The first twenty meters needed to be downclimbed to get past a fin of rock in the middle of the couloir

After an open section of couloir it then tightened up a bit. It tightened up to about 175cm which was a bit to tight to get through with 190cm skis, and we both had to down climb for about three meters.

After the narrow section and a bit of a dogleg there was a big open section that gave a good view down to the valley floor and an indication of how much more there was to go. There were some foot steps heading down from here, the assumption was that someone must have droped a ski down or something. Not an enviable situation.

after some medium width couloir it then opened out again for a bit and a few large radius turns could be cranked in. But this was only about half way down and there followed a long section full of really nice snow that I couldnt stop on to take pictures before being spat out at the bottom.

Looking back up the line through the rocks was not at all obvoius and I couldnt get the guide book photo that I wanted. The ski back to Pelvoux takes you through the campsite in the closed village of Ailfroide. This place doesnt see much sun in the winter and there was a fair hat of snow on the roofs and phone boxes.

Here is a map of the ski

download it to view in Google Earth

The course was very interesting in parts and I now know a lot more about the legal issues and responsibilities of taking people on the hill, and a lot about how joints and muscles work and how they get damaged. There was a lot about how to motivate people to attain goals as well, not sure how much use that will be with people who already know that they want to get out walking or riding.

As it was all in French it was quite intense, my French was pretty good anyway but by the end of the course it had improved notably simply from being immersed in it all day every day. My head did hurt a bit.

The walk in was pretty long and arduous which might explain why it has never been climbed before, but once we got there it was a beauty of a season opener.

The first pitch was only a small step then a bit of a snow plod. The second was a magnificent wall of vertical ice. The third was a bit less steep to start off with before finishing quite steeply.

The probatoire lasted two full days. Day one started out with a long hike, 27km long with 1800m of height gain, with a rucksack weighing 10kg before adding in food, water and any clothing you might use on the hike. There was a time limit of 6 hours for the hike. Immediately after the hike is a scrambling test. This test involves scrambling up and down around 400m of very steep, technical, rocky terrain without showing any hesitation, without slipping and using your hands as little as possible. This section was graded by a jury with marks out of 20 and any less than 8 eliminating you. The potential for a fall on the section we were on was a good 600m at least. At least it was dry. Over 200 people started out in the morning, the group was trimmed down to 82 after eliminations from the hike and the scramble.

The following day started with orienteering. There were five points to find and a time limit of two hours, I got through in one hour twenty which I was happy with. Out of the 82 who started the orienteering only 26 made it in the 2 hour period. The next stage was an oral exa., Questions covered flora, fauna, geography, geology, weather, and history of the area that you have chosen to exercise your activity in. I was quite worried about this stage as I haven’t previously had a great interest in flora and fauna so had some revision to do before the exam. It went well though and at the end of the day I passed all of the stages, and am now on the course.

The walk leaves the car park at the head of the valley near the old ruins of the former village of Haute-Rua, the village was destroyed by fire during the first world war and because of the shortage of able men around it was never rebuilt and was shortly abandoned.

The path climbs up the north side of the valley through the Scots and Arolla pines. Initially the path climbs at an easy pace but shortly you reach some deep gorges cutting across the path and then there are some sections, not of great difficulty, where cables have been attached to the rocks and a few metal steps have been added to easy the ascent. There is a fantastic lookout point on the side of the path during this first climb but it is only for the sure of foot. A little rocky outcrop accessed by a narrow ledge with huge drops on either side.

After exiting the forest the climb slackens off notably and the path starts to contour back towards Guillestre. On coming around a corner on the crete d’Agnes you are suddenly confronted by a number of the largest Larch you have ever seen. Torn and battered by the harsh environment these impressive trees stand among the charred ruins of their kin, destroyed by the frequent lightening that strikes this ridge.

From here the path descends to the cabanes de Cugulet where shepherds still spend the summer looking after their sheep in the high mountains. After a short climb, once again in the forest, you arrive at the summit of ‘Combe Chauve’ where there is a small metal cross, a large wooden one and a statue in the pink marble of Guilleste of the Virgin Mary looking out over the town of Guillestre and its environs. Stop a moment here to look at the views, to the north the Ecrins range can easily be seen with its jagged peaks and glaciers, to the south west the Lac Serre Poncon and the hills of Provence and to the east the Queyras is laid out before you.

