Chartreuse and Taillefer
This little blog is getting a bit of a boost with the summer holidays, as VLV is back in action. It won’t be very long, as Emile has a wedding in his mother’s family in mid-July. So, we’re going away only for about two weeks and given this limited time, we’ve decided to explore a few spots not too far away.
We start in the Chartreuse massif to try to locate the Roche Percee (Pierced Tower), a double arch rarely located on maps.
1. Our campsite for the first night, beneath the walls of the Chartreuse massif.
2. The next day, at the top of the cliffs after passing the Aup du Seuil.
3. I realize I’ve gone astray and we head back down the quite steep path we took earlier.
As an aside, we continue towards Roche Percee along a faint path beneath the cliffs and just as we approached the final climb, a thunderstorm caught us by surprise. Coming from behind the cliffs, I hadn’t seen it forming. It take us nearly an hour and a half to get back to the bikes we’d used that morning for the first part of the climb and reach VivaLaVida, soaked to the bone. We return to our campsite from the previous night to dry off and eat after nearly 14 miles and 3,000 m of elevation gain, having missed out on the coveted arch… We’ll be back!
The next day, we travel above Vizille towards Grand-Serre with the intention of exploring the Plateau des Mille Lacs (Thousand lakes Plateau) and in particular Lac Noir and Lac Fourchu. Arriving in the mid-afternoon, we stop at Lac du Poursollet and then go looking for a spot to camp for the night.
4. The following morning, we hike up to the plateau. At the pass, we catch sight of Lac Fourchu..
5. A little further on, the Lac Noir is visited by a flock of sheep, with the Aiguilles d’Arve in the background.
6. Back to Lac Fourchu.
7. Alternative view from our picnic spot…
8. Another perspective…
9. Last look before heading back down.
10. While I plan to discover another arch, we sleep on the heights of the small resort of Grand-Serre.
More to come in a few days… 🙂
D5 Creation
Hello Claude-Alain
Ça fait un baille que je ne suis pas passé par ton blog! Content de reprendre contact et d’admirer tes images qui me donnent toujours des idées de balades. Effectivement je tombe le plus souvent sur la version anglaise, mais c’est un vrai plaisir à lire et de glaner quelques expressions courantes. Je ne pratique presque plus depuis que je suis à la retraite, on perd, c’est affreux 🙁
Amitiés
Fred
Salut Fred,
Sympa de te lire ici !
Aucun souci si tu souhaites lire le blog en anglais, je faisais la remarque à Philippe car je n’ai pas trouvé le moyen d’adresser la newsletter à chacun dans sa langue. L’utilitaire WordPress que j’utilise ne le permet pas…
Rien à voir mais bravo encore pour tes photos de la récente éclipse ! Juste splendides..!
Amitiés et bises à Martine !
Merci Claude Alain! Bises en retour de Martine ainsi qu’à Emile
oh such a rich surprise to have this report..welcome back !
Life isn’t full enough with so many months passing without up dates from you
This one contains such visually stunning sites & my heart & mind quickly connects to images from Yves Roberts gorgeous tale,My Mothers Castle, within the stunning Bastide Neuve
Exciting news concerning me…finally after sixty-five years of life on the same peninsula.I dared to move my life one hundred fifty miles north onto the western Marin peninsula..Point Reyes California. Still with home being Tug.my 24 years of camper truck life on the coast of California
My best to you two..father & son🎐
Hi Steven,
Nice to hear from you.
What a news about your move! What made you decide to move? Hope you will enjoy this new place.
All the best to you and Tug. 🙂
Yes Sir LOL
Bonjour,
content de te relire et de voir , d’admirer tes paysages.
Massif magnifique que j’ai connu que l’hiver et où j’ai commencé à skier à St Piere de Chartreuse.
Taillefer un col célèbre du tour de France.
J’aime beaucoup le reflet de la montagne dans l’eau.
Amic. Philippe
Salut Philippe,
Merci pour ton commentaire.
Si c’est plus confortable, n’oublie pas que le blog est disponible en deux langues : français et anglais. Je ne sais pourquoi, le lien de la newsletter pointe régulièrement sur la version anglaise ; il suffit alors de cliquer sur le petit drapeau français pour aller à la version française… 😉
Amicalement,
Claude-Alain