The loop of the passes

Here you are in Bourg-d'Oisans at an altitude of 700m: all around you are mountains and underfoot is the plain. This landscape has been shaped over thousands of years at the same time as the Alps were being created.The mountains you see, and the plain you walk on, are the consequences of shifting continents, the major ice ages and the subsequent warming. Humans have also helped shape this landscape over the last few centuries, adapting to and taking advantage of natural and geological constraints. The dammed rivers and the network of drainage canals, for example, have allowed the habitat to expand and agriculture to develop in the plain, creating a mountain "bocage" with fields and hedges. However, these actions have never eradicated certain natural hazards, such as avalanches and rockfalls. Half-wild and half-tamed, this landscape and its features are home to a multitude of animal and plant species, some of which are protected. Lake St Laurent: when the Vénéon-Romanche glacier retreated, it stagnated in the lower valley and a lake of more than 5,000 hectares then occupied the entire valley from Bourg-d'Oisans to Allemond. The alluvium deposited by the Romanche and the Vénéon gradually plugged up the lake and filled in the plain to a depth of 500m. In fact, if it weren't for the lake, which gradually filled in, the village would only be at an altitude of 200m! Bourg-d'Oisans is now a delightful little town of international renown where mountain lovers come, both in summer and winter, to stay and enjoy the many activities on offer!

The history of Allemond has been marked by the mining industry and Alpine agriculture. Vieux Allemond, around the church and along the road leading to the Mairie, still has the traditional characteristics of Oisans villages.Allemond was known for its mining under Louis XIII and XIV, housing royal foundries (behind the tourist office), in which minerals mined around the village, mainly silver, lead and copper, were melted. For many years, the Hotel des Tilleuls (now closed) occupied some of the buildings of the former royal foundry. This hotel, featuring a superb walnut staircase, was bought in the 1920s by a former mayor of the village. His two daughters, Raymonde and Margarete, were well-known local characters who ran the hotel for many years. It was even rumoured that Napoleon III stayed there. Until the 1960s and 1970s, people lived very simple lives, nearly all as farmers. Then at the end of the 1970s, the Grand-Maison dam project was launched, providing a huge economic boost for the village and the region as a whole. The project lasted 10 years and brought many thousands of workers to the area. These days, the village lives mainly from tourism, both in summer and winter.

Rochetaillée lierally means "cut rock" in French and looking up at the road carved out of the cliff face, it is clear how the village got its name. However, the exact origin of this road appears lost in the folds of history.Is this road, as many people believe, the remains of a Roman road, the indelible mark of an unstoppable sovereign population? Or, as Doctor Roussillon suggests in his Traveller's guide to Oisans, is it "the still visible trace of a path created during the existence of the lake, along the bottom of the neighbouring mountain and behind the small hamlet of Rochetaillée, from which it draws its name. Such were the circumstances in which this path was built." An observor at the end of the 19th century reported certain similarities beween the Porte des Bons and the Rochetaillée road, suggesting a close correlation between the two. Marks and tracks on the ground were reported to be similar and of exact equal width. Unfortunately, no trace of these marks has been found since and the campaign to clear and clean the site carried out by in 2004 by "Customs and Traditions of Oisans" also failed to uncover any evidence. To better understand this, it needs to be remembered that in the last century, the plain through which the road passes was like a desert without any vegetation. Both the cliff and the plain were completely bare, meaning that it was no doubt easy at the time for witnesses to observe and note the smallest details. These days, the road is virtually covered by vegetation and in some places, you can almost walk past without noticing it. But why carve the road out of the rock? If we go along with Docteur Roussillon's theory, the creation of Saint-Laurent lake would be the only tangible reason for this project, which must have involved considerable manpower and resources. The other theory, if we consider this to be a Roman road, suggests that any rapid progress towards the high mountain passes was hindered by the neighbouring plain. Perhaps it was a swamp or a lake that was liable to flooding due to the unpredictable behaviour of the Romanche river? The size of the project to build the road would also prove the importance of the "Oisans way" in the eyes of the Romans. Along the entire length of the platform, rectangular markings are carved out of the stone at regular intervals. These suggest that a structure consisting of beams and a wooden floor covered the road, widening it from 2 metres to 3 or 4 metres and making for easier progression. At suitable points, wider platforms were installed, known as "garages" that served as passing places for animals and carts. To this day, the track linking Rochetaillée to Bourg d'Oisans, via the hamlets of La Paute and Les Sables, is known as the "Chemin Romain". Source: Freneyd'Oisans.com/Mr Albertino