Walking in the Alps. Kev Reynolds

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      Above St-Christophe-en-Oisans a long and attractive valley leads to Refuge de la Selle

      Bourg d’Arud

      Bourg d’Arud is another small village astride the road that makes its tortuous way along the valley to La Bérarde. It boasts a couple of hotels, a gîte and a large campsite, while just to the south, on the opposite bank of the Vénéon, the neighbouring hamlet of l’Alleau also offers camping facilities at the foot of a pathway that climbs steeply to the Refuge, Lac and Col de la Muzelle on the route of the GR54, Tour de l’Oisans. The lake is a particular favourite with walkers based in the valley, as is the beautiful Lac Lauvitel in the neighbouring glen to the west. A waymarked path links these two by way of Col du Vallon (2531m), and an excellent two-day circuit could thereby be achieved using Refuge de la Muzelle as the overnight base. Strong walkers could manage the circuit in a single day, no doubt, but the two adjacent glens are so delightful that they ought to be treated with the respect they deserve. On a one-day circuit there would be little time available to enjoy them both at leisure, and some landscapes are just too good to race through.

      Bourg d’Arud is served by bus from Bourg d’Oisans, and the little village would make an admirable base for several days of a walking holiday, as would the smaller hamlet of La Danchère nearby. La Danchère does not have the main valley road passing through, for it sits on a spur of wooded land above the Vénéon and below the entrance to the Lauvitel glen. As such it is a quieter place, attractive and with hotel accommodation. Walkers with their own transport might find it worth considering as a short-stay base in preference to some of the valley-bed villages. Lac Lauvitel is reached in an hour and a half by one of two paths. Above the lake Brêche du Périer (2491m) makes it possible to achieve a crossing to a choice of valley systems lying west and south of the mountain barrier walling the lake, with a very fine circuit of two or three days’ duration being an obvious challenge.

      Another trail, much less strenuous than that to Lac Lauvitel, descends among lush vegetation to Les Gauchoirs, then continues on the left bank of the Vénéon heading south-west through the steadily-broadening valley. Five kilometres before reaching Bourg d’Oisans, just after passing the Cascade de la Pisse, the Vénéon is swollen by the lesser flow of the Romanche which enters from the right and gives its name to the valley thereafter.

      Bourg d’Oisans

      For a small town Bourg d’Oisans is a busy place on a site very much seen as the gateway to the Écrins massif, for it serves as a funnel linking the rest of France with the National Park. Downstream the Romanche swings in a south-westerly arc before correcting its course and joining forces with the Isère in Grenoble, the city from which fan out all routes of access to the various corners of Dauphiné. Buses ply the route from Grenoble to Bourg d’Oisans, and from there a brutal twist of hairpins takes a road to the ski resort of Alpe d’Huez on the edge of the Grandes Rousses, which still carry a covering of snow throughout the summer. Another heads upstream into the Romanche valley proper by way of the Gorges de l’Infernet, Le Freney d’Oisans, the dammed Lac du Chambon, La Grave and Villar d’Arêne, and finally departs by way of the Col du Lautaret (2057m). While views from the col are very fine, especially to Pic Gaspard and La Meije, the higher Col du Galibier (2642m) provides additional interest as from it, not only can many of the major peaks of the Écrins be seen to advantage, but northward rise the Vanoise mountains, and far off even Mont Blanc is evident on the proverbial clear day.

      The Romanche Valley

      The Romanche forms the most northerly moat to the central block of the Écrins massif, and may be considered one of the most important of the whole region. It does not rise at Col du Lautaret, but in a glen further south below the Glacier de la Plate des Agneaux and between the peaks of La Grande Ruine and Roche Faurio. Soon after its birth it is joined in the Plan de Valfourche by the first of its many tributaries, the Torrent du Clot des Cavales. This stream comes out of its own lovely glen carved between the block of La Grande Ruine and the southern flanks of La Meije, here given additional character by the summits of Le Pavé and the tower of Pic Gaspard.