Day 7 - Ascent of Les Rouies
Les Rouies is one of the easiest of the big summits of the dramatic Ecrins massif but is not to be underestimated!
It is a long day with a traverse over a glacier and a steep little scramble at the end. If you have never walked on a glacier before this is an excellent introduction.
It is situated on the end of a chain of peaks forming the cirque which bars the end of the Valgaudemar valley (the cirque from north to south: Les Rouies, Mont Gioberney, Les Bans, Pic Jocelme, Pic de Bonvoisin, Pointe Verdonne and le Sirac).
Have a look at our
Les Rouies photo album on flickr.
Starting altitude: 2423m
Summit altitude: 3589m
Ascent: 1166m
Average walking time: 8 - 9 hours (5 - 6 hours up and 3 - 4 hours down)
George will wake you up at 4 am where you will experience the classic french mountain refuge breakfast (bread - usually a bit stale, jam or honey and hot chocolate!). It is advisable to bring some snacks with you as it's a long time from now until your lunch at 13:00!
It is at this point as you are preparing your sacks in the dark, that you will have a 'what on earth am I doing here?' moment! Don't worry it's worth it!
After a rocky traverse in the dark you will arrive at the edge of the glacier - usually just as the sun comes up so you can see what you are doing to put your crampons on!
After an explanation of how to use the equipment you will begin the climb up through the couloir to the top of the glacier, which is pretty spectacular in itself.
Once you arrive on top you will be rewarded with amazing views and will start to feel the heat of the sun - truly beautiful! Here you will rope up to traverse the glacier which takes you up to the summit.
The last climb is pretty steep and mixed snow and rock but is is worth the effort to get to the top, where you will really feel on top of the world.
From the summit you get an excellent view of the interior of the Ecrins massif including the Barre des Ecrins and La Meije and of the summit of L'Olan just next door - possibly your next challenge!
Then you come down the way you came up - although it goes much quicker and the going down technique and views are very different from the going up ones so you don't feel like you are retracing your steps.
At the refuge George will greet you with a well deserved hot meal before you make your way down to the car park and back to your accommodation.
