From Chabournéou to Vallonpierre on the Minister's footpath

Description

Footpaths, odours, summits and a 360° view... This circuit walk first takes you to the Cabournéou refuge, then the Vallonpierre one by the Minister's footpath. "From Le Crépon, the Sirac catches the eye. It is there like an insurmountable barrier that the sun hopelessly tries to straddle. This summit draws us to it. Before heading to brush up against it by walking at its feet, you will be absorbed by the large variety of flora, and carried along by the song of birds from up there. North, South, East, West. This accessible walk covers all directions to ensure delight with every step. " Régis Jordana, warden in the Valgaudemar area From the car park, take the footpath that goes down the Gioberney stream and cross the bridge. From there, follow the signs for "Refuge du Chabournéou". It is situated at an altitude of 1998 m, and takes about two hours to walk to. Behind the building, you will find the start of the footpath leading to the Vallonpierre refuge (1-hour walk). The now rocky path leads across the foot of the Sirac mountain, amidst silky alpine grey willows. After a short steep stretch, where you will need to be careful, you will reach a grassy plateau "Le Pré" on which you will find the Vallonpierre refuge at an altitude of 2271 m. Once you have made the most of the place, the return trip will take about an hour 45 minutes. To do so, go back slightly to join up with the GR54 trail. After going round the bends of the glacial cross-cliff on the way down, you will get to the "Pré de Surette" and its hut where a footbridge will take you across the Séveraisse stream. Cross another footbridge over the Pis stream. 300 m from here, you will reach the Minister's footpath that leads back to the car park directly.

Difficulty

Official rating: moderate, by Parc national des Écrins.

Before you go

• The last 15 metres or so before reaching the plateau where the Vallonpierre is situated are somewhat high but this is the only difficulty on the walk. NB. It is also possible to do the return walk by continuing along the GR54 up to the old hamlet of Clot and its pastoral hut. You will then need to climb back 80 m up the glacial cross-cliff to easily reach the car park.

Getting there

Start: Parking du Crépon, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudémar (05).

Sources

• Track: Parc national des Écrins, Licence Ouverte 2.0, Licence Ouverte 2.0 (Etalab) (destination.ecrins-parcnational.fr/trek/920057-De-Chabourneou-a-Vallonpierre-par-le-sentier-du-Ministre). Time estimated by GPX Path with the Mac app rule, breaks not included.
• Official elevation gain: 863 m, Parc national des Écrins