Stage four follows the Durance river and welcomes you in the wide homonymous sunny valley dotted with delightful villages, getting towards Serre Ponçon lake, a popular location for summer tourism. Fast single-trails and wide dirt roads allow a great warm-up before the demanding climb to the ski resort of Les Orres and to the historic Parpaillon tunnel (2,780 meters), where everlasting ice lays on the ground. It is better to use a torch to cross it securely. Along the way, several viewpoints offer extraordinary glances of the lake and the surrounding area. The descent takes place in the immense meadows on the opposite side of the Ubaye valley, where the former military track steeply descends on the ski slopes of Sainte-Anne – La Condamine. From here, the trail follows the mountaindecline on the asphalt road till the valley floor by La Condamine Châtelard.
For information on the full route click here.
Full route layout:
