Here’s a short walk from Casse du Boeuf chair lift south to
Lac des Partias. Located inside the Des Partias Natural Reserve, the
small lake lies in a valley at about 2100 m elevation (East of Ravin de
Jafaret on the map).
On another heatwave day in the Southern Alps, it was great to use the familiar
chairlift to reach the high ground, 2270 m in this instance.
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Serre Chevalier western flank
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Col de Serre Chevalier
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Descent from Col Serre Chev
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| Trail to Partias |
We climbed to a crossroads north of the Serre Chevalier Summit then took the
trail along its western flank to Col de Serre Chevalier (2383 m). At
the col which was bordering the Natural Reserve, there were no signposts nor
marked trails straight down to the lake. We, however, saw a path marked with
yellow-tipped sticks which we took. We descended in a grassy and blossoming
slope, and merged temporarily with a trail circling from the west (in Ravin
Mélivrin). Eventually we came to a spot above the lake. It looked more like
a pond, and was dry this time of the year. There was a cottage by the lake
and a shelter a bit further in the east as it was a pasturage area.
It was a tranquil spot, far from the ski lift system. The forest covered
northern face of Crête de la Bréssiere dominated the beautiful scenery
across the lake.
We returned along the same trail shown on the map below.
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Stream halfway to Partias
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| Lac des Partias |
Climb: 360 m
Distance: 5,7 km
Duration: 2 h 20
Map: 3536 OT Briançon Serre-Chevalier Montgenèvre
This salad is perfect on a hot summer day when the figs are in season. But you can just as well continue serving it well into autumn; the fig season is long in the South of France because of several fig varieties.
Serve the salad with some protein such as burrata, goat cheese, or smoke duck slices. They all go nicely with figs. Add some good country bread for a balanced meal.
2 servings
6 figs
1 green salad pepper
2 handfuls of baby salad leaves
2 mini burratas or goat cheese or smoked duck.
Vinaigrette of olive oil and red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Wash and dry the figs and green pepper.
Divide the salad leaves on two plates. Cut the green salad pepper into two halves lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice and divide on the plates.
Remove the stems from the figs and cut them into quarters. Divide on top of the salad leaves.
Divide the mini burratas or goat cheese or duck on the plates. Sprinkle with vinaigrette and grind over some black pepper.
Le Grand Lac (2282) certainly is one of the most impressive alpine
lakes in the Briancon/Serre Chevalier Region.
The starting point is from Le Pont de l’Alpe (1710 m) by the D1091. Due
to the popularity of the trails, even the spacious parking can be quite full
during the high season.
We have previously hiked around
Aguillette du Lauzet, starting from Le Pont de l’Alpe.
This time we wanted to admire the picturesque lake.
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Trail to Alpe du Lauzet
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| Pics de Combeynot |
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Towards Clot des Vaches
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Clot des Vaches crossroads
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We first ascended to l’Alpe du Lauzet (1951 m). One trail forked left,
straight to the lake with one steep stretch equipped with a cable. We headed
northeast, following the Rif Torrent. We reached a crossroads named Clot des
Vaches (2209 m), and merged with the GR57 trail. We forked left
(north) and continued the ascent in the Rif Valley.
The trail turned to the west before we reached a col (2436 m) above the
lake. From here, the lake was partially visible. One trail descended down to
its shore. We continued along the GR57, passing a cabane with livestock.
Higher up, the entire lake became visible. We found a great spot for a
picnic at about 2530 m where the Grand Galibier Massif dominated the
landscape in the northwest and parts the Ecrins Glaciers a bit further in
the southwest.
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Ascent in Rif Valley
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Col above Grand Lac
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GR57 above Grand Lac
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Returning trail along GR57
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Climb: 850 m
Distance: 12 km
Duration: 5h
Map: 3535 OT Névache Mont Tabor Cols du Galibier et du Lautaret
This recipe is inspired by a starter at our hotel near Col d’Izoard. Served with some good country bread it makes a tasty light lunch on a hot summer day. When choosing the gazpacho, we still think that the Spanish Alvalle makes the best. You can replace fromage blanc with thick Greek youghurt.
2 servings
400 ml ready-made preferably organic gazpacho
4 tbsp. fromage blanc 0% fat
½ cucumber
1 oval tasty tomato
3 slices of Parma ham
Chopped basil leaves
Whisk the fromage blanc into the gazpacho and divide into two bowls. Chop the tomato and cucumber into small cubes and divide on top of the gazpacho.
