The following hike above Ste-Marie in Vars (1638 m) followed ancient farming trails on the western side of the village. Some of the farmhouses seemed now to be secondary residences or gites.
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| Leaving Ste-Marie |
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| St-Marcellin Vars |
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View to north from trail
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We started next to Ste-Marie chairlift (large parking) where the first
signpost guided us to the north (Lac de Peyrol, la Mayt etc). The path
crossed a ski run then a wood before we briefly used a narrow paved road
before forking left along a dirt track. The ascent was rather steep in
places. There were small fields between the larch woods. We passed a place
named le Grand Forest then Rebrun. The stretch from here ascended in the
woods to a crossroads at 1901 m where we forked left (signpost Lac de Peyrol
2,8 km) following an unpaved road, heading south. The road undulated in a
beautiful forest with some small hay fields in places.
We had great views of the valley as well as the Crête de Vars. The summit of
Pointe de Razis dominated the landscape in the west. We reached Peyrol (2142
m) and walked past the lake. On the day of our hike the chairlift was not
running. There were nevertheless some hikers and tourists who had taken the
4x4’s.
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| Near Rebrun Vars |
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Great forest in Vars
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Near 1901 m crossroads
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| Crête de Vars |
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| Pointe de Razis |
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| Peyrol Lake |
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| Trail to Ste-Marie |
We walked past the chairlift. The ski run was apparently closed for hikers
(cattle fence) but a good marked path was shown for hikers back to the
valley. The trail was not shown on our map. Another trail just before Peyrol
was reserved for mountain bikers. We used the nice
pietons trail (our track image below) which mostly descended in the
woods. We crossed the ski run again before reaching our starting point.
Climb: 520 m
Distance: 8 km
Duration: 3h 45
Map : 3537 ET Guillestre Vars.Risoul
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| Egg-Parma ham muffins |
These tasty small bakes make a nice light lunch served with a green side salad and whole wheat or rye bread.
2 servings
4 slices of Parma ham
4 eggs
Olive oil
A small handful of baby spinach leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh herbs to decorate
Preheat the oven to 180° C.
Oil 4 muffin tin cavities with olive oil. Line each cavity with a slice of Parma ham. Place some spinach leaves in the bottom. Crack 1 egg into each cavity and grind over some black pepper.
Bake for 10- 15 minutes until the egg whites are solidified. Sprinkle over some chopped fresh herbs.
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| Egg-Parma ham muffins out of oven |
The summits immediately south of la Plagne Villages are actually
peaks on a long ridge starting from Roc du Diable in the east stretching to
Mont Jovet (and beyond) in the west.
Starting from the upper part of Belle Plagne (2080 m), the easternmost
of the villages, we ascended south along the main service road, then forked
right after about 470 m now heading southwest along another dirt track. We
walked under the Colosses chairlift and took a shortcut under its upper
station. We reached a ski run and climbed south as far as to the ridge. We
climbed further, heading west, to la Grande Rochette (2508 m) with a gondola lift
upper station and a restaurant.
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Leaving Belle Plagne
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Near Colosses chairlift
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Ascending to la Grande Rochette
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Crête de la Grande Forcle
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La Plagne Villages from la Grande Rochette
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We headed southeast, descending rapidly to Col de la Petite Forcle
(2408 m). The following ascent was to Roc des Verdons (summit 2502 m)
with antennas but also a viewing platform with information.
After a break we descended to Col de la Lovatière (2417 m) where we
had the narrow eastern ridge of Roc du Bécoin (2594 m) in front of
us. The ascent was steep in places and certain surefootedness was needed. We
crossed a few antecimes before the narrow summit. The 360° panorama was
spectacular.
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La Grande Rochette in background
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Vanoise peaks seen from Roc des Verdons
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Courchevel seen from Roc des Verdons
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Roc des Verdons signpost
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Nearing Roc du Bécoin summit
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Summit of Roc du Bécoin
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One hour to Belle Plagne
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From the summit, we descended towards la Plagne Villages (signposts) then at
2393 m headed east, taking some shortcuts when possible. We reached the
Verdons Nord chairlift station and headed east. At this point, Belle Plagne
was signposted, still 1h 10 to go! The trail Circled above Plagne 1800 and
Plagne Soleil. At le Dou du Praz (2125 m) we came to a restaurant where we
had an excellent blueberry pie and coffee before the final stretch back to
our starting point.
Climb: 790 m
Distance: 13 km
Duration: 6h 15
Map: 3532 ET les Arcs/la Plagne
The Maltese cuisine uses North African spices and flavours. This is understandable because the distance between Malta and Tunisia is only about 300 km across the sea.
The following recipe is inspired by a lunch in a Maltese restaurant in Mdina. The duck breast was coated with sesame seeds before frying. It was served on a bed of wilted spinach. Plum compote and star anise flavoured plum sauce were served on the side of the sliced breast. Ground coriander, cumin, and freshly pressed orange juice flavoured the compote and sauce. The duck was served with roasted potatoes, but I think that cooked quinoa would also nicely compliment the dish.
This dish is perfect to make in autumn when plums are in season and we start craving for warm and spicier dishes.
