KYQ4: Parc National des Ecrins

Peaks of Parc des Ecrins

At last a summer in the Alps. Why they have eluded me for so long is a bit of a mystery. I have visited them a dozen or so times in winter but never managed a summer in the Alps. Before the family arrived, it was too expensive and the Greek islands were too beguiling. Holidays with children were usually on Scottish islands with the occasional visit to Brittany. And having shed the children we have usually travelled outside the summer months to avoid the crowds and the commensurate prices.

We had decided to visit our normal retreat in the Ardeche in July this year rather than June or September so we could watch the Tour de France pass through. We usually combine this visit with a tour around another part of France, secure in the knowledge that we have a perfect place to relax after the travelling through other departments. I researched where in the Alps might be the most interesting location for a week of walking and climbing away from the maddening crowds. French friends from Vienne had always spoken positively about the Parc National des Ecrins. It is endowed with spectacular scenery but without the concentration of ski resorts and blighted slopes found in the Savoie Alps.

I found accommodation the Drac valley to the south-west of the Parc d' Ecrins and less than a 3-hour drive from Lyon including a chance to see Grenoble. Our chambres d'hôtes, La Grange des Ecrins, lived up to its excellent reviews. Run by someone who had abandoned corporate life in China for the peace and tranquillity of the Ecrins, where his ancestors had lived. At the head of the valley, the ski resort of Orcieres Merlette gave chairlift access to the higher alps, but there were dozens of other tracks along glorious valleys into the alps. There are over 100 peaks of over 3000 metres and 700 kilometres of marked trails in the Ecrins. There are packs of wolves and large Pyrenean mountain dogs that protect the sheep that graze in the higher Alps. Summer was running late and it meant that we were fortunate to see the quite staggering display of alpine flowers in the meadows and among the screes and rock bands. They were displaying their brightest hues after recent rains.

On our first day, we were recommended to take a minor road around the foot of the Alps. We found recently cut meadows where groups of children were playing with a gusto and freedom that was reminiscent of childhood in our time and numerous parapenters were swooping beneath the blue skies against the backdrop of exquisite looking peaks. We parked at the ancient mountain village of Papric and walked through the enchanting assemblage of wooden houses as the church bells rang out for midday. We walked through the flower abundant meadows and up the valley to the chapel and waterfall before stopping for a lunch of cheese, fruit and water. I continued to climb a nearby peak passing a shepherdess who was looking after a large herd of sheep assisted by four large mountain dogs. There had been warnings that they were fiercely protective of the sheep but on a hot afternoon, they gave me no trouble. She lived in a mountain hut that I passed as I continued the climb and another large dog came to check me out, I must have passed the test and on my return half an hour later the dog didn't even get to his feet as I passed the front of the house.

I finally caught up with Aileen in the village, she had meandered down after lunch captivated by the flowers and scenery. Twenty minutes later we were back at La Grange for a swim and a beer. There was a British family there and in a fairly typical fashion, we soon discovered that the mother had a sister who lived near us and whom I occasionally went running with. The rest of the guests were French who were content with less active pursuits. We had the sense that the owner wanted to attract a more diverse clientele than had been the mainstay of La Grange before he took it over last year. The four-course evening meal was a fusion of French and Chinese cuisine prepared by his Chinese wife and served with local wines, a liqueur (Genopi) and local cheeses.

We found a similar walk on the next day and then on day three took a chairlift from Orciere to a group of lakes at 2400 metres. After walking up to the highest lake and having some lunch, I left Aileen and climbed up a rough path still holding patches of snow to a col with stupendous views over vertical inclined rock faces and then negotiated loose rock dotted with alpine flowers to reach a peak of 3100 metres. It was a perfect afternoon and the panorama of peaks in the Ecrins was lined up and could keep me happy for years. I was down at the cafe at the top of the ski lift by 3:30pm inhaling the clean dry air, shifting a beer, admiring the mountains all around and asking myself why I had waited so long before spending summertime in the Alps.