Chop the Parma ham into small pieces and divide into the bowls. Decorate with basil and serve at once.
We had previously done a loop hike from Brunissard via Col de
Néal where the first stretch of the hike ran along the famous GR5 long
distance trail.
We now wanted to explore the GR5 as far as to Col de Ayes (2477 m).
Starting from Brunissard, the first less interesting part followed the road to
the vast camping. It then climbed to Le Pré Premier and further along a dusty
dirt road which went to the Chalets of Claypeto. Just before the chalets, the
GR5 forked right towards Col des Ayes, and we were finally surrounded by a
beautiful high alpine landscape. The first part was moderately steep, then
levelled off a bit before a final ascent to the mountain pass.
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| Leaving Brunissard |
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| Above l'Eychaillon |
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Chalets de Clapeyto in background
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From the col, we had great views towards the mountain massifs northwest of
Briançon and to the massifs bordering Italy in the Queyras Regional Park in
the southeast. The col was well frequented and there appeared to be trekkers
on a several day tour with heavy gear.
If you want to avoid the first part of the itinerary it is always possible
to drive up the parking near the camping ground.
It was another heatwave day in the region, and very warm at almost 2500 m
altitude where we took our pause before returning back to Brunissard.
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Towards Col des Ayes
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Last stretch to Col des Ayes
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Return trail Mont Viso in horizon
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Pic du Cros Massif above Arvieux
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Climb: 700 m
Distance: 10,7 km
Duration: 4h20
Map: 3537 ET Guillestre, Vars, Risoul PNR du Queyras
Thierry Marx is a Michelin star French chef who also directs cookery schools . He is now flexitarian and focused on the responsibility that catering sector has for the society and environment.
This recipe is loosely based on the interview on the French morning TV 1 Bonjour. In fact they only showed the presentation of the dish in his restaurant kitchen but the message was clear: cook from quality ingredients, cook from scratch and do not waste.
2 servings
4 local lamb chops
4 large slices of a round green courgette
4 thick slices of dark tomatoes
Olive oil
100 ml quick-cooking green lentils
Chopped mint leaves to decorate
For the red wine sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 small clove of garlic, minced
150 ml red wine
1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. tomato purée
Start by cooking the green lentils according to the advice on the package. When done, cover and set aside until needed.
In a frying pan, warm olive oil over medium heat and fry the courgette slices on both sides until golden brown and soft.
In another frying pan, warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat and sauté the tomato slices a few minutes on both sides.
In a small saucepan, sauté the shallot and garlic in 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat 5-10 minutes. Add the red wine, herbs, and black pepper. Raise the temperature and cook until reduced by about half. Whisk in the tomato purée, cover and set aside.
Warm a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the lamb chops with some olive oil and fry about 3 minutes on both sides depending on the thickness.
For the presentation: arrange the vegetables in layers in the middle of the plates. Sprinkle the lentils around the vegetables and drizzle with the red wine sauce. Place the lamb chops on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with chopped mint.
In the Queyras Regional Park, we have previously explored some trails
to mountain passes bordering Italy. From Valpréveyre above
Abriés, we had earlier climbed to
Col d’Urine.
Using Valpréveyre as a starting point, we now wanted to climb to
Col de Malaure (2536 m) north of the abovementioned Col d’Urine and in
a different valley.
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Leaving Valpréyvere
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Following Torrent du Bouchet
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Crossing Malaure Torrent
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Sheep flock by the trail
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Some sources say that Hannibal may have used the Malaure Pass when crossing
the Alps. True or tale, the Italian side viewed from the col was very steep
and rocky so hard to believe that elephants could negotiate this terrain!
We started from the parking in Valpréveyre, crossed the Bouchet Torrent and
then headed east following the torrent in the woods. A bit higher, we
crossed a stream again. The incline became steeper, and we came to a
crossroads at 2230 m where the left-hand trail went to Col de Bouchet and
Col de Valpréveyre. We forked right as planned. After climbing 300 m and 1.1
km including some steep stretches, we reached the narrow col where an
Italian signpost with several destinations was erected. A narrow and steep
trail descended on the Italian side. The Italian lowlands were not far, and
typical fog and clouds (nebbia) were clinging to the relief.
We met nobody on the latter part of the trail. Many walkers preferred to
enjoy the sunny and warm weather by the stream. Some went up to the Bouchet
Pass with a small refuge on the Italian side.
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