Snowshoe trail : Col du 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.

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.