Tour of Pic de l'Oeilly

Date of your route : Oct 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Short tour between Romanche and Chamrousse, to be repeated in good weather.

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Date of your route : Apr 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Not very busy that day: Saturday, 6 April 2023. The climb to the summit does not offer any views of the surrounding landscape. Fortunately, the Col de la Madeleine and its orientation table offer a beautiful panorama.
After the episodes of strong winds, many broken trees and small branches litter the trail; in addition, logging operations have added even more branches that have not been collected by foresters along almost the entire route between the start at Luitel and Pousseboeuf.

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Date of your route : Jun 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short hike that is popular in winter for snowshoeing. Very shaded, ideal in hot weather.
Short variation: climb Pic de l'Oeilly (at the "au pied du mont de l'Oeilly" marker, take the path climbing opposite. The path is marked on the IGN map, unmarked but easy to find). From the summit, descend to the Col de Pousseboeuf (large high-voltage pylon). From the pass, take the path on the right (the one furthest to the left) and follow the ridge and steep descent towards Le Rochassier. Join the GR 549 again to the Col de la Madeleine. This route is only possible with an IGN map, as it is not marked.
For the return journey, the PR is now very well marked in yellow, especially at stage 3 of the circuit described above. The descent to La Buissionnière is a little long (but it allowed us to see a deer crossing the path in front of us! A magical moment!). I think the unmarked circuit described by other reviewers must be more interesting but with less elevation gain.
The tour of the LUITEL nature reserve is charming.

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Date of your route : Aug 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We really enjoyed the walk in the woods, which sometimes took us along old country lanes, and the passage through the Col de la Madeleine with its magnificent view. There were no particular difficulties, even with a baby on our backs. There was quite a lot of wild fruit, especially between Le Pagnot and the spring, and we were able to taste some delicious raspberries. At point 3 and a little further on, the path is not very well marked and it is easy to take a wrong turn if you are not paying attention. The only slight downside is the initial climb up a stony forest road, which is not particularly interesting, but we loved the rest of the walk.

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Hello, and thank you for your comment about this hike.
As for the Col de la Madeleine sign, there is no mention of it in the description. It simply states: Begin a rapid descent to reach the Col de la Madeleine
Have a nice day

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We looked for the sign for "Col de la Madeleine" marked on the map
but it is never indicated on the yellow signs. It only appears once, too late, 200 metres from the pass when you arrive
During the hike, simply follow the signs for Vizille and Monsec.

it is a very easy hike, but rather wild and very beautiful: a pretty downhill path lined with magnificent mossy stones

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Date of your route : Aug 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

i agree with one of the previous hikers (16 September 2018), we must have missed the PR route that descends towards Buissonnières and took a more clever route that avoids going back down to the road, which is of limited interest, but stays at roughly the same altitude and arrives at the starting point shortly before the Luitel lake overhang, then returns to the starting point.

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Date of your route : Jul 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Hiking (or rather walking) in the woods for the most part... but it was long and tiring for what was a fairly limited view. On the way back, before reaching the hamlet, we had a surprising encounter with some cute little piglets.
Same comment about the description: when you come back from the orientation table, take the path that branches off to the left, the one marked as a dead end and prohibited.

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Date of your route : Jun 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very pleasant, shaded walk through the woods.
During these heatwaves, the moderate altitude and shade provide some respite.
there are a few viewpoints, particularly at the orientation table, despite the thick heat haze.
For Visorando, a useful criterion for searching for hikes could be average altitude: when it is very hot, it is a good idea to choose hikes at a fairly high altitude.

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Date of your route : Jan 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A short hike with reasonable elevation gain and distance, enjoyable in semi-winter conditions, with a little snow and cold weather in the northern part, and milder conditions with little snow on the southern side. It's a shame that the repeated and cyclical appearances of fog prevented us from fully enjoying the beautiful panorama at the Col de la Madeleine. Worth doing again, either on snowshoes or in warmer weather.
Navigation is straightforward if you follow the route described and the markings, but you do need to be careful at a few intersections to stay on the right path.

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Date of your route : Sep 16, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Same comment as in the review written by Pautonnier (12 June 2017): about 200 metres after the Cherley hut (i.e. about 200 metres after point 3), we did not see the fork between the two forest roads: on the right, the PR descends to La Buissonnière (joining the road), while on the left, a forest road continues flat for 600 metres. We "naturally" followed the second road (we did not see the PR going downhill)
This option is shorter and easier (as there is no descent and then ascent), unmarked, but visible on the IGN map.
At the second fork, take the forest road on the left going uphill (not the one on the right going downhill), which leads just above the car park

A bucolic walk under the trees
There are few views except at the Col de la Madeleine, but it is a pleasant forest landscape to walk through
Recommended for families

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Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Apparently, the GR markings have been redone because they are now clearly visible. This is a hike to do in warm weather because it is mostly in the shade. However, it is important to note that it ends with a serious 200 m climb to reach the car park.
I downloaded the route in .GPX format onto my GPS, and the result is very good with realistic voice guidance.

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Date of your route : Oct 25, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant route with beautiful views.

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Date of your route : Sep 10, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant little hike near Grenoble

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Date of your route : Jun 24, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Superb view from the orientation table.
The walk is of limited interest other than being in the shade of the forest. The trail is not very well maintained.
Please note that there is a 200-metre climb over the last 2 kilometres.

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