Guest Book

The Webmaster replies:

Thank you for your kind comments, and I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed the area.

I'm sorry to hear about your minor epic on the Grand Som, and I will check with someone who has done the route recently about whether the 'Evocations et Empreintes' route has been 'de-signposted'.

The Webmaster writes:

This is just to say that the site has recently undergone a major update.

1. A new route has been added to the Grande Sure (Rocher de Lorzier - strongly recommended).

2. The route up Charmant Som from la Diat has been modified so that the descent now follows the path below the cliffs of the Arête de Bérard - an improvement.

3. More photographs have been added, and most are now displayed with a width of 600 pixels, rather than 500 pixels.

4. Many minor modifications have been made.

The PDF files have also been updated.

The Webmaster replies:

Thank you for your kind words. You are indeed very fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

The Webmaster replies:

It's not a silly question at all!

Be warned that Chartreuse is not that an easy place to drive into and out of, so do allow yourself a bit of time for the drive. But I suggest that you drive through the massif from south to north, from Voreppe to Chambery. This will allow you to travel through the spectacular Guiers Mort Gorge, through the village of St. Pierre de Chartreuse, and from there to St. Pierre d'Entremont. Here you can go east into the Cirque de St. Meme, which is a beautiful location. There is a wonderful hike past some splendid waterfalls, and if you have time, you can visit the springs from which the river issues and the entrance to the Guiers Vif cave.

A brief description of the location may be found at: http://www.braemoor.co.uk/chartreuse/aulpduseuil/aulpduseuil.shtml.

A description of the route (with photos) may be found at: http://www.braemoor.co.uk/chartreuse/aulpduseuil/habertdame.shtml.

Note the latter route goes on to visit the tops, whereas you would return down an easy track having visited the waterfalls.

From St. Pierre d'Entremont, continue your drive to the north past the magnificent northern face of Mont Granier (http://www.braemoor.co.uk/chartreuse/photos/graniercliffs.shtml) and down into Chambery. You can pick up the autoroute to Geneva.

I hope this helps.

The Webmaster replies:

Thank you for your message. Both the walks require a little scrambling (only about four metres high, but quite steep), so you need to be prepared for that, and you should also make sure that you go round the way I recommend (i.e. UP the climbs). Chamechaude via the Jardin isn't dangerous - but there is a 200 metre section of path with a steep drop on the right, so you should have a reasonable head for heights. The path is quite wide, and there is no objective danger.

If you are agile, and can cope with heights, then you would enjoy both trips, but I would probably recommend the Jardin route as being the most fun. I suggest that you take a copy of my route description with you, to avoid any navigation difficulties.

Have a great holiday.

The Webmaster replies:

I do hope that you have an excellent holiday. I suggest that you start with the the tour of the Grande Sure valley, followed by the suggested walk on Mont Outhéran. The former is a very straight forward walk which will test out your new hips, and the other involves a little easy scrambling. If you have no difficulty with these, then you will be able to manage most of the other walks - at least those up to "Difficulty 2".