While you enjoy the private sales, we'll take you somewhere else
The High Alpine Routes
In the Southern Alps, some roads end where the tarmac stops. Beyond that, there are motorable tracks only part of the year, and which lead to passes and plateaus that most people never see.
Three sectors concentrate most of these high altitude trails: the Cime de la Bonette and the Restefond massif, the Queyras, and the Haut Verdon.
Cime de la Bonette / Restefond
The Col de la Bonette is the highest road pass in Europe, at 2,802 meters. The main road is paved, but several subsidiary tracks leave from the Restefond massif towards less frequented high altitude plateaus. Mineral terrain, little vegetation, unobstructed 360° view.
Access:from Jausiers or Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée. Allow a good half day to explore the side trails beyond the pass.
Queyras
The Queyras massif is crossed by a network of forest tracks and secondary passes, less known than the main road to the Col de l'Izoard. Some trails lead to barely accessible high-altitude hamlets, others to open plateaus without any infrastructure.
Access:from Château-Queyras or Ristolas. The network of trails is dense, provide a precise IGN map, the marking is minimal.
Upper Verdon
Upstream of the Verdon gorges, the Haut Verdon sector (around Allos and Colmars-les-Alpes) offers trails that climb towards secondary passes and summer plateaus. Less mineral than Bonette, more pastures and light forests.
Access:from Allos or Colmars-les-Alpes. Good compromise between practicality and isolation for a first outing on the slopes.
What you need to know before you go
Season.These trails are only passable from June to September depending on the altitude and snow cover of the year. They close at the first snow, sometimes from the end of September at altitude.
Vehicle.A 4x4 or high ground clearance vehicle is required on most of these trails. Some sections are made of corrugated iron, others are sloping or have ford crossings.
Network and autonomy.The mobile network is non-existent or very partial in all of these sectors. Bring a paper map, sufficient water and fuel and service stations are rare once you leave the valley floor.
Accommodation.No refuge on the majority of these trails. Bivouac or overnight in a van are the most realistic options, respecting local regulations (bivouac generally tolerated more than an hour's walk from a road, to be checked depending on the sector and the park concerned).
Crowded.Very low outside the weekends of July-August on the best-known sites (Bonette). Queyras and Haut Verdon remain generally quieter.
In summary
Sector
Max altitude
Terrain
Crowd
Cime de la Bonette / Restefond
~2,800m
Mineral, rocky
Moderate (main pass)
Queyras
~2,400 m
Forestry then mineral
Low
Upper Verdon
~2,200m
Pastures, open forest
Low
Three sectors, three atmospheres, the same principle: the road stops, the track begins, and that's where it gets interesting.
We create pants for those who live between destinations. Pieces where everything is within easy reach, because on the road, nothing should hold you back. Every seam designed for movement. Every detail right where you need it.
