Short loop above La Colmiane

The mountain resort of La Colmiane (1500 m) was largely spared from the devastation caused by the storm Alex on 3 October 2020. Incidentally, we climbed to Caïre Gros from Colmiane just a few days before the storm hit the area.

Now, almost 9 months later, we went for a hike from Colmiane, our first visit to the upper valleys after the storm.

The weather forecast showed a high probability of afternoon thunderstorms. We therefore opted for a shorter hike above the resort.

We started along the same dirt track which we used last year as far as to signpost #94, where we forked left and continued along a forest path which eventually merged with the GR5 trail at signpost #98. We continued to Col du Varaire (1710 m; signpost #310) where we forked sharply left and continued northeast towards Pic de la Colmiane (1790 m). The early summer greenery and flora was just fantastic! At the summit, we passed the ski lift upper station and the restaurant and descended to Col de Colmiane (1641 m) along a wide track/ski run.

Our option was to climb to le Conquet but clouds had become darker and menacing. We took a shortcut along the northern flank of le Conquet first along the ski run then along a path (they are visible in the satellite view not on the map!) directly to a steeper and grassy ski run marked as la Serentie on the map. We descended along it, zigzagging because of the incline. We passed the lake/water reservoir and reached our starting point after a short ascent.

Just before Col de Colmiane, we had a good view down to Venanson and the Vesubie Valley. The storm Alex had wiped away large areas of land on both sides of the Vésubie River. There is now usable road up to Saint Martin Vésubie and after that for the locals to the first houses in the Boréon Valley. They hope to open the road to the Boréon Lake in July. The road to Madone de Fenestre will not be opened until summer 2022.

Duration: 2h 50

Distance: 6,7 km

Climb: 390 m

Map: 3741 OT Vallée de la Vésubie