The Alps are the mountain area where I feel at home. All natural elements are present in the right proportion. Deep valleys with wild water, sloping forests with exuberant vegetation, higher up in the mountains flowery mountain meadows and cliffs grown with succulents and even higher rougher: rock, snow, ice and glacier with here and there romantic lakes. And all this is, with some effort, reachable within three walking hours. Where else can I find this?

The road to Valgaudemar

From Gap, you can reach this valley via the N85. After the hamlet of L'Höpital, take the D16 right towards Saint-Jacques-en-Valgaudemar. You are now in the valley and then take the D985a to La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar. Not that you can drive wrong here, because you are now flanked left and right by mountains up to 3000 meters, where fortunately a man can only move on foot. If you continue straight ahead into the deep valley, you will arrive at a narrow paved road that rises sharply and ends at the chalet-hotel Chioberney at 1640 metres. There you look at a cirque of mountains above 3000 meters. In the North the Mont Gioberney itself, in the east Les Bans and in the South the typical multipointed form of the Sirac. For the trained hiker there are many spectacular trails waiting to be walked.

From St Firmin to Chapelle and Valgaudemar

On the road to La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar and on to Le Gioberney, waterfalls and rapids enliven the rocks that enclose the valley. The waterfall Le Voile de la Mariée (Bridal Veil), the rapids le Vallon, the waterfalls Le Casset, La Combe Froide: they all feed the course of the mountain river Séveraisse. They can be seen from the road and can all be a reason for a short, refreshing walk. If you want to explore all this on a walking tour, you can leave the car in La Chapelle and then walk along the D480. The route to Le Voile de la Mariée is then 10 kilometres. At the end of it, the chalet hotel Le Gioberney is a real reward, both for its location in the boiler valley and for its consumption on the terrace. From La Chapelle the paved road is very narrow, in summer it can be quite crowded from oncoming traffic. To go this road on foot from La Chapelle to Gioberney is not recommended because of traffic. Better to take the footpath along the river. You can also park approximately halfway the car near the refuge, descend to the refuge (located about 5 minutes further and below by the river) and from there follow the footpath to Gioberney. This is a nice, easy walk for tourists and nature lovers.

Houses in Valgaudemar

The houses in the valley are closely built to withstand the devastating forces of avalanches, floods and blizzards. They are usually built against the slopes, in order to keep the flatter fields on the river as much as possible free for agriculture and livestock breeding. The houses used to be built from materials that were present on site, wood, stone and debris supplied by the mountain stream. They were low houses made of wood and stone with straw roofs. After 1850, strangely enough, there was a strong growth in the population, which made it necessary to build an additional floor on the houses. These days it is often still visible, although it is simply boarded up with shelves. Behind it were the chambrou and the grain attic. Spread roofs were abolished after the fires of 1860 and 1895 and replaced by corrugated sheet or scaly roof tiles. In the upper valley of Valgaudemar you can still see many 'tounes', vaulted front porches that separate the house from the street.

Refuges accessible by car

Refuge XAVER-BLANC or refuge du Clot height 1463 m, nicely located hidden from the road and where, unlike most refuges, you do not have to walk up on foot to reach it, but just 5 minutes down on a beautiful narrow path with exuberant vegetation. The refuge is located on an idyllic village along the river. Smorgens you can admire chamois across the street. The refuge holder is a friendly man, who makes himself Génepilikeur and who likes to drink himself.

Chalet Hotel Chioberney, 1640 meters a refuge accessible by car, more a hotel with bedrooms, but where you can also stay cheap in small dormitories for 4 to 6 people

#Alpen #bergen #Valgaudemar #wandelen