Tour of the Oisans - Walking the GR54

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Tour of the Oisans: The GR54

Author

Kev Reynolds

Cover

Paperback - PVC

ISBN

9781852845506

Published

16 Jun 2008

Availability

Published

Edition

First

Price

£12.00

ISBN (10)

1852845503

Size

17.2 x 11.6 x 1.3cm

Pages

144

Originally Published

16 Jun 2008

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Guidebook to walking the 176 km Tour of the Oisans : The GR54 trek around the Dauphiné massif and Écrins National Park to the east of Grenoble in France. This popular walk on the GR54 is similar in quality to the celebrated Tour of Mont Blanc.

Seasons

Avoid before mid-July (snow on highest cols). Accommodation busiest midJuly–end August. Sept is ideal and October can be good, though some accommodation shut in Oct.

Centres

Begins and ends at Bourg d'Oisins, passing through La Grave, Vallouise and La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar

Difficulty

Tough.... perhaps one of Europe's hardest treks. Scrambling, but no technical mountaineering skills required. High, steep and remote in places, with some uprotected exposed sections... need a good head for heights.

The Carte de Randonnées hiking map, A6 Écrins, published by Rando Éditions at 1:50,000 should be more than adequate for trekkers walking the Tour of the Oisans. The standard of cartography and artistic representation are excellent, although the rate of glacial recession is a challenge for every new edition. Based on the official survey by the IGN (Institut Géographique National), the route of GR54 and its variantes are outlined in red. Refuges and most gîtes d’étape are also clearly marked, while the boundaries of the Parc National des Écrins are delineated with a bold green outline.

The map has a 2km square grid and is GPS compatible, and below the Key a number of useful telephone numbers are given – but make sure you have the latest edition, or some of these might be out of date.