The neighbouring summit of ‘Cugulet’ though slightly higher doesn’t offer anything else in terms of view and can be passed by a path on its southern flank. All that is left now is the airy crete de Cugulet leading up the final 300m to the Pic d’Escreins. Although the peak looks like a rocky tower there is actually a path all the way to the top and once there the views are spectacular.

There is enough rocky cover to protect you from any wind up on the summit and it is a fantastic place to have your picnic before the descent back to your car. You can descend directly to the west down the crete d’Agnes picking up the trail above the cabanes de Cugulet and then back the same way to the valley below. If you are in season stop at the refuge Basse Rua for a some welcome refreshment before returning to your car.

Here is a map of the walk

download it to view in Google Earth

The descent from here starts on long fast sections of singletrack with the odd hairpin here and there out in the open well above the tree line. After about 400m of descent you hit the treeline and there are some fast flowing sections cushioned with pine needles that take you down into the steeper section of the valley where the riding becomes a bit more technical and the drops become a bit more noticeable.

The following sections can all be accessed by driving up to the Cabane du Bois Durat and it can be seen on the trail that it is well ridden, the corners are banked up and the trees crossing the trail have all been nicely cut out of the way. This last 600m of descending is fast, flowing and exciting. Best ridden hard on the tail of someone you can just keep up with or trying to get ahead of your main sparring partner.

As you get spat out at the bottom you are drowned by the shrieks and hollers of your fellow riders glorying in an awesome descent.

Once at the Col there are breathtaking views over the Queyras and over into Italy, well there would normally be, we were in the clouds and could see nothing.

The first section of the descent is great fast singletrack with flowing corners and the odd drainage ditch. The path then steepens a bit and gets more rocky before dropping you out onto a fire road some 1000m below the col, this fire road plus a bit of tarmac take you through the village of Gaudissart and back onto the singletrack. For nearly 10k’s the track then traverses round the hillside with short descents followed by little climbs.

Then finally you get to the descent to aiguilles which is an amazing set of switchbacks, tight but not so tight that they are not flowing, that seem to drop for ever before spitting you out at the village in the heart of the Queyras.

Here is a map of the ride

download it to view in Google Earth

There was some 250m of climbing from the cabane up to the col about a third of which was rideable, a third you could push the bike and a third needed the bike carrying. Don’t take a heavy bike on this route.
The top of the col is a great vantage point with views to the Morgon massif in the south and the Ecrins and Brianconnais to the north.

The descent started off on a steep technical ridge with the Durance valley right down below our right elbows. This was the start of 2 hours descending over 1600m, nearly all of which was amazing single track. The track passed through a large boulder field before heading into a large alpine meadow and then into some fantastic wooded singletrack with a set of switchbacks that just went on for ever.

After these there was more fast single track traversing back under the cliffs we had just gone along the top of, before popping out onto a fire road for a bit of a climb before another section of fast singletrack that cut back under the crags at Ponteil.

A hundred meters up the tarmac through Ponteil then put us on a really steep technical section dropping some 500m back down to the valley floor.

Here is a map of the ride

download it to view in Google Earth

There are two different areas server by three lifts, the areas are not open at the same time and the area accessed from the two chairs out of St Marie is by far the best for freeride with 1000m of descent as opposed to the 400m up at the other lift. Also from the chairs out of St Marie it would be possible to put together a number of descents back to the Chateau with around 1600m of descent.

If it is full on DH you are after then the telecabine out of Les Claux is the place to be with the World Cup course set by Cristian Talliefier, and a number of other good trails to ride.

Here is a map of the routes that I rode

download it to view in Google Earth

After the initial tough climb the trail gets a bit easier with a short steep descent to some mountain pastures full of cows followed by a long fast descent through the Bois de Bourrels. After this there is about 100m of climbing again of which about half can be ridden and the rest is a push.

The trail then traverses along great singletrack through spectacular scenery all the way across to the col Fromage. Up above the col Fromage on a knife edge ridge with no easy access at all (the paths on the map show as dotted lines signalling scrambling) is a fairly large stone building which must have the most fantastic vista over the whole area. The building was built in 1900 by the military as an optical morse code signalling station.

From the col there is an awesome 10k of descent that drops you nearly 900m back down to the car. The trail alternates between fast flowing single track and the odd section of steeper more technical terrain but it is all rideable and it is all downhill.

Back in the little village of Montbardon perched on the hillside above the Guil Gorge there is a gite called Au Cadran Solaire which is a highly recommended place to eat.

Here is a map of the ride

download it to view in Google Earth