Trou Saint-Michel and Moucherotte

Warnings (see practical information for further details):
- The IGN topographic map is completely incorrect in two places where navigation is difficult.
- A 30m rope may be useful for those who are not confident on the rock.

Park along the D106 opposite the Château Gaillard path N 45.15616° / E 5.619211°.
By clicking on the Google or Waze link, you can enter these coordinates directly into your favourite navigation app.
The path heading straight up to the east towards the forest is clearly visible from the car park.

(S/E) From the car park, the path climbs straight up the slope to the east towards the forest. It is marked in yellow and green. Ignore the paths branching off to the left and right to stay on the main slope and reach the Clots crossroads.

(1) At Les Clots, take the track that descends slightly southwards to the right. The markings are yellow.

(2) A sign at the Bois des Mûres junction — elevation 1268 — points to the right towards the Pas de la Bergère. Head in this direction, south-southeast, ignoring all the paths branching off to the right. The trail changes back to yellow-green markings. The slope becomes steeper and features a few small rocky outcrops before reaching the Pas de la Bergère.

(3) Climb up the rocky gorge of the Pas de la Bergère and, after a double hairpin bend, reach the plateau at the bottom of the Combe de Saint-Nizier and continue climbing south-southeast along the edge of the forest until you reach the Combe Saint-Nizier junction (signpost).

(4) At the junction, cross the^GR®91track to take the wide path towards the Habert des Ramées. The path soon begins to descend towards the habert. Pass it on the left and continue descending southwards along this track, through the forest.

(5) When you reach a clearing, look for a blue mark on a rock on the left and a very faint track heading east into a meadow. Follow this track until you reach the eastern cliff face of the Vercors (if you lose sight of the blue markings, simply continue due east through the forest until you reach the cliff).

The entrance to the Trou Saint-Michel is located about 10 m back from the edge of the cliff. If you do not come across it immediately, scan the cliff for 50 m on either side of your current position. The entrance to the cave is at 45.125442°N 5.627858°E.

(6) The hole is descended beneath the tree, which provides a^second belay point if you set up a rappel on the lunule fitted with a fixed cord. To descend without a rope, first climb down under the tree against the right-hand (west) side of the hole, then swing round to the left-hand (east) side of the hole before reaching a ledge followed by another, easier descent. See the practical information section for equipment details.

(7) Exit the hole onto the ledge to admire the view. This spot is wide but very steep and does not lead to any slings on the cliff face.
Climb back up the hole and exit to the right (north) to follow the path marked here and there with blue dots that runs along the cliff.

(8) Reach the summit of the Grande Roche Saint-Michel and continue to follow the blue dots along the ridge. Just before the secondary summit of the Moucherotte, join the track (^GR®91of the Tour des 4 Montagnes) and follow it for about 300m before turning right onto the path leading directly north to the summit of the Moucherotte.

(9) At the summit, facing Grenoble (east), a path marked with yellow stripes branches off to the right (south) into the very steep foothills of the Moucherotte’s eastern face. Descend this winding path, which passes numerous ledges where you may need to use your hands on the rock to get down. After a final ledge and a descent to the east over loose scree, you reach a small pass on a ridge at the edge of the forest, at a place called Château Bouvier.

Caution here: The IGN topographic map is completely inaccurate in this area (non-existent paths or fancifully drawn routes, cave in the wrong place, etc.) right up to the exit from the forest at Vallon des Forges. Switch to OpenStreetMap.

(10) At the small pass, do not follow the path marked with blue lines heading east-southeast. Instead, turn left onto the very steep gully descending northwards, without, however, following the few tracks at the bottom of the gully (tracks left by hikers misled by the IGN map – there is no path to be found in this direction), but by descending a narrow path crossing north-north-west across the steep and slippery slope. This track passes beneath the Vallier cave (detour possible – see GPS track) where it turns right to descend about twenty metres straight down the slope towards the east before turning left back north to cross the Bessay stream ravine. Continue north on the faint track until you come to a better path.

