Chamrousse France

Chamrousse 1650

We had a slow day today driving just 54km.It was a lovely drive down from the Col de Porte into the valley where the big city of Grenoble is strategically situated. 

We have been past here numerous times and although we are sure there are some interesting things to see and do in the city, we skirt around the edge and continue on without stopping to our destination, Chamrousse. A popular ski resort with 2 villages Chamrousse 1650 (Le Recoin) and Chamrousse 1750 (La Roche Béranger). We get maps on the hikes from my favourite place - the tourist office. 

We spot these being sold in the hiking shop…all I can say is that it must get very cold up here. Hehe

We park up in the free aire at 1650. 

We plan to do the highly recommended walk at the Cross de Chamrousse which is at 2250m alt. Easily accessible via a chair lift. Unfortunately a storm with heavy rain prevents us from going up. Although late in the afternoon the skies did clear up we decide to go tomorrow morning allowing us more time. 

Clear view of the valley below from the village.

Might be an Aussi somewhere up here…

Chamrousse 2250

The skies were clear up above this morning but there were rising clouds from the valley below that threatened a possible whiteout. By 9:15 we were still in the clear so we bought our tickets (€12.50 each return) for the gondola ride to Chamrousse 2250m/ La Croix de Chamrousse. 

At the top the cross stands proudly. 

There are a few different trails for hikes and bikes the head off from here. 

We start with walking over the suspension bridge to a lookout with views over the Robert lakes.

We double back over the bridge and make our way to the lookout over the Oisans. 

Our last lookout was over Grenoble which unfortunately the mountains in this direction were still covered in cloud. Luckily we took a few shots from the village the day before.

At 11am we returned down back to bluey and bought a baguette for lunch later.

We used the service point before we left and headed down towards Laffrey. The ‘short cut’ was a tad narrow but thankfully we only came across a handful of cars. 

We finally hit the N85/Routes de Napoleon which we followed until Corps. As we descend in altitude the temperature goes up, so once again our aim is to find some shade. 85km later we hit the jackpot near the Sources des Gillardes - Shade with a spectacular view. Later we hear rock falls … amazing.