Snowshoe trail : Col du Lac Blanc
Description
Here you will discover the type of landscape that you find in the far north. Indeed, whether you go up in altitude in the Alps or in latitude, the vegetation is practically the same.
There is vegetation, but it only grows at ground level, so it becomes invisible when the snow arrives. It becomes invisible when the snow arrives. It is composed of lichens and creeping willows, considered as trees because they produce wood, albeit small, but wood nonetheless! Moreover, under the appearance of an uninhabited place, specific animals adapted to this environment walk the slopes of these spaces despite the complex weather conditions. The mystery of life takes shape despite difficult conditions: snow, wind, strong sunlight.
The Pic Blanc (3323m) is the highest point of the ski resort, Pic Bayle, named after the abée Bayle who climbed it for the first time in 1874, is at 3464m and finally, further north, the Etendard (3465m). The highest point of the massif remains however to be discussed because we find on certain maps the Bayle peak as the highest point... quarrel between Isère and the kingdom of Savoy since we are on the edge...
On your left is the chalet/cabin of the ski patrollers whose role is to mark out the area, limit the risks of the terrain by signalling cliffs and other dangers. Their role is vast, they are there to rescue you, but also to trigger avalanches and allow the skiers of the domain to evolve in complete safety. Many jobs that are not well known to the public are necessary for the smooth running of a ski area. For example, at night the snow groomers and their pilots work the slopes to guarantee good quality snow.
You can see large pipes in the mountains near the slopes. These are called gazex. They are used to prevent avalanches.They are managed remotely. Sometimes before the domain opens, you hear "boom", detonations. The gazex will cause an explosion, a wave which may or may not trigger an avalanche. They are located in strategic places, for example in a corridor overhanging a ski run. The aim is to provoke an avalanche artificially.
Technical Information
Altimetric profile
Starting point
Points of interest
The Lac Blanc
The white lake is the lake on your right as you descend.The whole of the Dôme des Rousses is populated by lakes of glacial origin, dug out by the ice of the glaciers that covered the planet during the last great ice age (2.7 million years ago). The snow slopes coming down from the peaks are in fact snow-covered glaciers. When summer comes, the snow melts, revealing the remains of the ice, which used to be full of ice. Glaciers are fed by heavy snowfalls during winters with intense snowfalls and are maintained naturally by cold summers, thus preserving the thickness of snow transformed into ice. Today, the phenomena of global warming and hot summers are gradually leading to the disappearance of these glaciers. On your left, you can see instruments, pillars, huts, etc. This is an experimental site of the C.N.R.M. (Centre national de recherches météorologiques). In the 1990s, this site was used to study the effects of wind on the distribution and stability of the snow cover. In other words: this site allows the observation of avalanche phenomena in the open air. Numerous sensors are placed at different locations, the digital data is recorded and transmitted by computer to the laboratory near Grenoble. Once the data was collected, researchers and scientists were able to understand certain snow-related phenomena. Avalanches in the mountains are often talked about in the media these days, so this site is a way of making progress in understanding certain natural mechanisms. Here, at the Lac Blanc pass, the winds blow mainly from the north or south (in 90% of cases): a parameter that facilitates observation and its measurements. All these devices are used to measure air temperature, snow depth on the ground, and many other factors.
The snow partridge
A rare bird makes its home at these altitudes. It is the snow partridge or rock ptarmigan.A grey-brown bird in the summer months that puts on its white coat to go unnoticed in winter and also grows hair between its legs to prevent it from sinking into the snow. Sometimes surprised by a walker, it takes flight under your steps. If you don't see it, you may hear it: a low scraping sound characterises its song.
