Mont Vallonet, from Gimillan

Introduction

Mont Vallonet is located south of Col Vallonet on the long ridge that, acting as a watershed between the Grauson and Saint-Marcel valleys, starts at Pointe de Laval and arrives at Pointe de Leppe. The stretch up to Lac Corona is on a well-trodden path with normal gradients, but beyond this the path disappears and it is necessary to follow the few stone cairns that indicate a very steep path, at first on grassy ridges that then give way to mobile scree and fine detritus. The short ridge, although it includes a few exposed sections, does not present any difficulty. The panorama to the north is precluded by the nearby imposing Pointe de Leppe, while from east to west we are in the presence of all the peaks and valleys from the Matterhorn to the Gran Paradiso, as far as the nearby Pic Garin with the Lac de Lussert below.

Description

From the car park, do not enter the village, but turn right onto a tarmac road and after a few metres you will find the starting points for the itinerary next to a large board with the area's paths. One briefly climbs up the pastures above the markers and reaches a dirt road that one follows for a few dozen metres and then, at about the height of a small church located a little lower down, one abandons it to take the path that branches off to the right and heads into a wood. The path, initially level, passes a small votive chapel and then reaches the crossroads for Tchezeu (1918m), where it continues straight ahead over an area of debris and landslide boulders. Shortly afterwards, go down a few metres and you will come to a bridge that you cross to start climbing again, leaving the path to the right of another fork, among the green pastures of the valley that you follow on a gentle slope to its bottom towards a high rocky bastion. Here, with a few hairpin bends passing above the Pila hut (2021m), climb up it again and go round the promontory, passing through a wooded section that passes beside a small plateau where the Crouzet hut (2244m) is located. Rising above the rampart above the hut is a wooden cross and the crossroads post for Lac Money at the start of the beautiful plateau where the Grauson desot (2275m) mountain pasture is situated; You pass to the right of the houses, without crossing the little bridge, and reach a bridge, which you now have to cross, and then climb up to the left of the stream to just above the fork for Pas des Invergneaux, whose path you leave to the right, to take the path to Grauson damon on the left. After a few wide hairpin bends, you reach the alpine pasture and, still following the indications of a little post, turn right with the path that, after skirting a small grassy promontory, enters a small valley and, having passed a puddle of water, makes another hairpin bend and at the end of the short traverse you reach the beautiful Lac Coronas (2702 m) from which, on the left, you can see the imposing mass of our destination. Go around the lake indifferently to the right or left until you come to a rock with a yellow arrow, where the path begins to descend; from this point there will no longer be a path and you will have to climb on sight, however, following some providential stone cairns. From the rock, you must locate a little stone cairn high up on the ridge that descends to the left of a rocky promontory and, without an obligatory path, you reach it laboriously by climbing the steep grassy slope. One walks along the ridge, aiming for the scree that descends from Col Vallonet, located to the left of the summit, and then crosses an area of erratic boulders where the slope eases a little. This brings us to the base of the steep scree slope, where another cairn of stones can be spotted; the ascent is made on a shaky track that climbs practically without hairpin bends and is really tiring both because of the slope and the fine, mobile debris that makes progression very difficult (one step forward and half back). When you reach the scenic Col Vallonet (3062m), turn sharply to the right to climb up a short rocky prominence, which you overcome on some steep scree on the side of Saint-Marcel just below the ridge line; the route now runs partly along the ridge, which becomes a little wider, and partly below the line of it on the Grauson side, and you reach an anticima (3081m). Beyond it you can see, a few tens of metres to the south, the summit of Monta Vallonet where, passing on the detritus of the ridge which is now more walkable and a short passage a little exposed on the steep scree on the west side, you reach it in a few minutes and where you will find a little stone cairn.