2 servings
1 duck breast
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
A generous amount of baby spinach leaves
About 100 ml quinoa
1 tbsp. olive oil
For the plum compote and sauce:
About 6 dark plums
2 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 orange
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp? ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper
3 star anises
Start by cooking the plum compote. In a saucepan, warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Remove the stones from the plums, chop them and place in the saucepan. Add the coriander, cumin, and some black pepper and stir. Cook until the plums are reduced into a nice compote, then cover and set aside.
In another saucepan, warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over low heat. Add the pressed orange juice and the star anises and slowly simmer to infuse the spice. Just before serving add about 1 tbsp. of the plum compote and whisk into a smooth sauce.
Cook the quinoa in 300 ml water for 25 minutes. Set aside and cover.
Criss-cross the duck breast the usual way on the fat side. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate and press the breast on the plate to make the seeds stick. Fry the breast over medium heat, first the fat side for 10 minutes, the flesh side for 8 minutes. Place on a carving board and let rest for a few minutes before slicing.
Warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and quickly cook the spinach until wilted.
Presentation:
Divide the spinach in the centre of the plates and arrange the duck breast slices on top. Place about 1 tbsp. plum compote beside the duck and divide the plum sauce on the other side. Serve the cooked quinoa, or roasted potatoes if you prefer them, in a separate dish.
When visiting
Belle Plagne, we wanted to do a hike which at least partly circled outside the beaten
path. Thanks to the description in
altituderando we decided to explore this loop, albeit starting from our hotel
in Belle Plagne. In addition, due to the deteriorating weather we only did the loop, without climbing to any of the
summits.
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| Belle Plagne |
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| Roc du Diable |
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Trail competition la Plagne
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| Lac des Blanchets |
From Belle Plagne (2080 m), we ascended along the main trail to Lac des
Blanchets, then headed east above the southern shore of the lake. There was
simultaneously a trail competition going on, and we mingled with some of the
slower participants at this stage. After the lake, we continued east for a
while (Trail to Roche de Mio), following the Carrelaz chairlift. At 2501 m
elevation, we forked right and followed an unmarked but good trail, heading
first southeast then west and finally south. We reached an unnamed col
at 2586 m surrounded by three summits: Roc des Blanchets (2654 m), Point
du Tougne (2709 m) and Roc de Sérac (2659 m). They were increasingly covered
by dark clouds. Showers had been forecasted for the afternoon. We could see
the Courchevel Villages in the south as well as the summits around the resort.
Many of the highest peaks and glaciers were invisible. Fortunately we did not
get any rain.
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Above Lac des Blanchets
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Alpine meadows above Lac des Blanchets
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After leaving Roche de Mio trail
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Unnamed col and Roc des Blanchets
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We descended to the south along another unmarked path. We soon reached a
marked path and forked right, heading northwest. We descended to a dirt
track/service road and were back in the built ski lift and ski run network.
Taking shortcuts when possible, we crossed the Carellaz Stream, and followed
the dirt road under the southern flank of Roc du Diable. At the next
crossroads we forked right (north), and ascended a bit to Col de la Grande
Forcle. There was a large building under construction. We circled south of it
then along the banks of a water reservoir before descending to the trail back
to Belle Plagne.
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Roc du Sérac la Plagne
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Courchevel in distance
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| Under Roc du Sérac |
Climb: 600 m
Distance: 10 km
Duration: 4h 50
Map: 3532 ET les Arcs/la Plagne
Last year the bridge over the Grand Tabuc Torrent was damaged,
apparently after flooding. This year, the trail was open and we decided to
hike the proposed 5a itinerary southwest of Monêtier.
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Leaving Chavret Parking
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Towards Les Grangettes
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Cross before Les Grangettes
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| Les Grangettes |
From the village, we followed the GR54 to the parking (Charvet),
forked right leaving the GR and ascended along a track to the footbridge
over the torrent. On the other side of the bridge, the path to
Brunichard and Les Sagnières was available but there was a large herd of
livestock all over. Not to disturb them, we continued straight to Les
Grangettes, an old high-altitude hamlet mostly in ruins. We decided to
continue upstream along the valley. We recrossed the Grand Tabuc and
ascended along a dirt track then a path. The scenery was impressive. There
was still a lot of water in the torrent.
In the upper valley, we reached an area named Champ Vieux. It consisted of
large boulders, high grass and wet stretches. Apart from the first Ecrins
Glaciers in front of us, it was actually less interesting than the Grand
Tabuc Torrent banks. It marked our turning point today. The path continued
to Pas de l’Ane and Col des Grangettes.
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Crossing Grand Tabuc Torrent
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Grand Tabuc Torrent
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Track on Grand Tabuc right bank
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| Champ Vieux |
We descended a bit for our break in a nice spot, then continued along the
right bank of the torrent all the way to the lower bridge. Crossing it, we
merged with our initial itinerary and hiked back to le Monêtier.
Climb: 540 m
Distance: 9,6 km
Duration: 3h 40
Map: 3536 OT Briançon Serre Chevalier Montgenèvre
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