(11) Turn left onto this path marked in yellow and green, and climb up to the Vallon des Forges, first through the forest, then over scree. Cross the valley northwards and follow the path at the foot of the cliff until you reach a track suitable for vehicles.

(12) Descend this track eastwards then northwards until you reach a 90º left-hand bend, just above the Trois Pucelles. After this bend, continue descending westwards towards a junction (yellow sign) where the path branches off to the left, heading south. Follow this path, which makes a wide loop to return northwards and leads to another yellow sign.

(13) At this sign, turn back to the left (no direction indicated on the sign) to descend onto the track bypassing the Rocher de l'âne and returning to Les Clots.

(1) Turn right onto the path descending west-north-west towards the D106 road, leading back to the car park where you started (S/E).

? Water is scarce, as is often the case in the Vercors, so make sure you take enough with you.

? Dogs are allowed in this part of the Vercors, but the hike is not particularly suitable due to several sections of easy scrambling.

?‍♀️ The difficulty of this hike lies on the borderline between ‘very difficult’ and ‘extremely difficult’. It is easier to do it in the opposite direction (recommended if you want to see the sunset). The main difficulties are navigation (see below) and the 15m descent at the Trou Saint-Michel (climbing grade between 2 and 3).

? The hike is short and not suitable for camping unless you wish to watch the sunrise or sunset from the Trou Saint-Michel. It is possible to camp in its cave.

? Standard hiking kit is sufficient. However, to descend into the Trou Saint-Michel, a 30m rope (7.5mm hiking type) will allow you to set up a reassuring abseil for the less adventurous; in this case, bring a harness, descender and prusik, and of course the necessary slings and carabiners. Trekking poles are very useful on the descent of the Moucherotte. For those who enjoy sunrises or sunsets, a head torch is essential.

? The IBP statistics for the route give a distance of 14.59km, a total elevation gain of 1443m, a walking time of 4:04:41 and an average speed of 3.58km/h.

? Navigation is straightforward except between Habert des Ramées and Trou Saint-Michel, and between Château Bouvier and the path leading up to Les Forges. As the IGN topographic map is inaccurate, a GPS device — or, of course, the Visorando app — is recommended to reach the site without getting lost.

⚠️ As is often the case, the IGN map is inaccurate in several places. The Trou Saint-Michel (6) is shown 200m too far north. Furthermore, the paths leading down from Château Bouvier (10) are completely made-up and mostly non-existent; the same applies to the one leading up to the Vallon des Froges. Having explored this area on numerous occasions, I have never seen the paths shown on the map (however, there are others that do not appear on the map). Generally speaking, remain critical of IGN topographic maps (from experience, the institute never corrects reported errors, even after serious accidents caused by these errors – see my profile for further details and an example). The OpenStreetMap is generally much more accurate, but Visorando would need to decide to use the OpenTopoMap version for it to be user-friendly.

? Alpine wildlife is present; in particular, capercaillies nest above Les Ramées and eagles can be spotted below Moucherotte. Naturally, chamois inhabit the grassy slopes on the eastern face of Moucherotte.

? The views from the summits and the Trou Saint-Michel terrace are magnificent. See this interactive photo.

? Several alternative routes are possible. If you are in a hurry, simply descend from the Moucherotte by continuing along the ridges towards the north. This will take you to a track that forms a hairpin bend turning right at the Coup de Sabre (not marked on IGN maps, see OpenStreetMap). Take this hairpin bend to rejoin the route at the point (12).
It is also possible to do the hike in the opposite direction, which is a little easier. In particular, this will allow you to watch the sunset from the terrace at Trou Saint-Michel (bring a head torch).

? A slackline is permanently installed along a bend in the Saint-Michel cliff and offers a crossing of nearly 250m in length over a considerable drop. Falls are quite common (but are, of course, prevented by safety lines).