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Montgellafrey
Superb little village, towering above the Bugeon valley. Above Montgellafrey is a vast plateau that widens to the south and becomes a ridge towards the north in the vicinity of Grand Mas. This nordic-style plateau is covered with patches of fir trees, pastures and strewn with boulders. There are not many paths, except a wide forest trail that goes all the way across the lower part of the plateau, then veers east and follows the Grande Rigole to its origin under col de Montjoie. There are few signposts either.
From La Chambre, take the road to Montgellafrey. Before the first houses, turn left and follow the signposts to the end of the surfaced road (go to Le Mollaret). The trail starts there. You can drive on, but better discover the place on foot.
The plateau can also be reached from the bottom of the valley, from the Cuchet Chapel exactly. Leave the Montgellafrey road in the first right hairpin after leaving ND du Cruet. The steep path starts behind the chapel, crosses the road once in a hairpin and comes out on the plateau near Preney (1253m) after visiting the lost forest hamlet of Derandières. From Preney, turn right to join Le Mollaret.
It is a low-altitude south-oriented walk
that can be done very early in season. The upper parts of the walk are totally
pathless. In summer, high grass may be unpleasant. No difficulty, 800m of ascent,
2h30.
Route
From Le Mollaret (1334m), take a path that traverses diagonally to the left the grassy slopes above the houses (signpost). The path crosses the trail twice, then the hamlet of Les Andrés and the trail again, which must be followed until another hamlet is reached (Les Cohendets). Leave the trail, walk past and right of the houses and turn left almost immediately off a blue-marked path. Lac de la Grande Léchère (1680m) is soon reached, in its beautiful green setting. It is also the outlet of La Grande Rigole, an artificial stream that drains the Montjoie waters to the lake.
Continue on the
trail above the lake for about 500m and, on coming out of the trees, draw
left diagonally up a grassy
slope on a badly-marked path. It
goes back into the trees and comes out on to the upper part of the plateau.
The path stops here. Walk up the wide grassy plateau, past the Grand Pré ruins
and up again a succession of mounds and hollows. The summit is reached after
a last climb to the left up grass and rock slopes. From the top (2126m),
nice views on Grand Mas and the St
François sector and, to the south, on
Mont Cuchet and les Villards.
Descent
You can use the ascent route, but also continue north towards Grand Mas, avoiding two small hills on the ridge (awkward sometimes). By drawing near the scree under Grand Mas, you will find a path back to the forest trail. There, turn right and go back down to the lake.
You can also traverse under Grand Mas and climb left towards the ridge (steep path). On the ridge, start north on the long traverse that comes out at Col de Montjoie (see St François). The summit of Grand Mas is not recommended (very steep grass and loose rock). The north summit, on the other hand, is relatively easy once you have set foot on the ridge.