Pointe d'Alval

Extremely spectacular tour in Ubaye. Depart from Saint Paul Ubaye and climb on simple asphalt road to the village of Fouillouse, then continue on dirt road with very steep sections towards Fort de la Plaza, finally continue on trail, initially cyclable but then push/bike on shoulder until reaching 2750 meters of pas Couletta. From the pass, descend on a bumpy, winding trail to the lake/shelter.

From the refuge if you wish you can avoid the summit and immediately take the downhill trail, instead for the more masochistic you continue, bike on your back, to reach the 3320 meters of the Pointe d'Aval summit. The view of the surrounding mountains and lakes but especially the descent repays the effort. The descent from the summit is the most difficult part of the tour, mainly due to the not very consistent terrain, a few hairpin bends and its verticality although it is never extreme and the grip however remains quite good. From the hut onwards, a beautiful scenic traverse awaits us as we ride at altitude and then a descent into the valley that is mostly fast, guided and flowing.

Difficulty ranging from S2/S3 for almost all of it, with some short technical points in S4