Bear, Beer & Sundial Soup
 

Words: Dave Mitchell
Photos: Dave Mitchell & Ditte van der Meulen

Exploring France’s Parc naturel regional du Queyras Mtb Arena

After our previous adventures in Briancon it was time to move on to fresh fields. We cruised up Col d’Izoard, stopping at the top. We admired the amazing view, checked out the cycling monument before a scenic descent between spectacular open rock faces, scree slopes and high meadows. These gave way to farmland and a series of rustic mountain villages that cascade down to the valley floor below.

Abries would be our base for two weeks. A small village in the forgotten quarter of Guillestrois Queyras where the road finishes about 10km past its outskirts, in the nicest possible way. It’s smack dab in the centre of the Queyras Regional Park surrounded by high passes, big mountains and Italy.

The locals told us that the area was a bit of a recreational secret - considering the vast treasure trove of sporting opportunities that surround the sparsely populated alpine farms, villages, valleys and towns. Many of these are stopover points for a number of long distance walking trails, VTT routes and col collectors. They can be in Italy in the morning and slurping a cold beer in France that evening or vice versa. The entire area has an average height of 2000m and also contains the highest town in Europe, St Veran at 2040m.

Isolated for centuries by high mountain passes and the gorges of the river Guil, a road into it was not built until 1855. This remote rural area developed a distinctive flora and fauna of its own. Chamois, mouflon mountain sheep, marmots, eagle, griffin vulture and bears still call it home. The alpine pastures are covered in wild flowers during spring with a thousand different colours on show. Tourism is the growing economic driver for better or worse and the locals say that it does slow down outward migration.

Le Guil River Trail

From Abries we pedalled the Le Guil River Trail which wanders up a long valley on what was probably the original access road. It took us quietly and calmly through some remote farming communities to the road end. We did a number of trips from this trail-head, including tramping further up on foot over the steep rocky slope of Pic Traverse to visit Col Selliere at 2834M.

It’s perched on the Italian border, where there is a bike carry loop into Italy and back. The sun was warm and the views were hot - making for a nice picnic spot. The view over into Italy was breathtaking with the 3841m Monte Viso acting monolithic, with just a touch of snow on top to hide its baldness.

On a subsequent ride we both pedalled to Refuge du Viso on a slab-rock and technical bit of single track. I rode further up to Lac Lestio where some nice new trail had been built and benched, but from the lake a vague route disappeared up loose scree on an uninviting vertical bike carry. One step forward and two steps back no doubt.

Ditte had been keen to visit an old tunnel up on the ridge line above the refuge and discovered something special. Built in 1479 to progress trade between what would have been two very remote valleys back in the day, it was fully restored in 2020. So she braved the dark and found Italy clagged out and misty eyed. I wasn't far behind after returning from my lake trip, but low cloud was rolling over like bad surf so I never got to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

On a subsequent ride we turned south from Ristolas following forestry roads up the Torrent de Segure then an old stock track took us to Lacs Lacroix. The trail ended in a wide basin where summer grazing keeps the grass down and the open country view was stunning. We lingered for lunch, enjoying a bit of a rest before heading back to Abries.

Abries to Valpreveyre

Abries has a cool little bike park with a chair lift that operates over the busy summer months, but we were way too late for that. We pedalled their excellent old school trails but it was the area behind the park that fans out to the north and west and up the long valley below Monte Palavas that interested us.

Subsequently we climbed a mix of well graded and steep access roads to the ridge top above the chair lift and scrambled to the very top of Crete de Gilly at 2576m for lunch and a bit of tops riding. The descent back to Abries was all great single track, open at first with views across the mountains and then through a wiry pine forest, before heading into broadleaf stands and open grassland.

On a subsequent ride we rode to the head of the valley behind La Luzere on part of a disused water race system and through a massive rock slide to an old rusting corrugated iron mustering hut surrounded by 3000m peaks. A side trail climbed to Col d’Urine and we pedalled up as far as the trail remained sane before parking the bikes and continuing on foot.

