Discover the Ecrins
on a 5-day trek at the heart of the National Park!

Trip

Hiking with a Mountain Guide:

The Esprit Montagne team prepares your itinerary so that you can discover the most beautiful and off-trail trails in the Ecrins. On the route your Guide will show you the orientation and use of the maps if you wish. He will manage the pace and the weather so that the stages are as beautiful as possible. Your Guide is a graduate and passionate about the region: he will make you discover his region and find the most beautiful places so that you can return with beautiful memories and shared moments.

Program

Program of the Easy Trek in the Ecrins:

DAY 1
Arrival in Gap

Vertical drop: + 50 meters
Walking time: around 30 minutes
Night in Refuge

Meeting point: in front of the Gap SNCF train station at 4 p.m. we take a bus for the departure of the Trek which is located near the Chapel in Valgaudemar. After a one hour bus ride we arrive at the start of the trail. We discover this magnificent valley also called "the little Himalayas" in the heart of the Ecrins National Park. After 20 to 30 minutes of walking on a beautiful path, we arrive a little before the evening meal at the Clot Xavier Blanc refuge to eat and spend our first night in the mountains.

Travel time by bus: about 1h10

DAY 2
Lac Lauzon - Cirque Glaciaire du Gioberney

Vertical drop: + 800 meters and - 800 meters with about 10 km of walking
Walking time: about 5 - 8 hours
Night in Refuge

Lac du Lauzon (2154 meters) - discovery of the valley - night at the Refuge du Clot Xavier Blanc

From the refuge, we take a mountain path to take a little height and reach the Lac du Lauzon, discovery of an exceptional panorama on the summits at the level of the glacial cirque of Gioberney, we can climb towards the refuge of Pigeonnier if you want to lengthen the hike a bit. We spend our day under the glaciers, the peaks of Rouies at 3589 meters is the highest peak of the Cirque above us.

DAY 3
Refuge de Vallonpierre

Vertical drop: + 900 meters
Walking time: about 6 hours of walking
Night in Refuge

Departure for the Vallonpierre refuge. After a few meters along the torrent, we start to climb at everyone's pace. In front of us, the imposing Sirac (3441m) and its hanging glaciers. We go up a valley which is quite wide with superb points of view. Your Guide will explain the geology of the Ecrins massif to you. We can see marmots along the paths. When we arrive at the refuge, we can put down the bags to lengthen the walk a little and try to see chamois or ibex in the surroundings of the refuge. Night at the Vallonpierre refuge.

DAY 4
Col de Valonpierre (2598 meters)

Vertical drop: about 600 meters to 800 meters positive and negative
Walking time: about 6 hours of walking
Night in Refuge

We take advantage of a day with light bags, we leave equipment at the refuge since we are returning to sleep there this evening. We climb to the Vallonpierre pass, to switch to the Champoléon valley. We will go off the trails to do some long-sighted observations.

We can continue towards the Gouiran pass at 2591 meters to enjoy the viewpoint over the valley, before returning quietly to the refuge. The day can be easily reduced or lengthened depending on your form and the weather.

Overnight at the Vallonpierre refuge.

DAY 5

Vertical drop: - 950 meters and 100 meters positive
Walking time: about 6 hours of walking for about 10 km of walking

Return and overnight at the Clot Xavier Blanc refuge
Walk on the balcony path to reach the Chabournéou refuge. Then, we take a path towards the Séveraisse torrent. This day allows us to return to our starting point by changing the panorama. It is the end of the trek, this evening we will enjoy our last night in a refuge, with a good meal prepared by the guards.

DAY 6 

Early wake up in the heart of the mountains, we have breakfast with superb landscapes before returning to the valley path and returning to civilization.

We take a taxi back to Gap, the minibus leaves us at Gap station at 10 am, you can schedule your departures from 10:30 am.

END of the TRIP, everyone resumes their journey ...

See you soon for new adventures!

Materiel

Equipment for the organized hiking trip

The bag

If possible, take a bag that is light enough to be carried well, and no heavier than 1.5 kilos.

