SNOWSHOEING ITINERARY: "Les Balcons de Ceillac"

This walk offers a panoramic view over Ceillac village set in the Queyras Regional Park.
It is the ideal location to have magnificent view over this valley, old glacier lake filled with alluvium from Mélezet and Cristillan rivers.

View over Ceillac valley

From the centre village church "St Sebastian" (0), follow the road that leads to the Cristillian valley (sign for "col Estronques").
On the right hand side, after the bakery, you will spot a bridge (1) over the Cristillan river. Here, you can wear your snowshoes!
Take the bridge, after it take right and then walk up left to go over a house which is an old mill. The track is obvious even in winter.
Arrived at the forest road "bois de Jalavez" (cross country skiing tracks, thanks not to use it!) you can come back the same way or continue the track on a horizontal way. Staying on the side, underneath the cross country track, you walk over "La Combe" before going down (3) by terraced clearings to a chalet at the village "La Chalp" (4).
Come back to the village by the pedestrian path along the road, or slightly above the bottom of the valley, by the old canal.

 

Details and Map

Ascent: 200m

Distance: 2Km

Time: 1h15

Map: IGN Top 25 - 3537 ET Guillestre

Period: from November to March

Difficulty: Level 1 = snowshoer able to self guide out tracks with no signs on a short and basic itinerary, with a low ascent, using these informations and a map. You should be able to estimate risks and to have all the equipment to assure security in any weather conditions.

 

Informations from the book "Les Guides Raquettes - Hautes Alpes Tome1" by Yves Fouque and Marc Liberelle.

 

Snowshoeing is fun under any weather!
Snowshoeing is fun under any weather!
Powder snow fields.
Powder snow fields.