Rocher Pointu By The Cirque Sans Nom

Hiking -> Routes -> Chartreuse -> Rocher Pointu by the cirque Sans Nom

Description

From Perquelin – follow the signs to the source of the Guiers Mort.

From le Col du Coq – Climb to the Col des Ayes then follow the path to the Trou du Glas. At the cables follow the path that descends next to the cliffs to the Guiers Mort and traverse the waterfall either at the cave entrance (cables) or by using some stepping stones 20 meters lower down.

Cirque sans nom

From the Guiers Mort follow a small track that traverses north-eastwards by the cliffs. After 100 meters you come across another narrow cave entrance. Continue a bit further to a break in the cliffs. Climb up a very short cliff face – it is not too steep and there are plenty of holds. At the top there is woodland to the right and scrub to the left. Stick to this line climbing south-eastwards. It is easier to climb just inside the woodland which is quite open.

After about 100 vertical meters (1300 m altitude) you come a rock face, follow this to the right to pick up a scree slope and an obvious path. Follow this traversing through some light woodland to reach a second scree slope at around 1350 meters. Follow this slope up turning a little more westwards and keeping to the left hand side of the valley looking up the mountain.. There are some cairns but the path is intermittent. At around 1500 meters you will a nose like structure to the left (north), you are nearing the top of the cirque. You pass between a break in a small cliff band into the upper section, from here you can walk around to the “nose”. To exit aim for a small break in the center of a rock step at around 1650 meters. After clearing this turn left (north-east) to join the main walking trail at 1725 meters. From here you can follow a path that leads south-east to the Cheminee du Paradise and the Rocher Pointu.

Cave just after the Guiers Mort

You can descend by the Prayet after climbing the Cheminee du Paradise or via the Dent du Crolles, either by the face (preferred route if you are parked at the Col du Coq as you can enjoy the spectacular views over the Gresivaudan valley) or by the Trou du Glas. The Rocher Pointu is clearly visible from the Gresivaudan valley as you drive along the autoroute.

The path from the Trou du Glas to the source du Guiers Mort is not recommended in damp weather.

Trip Reports

14th October 2007

I'd been prospecting around the col du Coq all summer and this was the final key in the jigsaw. I primarily wanted to see if this valley was a possible ski route. A few winters passed I'd met a ski tourers who was heading in this direction and wondered whether he had taken this cirque, although the route is not well known.

Path at the top of the forest

This was possibly the best walking day of 2007. Nice temperatures and around 300 cars parked at the col du Coq. The lower paths were very busy, I even came across Marika, Squal and Jib from the VtTourwebsite, although they were on mountain bikes. However from the turn at the trou du Glas right through to the return via the cables I didn't see a living soul. There are no particular difficulties to this route, the short cliff is more a steep walk, it is then a question of following steep slopes up to the south-east keeping an eye on obvious routes. Their are great view over the Perquellin valley and beyond. The ascent is a real treat although I didn't have time to check out the nose at close range.

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