Refuge et vallon de la Lavey été 2024

After a "country" climb, you reach the mountain pastures of the upper Lavey valley. The refuge stands as a reminder of pastoral life.
Refuge temporarily closed

Pedestrian access St Christophe :
At the foot of the Venosc gondola, walk down to the Bourg d'Arud bridge and join the path to Plan du Lac. At the white-water base, follow signs for Le Puy / Saint Christophe en Oisans. On leaving St Christophe, follow Pré Clot, then Champhorent .

Today the mountain pasture is inhabited by two flocks of sheep, but you can also observe chamois, marmots, foxes and birds around the refuge.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Departure point: Champhorent parking lot
Ascent: 400 m
Round trip duration: 2h30 outward, 1h15 return
Distance: 9.4 km
Technical and physical level: easy

MAP AND TOPO
OBP n° 5 (Oisans au Bout des Pieds) trail 531
IGN TOP 25 n°3336 ET

YOU'RE HIKING IN THE HEART OF THE ECRINS NATIONAL PARK
The Écrins massif is an exceptional area, open to all, with a rare natural, cultural and landscape heritage. To protect these treasures, the heart of the park is marked with blue-white-red painted flags, where regulations must be respected. Please take note of them when planning your hike to preserve this collective asset on the ecrins-parcnational.fr website.

ITINERARY
The parking lot is at the entrance to the hamlet of Champhorent (3 km after St Christophe en Oisans), below the road. Take the path at the end of the parking lot down to the Vénéon torrent and its magnificent Pont des Rajas. Cross the pretty stone bridge and climb towards the Rajas houses. Continue uphill to enter the Vallon de la Muande and follow the torrent on the right bank, then on the left bank after a second stone bridge. At the shepherd's hut, cross the gently sloping slabs to reach the refuge hidden behind this small glacial lock.

Return via the hamlet of Souchet (OBP no. 5 - path 566).

THE PARC DES ECRINS, A FRAGILE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT TO PROTECT
When hiking in the Parc des Ecrins, you must respect the regulations that allow you to enjoy this exceptional natural area: do not leave the trails, dogs are forbidden even on a leash, do not pick flowers or collect fossils, minerals, animals..., do not throw anything on the ground (bring your own garbage). Nature thanks you!

GOOD TO KNOW
- It's possible to descend to the Lac des Fétoules, signposted from the refuge.
- From the refuge, you can hike for several days: Lac des Bêches (2h) and Lac des Rouies (4h) can be explored from the refuge.

The RD530 leading to the Vénéon valley is closed to vehicular traffic, from the intersection with the RD1091 (at Le Clapier d'Auris) to the hamlet of Les Étages (Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans), via Venosc (Les Deux Alpes).