• Small : 45 litres max
• Large : 50 litres max

Your rucksack should have 10 to 15 litres of space for the food you will be carrying for lunch and sometimes the next day, which the mountain huts or guides will give you.

Kilos to carry - it's better to wash than to carry :

• Small : 5/6 kilos max, without water and food
• Large : 6/7 kilos max, without water and food

Allow 2 litres of water and 500 grams of food for the day.

Head-to-toe equipment for the trek:

• a cap or hat for the sun
• a hat for the cold
• a buff or choker (optional, but great in bad weather)
• a Gore Tex jacket or equivalent for bad weather
• a pair of gloves, waterproof if possible
• a small down jacket or fleece to withstand sub-zero temperatures
• two jumpers: one light and one warmer; if it's cold, we'll use all the layers
• two or three technical T-shirts
• 2 to 4 pairs of socks, which you can wash in the torrents near the refuges (use solid soap to wash)
• trousers
• tights
• shorts
• a bag cover for the rain
• a waterproof bag to keep a change of clothes dry
• a change of clothes for the refuge
• A pair of hiking boots with Vibram soles or good quality trail shoes from 20 July, if possible try them on before the trek.

Essential items:

• a sleeping sheet for the hut
• 2 telescopic walking poles
• canteen or water bottle to provide at least 2 litres of water
• sun cream factor 30 to 50
• a pair of category 3 sunglasses
• a light headlamp
• small treats such as dried fruit and chocolate
• cash and your identity card or valid passport

Toiletries :

• a light, quick-drying towel, hiking style
• body soap
• toothbrush with toothpaste or solid toothpaste
• small shampoo (specialist shops sell small bottles that you can keep for the rest of your hiking life)
• a pair of earplugs to help you sleep at night in the refuge

Pharmacy & other items :

• your medication
• a light survival blanket
• nail clippers
• enough to make small dressings
• a few compresses and plasters or, better still, Strappal

Your guide will have a more comprehensive first-aid kit in case of a major accident.

A small book or card game (weighing less than 150 grams)...

Necessities for meals :

• an hermetic tupperware (approx. 400ml) for the picnic
• a light Opinel-type knife
• a fork and a spoon
• a local speciality to share with the rest of the team, liquid or solid.

Weight is the hiker's enemy, but a frozen or soaked hiker is a hiker without pleasure!

So take the time to prepare your rucksack well and weigh it before you set off, to check that without water or food your rucksack weighs 6 to 7 KG, but no more !

IMPORTANT: if a person is not properly equipped and dressed, the mountain guide may decide not to allow him/her to take part in the climb. We ask you to read carefully the equipment list provided in the programme PDF and to call us if you have any doubts.

Level

Physical level 2/5

Pretty easy hiking trip. Effort corresponding to 700 to 900 m of elevation gain in trekking.

Technical Level  2/5

Quite easy mountain trekking, there can be dizzying passages where you have to be concentrated and if you don't feel dizzy it should be fine!
Learning how to start a mountain rescue and cartography.
 

Useful infos

Useful information for the hiking trip

Insurance

Cancellation and repatriation insurance is mandatory, as is mountain search and rescue insurance (minimum cover of 10,000 Euros).

Esprit Montagne offers the following insurance: https://www.assurance-multi-sports.com.

Arrival

How to reach Gap:

• By motorway from Grenoble, Montélimar or Aix en Provence depending on where you arrive; follow the motorway to Grenoble then R.N 85 (Route Napoléon) via Col Bayard or R.N 75 via Col de Lus la Croix Haute;
• By train to Gap station, there is the Paris - Gap night train.
• First day: meeting at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon

Last day: departure of the group at 10 am on Thursday at Gap station.

Accommodation

Nights in a refuge, room or dormitory shared with the members of the group according to the rules in place because of the Covid, according to availability.

Car sharing

When you register online, you can choose whether or not you wish to take part in the car-sharing scheme to get to the starting point of your course. Once you have made your booking, you can log back into your Esprit Montagne account to access a section dedicated to carpooling. Here you will find the contacts of the other participants who are interested in car-sharing, so that you can contact them directly.