Vaujany Museum
Espace Vaujany Museum will be a traveler, unforeseen, adventurer, discoverer ... You will be pilot, mycologist, snowmaker or musheuse. You will learn to recognize the animals in their footsteps, the small flowers to their perfumes etc ...It is an immersive space of discovery, discovering nature as historical heritage, discovering great local revolutions as challenges for tomorrow. Poly sensory, playful, we manipulate a lot of things, we look and we marvel, we learn too, and we play with family, a lot. It is an "ageless" space for curious souls, an adventure-discovery full of emotions and surprises, actions and sensations, not least! AND WHAT ARE WE FIND? : A travel! After a spectacular and sensational arrival in Vaujany, which we will not reveal the content, you will enter no animals ... in the forest. There, before you venture, you will be given all the keys to reading this territory unique in the world: A multimedia animation will finally allow you to understand the formation of landscapes, and how the geology of Vaujany is exceptional. You will finally understand the movements of the African and European plates. At the origin of the formation of the Alps, the evolution of the reliefs, and in what they are so specific! An animated model, equipped with small optical theaters, will offer you a scholarly journey in the landscape: you will be told about aiguillettes and streams, ski slopes and all that makes up the landscape. The adventure can then begin. An immersive walk in the forest will allow you to discover all that composes it: - Wildlife: you will finally learn who lives where, depending on the environment or altitude, - The flora: an immense interactive herbarium will help you to recognize the flowers that you encounter during your walks, those hidden under your skis in winter and that delight the spring here and full boxes will reveal the secrets of pharmacopoeia as the recipe of Génépi or the spice jam of the peaks, - Mycology: you will become a savvy picker or an outstanding cook, - In the forest you can also have fun to recognize the footprints of the animals, the song of the Tetra Lyre or the grunt of the wild boar. Even the secret breathing of the trees will be revealed to you !!! A moment of pure scientific magic! The whole bathed in an extremely stenographic environment which, thanks to a deployment of immersive technologies, will make you live a real spectacle. Your walk will also lead you to meet the men and women who made and do Vaujany: Hidden in little magic boxes that will reveal their secrets, you will find the past life, with stories of elders, the enmontagnement and the first school ringtones, you hear the hawkers pass and we will remind you all the small trades that we used to practice here ... You will then switch to Vaujany today: an unspoilt village, its rules of urban planning and its construction bias, a tourist resort, its offers and its orientations. It is also where you will be unveiled the big companies or the small gestures of a daily mountain, whether to limit the risks of avalanche or to preserve the roads, you will find all the techniques and the new professions (what does a snowmaker really do, what is the life of a musheuse, etc.), through videos and interviews with inhabitants, technicians, ... enthusiasts! Finally, you will find all the local entertainment here, our parties and balls, and all that makes the charm of life in Vaujany. You will then be able to stick to the stakes of development and of the future, and after having acquired the mastery of the data of historical evolution, you exercise with the political and strategic decision-making: three "interactive walls" will allow you to approach the big ones contemporary challenges, and practice territory politics, or simply measure the impact of your own behavior. You will then come out of the enchanted and learned forest, and you can resume ... the way of the airs. Because to close this magnificent course, we decided to install a real professional flight simulator, which will give you the exceptional opportunity to learn the piloting of an aircraft flying over Vaujany and its surroundings: attention, possible crash ! Group visits by prior arrangement.
Date and time
- From 11/12/2024 to 23/04/2025 from 09:00 to 16:00
- From 11/12/2025 to 23/04/2026 from 09:00 to 16:00
Additional information
Updated by
Office de Tourisme de Vaujany - 24/06/2024
www.vaujany.com/fr/
Report a problem
Guidebook with maps/step-by-step
From Vaujany, buy a pedestrian ticket for the Dôme des Rousses at the lift ticket office. Remember to ask the lift desk hosts if the path is passable. Take the cable car up to its stop at l'Alpette, then take the second section of the cable car to the summit: the Dôme des Rousses. You descend, reach the snow, and the marked pedestrian route leaves on your left.
Several return options:
- Take the same route as the outward journey up to the cable car at Dôme des Rousses. It takes about 1h30 to go back up on the same route as the descent.
- Easy option: once you have finished your descent, you arrive at the DMC cable car arrival; you take it on the way down, get off at the next arrival. From here you change buildings to Poutran, another gondola that takes you to Oz station. From Oz station, buy a lift back up with the Alpette gondola, to l'Alpette. Then take the Alpette cable car to Vaujany.
- Difficult option: once you have finished your descent, you arrive at the arrival of the DMC cable car; you take it on the descent, get off at the next arrival. You leave the arrival station, and continue to the left on the pedestrian itinerary that goes down to the Besson lake. From the lake Besson you walk back along the pedestrian route marked with purple markers that takes you to the Alpette; count 2 hours to complete this crossing. Once you arrive at the Alpette, you take the cable car back to Vaujany.
For each of these options make sure you have enough time to get back to the lifts.
Environments
Mountain location
Open period
From 11/12 to 23/04 between 9 am and 4 pm.
Subject to favorable weather.
Contact
Phone : 04 76 80 72 37
Fax : 04 76 79 82 49
Email : info@vaujany.com
Website : www.vaujany.com/fr/
Tricky passages
Be careful in case of snowfall to check (with the cashier) if the path is practicable and marked out, in order to know if you can walk this route or if it is better to walk it with snowshoes!
Advice: only do this hike in good weather, the panoramas are grandiose and require good weather. Also, if it is windy, avoid this route as the cable car can stop at any time for safety reasons.
Type of land
Not suitable for strollers
Reception complements
All rubbish must be brought back by the hikers. This rule applies along the trail. The forest environment must be preserved, avoid cutting branches or mutilating them.
Tips:
- Make sure that snow does not get into your shoes by using gaiters.
-While snowshoeing:
- Remember to release the heel of the snowshoe! For your information, the back of the foot is sometimes tied up when going downhill when there is a lot of snow.
- Go with poles, essential for balance.
- Don't hesitate to tap your snowshoe with the pole from time to time, it allows to remove some of the snow and thus to lighten your step.
- Foggy glasses are usually a good indicator of too much body heat or too rapid a change in body heat. If this happens, you can reduce your speed, the number of layers of clothing or simply ventilate by allowing cool air to enter under your windbreaker.
Data author
