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Grand tour des Ecrins

An extensive and varied All Mountain VTTAE route around the Ecrins massif

Grand tour des Ecrins

An extensive and varied All Mountain VTTAE route around the Ecrins massif

Finely crafted tours by
and for practitioners
New

Here's a fairly recent All Mountain itinerary in the Hautes Alpes, which gives pride of place to singles and high altitude trails. Starting with classics such as the Emparis plateau and finishing in less-frequented areas such as the Valgaudemar, this route takes you through a variety of landscapes, including hedged farmland, lakes, rivers and glaciers....

Refined for the practice of the VTTAE, sprinkled with a few bonuses here and there, we offer you an original crossing that should delight lovers of long-distance adventure,...

8 days
On the move
All Mountain
Confirmed?

1390 €

8 days
On the move
All Mountain
Confirmed?

1390 €

your tailor-made trip

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Highlights
  • Varied landscapes and atmospheres on both sides of the mountains
  • A refined course for the VTTAE
  • Logistics on departure and arrival & Luggage transfer for a complete itinerary
  • Repair and cleaning station available in the evening
  • Supervision by a High Alpine VTTAE guide who knows his garden well
How to join us for this trip

Details of this service

Warming up to the Ecrins

Once the bikes are ready, the pack has been calibrated in the rucksack backpack and the battery secured, we quickly left the hustle and bustle of the tourist town of Bourg d'Oisans to head for the village of Besse head for the village of Besse at the foot of the Emparis plateau d'Emparis, one of the region's classic all-mountain classics in the area. Via a scenic route that winds winding between little-travelled roads, tracks and singletracks, this is the start of our adventure... And for those of you who have and ready to climb an extra 700m of ascent, there's a lovely a beautiful descent at the end of the day... the end of the day... Night in a gîte Approximately 25kms & 1200 D+ climb

Crossing the Emparis plateau & Ascencion du Lautaret

It's a beautiful day we're having today. it's not every day that we find ourselves facing the 4000 of the Ecrins... The Meije and its glaciers loom up in front of us, while we're already we're already in an idyllic spot on the edge of a high-altitude lake. lake. After a good dose of contemplation, it's time for the descent. the descent, which turned out to be as smooth and exhilarating as you could wish for. Motivated, we set off to find another high altitude viewpoint for our lunch break. with the Arsine glaciers as a backdrop, inviting us to explore... backdrop, inviting us to explore... We then headed for the Col du Lautaret to into the Briançonnais region and continue downhill along the river the river and the botanical garden to reach our accommodation... Night in a gîte / Approximately 45kms & 1900 D+.

En route to Vallouise, in the heart of the Ecrins massif

Depending on our accommodation, we have two options for the morning. the morning. Take a high altitude single, which which will obviously use up a bit of battery power, or follow the canals along the canals, taking fast, flowing singles through the undergrowth. a smoother start to the morning. We then climb the old town of Briancon and then it's a long ride under the then a long traverse under the pincers of MontBrison towards the Vallouise valley towards the Vallouise valley that awaits us, in order to enter the heart of at the end of the day, in the heart of the Ecrins National Park... Overnight in a gîte / Approx. 45kms & 1900 D+.

From valley to valley on the edge of the Ecrins

After a quick stop at the market, if we're lucky enough to be there leave this haven of peace to head for the Durance valley on one of the most the Durance valley along one of the region's most bucolic itineraries the region. Alternating forest tracks variety of playful singles, isolated passes passing through typical Alpine villages... Wild picnics with your feet in the water in the in the heart of the Fournel nature reserve? before heading off to the heights of the heights of the Guillestrois, or even the fort of Mont Dauphin fort... Overnight in a comfortable gîte / Approximately 50kms & 2000 D+.

Great atmosphere in the Durance valley

From Guillestre, the Guil from Queyras swells the Durance riverbed river bed of the Durance and continues its course further down into the the lake of serre poncon. Mont Guillaume, which dominates the town of Embrun marks the southern boundary of the Parc National des Écrins National Park. We skirt around it, following beautiful paths and trails, adding a few well-marked paths laid out by local by local mountain-biking enthusiasts, then we turn due west towards the head due west towards Réallon, a small perched hamlet where we'll find our gîte for the night... Overnight in a gîte / Approx. 50kms & 2100 D+.  

Head for the land of the Tourton!

As we are at a slightly lower altitude, we recommend a cool we recommend a cool start to avoid the midday heat... the heat of the middle of the day... Typically XC All Mountain, this stage is stage is marked by a longer distance but a smaller but less ascent. A fine gravel track leads gently downhill to the Col de Moissière towards the Col de Moissière, the turning-off point for the Champsaur, a completely a completely different atmosphere, a completely different landscape... Between ancient canals and riverbanks, the terrain lends itself perfectly to a high high cadence, with endless relaunches on the exit of bends in cross-country mode through the undergrowth... just to get to the first to the St Bonnet lake to order the ice-creams Italian style... Overnight in a comfortable B&B / Around 70kms & 1500 D+

Remote valleys of Valgaudemar

The early morning mist in the valley and the aches and pains now could tempt us to sleep in, but given the day ahead and the day ahead and the bucolic setting of our evening gîte in the our gîte for the evening in the Entraigues valley, we didn't take long to hit the road... It's a very rural area in this part of the crossing. part of the route. alternating forest tracks and forest tracks and rather strenuous singles, this section is completely completely different in terms of vegetation and atmosphere. contrary to what it says on the paper. The heat is very much in evidence at the bottom of the valley and the gradients so a break in a restaurant is often welcome to recharge your batteries! to recharge your batteries! Overnight in comfortable B&B accommodation / Approximately 50kms & 2000 D+ / Recharge your batteries at lunchtime

Final stage to Bourg d'Oisans!

On the last day of our tour, we really deserved to take it easy in the morning. morning after all that effort, so that we could take full advantage of the valleys and villages at the end of the world before returning to civilisation. villages at the end of the world before returning to civilisation. stop along the way for a coffee at the foot or top of the pass or at the top of the pass, before tackling the final stretch and the great down through the fir trees towards Bourg d'Oisans. The legs will undoubtedly be tired, but the adventurers will be tired, but the adventurers will be sated and we hope delighted by this tour, which brings together in one place the atmosphere, culture and and landscapes of the northern High Alps.

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