Now it was late February with clear skies in the north of Alpes-Maritimes while the coastal areas were mostly covered by fog and  low clouds. 

We drove up to Col de la Porte (1057 m; signpost #189) by the D73 road. It was the best starting point for us. In addition, we planned to use the same trail back thus avoiding the exposed parts between Col de l’Autaret and the summit. 

We started along a dirt road, heading northwest. It was a GR510 trail as well. Reaching signpost #194, we left the GR trail and continued along the dirt road, still heading northwest. After about 450 m, we forked left. There was no signpost. We ascended along a path on the eastern flank of Cime du Plan Ribert, heading southwest then northwest. We reached a clearing with green grass even in winter. This is where the sheep pen prevented our progress last time. Now the place was deserted. We did not even see any other hikers.

We soon reached Col de Lobe (1224 m; signpost #449) at the foot of the mountain’s northeastern flank. We continued along the left-hand steep trail. At one point, easy scramble was needed but that stretch was quite short. The rest of the trail zigzagged in a pine wood. Higher up, we turned south in increasingly  open rocky terrain. There were patches of snow here and there. The trail circled west of a subsummit. On the top there was a small cairn and a modest small wooden cross.

The panorama was majestic. To the north, the skies remained crystal clear. Coastal clouds hit the mountain’s southeastern escarpment but mostly stopped there.

We used the same itinerary back to our starting point, minding the steep stretch before Col de Lobe.