Travel

Hi Sam

Depends what you want - climb? walk? water sports? drink?! 

Walking is great in the Vercors and Ecrins. Chartreuse I hear is good too. All are quite close.

Flying in to St Geoirs, it's quite a way to Grenoble. The bus costs €22 return and still runs in Sept. There's good bus links into the Vercors and the Ecrins, tho' if you're short on time and there's several of you moving around, could be cheaper & better to hire a car.

Camping as in leaving the tent up for several days - use a campsite: most remain open into Sept. The one at La Berarde springs to mind and there's more than enough to do there.

Overnight (dusk-daylight) little problem if you are quiet and discreet. Regs vary: in the Vercor, ok if near trails. In the Ecrins: should be at least an hour from a roadhead.

For walking, can you say no. of hrs per day and difficulty/altitude and I'll suggest specifics ?

What are your travel dates ?

By late September I think you'll find many of the higher walking passes impassable due to early snow. It may be starting to be a problem even in the middle of the month. If I were you I'd go to the Chartreuse which is one of the lower massifs so you're likely to find it still passable. It's also dead close to Grenoble (you could walk from the city centre in a day if so inclined), and it is a fantastic area with good walking including 'scrambly' bits.

I would think anything along the GR9 or GRP 'Tour de la Chartreuse' (these are long distance paths, both of which I've walked) would suit you.

I have wild camped in the area. It is good for it. The main difficulty is that it is a limestone area, so surface water sources can be infrequent or dry up, particularly at the end of summer (ie September). Much of the massif is a Parc Naturel. You will see notices apparently saying 'no camping'. Look in the small print of these however and it also says 'bivouac tolerated': in other words you may camp overnight as long as you take your tent down and move on in the morning.

The French often distinguish between 'camping' in wild places, which means setting up a tent as a base and staying a few days, and a 'bivouac' which means just setting up and staying overnight.

For a good three day route: From Grenoble, take a bus or get someone to drive you to Sappey en Chartreuse (campsite if required), then walk the GR9 in the northerly direction to either St Pierre d'Entremont or Entremont le Vieux. From either of these villages there's a bus over the mountains to Chambery where you can catch a train back to Grenoble if you can't get friends to collect you by car.

 Another route (also about 3 days) would be the Tour de la Chartreuse from St Pierre d'Entremont, past the monastery, St Pierre de Chartreuse, the Charmant Sommet, and down to Sappey

IGN. Specifically IGN Top25 (1:25000 scale).

For the Chartreuse, there are two, titled Chartreuse North & Chartreuse South.

One vote for Vercors

Don't forget massif 'le Dévoluy'

(walking a part of tour de l'obiou? http://www.trieves-tourisme.fr/fr/activites/pedestres/le-tour-de-l-obiou.html?Itemid=260)

Some links

ING online:

http://www.geoportail.fr/

transport:

http://www.transisere.fr/

http://www.alpes-trieves.com/transport/transport.asp

shelters

http://www.bivouak.net/bivouak/liste_refuge.php?id_massif=3

Vercors in september: water can be a problem

http://www.vercors-gtv.com/PDF/info_sources.pdf

photo's

http://www.trekearth.com/themes.php?thid=3982

http://www.tetras.org/Menu.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/den_dzjow/sets/72157605591156896/

http://picasaweb.google.nl/ivovanmontfort/Devoluy#

'By late September I think you'll find many of the higher walking passes impassable due to early snow.'

In my experience, not much risk of this. You might get a few inches of snow in September, but then, if you go high enough, it snows in July and August as well. In any case, fresh snow rarely lies more than 24 hours until late October, as the ground is too warm. Reports here for example. The stuff on the 27th Sept had melted away the next day except for wind-blown patches.

After Spring, September is my favourite time for Alpine walking; the heat and haze has gone and the days are still long enough - don't worry ! Many refuges close up around the 15 Sept however. A good number have winter quarters which are just shelters - unstaffed, unlit etc.

Thanks Ivo and MoS - yes, the Devoluy is great too, within an hours drive of Grenoble and when you get home, no-one has ever heard of it. Wild, forgotten and brilliant shapely limestone peaks. See e.g. Sentier de la Baronne

And La Berarde is a great base from which there are at least a weeks walks, up to 3300m. The upper valleys are very wild here and you can walk up to and onto the glaciers if you like (usual care needed etc.)  Reports again Sept 2-7th.

Another good base for a few days walking is in the pretty Val Claree, near Briancon. Walks include the Tour des Cerces, Pointe des Cerces, Mont Thabor and the Vallee Etroite. You could base camp in Val des Pres. If anyone in the party wants a break, then nearby Briancon is neat to look around.

Prepare to fall in love !

Judy