From La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar to the Refuge de l'Olan (Stage on the GR54 walking path)

limite du parc sous le refuge de l'Olan - Olivier Warluzelle

La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar

7. From La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar to the Refuge de l'Olan (Stage on the GR54 walking path)

History and architecture

Panorama

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A challenging ascent amidst rocky terrain on a variant of the GR&reg54 graced by a few water courses.

Continuing the ascent will take you up into the heights where you will be rewarded with a spectacular view over the Valgaudemar valley and the southern faces of the Olan (3,564 m).

Description

At La Chapelle en Valgaudemar, take the local road (D480), continue past the post office and then near the National Park Centre. After the campsite, the road crosses the Séveraisse river.

Stay on the road and cross a mountain stream.
Immediately on the left, a path leads upwards following the banks of this stream. Take this path and start the ascent with some winding sections among the screes and go on to cross a heather moor. The view gradually opens up onto the Navette valley and the hamlet of Les Portes which lies opposite.
Cross a stream and then, a few dozen metres further on, at an intersection take the upward-winding path on the right. You reach the montane zone among alpine grasslands, offering a view over the village of La Chapelle and the Refuge de l'Olan. Nearby, an old concrete slab testifies to the passage of an avalanche in the 1950s.

Departure : La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar
Arrival : Refuge de l'Olan
Towns crossed : La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar

5 points of interest

La cascade de Combefroide - Olivier Warluzelle - PNE
Water
Combefroide Waterfall
At the beginning of the path, is a big waterfall that you can approach on a narrow footpath just before climbing the coast. Situated on Combefroide torrent at a rocky escarpment, this waterfall has several projections and presents a total drop of several dozen metres.
Callune vulgaire - Daniel Roche - PNE
Flora
Heather fields
Over a change in altitude of a hundred metres there is a covering of heather which provides pollen for the bees and purple colour in Autumn, A small persistent shrub with tiny leaves and little pink flowers, it is called Common Heather or False Heather.
Passerelle franchissant la gorge de la Bourelle - Dominique Vincent - PNE
Geology and geography
Bourelle Gorge
Since the end of the ice age, water has carved the rock and the passage of materials has created a small gorge polishing the base rock (gneiss, micaschists). The National Park has taken on the challenge of building a wooden walkway for walkers to cross this gorge.
Vernacular heritage
Jas crossing of the Bourelle
Just above the signpost, there are the ruins of a pasture shelter commonly called the, « jas ». Often built using dry stones, this kind of shelter was used to protect the flocks during the summer season.
Façade du refuge de l'Olan - Claude Dautrey - PNE
Hut
Olan Refuge
Situated at an altitude of 2350 m, this large building constructed in 1957 was carried away by an avalanche two years later. A witness to this is a concrete slab below the refuge. Rebuilt in 1966, it was definitively extended in 1978 with a capacity of 54 places. A stage of the Tour de l'Oisans (GR 54), it welcomes hikers in the summer season and provides a shelter in the winter; it belongs to the Club Alpin Français.