Peaklander Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 We have delayed our trip to Greece / Carpathians until the late summer and are now intending to wander south of Annecy all the way to the Med. @task recommended OsmAnd maps and we have this on an iPad and are now successfully using an old-ish Garmin Oregon 750 as the GPS source for it. I would like to find routes using tracks and older roads 'up high' in this border area and wish to import them as .gpx into OsmAnd. There are many available on Wikiloc and it's easy to get them across to the mapping, however I would much rather use recommended routes, if anyone in here has any to share - or if you can point me at a source. Thanks in advice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henk Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 You could try here: https://www.vibraction.org They make very good roadbooks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted May 1, 2023 Author Share Posted May 1, 2023 I have looked at the Vibraction books but wow they are pricey. They sound perfect for specific routes though.I think we will need to sift through published Wikiloc routes, unless anyone on here has any others in the correct format that they wish to share. There are loads on Wikiloc but many have been published without comments, so you wouldn't know if they are good or bad. Also it's a bit early for the highest level routes, so that will possibly affect plans. Now, where's that shovel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 This is a last call for anyone to share tracks in the southern French alps / Italian border. I would be interested in any from Annecy, south to the Med. Someone must have driven in this area... There is one Vibraction route that crosses part of this area but I don't think that is suitable for us. There are some routes on the "dangerous roads" website and quite a lot on motorcycle websites. A few hosted tour websites also give clues as to the routes they follow. Otherwise it is filtered Wikiloc and anything else I can find that's useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Be very careful with the routes you find online... Majority of people don't give a r..s a.. about legality as they drive them once and usu. never come back. Also, many tracks are closed "par ordere" by the Prefecture, not to mention land slides and the likes. Also, at the moment there is a lot closed due to the extreme weather. Local info is best. Enjoy ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Can’t recommend from experience as I’ve not been there yet but I am hoping to head up to Forte Jaffrau in mid-June via the Galleria del Seguret(snow state permitting). That’s southeast of Annecy, just over the Italian border. Also hoping to head along the Combe Laval, which is just a ‘normal’ alpine road but a stunning drive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Going up to Jaffrau is a long and winding track : Be advised the weather up there, as in most mountain areas, can change in minutes from beautiful Summer 35 C + tot freezing hail in clouds. We have assisted more than a few walkers and cyclists over the years that were in deep sh. t. Also, it can be very busy with traffic and at times the tracks will be closed. Go and visit campibg Gran Bosco in the valley as they have good info. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 Thanks for your input and advice guys. Mont Jaffrau and the fort appears to sit at 2,800m and with the atrocious weather they have had, I wonder what it will be like up there. My neighbour lives in Annecy for much of the time and says it's been very cold (for the time of year) as well as very wet. The tunnels look narrow and I wonder what the 'guaranteed' headroom is? We are taller than standard and have a box. I think we will be leaving in just over a week... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 We are ‘here’, although further north than planned as the weather in the southern French alps has continued to be ‘unsettled’ 😂. We have got stuck into some good alpine walking and also managed two gravel routes that we found through research and simple exploration. The first was to the east of Annecy, traversing the side of a mountain (Chaine des Aravis), from Col de l’Arpettaz to Col des Aravis (above Ugine to near la Clusaz). This was loose gravel with stone and the only potential hazards were pretty much cleared. These are the stone chutes that spread across the track at every stream that crosses. These have been very recently dug out, leaving piles of debris to one side. This shows the gravel part of the 3rd party track that we followed with gradient and altitude shown. I did lower the tyre pressures and successfully re-inflated later. I don’t know if this was strictly necessary but at least I tested my system. We also explored from above Abondance at Lac de Plagnes and drove another gravel track, up and over to finally reach tarmac high above the top of Chatel ski area. This was far steeper and slippery but all was well. Another self-made map with gradient and slope. Already had a few good walks. Here’s a pic of a more exposed one that has a steel rope bolted to the rock to provide some feeling of security. This is at Cirque du Fer-a-Cheval The weather is still dodgy further south so currently content with soaking up some rays along Lac Leman. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Can confirm weather dodgy to the south. Walked up to a viewpoint west of Grenoble this morning and enjoyed this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Looks like you're having fun !!!! Enjoy yourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 We are about to watch this @Retroanaconda. Moving south towards you… https://www.rallystory.com/rallyes/34e-coupe-des-alpes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 You’ll struggle to find me, I’ve just finished the run home. It’s as hot here in the highlands of Scotland as it was down there! Enjoy the rest of your trip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 I meant that the rally is moving south. Evian to Cannes. 😄 Lovely weather today. This was a view of Mont Blanc. We did a lovely gravel pass today, up to about 2,100m. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 This was the route we took between Beaufort and Bourg-St-Maurice. Not via the tarmac of Cormet de Roseland, which is closed anyway but via Col du Pre to Barrage de St-Guérin. Then reasonably steep , loose gravel and stone, to Cormet d’Arêches at 2,109m with a big space at the top to stop and wander around (on foot) even higher. Then on gravel still down to tarmac. Down further and round, along the side of the big valley, through beautiful hamlets, leading eventually to B-S-M. That was a great route and separates the 110 from the rest 😄 The few cars at the top had all come up from the south side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 On tarmac but quite an awesome road - yesterday we drove up to Col d’Iseran. This is the highest tarmac in Europe at 2,770m and is to the south of Val-d’Isère. The road up is windy of course but also the drop off the side is severe as there’s no barrier at all. It was warm at the top but there’s a lot of snow still to melt and the rivers are in spate all around these parts. Unfortunately the south side is closed due to a landslip, so we were unable to continue and have moved to a different area as a result 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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