from the summit of Pic du Malrif nearby.
Both routes having joined at the col the way now descends into a surprisingly lush glen with trees, meadows and streams softening the landscape after the pseudo-wilderness experienced a little earlier. In this haven of peace sits the little hamlet of Les Fonds de Cervières and its gîte.
Stage nine is a short one, requiring little more than a morning’s walk to reach Souliers across the 2629 metre Col de Péas, and it would be quite feasible to continue as far as Brunissard the same day should you be running short of time. But the occasional short and easy stage slipped into a multi-day circuit such as this, is no bad thing and will have a value all its own. Those with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm will not be short of ideas to fill the day, either on this or tomorrow’s stage.
Souliers to Montdauphin-Guillestre
Between Souliers and Brunissard a diversion to Lac de Souliers and Pic Ouest is recommended, although you’ll need good weather to make a visit worthwhile. Without straying to these stage ten becomes an even shorter one than yesterday’s, and again, for those running short of time, it could be added to the next stage which leads for a second visit to Refuge de Furfande, albeit the approach is from a different direction.
A possible alternative to the GR58 route from Brunissard to Refuge de Furfande would be to follow the GR5 north from Brunissard over the rim of the Queyras district at Col des Ayes, and down from there to Briançon, from whose railway station trains depart for Lyon or Vallence. Remaining true to the spirit of the Tour du Queyras, however, for this penultimate stage we take the trail heading down-valley along the steep right flank (west side) along a forest track. Much of this stage is among trees, but the final climb to Col de Furfande (2500m) is through open country above the Bois du Devez. A dirt road also leads to the col which is marked by a large wooden cross. From it you look directly down into the lovely basin of Furfande, and on the descent it is important to bear left at a junction of trails, the alternative here being GR541, the route used on stage one from Montdauphin-Guillestre.
For the final day’s walking on this tour a number of options are available. The first is to wander the main GR58 to Ceillac, and take the bus from there to Montdauphin-Guillestre for the journey home – but this would mean walking a section already followed on day two. The second option would reverse our initial stage one across Col St-Antoine and Col du Moussière – no bad thing since views would be quite different to those experienced on the way in. But the third alternative is that which the guidebook recommends. It returns to Montdauphin-Guillestre by way of the grassy Col Garnier (2279m), then down to woodland overlooking the Combe de Queyras before coming to the ruins of Les Girards and the hamlet of Gros on the way to the Durance valley; a mostly downhill walk of about six hours with the sun in your face.
| Day 1: | Montdauphin-Guillestre – Col de Moussière – Col St-Antoine – Refuge de Furfande | |
| Day 2: | Refuge de Furfande – Col de Bramousse – Ceillac | |
| Day 3: | Ceillac – Col des Estronques – St-Véran | |
| Day 4: | St-Véran – Col de St-Véran – Pic de Caramantran – Col de Chamoussière – Refuge Agnel | |
| or: | St-Véran – Col de Chamoussière – Refuge Agnel | |
| Day 5: | Refuge Agnel – Col Agnel – Passo della Losetta – Pointe Joanne – Col de Valante – Refuge du Balif-Viso | |
| or: | Refuge Agnel – Col Agnel – Passo della Losetta – Pointe Joanne – Rifugio Vallanta | |
| Day 6: | Refuge du Balif-Viso – Col Sellière – Col Lacroix – La Monta | |
| or: | Refuge du Balif-Viso – Col Sellière – Monte Granero – Rifugio Jervis | |
| or: | Rifugio Vallanta – Passo Gallarino – Rifugio Sella | |
| Day 7: | La Monta – Collette de Gilly – Col d’Urine – Abriès | |
| or: | Rifugio Jervis – Tête du Pelvas – Col d’Urine – Abriès | |
| or: | Rifugio Sella – Col de la Traversette – Refuge du Balif-Viso | |
| Day 8: | Abriès – Col du Malrif – Les Fonds de Cervières | |
| or: | Abriès – Le Roux – Col des Thures – Col de Rasis – Col du Malrif – Les Fonds de Cervières | |
| Day 9: | Les Fonds de Cervières – Col de Péas – Souliers | |
| Day 10: | Souliers – Col du Tronchet – Lac de Souliers – Pic Ouest – Brunissard | |
| Day 11: | Brunissard – Col de Furfande – Refuge de Furfande | |
| Day 12: | Refuge de Furfande – Col Garnier – Montdauphin-Guillestre |
The south face of La Meije dominates the upper Vallon des Etançons
Massif des Écrins
At the very hub of Dauphiné, midway between the Queyras and Vercors, rise the mountains of the Massif des Écrins, variously known as the Massif du Pelvoux or l’Oisans, a relatively compact, yet complex region, much of which is protected by national park status. On its periphery a few hideous ski centres have been built, but elsewhere the peaks, passes and valleys represent a wild and seemingly little-developed refuge of Alpine beauty. Rich in wild flowers this wonderland of savage, shapely mountains and extensive ridge systems contains steep little glens with an undeniable charm all their own. High passes, some of which are accessible to walkers, cross these ridges to link the glens and the valleys they feed, while in those valleys few villages provide more than the most basic of amenities. Those that do have largely managed to avoid compromising their intrinsic character.
The two highest mountains are the Barre des Écrins (4102m), the most southerly 4000 metre summit in the Alps, which lends its name to the whole area, and the famous Meije (3982m), the last major Alpine peak to be climbed. Although they may be only about 10 kilometres apart, between them a chaos of glaciers and snowfields forms a girdle round a group of attendant peaks, such as Roche Faurio, La Grande Ruine, Pic Gaspard, Le Pave and the western extension of the Meije’s bold profile, Le Rateau. Their glaciers may not be quite as extensive as those of the Pennine or Bernese Alps, nor as well-known to the general tourist as some of the ice-sheets of the Mont Blanc range, but their significance to the quality of the scenery is considerable.
Writing about the area in his Histoire des Hautes-Alpes, J. C. F. Ladoucette found it difficult to contain his enthusiasm:
Filled with high mountains, rearing their heads as if to reach to heaven, crowned with glaciers, and fissured with immense chasms, where lie the eternal snows guarded by bare and rugged cliffs; offering the most varied sights, and enjoying all temperatures; and containing everything that is most curious and interesting, the most simple and the most sublime, the most smiling and the most severe, the most beautiful and the most awful; such is the department of the High Alps.
La Meije towers above the village of La Grave near the northern
