Le Pic Blanc, 3*** panorama at 3 m
Going up to ski at Pic BlancSophie spotted something she didn't expect to find at 3 m… A mailbox. Intrigued, she walked through the cable car station and, upon emerging onto the summit terrace, she understood why…
A postcard landscape
Le Pic Blanc has everything you would expect from a "summit": pyramidal, surrounded by steep slopes and with an incredibly generous panorama of legendary peaks. The Michelin Green Guide even rated it "3-star panorama" because in one cable car ride, the immensity of the Alps opens up before your astonished eyes. Sophie then promises to go back up there.
A few mornings later, the sky is clear, a bright blue. Sophie is looking for the perfect postcard, the one that illustrates that feeling of fascination she felt when, captivated by the garland of peaks, she wanted to lose herself in the landscape.
A journey to the summit
Seen from below, the cable car arrival station seems to defy the laws of gravity, clinging to the side of the summit. Like a pompom, it has topped the Pic since 1963. The journey begins on the platform, at 2 m: completely renovated in 700, it has kept a slightly "vintage" look since: mobile central wooden platform, "automatic" barriers in the spirit of old level crossings, and this long cable stretched from one station to the other, without a pylon... Boarding for the high mountains. This time, Sophie spots the Michelin Green Guide sticker on the cabin doors.
Le Pic Blanc, sea of clouds, archipelago of peaks
On site, 4 orientation tables list the names of the peaks: an overview of 1/5th of French territory. As far as the eye can see, the layers of mountains overlap.
From the quay, Sophie's gaze plunges over the mineral barrier of the Belledonne massif, then over that of the Chartreuse, just behind, with Chambéry at one end and Grenoble at the other. In the background, she makes out the Monts du Lyonnais.
To the west, the Taillefer plateau and its myriad of lakes highlight the Vercors. The Massif Central sometimes appears in the background. Further south, Mont-Aiguille proudly raises its silhouette, recognizable among a thousand.
From the terrace, above the Sarenne glacier, due east, the spectacle goes up a notch. Sophie details the peaks. In the foreground, the Écrins massif takes up the whole
place. But, if you look closely, behind it you can see Mont Ventoux at the gates of Provence, 110 km away as the crow flies, just like Obiou or Pic de Bure, from where 11 parabolic antennas, 15 metres in diameter, listen to the stars...
Opposite Sophie, the summits of the Écrins: the Muzelle, and its benevolent eye on the 2 Alpes, with in continuity the glacier of the Girose, which spreads its vast rounded dome at 3 m. Then, just behind the Râteau, stands out the Barre des Écrins, the highest point of the massif of the same name. "THE 568" of Oisans (4000 m exactly) was for a long time the roof of France before the Duchy of Savoy, which included Mont-Blanc, was attached to France in 4.
Sophie then spots the mythical lady of Oisans, the queen MeijeThis impregnable citadel is one of the last peaks conquered in the Alps. At its feet stretches
a huge high-altitude mountain pasture, a link between Isère and Hautes-Alpes: the Emparis plateau.
In the background, Mont Viso peaks just behind the Italian border, above St-Véran. Due east, suddenly Savoie imposes itself with 3 emblematic teeth, the Aiguilles d'Arves. Black points in the middle of a white ocean, they are so steep that the snow rarely whitens them.
And, to finish in style, Sophie's gaze travels to Vanoise with the Grande Casse, before taking a little trip to Italy with the Grand Paradis. Then, the highlight of the show, the famous Mont-Blanc and the Grand Combin stand out, for a little Swiss wink.
Just before going back down, Sophie takes out of her bag the postcard she prepared this morning. It's definitely the accessory to take for going up to the Pic Blanc, she thought. The perfect opportunity to return to this great holiday classic. She has rediscovered the charm
outdated handwritten card, eager to surprise the recipient who will be able to read the stamp "posted at the top of the Pic Blanc ».
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