Sentier raquettes : Montfrais et ses points de vue

Even before starting the hike, remember to look up the snow slopes and cliffs while going up in the cable car: a few chamois are scratching a piece of meadow or enjoying a nap in the sun on inaccessible slopes. Only their gift of climbing the steepest places allows them to go where others cannot go.

The resort was developed in the Grandes Rousses massif, which takes its name from the colour of the rock it is made of.
You will appreciate the ochre hues of the sunset. This crystalline massif, well exposed to varied slopes has largely allowed the development of a ski resort linked to the large Alpe d'Huez area.

At the start of the hike, you will pass two chalets, former alpine dwellings, which bear the name of black grouse, a species that inhabits these areas.
This animal of the hen family eats what it finds: bark, buds. The winter life poor in food makes it fragile. Disturbing it often requires a high energy expenditure that it has difficulty filling. Despite the fact that it is difficult to observe, its cry is sometimes perceptible.

Look carefully in the rocky bars to try to spot the chamois. Winter represents a season of survival where food and mountain hut are not easy to find. If you can't see them, you can see their tracks. They are never very far away. In winter they wear a black coat. However, in spring they lose their winter hair, and transform their coat into beige, a camouflage more appropriate to the colors that surround them. Black is certainly visible on the snow but is a good color to warm up and capture radiation. Each animal opts for a different technique and strategies for winter. Some become white like the mountain hare or the stoat.

At the end of the hike you will have a view of the Col du Sabot which once marked the boundary between Savoy and Isère.
Savoie is still just behind. col du Sabot would have been the Col du Savoie because in patois, Savoie is called sabaudia. On the left is the Col du Couard whose name could come from écouardé, end of the tail, in other words, a pass at the end. Between the two you can see the Aiguillettes massif and its beautiful black cliffs with numerous folds.

All waste must be brought back by hikers. This rule applies along the trail. The forest environment must be preserved, avoid cutting branches or mutilating them.

Tips:
– Make sure snow doesn’t get into your shoes by using gaiters.
•During the snowshoe hike:
– Remember to release the heel of the snowshoe! FYI, we sometimes attach the back of the foot when going downhill when there is a lot of snow.
– Set off with poles, essential for balance.
– Don’t hesitate to tap your snowshoe with your stick from time to time, this will remove some of the accumulated snow and therefore lighten your step.
– Foggy glasses are usually a good indicator of too much body heat or a change in body heat that is too rapid. If this happens, you can reduce your speed, the number of layers of clothing or simply ventilate everything by encouraging fresh air to enter under your windbreaker.

Subject to favorable weather conditions