbs up the Vallon Froid to the ridge.

(6) Turn left to follow the ridge southwards and make your way to the summit.

(7) Tête du Vallon Pierra (2512 m). After taking in the views, retrace your steps along the ascent route to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 4,573 ft - Lachaup Lodge - Gîte du Rocher Rond
  2. 1 : mi 0.9 - alt. 4,783 ft - Junction with the GR
  3. 2 : mi 1.45 - alt. 5,269 ft - Crossroads with a wide path
  4. 3 : mi 1.85 - alt. 5,620 ft - Sinkhole Clot huts
  5. 4 : mi 3.02 - alt. 5,837 ft - Charnier Valley
  6. 5 : mi 4.13 - alt. 6,896 ft - Col de Charnier
  7. 6 : mi 5.32 - alt. 7,940 ft - Ridge
  8. 7 : mi 5.71 - alt. 8,232 ft - Tête de Vallon Pierra
  9. S/E : mi 11.41 - alt. 4,573 ft - Gîte du Rocher Rond

Notes

Water is available at the start; there is a tapped spring, signposted, in the Charnier valley.
There are few shelters along the route. The return journey follows the same route; although it is possible to descend directly towards the Col du Charnier.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 3 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
unBlqzed
unBlqzed

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike done on a Sunday at around 18°C (bright sunshine); beautiful surroundings, beautiful route, but be careful of the scree in the Vallon Froid. Don't head straight into it (as mentioned in a previous review and as I did...), you need to go to the right and follow the cairns
The ridge leading to the summit is exposed, so don't be afraid of heights!
On the way down, I found myself "stuck" by a herd of sheep and had to wait for the ram to let me through (otherwise I would have had to stay the night).
The hike took 4 hours and 50 minutes with a quick sandwich break (Garmin indicated 1,235 metres of elevation gain)

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DanielANDRE
DanielANDRE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

From the Col de Charnier, we opted to climb up through the Vallon Pierra at the foot of the Tête du Lauzon, then follow the south-west ridge (a little steep but no major difficulties)
We descended via the route described for the ascent (Vallon Froid) to return to the Col de Charnier
Further down, instead of taking the short climb back up, we descended via the Adroits torrent (very pretty, with a path that was sometimes a bit tricky and a section of about ten metres secured with a rope), then rejoined the GR either via the track to the north-west or via the path to the north

Machine-translated

Franck D
Franck D
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really lovely walk, with, amongst other things, a magnificent view of the Grand Ferrand. Papounet wrote, “No difficulties apart from the length and the total elevation gain,” but the walk is classified as very difficult: you understand why better when you reach point 6 on the ridge.

Note that before point 6 there’s a scree slope: keep a close eye on the cairns – they head off to the right… We followed the paths that go straight down the middle… It’s a steep climb.

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