refuge. A mini French/English dictionary or phrasebook may help with communication.
A Swiss Army knife or equivalent will provide a sharp blade for cutting (bread and salami, for example), a pair of scissors, a can opener and a corkscrew (although remember not to pack it in your hand luggage when boarding an aircraft). A tiny sewing kit will allow minor repairs to gear. A compact, lightweight pair of binoculars is a luxury item that will be greatly appreciated in this scenic mountain country, and for observing the wildlife (such as marmots and chamois). Few would contemplate the walk without taking along a camera.
Neither an ice-axe nor crampons should be necessary in the summer months, although the possibility of freak weather covering the high passes with snow and ice can never be ruled out (and remember that in some years snow and ice can be late clearing from high passes). Outside the main summer months, an ice-axe and crampons would be essential items of equipment.
Maps
The official mapping agency in France, the Institut Geographique National (IGN), the equivalent of Britain’s Ordnance Survey, produces the following maps, which are of use to those walking the Tour of the Queyras.
1 IGN Carte de Randonnée 1:25 000
Three maps are required to cover the entire route of the Tour described in this guidebook.
Sheet 3637 OT. Mont Viso (St-Véran – Aiguilles). Parc Naturel Régional du Queyras.
Sheet 3537 ET. Guillestre – Vars – Risoul. Parc Naturel Régional du Queyras.
Sheet 3536 OT. Briançon – Serre-Chevalier – Montgenèvre. Only a very small part of the Tour is shown on this map.
All the 1:25 000 IGN maps are of excellent quality and are highly recommended.
The sheer rock face of Pic d’Asti from the summit of Le Pain de Sucre (excursion from Refuge Agnel)
2 IGN 1:60 000
Sheet 06. Queyras – Ubaye. This map covers the whole of the Tour du Queyras and also includes the Tour of Monte Viso.
These maps can be bought from specialist map shops in the UK as well as local and main city outlets in France (see Appendix 3).
Each stage in this guidebook is illustrated by a diagrammatic map of the route.
Waymarking and Navigation
Mountain trails in Europe are generally waymarked more thoroughly than the mountain paths of Britain. Most of the footpaths used in this Tour are part of the GR network, and as such are waymarked with a system of red and white painted stripes. These occur, usually in a horizontal position with white above red, on rocks, boulders, trees, posts, fences, telegraph poles, etc. The standard of waymarking in the Queyras is generally very good, and most of the paths are distinct and easy to follow. The walker should not continue too far without seeing another red and white waymark. If a waymark is not encountered for some time, it is likely that the wrong path has been taken.
In a few areas the waymarking is not particularly easy to follow. The section between the Col des Thures and Col du Malrif, north of Abriès on the alternative route of Stage 8, requires some care to avoid losing the waymarks. Also, the waymarking on the Italian side of the border tends at times to be inferior to that in France. In this guidebook the route description is particularly detailed in areas where there may be difficulty in following the route.
Remember too that paint waymarking fades with time, and so a route that was once easy to follow may be less so if the waymarking has not been renewed for several years. Conversely, at the time of your visit an area that was once poorly waymarked may be much easier to navigate if the waymarking has since been refreshed.
In the GR waymarking system various arrangements of red and white lines are used to signify different instructions. When two sets of red/white marks appear together, this signifies that a change in direction is imminent. This instruction is also sometimes indicated by the use of curved red and white markings, pointing towards the new direction to be taken. The painted cross, usually of one red and one white line, is an important one to remember – it signals that the route is not in that direction; go back to pick up the correct trail. Very occasionally a red and white mark bisected by another white line may be seen. This does not necessary mean that a mistake has been made, but rather that the route is a variant of the main GR trail.
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