Tour du Vieux Chaillol - Alpine Trek in the Alps

Walk with a guide or go it alone, this is a classic alpine walk, staying in mountain refuges and gites taking in the four valleys visible from Champsaur's highest mountain, the Vieux Chaillol. Each of the valleys; Champoleon, Champsaur, Valgaudemar and Molines have their own unique characteristics; from the deep steep dramatic valley of Valgaudemar to the open rural landscape of Champsaur.

There are two pairs of golden eagles in the area, chamois, ibex and lots of marmots. The flora is also spectacular, with 60 different species of orchid, wild orange lilies, wild daffodils, gentians and thousands of other flowers I don't know the names of!

Most of the tour traverses along the valleys on the GR 50 and GR 54 long distance trekking paths, so the paths are easy and not too steep but the days are long so you will need a reasonable level of fitness to do it comfortably. You cross one high mountain pass of 2607 metres which takes you from the Valgaudemar valley into the Champoleon valley. This is done over two days staying in the refuge Vallonpierre at 1534 metres but you will climb approximately 1150m in one day.

The classic route is five days long, so for our guided version we have included one of the variations making it a weeks holiday. For the self guided option, it is up to you. Our price includes the classic tour but we can easily adapt it for you if you would like to do one of the variations or include a rest day!

If you would like more information on either the guided or self-guided trip, please contact us.

Price

From: EUR475 per person (1 week)

Price Includes

• full board (breakfast, picnic lunch and evening meal) in a range of mountain refuges and gites.
• choice of being guided or self guided
• baggage transfers between gites and refuges where possible
• walking maps and route guidance

Price Excludes

• Flights / trains / transfers Once you are here all your transport needs are catered for. We don't include flights or train journeys to get here or transfers from a local airport or train station in the price as there are so many ways to get here it seemed fairer and simpler to arrange this individually. The closest you can get via public transport is Gap train station (which has good rail links from Marseille and Aix-en-Provence if you fly or train it there). A taxi from Gap is about 70€. However, it is also quite usual for people to hitch and generally lifts are easy to come by. Obviously you do this at your own risk. We can organise a hire car for you from any airport or train station and can also help with information and advice about airport parking or airport hotels

Departure Dates

GUIDED TRIP: 885€ per person
FIXED DATES 30 June - 7th July 2010 - ideal for individuals looking to join a group
OTHER DATES - any time between May and October - for groups of 6 or more booking together

SELF GUIDED TRIP: From 475€ per person - available any time from May to October - min 2 pers.

This is the classic route for the self guided walk with a couple of the suggested variations if you want to extend it to make a week long holiday. Our guided route takes in Variation B, making it a full 8 day trip.

DAY 1
Arrive in the valley

DAY 2:
From: Gite D'Etape Les Paris in St Jaques -Altitude 980 m
To: Gite D'Etape Le Casset in La Chappelle - Altitude 1150
Ascent: 250 m
Descent: 100m
Hours walking: 6h30

This is a beautiful long walk through the valley of Valgaudemar with a short climb up to the Oulles du Diable – a spectacular water fall walk. From here you can take a short diversion up to the old deserted village of Navette. This was habited until just after the second world war and you can still see remnants of the old houses and the renovated church.

DAY 3:
From: Gite D'Etape Le Casset in La Chapelle - Altitude: 1150m
To: Refuge Vallonpierre in the mountains - Altitude 1534
Ascent: 1150m
Descent: 0m
Hours Walking: 7h30

This is a long uphill walk but through one of the most beautiful ‘classic alpine’ valleys of the walk. The last section is quite steep and it is a welcome sight to see the sign saying refuge Vallonpierre 10mins when you get to the top! Take time to stop on your way up and look back over the views behind you.

DAY 4:
From: Refuge Vallonpierre in the mountains - Altitude: 1534m
To: Gite D'Etape Les Gondoins in Champoleon - Altitude: 1300m
Ascent: 554m
Descent: 1534
Hours Walking: 7h30

This is a wild and dramatic walk over the col and through the valley on the other side. Look out for chamois and other animals. There are two choices of route – a more direct but steeper and more technical path or a slightly longer but more gentle walk.

DAY 5:
From: Gite D'Etape Les Gondoins in Champoleon - Altitude 1300m
To: Gite D'Etape de Chaillol in Chaillol - Altitude 1425m
Ascent: 927m
Descent: 784 m
Hours Walking: 7h00

This is a pretty traverse through woods and alpine meadows with great views.

DAY 6:
From: Gite D'Etape de Chaillol in Chaillol - Altitude 1425m
To: Gite D'Etape les Paris in St Jaques - Altitude: 980m
Ascent: 927m
Descent: 890m
Hours Walking: 7h30

A dramatice traverse over alpine meadows and through mixed woods on the south facing side of the mountain so nice and sunny!

Variations:

VARIATION A:
DAY 3:
From:Gite D'Etape Le Casset in La Chapelle - Altitude: 1150m
To:Refuge Gioberney at the end of the valley - Altitude 1642m
Ascent: 507m
Descent 0m
Hours Walking 3h00

You could walk up to the Lac du Lauzon from the Gioberney - it's about 3 hours walk and is a spectacular Lake with great mountain views.


DAY 4:
From:Refuge Gioberney at the end of the valley - Altitude 1642m
To:Refuge Vallonpierre in the mountains - Altitude: 1534m
Via: Refuge Chabourneou
Ascent:679m
Descent:50m
Hours Walking 6h00

It's also possible to walk directly up to the Vallonpierre refuge in about 3 hours without taking in the Refuge Chabourneou.



VARIATION B:

This adds an extra day to the itinerary making the trip an 8 day / week long holiday

DAY 4:

From: Refuge Vallonpierre in the mountains - Altitude: 2273m
To: Refuge du Pre De La Chaumette – Altitude: 1800m
Ascent: 817m
Descent: 832m
Hours Walking: 4h30

This is a wild and dramatic walk over the col and through the valley on the other side. Look out for chamois and other animals.


DAY 5:
From: Refuge du Pre De La Chaumette – Altitude: 1800m
To: Refuge du Tourond in the mountains - Altitude 1712m
Ascent: 412m
Descent: 490m
Hours Walking: 5h30

A relatively easy and very pretty walk through the valley of Champoleon by the river. Lots of nice picnic stops and stream dipping opportunities! At the refuge there is a spectacular waterfall you can go and have a look at – about 20 mins from the refuge if you want to explore.


DAY 6:
From: Refuge du Tourond in the mountains - Altitude 1712m
To: Gite D'Etape de Chaillol in Chaillol - Altitude 1425m via the Col de Vanasque
Ascent: 775m
Descent: 1062m
Hours Walking: 6h00

A beautiful and remote walk over the col de vanesque with spectacular views over the Champoleon and Champsaur valleys and lots of wildlife.

There is the option of taking in the peak of the Vieux Chaillol 3163m on this day which would add another 4 hours onto the day and another 675m of ascent.

This is a big day with a lot of ascent but a very rewarding view at the top.

If you wander up to the Cabane des Parisien and a bit beyond you will see the remains of the canal du Malcros which was built by Napoleon’s army to divert water from the Malcros glacier (no longer there) into the Champsaur valley. You will also see parts of the canal tunnel as you traverse over towards the Col de La Pisse on your way down.