Not far from the Orcières (Gap) station, there is a small quiet valley which is ideal for snowshoeing in winter... A winding road will take you to the village of Prapic where the route starts from. If we arrive at the end of the day, we can spend the night in the stopover lodge en gestion libre au village. À pied d’oeuvre pour commencer cette randonnée raquettes sur deux jours à Prapic ! Et si vous n’avez pas encore de raquettes, je vous conseille de directement buy them instead of renting them: your investment will be profitable in a few days of hiking...
From the village, follow the path which gently climbs into the Drac valley. The start is relatively flat and ideal for admiring the landscape on snowshoes. Then we cross a steeper glacial barrier to arrive at the Saulce chapel. Beware of avalanches in this passage in years when snow is abundant!
We pass next to the du Laire jump, which can be admired from a small bridge. Continue to the bottom of the valley and finally climb very steeply up to the bar hut. Celle-ci est un bâti dont le berger laisse l’étage supérieur à disposition des randonneurs. Pas d’endroit pour faire de feu, mais le fait d’être à l’étage isole déjà plutôt bien du froid. C’est l’endroit que nous avons choisi pour passer la nuit dans nos sleeping bags -5 degrees.
For those who haven't had their fill of hiking, you can take a short walk on the adjoining plateau which is magnificent at sunset. The most courageous can take an extra day to attempt an ascent to Mourre Froid at 3000 m. From a distance the route seemed quite doable to me… However, there is a world of difference between seeing the route from afar and being on site, so be careful!
Après une nuit ressourçant en altitude (ou pas pour ceux qui n’ont pas pu dormir à cause du froid…), on peut continuer la randonnée en direction de la cabane de Vallon Cros. Encore une fois, nous avons parcouru ce chemin sans problème car les conditions d’enneigement étaient minimales. Mais il vaut mieux se méfier si la neige est fraîche !
Then follow the bottom of the valley towards the Terce cabins. The place is panoramic and ideal for a picnic! Then go back down along a ridge to the Saut du Laire. All that remains is to follow the route in the opposite direction to return on snowshoes to Prapic. What a beautiful valley is that of the Drac!
If you enjoyed the landscape photographs on this page, feel free to visit the section Pictures. For example, you can order a mountain poster of my photos, which is a good way to support me ;).
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