This unfortunately named col was suffering from the same Italian clagged out syndrome we had encountered previously so we backtracked to the musterers' hut for lunch. The trail descent was superb. It winged its way to Valpreveyre, a small hamlet with municipal camping and a dam-able river. They were on the brink of closing up for the year as the sun rose late and went to bed way too early for happy camping and swimming was only for the brave.

Napoleon

On a wettish day we tramped up to Col de Crox where a stone hut provided shelter from a howling northerly. Just below it Napoleon had enjoyed the comforts of a once palatial road house with eyebrow windows and dancing girls. It’s now somewhat dilapidated, a bit like his legacy. On the return trail we met a shepherd with a vast flock of wooly ramblers and a half dozen sheep dogs enjoying the cooler weather. He was almost as wooly as his sheep. We closed the loop at the small alpine village of Echalp as the sun came out.

From Arvieux

In the valley heading back towards Col Izoard, the small village of Arvieux provided the perfect parking spot for two great rides. The first saw us head west from town, up a well graded forestry road to Col Furfande. Single track led us down the open slopes to Refuge de Farfande where a big group of local mountain bikers were enjoying the sun and an early lunch.

We continued west through a field of limestone boulders where a track had been woven. A long fun rocky technical descent strewn with switchbacks and big ugly rocks rattled us down to a Y junction and onto a balcony trail going north. We were soon back into the pine forest peddling around the mountain on fast flowing single track all the way back to Arvieux, happiness-filled.

On our second ride we climbed from Arvieux back towards Col Izoard and not too far from the Col sculptured tors and wind swept scree, where massive rock falls and deep gorges roam. Where the granite ridge-top meets the sky a small unassuming trail begins. It climbs through stunted pines into a wide basin of grassy slopes and immense beauty. We ascended up to Col du Tronchet where the trail rebels and goes enduro and switchbacks and rock gardens prevailed.

We bottomed out in a high meadow above Torrent du Soulier and from there followed a long and winding route that traversed endlessly through thick pine forest to the small trailhead town of La Chalp where an Italian chef rustled up two delishimo pizzas just for us. We watched a long line of adventure motorcyclists cruising by in holiday mode.

St Veran

We managed two rides from the town of St Veran, the world sundial capital. On the first we got sidetracked checking out the extensive world class array of sundials on many of the town's buildings. We opted for a ride on a mixture of 4WD tracks, forestry roads and old water race tracks that took us on a 60km loop with 1750m of climbing.

On our second ride we rambled up to towards Col du Longet, then left up to the Observatoire de Chateau Renard. Its telescopes are perched at almost 3000m where the rarefied air reduced our oxygen intake and Jack Frost froze our finger tips. They were re-roofing the observatory so we didn't get to have a look inside. The surrounding peaks were dusted with snow but the valley floor looked sunny and warm from where we were shivering.

We cruised back to the col and found some old mining tracks that delivered us onto a nicely graded water-race track that headed up the valley to Refuge de la Blanche. The refuge sits above an alpine tarn and below a line of 3000m peaks. Running water, picnic tables and loungers were on offer.

After lunch we headed back out to Chapelle de Clausis then onto single track that followed the l’Aigue Blanche river back down the valley to St Veran. We could see loads of carnage in the valley from past floods but the track had been rebuilt just for us.

Chateau Queryas

From Chateau Queryas we climbed a long lingering forestry road onto single trail. This ascended steeply to Sommet Bucher amongst stunning pinnacles. The traverse was over a massive slip to Col de Fromage and way above it perched on top of a 2500 m ridge-line was a WW1 military outpost. It kept disappearing in the swirling cloud like a ghost.

We lunched in the sun and bombed the excellent ST descent that follows the Torrent de Riou Vert. On an exposed traverse above the Guil River Gorge we closed the loop on forestry roads back to Chateau Queryas.

Exit Stage France

We had done our dash in the Alps and enjoyed it immensely but with frost invading the valleys and snow on the tops it was time to head to the Med for our last two weeks of riding, and there could be no better place than Finale Ligure, where the sun never sets.